The 1925 season of

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

was its 16th. On 30 March

held its fifteenth annual meeting with 200 in attendance. The strong financial position of the league was commented on. It was also decided that if possible the Senior Grade would be split into A and B divisions owing to the increasing number of teams who wished to enter but also the gap in standard between the best teams and the worst.

Trophy winners

City Rovers won the First Grade Championship for the 7th time in just 15 seasons. Ponsonby won the Roope Rooster Knockout competition for the 4th time in the 11 seasons it had been competed for. Ponsonby also won the Stormont Shield after defeating City in the final in its inaugural season. While in the B division Ellerslie won the inaugural title and were awarded the Norton Cup. At the end of the season these teams competed for their own knockout trophy which was named the Stallard Cup. It was won by Otahuhu who defeated Northcote in the final. In the lower grades Richmond Rovers dominated like they were to come to do for many seasons. They won the 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and both sections of the 6th grade. They were a very powerful club at the junior level and this would ultimately lead to great success at the senior grade level.

Representative season

The Auckland team played in 5 matches with a number of other Auckland B and Auckland C team matches. They played against the New Zealand team twice and the touring Queensland side who they drew with 18 all. The Auckland side claimed the Northern Union Challenge Cup off the holders, South Auckland and they retained it against the same opponents in a later match. In addition the Auckland Provincial team played Queensland but were soundly beaten 54–14.

Death of Bill Stormont and inauguration of the Stormont Shield

On June 4 William Stormont (known better as Bill Stormont) died, succumbing to rheumatic heart disease. Stormont had played for the Marist Old Boys senior team from 1920 to 1924 scoring 24 tries and kicking 31 goals. He had also represented Auckland on 16 occasions, scoring 4 tries and kicking 2 goals as well as playing 3 matches for New Zealand in 1920. He had been ill for quite some time and had not played for Marist since the end of the 1924 season. The funeral was on the Sunday leaving his parents residence in Epsom and progressing to Purewa Cemetery where he was buried. The match between Marist and Richmond Rovers on Saturday was originally postponed but was never played. The matches at Carlaw Park saw one minutes silence before kickoff. On July 9 at the New Zealand Council meeting John Stormont presented a shield to be played for among the senior clubs. It was to be known as the “William Stormont Memorial Shield”. On July 22 at an Auckland Management Committee meeting it was decided that the shield would be played for by the “winners of the senior grade club competition and the winners of the Roope Rooster”. A request came in for the trophy to be played for among champion teams from around the country but it was eventually settled that it would be for Auckland teams. The championship winning City Rovers team, the Roope Rooster winning Ponsonby United, and Stormont's Marist side were the three teams chosen to compete for it. City drew the bye so Ponsonby were to come up against Marist in the ‘semi-final’ match. Ponsonby defeated Marist 23–22 to progress to the Stormont Shield final. Ponsonby then trounced City Rovers 35–3 in the final to become the first team with their name on the trophy. The Stormont Shield is still played for today though it is played for in round 1 of the regular season with the Fox Memorial grand finalists from the previous year competing for it.

Monteith Shield (first grade championship)

Monteith Shield standings

{, , - , {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !width=175 , Team !width=20 abbr="Played" , Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" , W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" , D !width=20 abbr="Lost" , L !width=20 abbr="For" , F !width=20 abbr="Against" , A !width=20 abbr="Points" , Pts , - , style="text-align:left;", City Rovers , 12, , 11, , 0, , 1, , 300, , 142, , 22 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ponsonby United , 12, , 10, , 0, , 2, , 271, , 113, , 20 , - , style="text-align:left;", Marist Old Boys , 11, , 6, , 0, , 5, , 162, , 112, , 12 , - , style="text-align:left;", Devonport United , 12, , 5, , 0, , 7, , 174, , 207, , 10 , - , style="text-align:left;", Richmond Rovers , 11, , 4, , 0, , 7, , 155, , 184, , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Athletic Athletic may refer to: * An athlete, a sportsperson * Athletic director, a position at many American universities and schools * Athletic type, a physical/psychological type in the classification of Ernst Kretschmer * Athletic of Philadelphia, a ...

, 12, , 4, , 0, , 8, , 133, , 276, , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Newton Rangers The City Newton Dragons are a defunct New Zealand rugby league club that was based at Victoria Park, Auckland. The club was created in 1948 by a merger of two original clubs, the City Rovers and Newton Rangers. Both the Rovers and the Rangers par ...

, 12, , 1, , 0, , 11, , 152, , 314, , 2 , -

Monteith Shield fixtures

Prior to the kickoff in the Round 7 games at Carlaw Park on 6 June, the teams stood in silence for one minute as a mark of respect for the late William Stormont who had died two days earlier. He was a World War I veteran and had played for Marist from 1920 to 1924.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Sam Lowrie was ordered off in the match between Ponsonby and Devonport.

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

The match between Marist and Richmond scheduled to be played at Victoria Park was cancelled due to the death of recent Marist player

Bill Stormont William Stormont (25 August 1898 – 4 June 1925) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. His parents were John Stormont (1 Aug 1863 – 23 September 1936), a pastry chef and baker, and Annie Stormont nee Brownlie (7 ...

two days earlier.

Round 8

Round 9

Jim O'Brien Jim O'Brien may refer to: Sports Basketball *Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1950), American coach for Emerson College, Ohio State and Boston College *Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1951), American player for the New York Nets and Memphis Sounds *Jim ...

for Marist and

Tom Haddon Arthur Thompson "Tom" Haddon (6 March 1886 — 26 July 1976) was a New Zealand rugby league player. He was Kiwi number 136 after playing two tests for New Zealand against Australia in 1919. Early life Arthur Thompson Haddon was born in Yorksh ...

for Devonport were ordered off for fighting in their match at Carlaw Park. In one of the more amazing team efforts in early Auckland rugby league history the City team saw all 13 of its players score points in a 57–10 victory over Athletic. There were nine different try scorers and the four who didn't cross the line all kicked at least one conversion.

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Roope Rooster knockout competition

Round 1

Semi finals

Final

Stormont Memorial Shield

Semi final

Final

Top try scorers and point scorers (senior grade and Roope Rooster)

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;" !Rank!!Player!!Team!!Tries , - , 1, , Lou Brown, , City, , 17 , - , 2, , Ivan Littlewood, , Ponsonby , , 16 , - , 3, , J Wardlaw, , City , , 13 , - , 4, ,

Frank Delgrosso Frank Delgrosso (3 November 1899 - 29 July 1981) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand. Playing career Frank attended St. Columba's School in Ponsonby. Following school he began ...

, , Ponsonby , , 9 , - , 4, , George Gardiner, , Ponsonby , , 9 , - , 4, , Henry Hawkes, , City , , 9 , - , 4, ,

Hec McDonald Hec McDonald was a rugby league player from New Zealand. In 1924 he represented New Zealand in 3 tests against England and in so doing became Kiwi number 165. Playing career Waikato beginnings Hec McDonald began playing rugby league around the ...

, , City, , 9 , - , 8, , H Godley, , Ponsonby , , 8 , - , 8, , S Riley, , Ponsonby , , 8 , - , 8, , Norman Veart, , Devonport , , 8 , - , 8, , Arthur Singe, , Marist, , 8 , - {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;" !Rank!!Player!!Team!!Tries!!Con!!Pen!!Points , - , 1, ,

, , Ponsonby , , 9, , 14, , 7, , 69 , - , 2, , George Gardiner, , Ponsonby, , 9, , 12, , 3, , 57 , - , 3, , W Hanlon, , Richmond, , 6, , 12, , 5, , 52 , - , 4, , Lou Brown, , City, , 17, , 0, , 0, , 51 , - , 5, , Ivan Littlewood, , Ponsonby, , 16, , 1, , 0, , 50 , - , 6, , Sam Crewther, , City, , 7, , 9, , 1, , 41 , - , 7, , Arthur Singe, , Marist, , 8, , 5, , 3, , 40 , - , 8, , Craddock Dufty, , Athletic, , 4, , 10, , 3, , 38 , - , 9, , W Sandham, , City, , 0, , 14, , 3, , 34 , -

B Grade standings and results

B Grade standings

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !width=220 , Team !width=20 abbr="Played" , Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" , W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" , D !width=20 abbr="Lost" , L !width=20 abbr="For" , F !width=20 abbr="Against" , A !width=20 abbr="Points" , Pts , - , style="text-align:left;", Ellerslie United , 12, , 8, , 2, , 2, , 89, , 62, , 18 , - , style="text-align:left;", Otahuhu Rovers , 11, , 6, , 1, , 4, , 85, , 48, , 13 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Kingsland Rovers Kingsland Rovers was a rugby league club in Auckland. They competed from 1920 Auckland Rugby League season, 1920 to 1928 Auckland Rugby League season, 1928 under the name Kingsland Rovers for 9 seasons before amalgamating with Grafton Athletic in ...

, 11, , 5, , 2, , 4, , 93, , 76, , 12 , - , style="text-align:left;", Mangere United , 11, , 3, , 1, , 7, , 66, , 96, , 7 , - , style="text-align:left;", Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers , 11, , 3, , 0, , 8, , 75, , 126, , 6 , -

B Grade fixtures

In Kingsland's debut in the grade

Claude List Claude List, born Victor Claude Wilschefski (2 December 1902 – 17 April 1959), was a rugby league player who represented New Zealand in the 1920s and 1930s. He represented New Zealand in one test match against England in 1928 and three more te ...

in his debut season in first grade scored 3 tries in their win over Northcote. He repeated the feat 2 weeks later against Mangere. He would later become the first ever player to represent New Zealand whilst playing for ostensibly a 'second grade' team. {, class="wikitable mw-collapsible" , + class="nowrap" , , - , ! scope="col" , Date ! scope="col" , ! scope="col" , Score ! scope="col" , ! scope="col" , Score ! scope="col" , Venue , - ! scope="row" , Round 1 , 18 April , , Ellerslie , , 16 , , Mangere , , 3 , , Carlaw Park # 1 , - ! scope="row" , – , 18 April , , Kingsland , , 21 , , Northcote , , 3 , , Carlaw Park # 2 , - ! scope="row" , Round 2 , 2 May , , Ellerslie , , 6 , , Kingsland , , 3 , , Carlaw Park # 1 , - ! scope="row" , – , 2 May , , Northcote , , 6 , , Otahuhu , , 5 , , Victoria Park , - ! scope="row" , Round 3 , 9 May , , Ellerslie , , 7 , , Otahuhu , , 14 , , Ellerslie Reserve , - ! scope="row" , – , 9 May , , Mangere , , 13 , , Kingsland , , 13 , , Peter Moke Farm, Mangere , - ! scope="row" , Round 4 , 16 May , , Ellerslie , , 19 , , Northcote , , 11 , , Auckland Domain , - ! scope="row" , – , 16 May , , Otahuhu , , 13 , , Mangere , , 0 , , Otahuhu , - ! scope="row" , Round 5 , 23 May , , Mangere , , 12 , , Northcote , , 11 , , Victoria Park , - ! scope="row" , – , 23 May , , Otahuhu , , 16 , , Kingsland , , 3 , , Otahuhu , - ! scope="row" , Round 6 , 30 May , , Northcote , , 8 , , Kingsland , , 5 , , Carlaw Park # 1 , - ! scope="row" , – , 30 May , , Ellerslie , , 12 , , Mangere , , 5 , , Carlaw Park # 2 , - ! scope="row" , Round 7 , 6 June , , Otahuhu , , 2 , , Northcote , , 0 , , Carlaw Park # 1 , - ! scope="row" , – , 6 June , , Ellerslie , , 9 , , Kingsland , , 5 , , Carlaw Park # 2 , - ! scope="row" , Round 8 , 13 June , , Ellerslie , , 3 , , Otahuhu , , 3 , , Carlaw Park # 1 , - ! scope="row" , – , 13 June , , Kingsland , , 11 , , Mangere , , 2 , , Carlaw Park # 2 , - ! scope="row" , Round 9 , 20 June , , Ellerslie , , 7 , , Northcote , , 5 , , Ellerslie Reserve , - ! scope="row" , – , 20 June , , Mangere , , 10 , , Otahuhu , , 14 , , Mangere , - ! scope="row" , Round 10 , 4 July , , Kingsland , , 13 , , Otahuhu , , 3 , , Victoria Park, 3 pm , - ! scope="row" , Round 11 , 11 July , , Kingsland , , 14 , , Northcote , , 11 , , Victoria Park, 3 pm , - ! scope="row" , – , 11 July , , Mangere , , L , , Ellerslie , , W , , Mangere, 3 pm , - ! scope="row" , Round 12 , 18 July , , Ellerslie , , 5 , , Kingsland , , 5 , , Ellerslie Reserve , - ! scope="row" , – , 18 July , , Otahuhu , , 15 , , Northcote , , 6 , , Victoria Park , - ! scope="row" , Round 13 , 25 July, , Otahuhu, , L , , Ellerslie , , W , , Otahuhu , - ! scope="row" , – , 25 July , , Kingsland , , W , , Mangere , , L , , Auckland Domain , - ! scope="row" , Round 14 , 1 Aug , , Northcote , , 8 , , Ellerslie , , 5 , , Victoria Park , - ! scope="row" , – , 1 Aug , , Mangere , , W , , Otahuhu , , L , , Mangere , - ! scope="row" , Round 15 , 8 Aug , , Mangere , , 21 , , Northcote , , 6 , , Victoria Park , - ! scope="row" , – , 8 Aug , , Kingsland , , CCD , , Otahuhu , , CCD , , Auckland Domain , - The round 15 match between Kingsland and Otahuhu was not played due to the poor condition of the field at the Auckland Domain.

Stallard Cup knockout competition

This was the first season with a B Division in the First Grade competition and at the end of the season a knockout competition was played between the five teams. {, class="wikitable mw-collapsible" , + class="nowrap" , 1925 Stallard Cup Results , - , ! scope="col" , Date ! scope="col" , ! scope="col" , Score ! scope="col" , ! scope="col" , Score ! scope="col" , Venue , - ! scope="row" , Round 1 , 15 Aug , , Northcote, , 3 , , Ellerslie , , 0 , , Victoria Park , - ! scope="row" , Semi final , 22 Aug , , Northcote, , 19 , , Mangere , , 18 , , Carlaw Park # 2 , - ! scope="row" , Semi final , 22 Aug, , Otahuhu, , 11 , , Kingsland , , 2 , , Auckland Domain , -

Final

Lower grades

There were 6 lower grade competitions in 1925 below the B Division with the 6th grade split into an A and B division.

Second grade

Richmond defeated Ponsonby A 15-3 on September 5 of the championship final. They also won the knockout competition beating Ponsonby A 30-2 on October 3. Ellerslie and Kingsland withdrew after 4 rounds, United Suburbs after 5 rounds, and City after 7 rounds. {, , - , {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !width=215 , Team !width=20 abbr="Played" , Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" , W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" , D !width=20 abbr="Lost" , L !width=20 abbr="Bye" , B !width=20 abbr="For" , F !width=20 abbr="Against" , A !width=20 abbr="Points" , Pts , - , style="text-align:left;", Richmond Rovers , 7, , 6, , 0, , 1, , 2, , 75, , 21, , 12 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ponsonby United A , 8, , 6, , 0, , 2, , 3, , 127, , 31, , 12 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ponsonby United B , 7, , 5, , 0, , 2, , 1, , 43, , 51, , 10 , - , style="text-align:left;", Devonport United , 5, , 2, , 1, , 2, , 2, , 64, , 32, , 5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 6, , 1, , 0, , 5, , 2, , 19, , 100, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", City Rovers , 4, , 0, , 2, , 2, , 0, , 11, , 32, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Mangere Rangers , 4, , 0, , 1, , 3, , 2, , 3, , 37, , 1 , - , style="text-align:left;", United Suburbs , 1, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 1, , 2, , 10, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ellerslie United , 1, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 30, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , -

Third grade

City Rovers secured the championship when they defeated Ponsonby B on September 19 in round 18. They played Northcote in the knockout final on October 3 but no result was reported. Otahuhu withdrew from the competition after a round 8 default, while Coromandel Old Boys withdrew after round 10. {, , - , {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !width=215 , Team !width=20 abbr="Played" , Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" , W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" , D !width=20 abbr="Lost" , L !width=20 abbr="Bye" , B !width=20 abbr="For" , F !width=20 abbr="Against" , A !width=20 abbr="Points" , Pts , - , style="text-align:left;", City Rovers , 10, , 9, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 188, , 26, , 19 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 10, , 9, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 174, , 29, , 18 , - , style="text-align:left;", Point Chevalier , 6, , 6, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 115, , 9, , 12 , - , style="text-align:left;", Parnell , 12, , 6, , 0, , 6, , 1, , 57, , 81, , 12 , - , style="text-align:left;", New Lynn , 8, , 4, , 2, , 2, , 0, , 41, , 29, , 10 , - , style="text-align:left;", Devonport United , 9, , 4, , 0, , 5, , 1, , 109, , 98, , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;", Richmond Rovers , 6, , 3, , 1, , 2, , 0, , 29, , 39, , 7 , - , style="text-align:left;", Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers , 6, , 3, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 29, , 66, , 6 , - , style="text-align:left;", Otahuhu Rovers , 2, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 10, , 5, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ponsonby United A , 6, , 1, , 0, , 5, , 2, , 34, , 83, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ponsonby United B , 4, , 1, , 0, , 3, , 3, , 12, , 47, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 3, , 0, , 2, , 1, , 2, , 2, , 10, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 5, , 0, , 1, , 4, , 0, , 11, , 54, , 1 , - , style="text-align:left;", United Suburbs B , 5, , 0, , 1, , 4, , 2, , 9, , 84, , 1 , - , style="text-align:left;", United Suburbs A , 3, , 0, , 0, , 3, , 3, , 5, , 54, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Mangere Rangers , 5, , 0, , 0, , 5, , 3, , 6, , 95, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Coromandel Old Boys , 3, , 0, , 0, , 3, , 2, , 5, , 27, , 0 , -

Fourth grade

Richmond Rovers won the competition undefeated. When they secured the title on September 19 they were a full 6 points clear of their nearest rival according to newspaper reports. Parnell were second and it is likely that they won more matches than the 10 that were reported. City withdrew after 1 round, New Lynn and Newton B after 2 rounds, and Marist B after 4 rounds. There were many results that were unreported so the table is incomplete. Richmond beat Athletic in the knockout final on October 10 by 5 points to 3. {, , - , {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !width=215 , Team !width=20 abbr="Played" , Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" , W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" , D !width=20 abbr="Lost" , L !width=20 abbr="Bye" , B !width=20 abbr="For" , F !width=20 abbr="Against" , A !width=20 abbr="Points" , Pts , - , style="text-align:left;", Richmond Rovers , 17, , 17, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 102, , 22, , 34 , - , style="text-align:left;", Parnell , 14, , 10, , 0, , 4, , 2, , 262, , 30, , 20 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ponsonby United , 9, , 6, , 0, , 3, , 2, , 178, , 37, , 12 , - , style="text-align:left;", Devonport United , 7, , 4, , 0, , 3, , 1, , 41, , 72, , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 7, , 1, , 1, , 5, , 2, , 27, , 61, , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;", Point Chevalier , 7, , 1, , 1, , 5, , 2, , 8, , 113, , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;", Marist Old Boys A , 5, , 1, , 0, , 4, , 3, , 16, , 29, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ellerslie United , 4, , 0, , 1, , 3, , 3, , 13, , 37, , 1 , - , style="text-align:left;", Newton Rangers A , 7, , 0, , 1, , 6, , 3, , 8, , 133, , 1 , - , style="text-align:left;", Kingsland Athletic , 4, , 0, , 0, , 4, , 4, , 6, , 104, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Marist Old Boys B , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Mangere Rangers , 2, , 0, , 0, , 2, , 1, , 0, , 4, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Newton Rangers B , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", New Lynn , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", City Rovers , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , -

Fifth grade

It is unknown who won the 5th grade championship as it was not reported in any of the newspapers. Using the results reported City Rovers had the most wins but approximately half of the results were not reported so the table is incomplete. City did win the knockout final 16 to 13 on October 10 over Parnell. Parnell had defeated Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers 9 to 3 in one semi final, while City defeated Marist in the other by 24 to 5. Athletic withdrew after 12 rounds. Newton entered a team but it is unknown if they played a match as they withdrew after round one. {, , - , {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !width=215 , Team !width=20 abbr="Played" , Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" , W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" , D !width=20 abbr="Lost" , L !width=20 abbr="Bye" , B !width=20 abbr="For" , F !width=20 abbr="Against" , A !width=20 abbr="Points" , Pts , - , style="text-align:left;", City Rovers , 8, , 6, , 0, , 2, , 2, , 89, , 39, , 12 , - , style="text-align:left;", Richmond Rovers , 6, , 5, , 0, , 1, , 2, , 80, , 9, , 10 , - , style="text-align:left;", Parnell , 7, , 5, , 0, , 2, , 1, , 52, , 33, , 10 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ponsonby United , 7, , 4, , 0, , 3, , 2, , 25, , 78, , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 7, , 3, , 0, , 4, , 1, , 63, , 28, , 6 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ellerslie United , 6, , 3, , 0, , 3, , 1, , 46, , 18, , 6 , - , style="text-align:left;", Marist Old Boys , 6, , 2, , 0, , 4, , 1, , 61, , 40, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers , 4, , 1, , 0, , 3, , 2, , 31, , 48, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", New Lynn , 7, , 0, , 0, , 7, , 2, , 2, , 156, , 0

Sixth grade A

Richmond won the championship with an undefeated season. They also won the knockout competition when they beat Devonport 8 to 0 in the final on September 19. Marist withdrew from the competition after 2 rounds. Less than half of the results were reported in the newspapers so the standings are incomplete. It appears that Leys Institute were affiliated to the Ponsonby club as they were usually reported as Leys Institute in the official fixture lists on Thursdays in the newspapers but as Ponsonby by the newspapers on Monday when they reported scores. {, , - , {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !width=215 , Team !width=20 abbr="Played" , Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" , W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" , D !width=20 abbr="Lost" , L !width=20 abbr="Bye" , B !width=20 abbr="For" , F !width=20 abbr="Against" , A !width=20 abbr="Points" , Pts , - , style="text-align:left;", Richmond A , 13, , 13, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 88, , 14, , 26 , - , style="text-align:left;", City Rovers A , 11, , 7, , 0, , 4, , 0, , 180, , 27, , 14 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ellerslie United , 6, , 3, , 1, , 2, , 0, , 54, , 49, , 7 , - , style="text-align:left;", Devonport United , 7, , 1, , 0, , 6, , 0, , 36, , 69, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 6, , 1, , 0, , 5, , 1, , 5, , 69, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Leys Institute , 7, , 0, , 1, , 6, , 0, , 8, , 127, , 1 , - , style="text-align:left;", Marist Old Boys , 1, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 1, , 0, , 16, , 0 , -

Sixth grade B

City won the championship. Richmond A won the knockout competition when they beat United Suburbs who had joined the competition late in the season by 32 points to 0. {, , - , {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !width=215 , Team !width=20 abbr="Played" , Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" , W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" , D !width=20 abbr="Lost" , L !width=20 abbr="Bye" , B !width=20 abbr="For" , F !width=20 abbr="Against" , A !width=20 abbr="Points" , Pts , - , style="text-align:left;", City Rovers , 8, , 6, , 0, , 2, , 1, , 151, , 24, , 12 , - , style="text-align:left;", Richmond Rovers A , 6, , 5, , 0, , 1, , 3, , 167, , 41, , 10 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ellerslie United , 8, , 5, , 0, , 3, , 1, , 75, , 68, , 10 , - , style="text-align:left;", Richmond Rovers B , 7, , 2, , 0, , 5, , 1, , 28, , 104, , 4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 4, , 1, , 0, , 3, , 1, , 27, , 52, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Point Chevalier , 3, , 1, , 0, , 2, , 2, , 5, , 53, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers , 7, , 1, , 0, , 6, , 1, , 5, , 119, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", United Suburbs , 1, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 32, , 0 , -

Exhibition matches

On 19 April, when Marist had a bye in the first round of the club competition they travelled to Christchurch and played Marist of Christchurch. They won by 16 points to 7. The match also marked the opening of Monica Park.

Exhibition match

Labour Day carnival

Representative season

The Auckland representative team had a busy season. After a series of 3 trial matches on 27 June both the New Zealand team and Auckland teams were selected. Officials had declared that "give us fine weather and we will get an attendance of 20,000". Unfortunately the weather did not oblige and it was in fact described as "the worst experienced this season ... in one place there was a miniature lake." This resulted in a crowd many times smaller, however thousands came into the ground to watch the main match between North Island and South Island, won by the former 27 points to 9. Auckland then played against the New Zealand team and lost 9 points to 16. Following this they played a Northern Union Challenge Cup match against the holders South Auckland and were victorious by 24 points to 16. After the New Zealand team returned from their tour of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

they again played Auckland at Carlaw Park and they used the experience they had gained to trounce Auckland by 41 points to 17, employing tactics that the Auckland team were not prepared for. Two weeks later Auckland played Queensland who were being touted as the finest league team in the world at the time in the first of three matches. They drew the first, before narrowly losing the second and then being well and truly outclassed in the 3rd match by 54 points to 14.

Representative fixtures

After the trial matches were played the New Zealand team was selected by Mr Liversedge, Pearce, and Harding, and 14 Auckland players made the side. They were: Craddock Dufty, Charles Gregory, Lou Brown,

Hec Brisbane Hector Brisbane (1904–1963) was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand. Playing career Brisbane played for the Marist Saints, Marist Old Boys in the Auckland Rugby ...

Jack Kirwan John Henry Kirwan (9 February 1878 – 9 January 1959) was an Irish football player and coach. As a player, he was described as an out and out winger with good pace and skills, playing as an outside-left for, among others, Everton, Tottenham ...

, Bert Laing, Maurice Wetherill,

Wilson Hall Wilson Hall may refer to: * Wilson Hall (rugby league), New Zealand rugby league footballer of the 1920s and 1930s * Wilson Hall (Bucksport, Maine), a historic Methodist seminary building * Wilson Hall (Arkansas Tech University), Russellville, Arka ...

Stan Webb Stan Webb may refer to: *Stan Webb (footballer, born 1906) (1906–1994), English footballer *Stan Webb (footballer, born 1947) (born 1947), English footballer *Stan Webb (guitarist) (born 1946), English guitarist *Stan Webb (rugby league) Sta ...

, Bert Avery,

Ernie Herring Ernie Herring (28 January 1898 – 17 September 1947) was the 112th player to represent New Zealand at rugby league. Early life Ernest Herring was born on 28 January 1898. His parents were Sarah Alice Foster, and Albert Richard Herring. He was ...

, Jim O'Brien, and Horace Dixon. The following day Sam Lowrie of Ponsonby United was added to the touring side.

Inter-Island match

Auckland Trial match

Auckland C v South Auckland

Auckland v New Zealand

Auckland v South Auckland (Northern Union C.C.)

Auckland v New Zealand

Auckland B v West Coast

Auckland v Queensland

In the match reports the newspapers did not distinguish between the two Jim O'Brien's. It is more likely that the try scored was by

purely because he was playing in the second row (despite often playing at prop) and was more involved in the loose play which the try itself came from. The try came after a kick was chased by Maurice Wetherill.

Auckland B v Canterbury

Auckland B v Wellington

Auckland v South Auckland (Northern Union C.C.)

became the first player selected from the B Division to make the full Auckland representative side. He played for the

club and had been mentioned as being as good as any player in his position in New Zealand rugby league. He was to go on to represent New Zealand from 1928 to 1932 and play senior club football into the 1940s.

Auckland Province v Queensland

Auckland representative matches played and scorers

This list only includes the Auckland team games and does not include the Auckland B, Auckland C, and Auckland Province matches. {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;" !No!!Name!!Club Team!!Play!!Tries!!Con!!Pen!!Points , - , 1, ,

, , Ponsonby, , 2, , 0, , 7, , 2, , 18 , - , 2, , Arthur Singe, , Marist, , 5, , 2, , 3, , 1, , 14 , - , 3, ,

Ben Davidson Benjamin Earl Davidson (June 14, 1940 – July 2, 2012) was an American football player, a defensive end best known for his play with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League (AFL). Earlier in his career, he was with the Green Bay ...

, , City, , 3, , 4, , 0, , 0, , 12 , - , 4, , George Gardiner, , Ponsonby, , 3, , 3, , 1, , 0, , 11 , - , 5, ,

, , Devonport, , 5, , 3, , 0, , 0, , 9 , - , 6, ,

, , Kingsland, , 1, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 6 , - , 6, , Bert Avery, , Athletic, , 1, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 6 , - , 6, , Ivan Littlewood, , Ponsonby, , 4, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 6 , - , 6, , M Kirkland, , Marist, , 1, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 6 , - , 6, ,

Neville St George Robert Neville St George (2 July 1897 – 27 October 1980) was a rugby league footballer. He represented the New Zealand rugby league team in 2 test matches in 1925. In the process he became the 178th player to represent New Zealand. He also re ...

, , Devonport, , 4, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 6 , - , 11, ,

Clarrie Polson Clarence Percival "Clarrie" Polson was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. He debuted for New Zealand in 1920 and became Kiwi number 143. Personal life Clarrie Polson was born Clarence Percival Polson on 27 July 1900. ...

, , Newton, , 1, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 4 , - , 12, , Lawrence Leonard Riley, , Ponsonby, , 2, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 3 , - , 12, ,

, , Devonport, , 1, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 3 , - , 14, ,

Hector Cole Hector Stanley Esmond Cole was a New Zealand rugby league player who played for the New Zealand in 1926 and 1927. He made 14 appearances for them and was Kiwi number 183. He also played several times for Auckland and represented the Ponsonby U ...

, , Ponsonby, , 4, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, ,

, , City, , 3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , M Herewini, , Ponsonby, , 3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , Charles Gregory, , Marist, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , J Payne, , Ponsonby, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , Tim Peckham, , Ponsonby, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, ,

Bill Te Whata Bill (Wiremu/William) Te Whata was a New Zealand Māori rugby union and rugby league representative. He also played one test for the New Zealand rugby league team in 1924 becoming Kiwi number 159. Early life Wiremu Te Whata was born in Nort ...

, , Athletic, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, ,

, , Athletic, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , R Greening, , Northcote, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , Roy Hardgrave, , Newton, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , Harry Douglas, , Devonport, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , Horace Dixon, , Devonport, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, ,

, , Marist, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, ,

, , Marist, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, ,

Len Mason Leonard Tasman Mason (23 September 1903 – 10 June 1953) was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played at representative level for New Zealand, Other Nationalities, Dominion XIII, the Sou ...

, , Athletic, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , Lou Brown, , City, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , E Mackie, , City, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , Maurice Wetherill, , City, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , Nelson Bass, , City, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , Selby Crewther, , City, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , Alf Townsend, , City, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , -

References

{{reflist

External links

Auckland Rugby League Official Site
Auckland Rugby League seasons