Rugby League: Story behind every trophy

By PETER JESSUP

The J. J. Giltinan shield is awarded to the minor premiers.

It is named after the father of Australian league, James J. Giltinan, a rugby, cricket and horse racing administrator who became soured with the deal the Australian union players got from their organisation.

In 1908 he and former All Black George Smith, who had converted to the professional game while on tour to England the previous year, attracted sufficient union players to start a nine-team competition.

The original premiership trophy was named the City Cup. That mutated in the late 1970s, 80s and 90s, becoming variously the Winfield Cup, the Telstra and Optus Cups in Super League year, then the NRL trophy in merger year 1998.

The grand final winners now take the Summons-Provan trophy, a replica of two blokes hugging each other which commemorates one of the great grand finals, Wests v St George in 1963.

Depicted are captains Arthur Summons and Norm Provan, swathed in mud after a hard-fought 8-3 win to St George, the statue based on a photograph taken by Sydney newspaperman John O'Gready.

The Summons-Provan medal has been awarded to the competition's best and fairest player since that year.

The Clive Churchill medal is awarded to the most valuable player in the grand final. Churchill played 38 tests for Australia between 1948-56 and steered South Sydney to four premiership wins through 1950-54. The medal was minted in 1985 to mark his passing and was first awarded to Peter Sterling when the Eels beat the Bulldogs 4-2 in the only ever tryless grand final in 1986.

Provan played 14 tests for Australia between 1954-1960 and was captain/coach of St George when they won the premiership four years in a row, 1963-66. Summons played 10 tests for the Wallabies before swapping codes, then had 18 tests for the Kangaroos 1961-64. He was coach of the 1963 Kangaroos, the first Australian team to win an Ashes series in England (a combined NZ-Australian side won the 1911/12 series).