The NZRL Bartercard Premiership was a six-team

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

competition that ran in 2008 and 2009. It replaced the now-defunct

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zeala ...

competition as the highest level of rugby league in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Matches have been broadcast on

SKY Network Television Sky Network Television Limited, more commonly known as Sky, is a New Zealand broadcasting company that provides pay television services via satellite, media streaming services and broadband internet services. It is also a wholesale channel prov ...

and

Māori Television Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

. In 2009 the competition was mirrored by Under 18 and Under 16 grade competitions. The competition was replaced by the seven-team National Zonal Competition in 2010.

Teams

In both season, 6 teams represented different

regions of New Zealand New Zealand is divided into sixteen regions () for local government in New Zealand, local government purposes. Eleven are administered by regional councils (the top tier of local government), and five are administered by Unitary authority#Ne ...

. The league operated on a single group system, with no divisions or conferences and no relegation and promotion from other leagues. The 6 regions which competed in the Bartercard Premiership are given below: The map below shows the locations of the 6 competing provinces within New Zealand:

List of premiers

Two seasons of the Bartercard Premiership were contested, the most successful club in the short history of the competition being Canterbury.

History

2008

The inaugural representative season started on the weekend of August 23 and 24, 2008. The first Grand Final was held at

Mount Smart Stadium Mount Smart Stadium (formerly known as Ericsson Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League, and occasionally hosts rugby union and internatio ...

on September 28.http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-4977-0-0-0&sID=64815&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=5439540§ionID=64815 Bulls score Prescott The Press Tuesday, 13 May 2008

2009

The second season of the Bartercard Premiership saw an extension of the competition to two junior grades; an under 16s and 18s competition. In the Seniors competition, Canterbury achieved their first Premiership in the new competition in a rematch of the 2008 final, defeating Auckland at

Rugby League Park Orangetheory Stadium is a rugby football stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was formerly called AMI Stadium, and before that, the Addington Showgrounds. History The park is part of a complex with Christchurch Arena and Addington Raceway a ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. The 2009 season was the last competition contested with this name and format, with the Premiership being replaced by the National Zonal Competition in 2010.

References

External links

NZ Rugby League

LeagueNet NZ

Rugby league competitions in New Zealand {{rugbyleague-competition-stub