1910 Auckland Rugby League season

The 1910 Auckland Rugby League season was the first season where a full organised competition was played following the 1909 season where several exhibition club matches were played. The competition celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010 and is currently in its 109th season. The 1910 season commenced on 14 May, with the start of the competition for the Myers Cup. It involved four teams, City Rovers, Newton Rangers, North Shore Albions, and Ponsonby United. Only Ponsonby United (now known as Ponsonby Ponies) still survive to the present day.

Two venues were used. Victoria Park, in downtown Auckland hosted 12 matches, and Takapuna Racecourse which no longer exists, hosted 4 matches.

Annual meeting

At the Auckland Rugby League annual meeting the following committee was elected:Chairman, Mr B Brigham; Hon Secretary, Mr A. J. Powley; hon treasurer, Mr Percy Usher; hon auditors, Mr D. W. MacLean and E. W. Watts; president, Mr C. D. Grey; vice-presidents, Mr F. E. N. Gaudin, M. Molloy, W. T. Thompson, J. Patterson, W. M. Evans, T. Craig, A. E. Glover MP, T. Buxton. At the meeting information was received that two new clubs were forming, one in the city and the other at a marine suburb.[1]

Establishment

On 12 April a meeting was held at the Waitemata Hotel with a view to forming a club. There were 23 people in attendance with Mr. D. W. MacLean occupying the chair. It was decided that a club would be formed called City Rovers. The following were elected as officers: president, Mr. J Endean; vice-presidents, Mr F. E. N. Gaudin; Graham, A. J. Parker, and W. M. Evans; hon secretary, Mr L. E. Hinton; hon treasurer, Mr Ernest Asher; hon auditor, Mr B. Brigham. Players for the team were requested to travel to the North Shore on the following Saturday to practice with the North Shore Albions team.[2] The match resulted in a draw with both teams scoring three tries each.[3]

Northcote Ramblers join the Northern Union Code

On 15 April a meeting was held at Northcote to form a rugby league club there. There were 37 players and supporters present. Mr. D. W. MacLean chaired the meeting. 21 players enrolled at the new club. Mr Lepper was appointed hon secretary, and Mr A. Jackson treasurer. The club was initially to be called the Northcote Warriors however within a week this was changed to the Northcote Ramblers which they were known as for decades afterwards. Today the club is known as the Northcote Tigers.[4] The team played their first ever match on 23 April when they took on a combined Newton Rangers and Ponsonby United junior team in Northcote. The home team won by 18 points to 8 with Jack Stanaway refereeing.[5]

Myers Cup (First Grade Championship)

Sixteen matches were played until the final round on 20 August where City Rovers defeated Ponsonby United to become the inaugural champions of Auckland club Rugby League (which at this time was referred to as 'Northern Union' in the media).[6] The Round 4 match between North Shore and City won by City 12–6 did not have the point scorers reported. In the Round 6 match between Ponsonby and City the match was abandoned after Albert Opai Asher led the City team off the field after protesting the non awarding of a 'try' to the City team. After an inquiry by the league during the week Asher apologised.

Final standings
Team Pld W D L F A Pts
City Rovers 8521873312
Newton Rangers 841376819
Ponsonby United 840489608
North Shore Albions 8116411193

Results

Round 1

14 May Newton 12–6 Ponsonby Victoria Park  
Try: William Winter, Haswell, Len Farrant 2
 [7] Try: Sid Riley, S Cole
 Referee: Mr. Sharrock
14 May North Shore 0–0 City Takapuna Racecourse  
[7] Referee: Mr. Wynyard

Round 2

21 May Newton 8–8 City Victoria Park  
2:00 Try: R Bradburn, William Bonner
Con: R Bradburn
 [8] Try: Harold Denize, A Hawthorn
Con: Sid Kean
 Referee: Jack Stanaway
21 May Ponsonby 34–7 North Shore Victoria Park  
3:15 Try: Arthur Carlaw 2, R W MacDonald 2, Ronald MacDonald 2, Henry Bettis, S Cole
Con: S Cole 4, Alf Chorley
 [9] Try: Alfred Jackson
Con: George Seagar
Pen: Jim Griffen
 Attendance: 300
Referee: J Sharrock

Round 3

28 May North Shore 2–11 Newton Takapuna Racecourse  
Pen: Jim Griffen
 [10] Try: G Smith, Thomas Houghton 2
Pen: William Bonner
28 May City 9–0 Ponsonby Victoria Park  
Try: Charles Brett 2, Sid Kean
 [11]

Round 4

4 June Newton 5–2 Ponsonby Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: G Smith
Pen: William Bonner
 [12] Pen: S Cole
 Attendance: 100
4 June North Shore 6–12 City Takapuna Racecourse  
[13] Referee: Jack Stanaway

Round 5

18 June City 14–5 Newton Victoria Park  
Try: Albert Asher, Charles Brett, George Harrison, Bob Mitchell
Con: Sid Kean
 [14] Try: Charles Linkhorn
Pen: R Bradburn
 Attendance: 2,000
18 June North Shore 3–7 Ponsonby Takapuna Racecourse  
Try: Fred Jackson
 [15] Try: Charles Dunning
Con: S Cole
Pen: S Cole

Round 6

Arthur Thompson Haddon had recently joined the North Shore Albions team. It was said that he had recently played the game in the "Old Country" .[16]

25 June Ponsonby 11–8 City Victoria Park  
2:00 Try: Culpan, Ronald MacDonald, Harry Fricker
Con: S Cole
 [17] Try: Bob Mitchell, George Harrison
Con: Alex Stanaway
 Attendance: 400
Referee: Jack Stanaway
25 June Newton 16–5 North Shore Victoria Park  
Try: Haswell, Jim Bennett 3
Con: Len Farrant
Pen: Len Farrant
 [18] Try: Sutton
Con: Jim Griffin

Round 7

2 July Ponsonby 26–2 Newton Victoria Park  
2:00 Try: King, Fred Lynch 2, Albert Bettis, Culpan, Charles Dunning
Con: S Cole 4
 [19][20] Pen: William Bonner
 Attendance: 4,000
2 July City 22–0 North Shore Victoria Park  
Try: George Harrison 2, Harold Denize, Tom Avery, Bob Mitchell, Hawthorn
Con: Alex Stanaway
Pen: Alex Stanaway
 [21]

Round 8

20 August City 14–3 Ponsonby Victoria Park  
Try: Charles Brett 3, Albert Asher
Con: Alex Stanaway
 [22] Try: S Cole
 Attendance: 600
20 August Newton 17–18 North Shore Victoria Park  
Try: Haswell 2, Nicholson, Henderson, Lionel Nolan
Con: William Bonner
 [23] Try: Fraser, F Taylor, George Seagar, H Wynyard
Con: H Wynyard 2, George Seagar
 Attendance: 600

Top scorers

The Round 4 match between North Shore and City won by City 12–6 did not have the point scorers reported so the following lists are unlikely to be 100% complete.

Second grade

A second grade competition was also played, however it received little coverage in the news media. It featured second teams from City Rovers, North Shore Albions and Ponsonby United, as well as a team from Northcote named the Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers. Northcote were to go through the season undefeated to win the grade.[24]

On June 6 Northcote beat Ponsonby by default and North Shore beat City 12-6. On June 25 Northcote beat City 5-3.

The points table was published in the New Zealand Herald on August 3. There had been 2 rounds of play scheduled for August 13 and August 20 however it appears they were not played and the final table remained as follows.

Team Pld W D L F A Pts
Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers 77001121814
North Shore Albions 7502543710
City Rovers 720536804
Ponsonby United 700791100

On August 27 the Northcote side played a combined team from the other 3 sides at Victoria Park and was defeated 14 to 5.

Representative season

Auckland v Rotorua

11 June Auckland 21-18 Rotorua Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Len Farrant 2, Jackson, George Seagar, G Smith
Con: Len Farrant, George Seagar
Pen: George Seagar
 [25] Try: Riki Papakura, McRae, McCullum, Henry Duvall
Con: Worrall, McCullum
Pen: McCullum
 Attendance: 2000
Referee: J Sharrock

Trial match

On 9 July a trial match was played between an A and B team selected in preparation for the visit of the British team but no result was given. A further trial match was played on 16 July which the A team won by 20 points to 18.

16 July A Team 20–18 B Team Victoria Park  
Try: Albert Asher, Fred Jackson, George Smith, Jim Rukutai
Con: Fred Jackson 4
 [26] Try: Alfred Jackson 2, Jim Bennett 2
Con: William Bonner, Frederick Neighbour
Pen: William Bonner
 Attendance: 2,000

Auckland v Great Britain

The team for the match was: (fullback) Alf Chorley; (three-quarters) L Nolan, George Smith, Albert Asher; (five-eights) Alfred Jackson, Ronald MacDonald; (halfback) Len Farrant; (forwards) Fred Jackson (captain), Charles Dunning, Jim Griffin, Alex Stanaway, Harry Fricker, and George Seagar. The emergency players named were (backs) Syd Riley, Arthur Carlaw; (forwards) Jim Bennett, Jim Rukutai, and Bob Mitchell

23 July Auckland 9–52 Great Britain Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: George Seagar, Albert Asher, Jim Griffin
 [27] Try: Bert Jenkins, Bill Jukes 2, Jim Davies 3, Joe Riley 2, Jim Leytham, Herbert Kershaw, Jim Lomas, Billy Winstanley
Con: James Lomas 7, Jim Leytham
 Attendance: 10000
Referee: Jack Stanaway

Auckland tour practice match

17 Sep Auckland Touring Team 49–6 Selected Combined Team Auckland Domain  
2:45 Try: George Seagar 2, Ronald MacDonald, William Bonner 3, Sid Kean 2, Robert Mitchell 2, Charles Dunning, Harry Fricker 2, Jim Bennett, Arthur Carlaw 2
Con: Arthur Carlaw, Robert Mitchell
 [28] Try: Tom Avery, C Brockliss

Auckland then went on a seven match tour of New Zealand. The following squad was selected to make the tour: Harry Childs, George Harrison, Ernie Asher, W Bonner, Syd Riley, L Nolan, Arthur Carlaw, Alfred Jackson, W J Walker (Rotorua), Ronald MacDonald, Sid Kean, Jim Bennett, S Cole, Tom Avery, Harold Denize, Charles Dunning (captain), Harry Fricker, George Seagar, Bob Mitchell, H B Oakley, and Charles Brockliss. The manager for the tour was Teddy Watts with Oakley assisting him.

Tour Match v Wanganui

22 September Wanganui 14–15 Auckland Cooks Gardens, Wanganui  
3:00 Try: Irving, Seeling, Bob Mitchell, King
Con: Hogan
 [29] Try: Jim Bennett, Lionel Nolan 2
Con: William Bonner 2
Pen: William Bonner
 Referee: Sid Kean

Tour Match v Bluff

27 September Bluff 12–42 Auckland Queens Park, Invercargill  
Try: G Burgess, Don Hamilton
Con: J Johnston 2
Pen: J Johnston
 [30] Try: George Seagar 4, Alfred Jackson, Ernie Asher 3, Sid Kean 2, Harry Fricker, Arthur Carlaw
Con: Jim Bennett 2, Sid Kean
 Referee: P Fraser

Remarkably George Seagar after scoring 4 tries then went on to compete in the annual September boxing tournament at the Municipal Theatre later that evening where he beat J O'Shea of Invercargill with loud applause from many of his teammates who were in attendance. He then beat F. Moir of Winton in three rounds.[31] The following day he then played for Auckland again against Southland and scored another try. Unfortunately he injured his arm and was unable to compete in that night's boxing.[32]

Tour Match v Southland

28 September Southland 12–17 Auckland Queens Park, Invercargill  
3:00 Try: H McDermott, Ogg
Con: H McDermott 2
Pen: H McDermott
 [33] Try: Harry Childs, Jim Bennett 2, Sid Kean, George Seagar
Con: William Bonner
 Attendance: 2000
Referee: P Fraser

Tour Match v Otago/Southland

1 October Otago/Southland 18–30 Auckland Caledonian Ground, Dunedin  
3:00 Try: P Walker, H McDermott, J Coulter, A Harridge
Con: Ned Hughes, J Johnston, H McDermott
 [34] Try: Sid Kean 4, Ernie Asher, Lionel Nolan, Jim Bennett, Charles Dunning
Con: Charles Dunning, Sydney Cole 2
 Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Arthur Carlaw

Tour Match v Nelson

For Nelson, W Doyle scored a try while Charles James scored 2 tries and kicked 2 conversions. James was later killed in action in France during World War I in 1917.

5 October Nelson 13–24 Auckland Trafalgar Park, Nelson  
3:15 Try: Charles James 2, W Doyle
Con: Charles James 2
 [35] Try: Ernie Asher 2, Alfred Jackson 2, Arthur Carlaw, George Seagar
Con: Charles Dunning 3
 Referee: R Kincaid

Tour Match v Hawke's Bay

8 Oct Hawke's Bay 14–19 Auckland Napier Recreation Ground  
3:00 Try: H Smith, R McEwan, Tom Cotterill, A Wall
Con: W Mackrell
 [36] Try: Lionel Nolan, Ernie Asher, Sid Kean, George Seagar, Charles Dunning
Con: Charles Dunning 2
 Referee: Arthur Carlaw

Tour Match v Dannevirke

12 October Dannevirke 8–24 Auckland Dannevirke Recreation Reserve  
3:00 Try: Harry Nuttal, Wilson
Con: unknown
 [37] Try: Bob Mitchell, Arthur Carlaw, Charles Dunning, Lionel Nolan, Sid Riley, Sydney Cole
Con: Charles Dunning 3

Auckland representative matches played and scorers

Matches include the match versus the touring Great Britain side and the seven tour matches made by the Auckland team. The Dannevirke match did not have a team list reported and therefore only the point scorers are included in the 'played' statistics (Mitchell, Carlaw, Dunning, Nolan, Riley, Cole, and Dunning) meaning there are 6 players with unattributed games played.

Auckland representative matches played and scorers

NoNameClub TeamPlayTriesConPenMarksPoints
1Charles DunningPonsonby United9311--31
1George SeagarNorth Shore Albions8911-31
3Sid KeanCity Rovers481--26
4Ernie AsherCity Rovers77---21
5Joe BennettNewton Rangers542--16
6Lionel NolanNewton Rangers85---15
7Alfred JacksonNorth Shore Albions84---12
7Arthur CarlawPonsonby United63---9
9William BonnerNewton Rangers2-31-8
9Len FarrantNewton Rangers221--8
11Sydney ColePonsonby United212--7
12Harry FrickerPonsonby United71---3
12Bob MitchellCity Rovers61---3
12Sid RileyPonsonby United51---3
12Harry ChildsCity Rovers51---3
12Jim GriffinNorth Shore Albions21---3
12Albert AsherCity Rovers21---3
12George Smith?21---3
19Ronald MacDonaldPonsonby United5----0
19George HarrisonCity Rovers3----0
19Tom AveryCity Rovers2----0
19Harold DenizeCity Rovers2----0
19William Walker*Rotorua1----0
19Frederick Stanley JacksonNorth Shore Albions1----0
19Charles BrocklissCity Rovers1----0
19Alf ChorleyPonsonby United1----0
19Alex StanawayCity Rovers2----0
19William MackrellNewton Rangers1----0
19Charles LinkhornNewton Rangers1----0

References

  1. "The Northern Union Game". Auckland Star. XLI (85). 11 April 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  2. "The City Rovers". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14343). 13 April 1910. p. 4. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  3. "The Northern Union Game". Auckland Star. XLI (91). 18 April 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  4. "Northern Union Football". Auckland Star. XLI (90). 16 April 1910. p. 8. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  5. "Northcote Ramblers v Newton and Ponsonby". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14353). 25 April 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  6. "Northern Union Game". Auckland Star. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  7. "The Northern Union Game: Season Opened". The New Zealand Herald. p. 7. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  8. "The Northern Union Game/Newton Rangers v City Rovers". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14376). 20 June 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  9. "Ponsonby United v North Shore Albions". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14376). 20 June 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  10. "Newton Rangers v North Shore". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14382). 30 May 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  11. "City v Ponsonby". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14382). 30 May 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  12. "Ponsonby v Newton". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14388). 6 June 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  13. "North Shore Albions v City". Auckland Star. XLI (132). 6 June 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  14. "City Rovers v Newton Rangers". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14400). 20 June 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  15. "North Shore Albion v Ponsonby United". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14400). 20 June 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  16. "North Shore v Newton". Auckland Star. XLI (150). 27 June 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  17. "An Unfinished Match/Player Ordered Off/Team Leaves the Field". Auckland Star. XLI (150). 27 June 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  18. "North Shore v Newton". Auckland Star. XLI (150). 27 June 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  19. "Ponsonby Beats Newton". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14412). 4 July 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  20. "Ponsonby V Newton". Auckland Star. XLI (156). 4 July 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  21. "Ponsonby Beats Newton". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14412). 4 July 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  22. "Northern Union Game". Auckland Star. XLI (198). 22 August 1910. p. 9. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  23. "Northern Union Game". Auckland Star. XLI (198). 22 August 1910. p. 9. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  24. "NORTHERN UNION GAME". Auckland Star. XLI (168). 18 July 1910. p. 7.
  25. "Auckland v Rotorua". Auckland Star. XLI (168). 13 June 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  26. "Auckland Representatives". Auckland Star. XLI (168). 18 July 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  27. "Britain Beats Auckland Fifty-Two Points to Nine". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14430). 25 July 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  28. "Northern Union Game". Auckland Star. XLI (222). 19 September 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  29. "Auckland Defeat Wanganui". Auckland Star. XLI (226). 23 September 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  30. "Aucklanders at Bluff/ Win by 42 to 12" (14534). Southland Times. 28 September 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  31. "Boxing S.B.A. September Tourney" (14534). Southland Times. 28 September 1910. p. 6. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  32. "Boxing/Invercargill Tournament". Mataura Ensign, 29 September 1910. 29 September 1910. p. 4. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  33. "Aucklanders Defeat Southland/Interesting and Exciting Play" (14535). Southland Times. 29 September 1910. p. 8. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  34. "Auckland v Combined Teams/Auckland 30, Otago 18". Auckland Star. XLI (234). 3 October 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  35. "Auckland v Nelson". XLV (XLV). Nelson Evening Mail. 6 October 1910. p. 6. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  36. "Auckland (19) v Hawke's Bay (14)". XIV (4586). Hastings Standard. 10 October 1910. p. 2. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  37. "Auckland Beats Dannevirke". The New Zealand Herald. XLVII (14499). 13 October 1910. p. 8. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.