With the competitions having merged back together, and with six NSWRL Premiership clubs having merged or became joint-ventures into three new NRL clubs (St. George Dragons and Illawarra Steelers; North Sydney and Manly; Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs) the competition became known as the First Division and included these sides competing under their original name and colours.

Another trend that began during this period was the phenomenon of NRL clubs outsourcing competing teams, with several NRL clubs choosing not to field sides in this competition and rather field either merged entities (as in the St Marys Penrith Cougars and Balmain Ryde Eastwood Tigers, both formed with NSWRL Jim Beam Cup sides) or form agreements with another club to take their place in the competition, those players being eligible for NRL selection, such as the agreement between Newtown Jets and Sydney Roosters for the 2006 season.

[3] The Parramatta Eels also formed a joint-venture with the Wentworthville Magpies to act as their Feeder Club in the competition from 2008 onwards.

There is a current state of ambiguity surrounding this joint venture, and it is suggested that both Wests and Balmain will return as two separate clubs once financial requirements are met.

On 5 July 2016, it was announced that starting the following season, the Blacktown Workers would become the feeder club for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in a joint-venture agreement.

In September, Intrust Super extended its naming rights partnership with the New South Wales State Cup through to the end of the 2018 season.

[9] In late November 2017 it was announced that as part of a re-brand, the Western Suburbs Magpies would enter the competition from the following season acting as a feeder club to the Wests Tigers, who had previously competed under their own brand.

[10] On 2 March 2018, it was reported that the board of the Wyong Roos, feeder to Sydney Roosters since 2014, voted to cut all ties with the club at end of the 2018 season.

On 5 September 2018, it was announced that the North Sydney Bears would assume the status as the official feeder club to the Roosters NRL side[12] until at least the end of the 2023 season, with Jason Taylor, a former North Sydney player and assistant coach to the Roosters, appointed head coach.

[13] Taylor, after leading the Bears to a third-place finish at the end of the regular season, was announced to have signed a two-year extension on 5 November 2019.

On 10 October 2018, it was reported that the Parramatta Eels would field a team in the Intrust Super Premiership starting 2020, thus ending their relationship with the Wentworthville Magpies at this time.

[18] On Friday, 27 March 2020, after round one of the season was completed, the 2020 Canterbury Cup NSW competition was suspended, and subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with no premiers being crowned.

Through this initiative a number of players from outside the Warriors’ NRL squad will appear for the Dolphins in the Intrust Super Cup each week.

[21] As part of the joint venture, the Mounties will represent Canterbury-Bankstown in the Canterbury Cup, ending their nine-year relationship with the Canberra Raiders.

[25] For the second consecutive year, the competition was cancelled on 10 August 2021, after completion of 15 out of 24 scheduled rounds, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

[26] On 29 October 2021, it was announced that the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs would be running their own team in the NSW Cup in 2022, in addition to continuing their partnership with Mounties for a further season due to contractual obligations[27] The draw for the 2022 season was released on 17 December 2021, and announced a revision to the finals-system to a top five, a decrease from the previous top eight.

[28] On 17 August 2022, the New Zealand Warriors announced they would be re-joining the NSW Cup after a three-year absence, ending their partnership with the Redcliffe Dolphins.

[30] On 20 September 2024, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles announced they would field their own team in the NSW Cup, commencing in the 2025 season.