The Mount Albert Lions are a

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 ...

club based in

Mount Albert, New Zealand Mount Albert is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, which is centred on Ōwairaka / Mount Albert, a local volcanic peak which dominates the landscape. In the past Mt Albert also referred to the 2,500 acre borough that was created in 191 ...

. The Lions home ground is at

Fowlds Park Fowlds Park is a small public reserve in the northern part of Mount Albert, in Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the c ...

. Their patron is the former

Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

. In 2008 and 2009 the Lions won the Fox Memorial. As of 2019 the team is coached by John Ackland.

History

The club was founded in 1928, after a meeting was held in April of that year. They fielded teams in the 3rd and 4th grades. In the early 1930s the club moved to its current location at

in Morningside. In their initial seasons they had trained on Springleigh Avenue at what is now Phyllis Street Reserve. Up until 1934 the club had played in mauve colours but in April of that year they applied to the junior management committee to change their club colours to blue and gold. They gained senior status from the

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 ...

in 1935. The club has won the Fox Memorial trophy fifteen times; in 1939, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1968, 1969, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009. In 1984 the Lions won the National Club Competition and in 2002, 2004 and 2005 they won the

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 ...

. In 2006 they defended the Roope Rooster Challenge trophy in all eleven of their games and went on to win the Fox Memorial. In early 2007 they lost the trophy to the

Te Atatu Roosters The Te Atatu Roosters is a rugby league club based in Te Atatū, New Zealand. They participate in the Auckland Rugby League competition. They currently have 25 teams across schoolboy, junior and senior grades. The Roosters premier team began t ...

Notable players

Kiwis

* Des Herring (1938) *

Bob Banham John Robert Banham (22 September 1912 – 20 December 1999), was a professional rugby league footballer who represented the New Zealand national rugby league team and New South Wales City rugby league team, New South Wales City. Playing ca ...

(1939) *

Bert Leatherbarrow Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a So ...

(1939) *

Arthur McInnarney Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

(1939) * Ray Cranch (1951) * Don Hammond (1959) * Ray Wilson (1969) * Richard Bolton (1972) * John Ackland (1983) * Shane Cooper (1985)

Other NZ representatives

A list of players who represented New Zealand before or after playing for Mt Albert. *

Gordon Campbell Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011. He was the leader of the British Co ...

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 rugby league team, New Zealand in one test match against En ...

Wilf Hassan Wilfred Thomson Hassan (9 February 1910 – 10 September 1967) was a rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in 1932 in a test match against England thus becoming Kiwi #221. He was also a champion diver and was Auckland diving champ ...

Roy Hardgrave Roy Arthur Hardgrave (28 July 1906 – February 1982) was a rugby league player. He represented New Zealand rugby league team in 3 tests in 1928. In the process he became the 189th player to represent New Zealand. Hardgrave also played for Ne ...

Cliff Satherley Clifford Allan Martin Satherley (4 June 1907 – 7 January 1947) was a rugby league player who represented New Zealand in three test matches against Australia in 1935. In the process he became the 232nd player to represent New Zealand. Satherl ...

Ted Mincham Ted Mincham was a rugby league player who represented New Zealand in three test matches in 1935 and 1936, twice against Australia and once against England. In the process he became the 229th player to represent New Zealand. He also played rugb ...

Bartercard Cup

Between 2000 and 2005 the Lions competed in the national

competition. Under the guidance of

Brian McClennan Brian "Bluey" McClennan (born 16 February 1962) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He was previously the head coach of the New Zealand national team (with whom he won the 2005 Tri-nations) and then England' ...

they were the most successful club in the competition's history, being champions three times and twice winning the minor premiership. However the club had a slow start to the competition, not making the playoffs in the first two years. Their place in the Bartercard Cup was taken over by the

Auckland Lions The Auckland Lions were a rugby league club that had teams in both the New Zealand Bartercard Cup and the NSWRL Premier League. They were mostly drawn from the Mt Albert Lions Rugby League club. Mt Albert had a proud tradition in Auckland and had ...

, an entity which represented Mount Albert as well as other neighbouring clubs. In 2007 the Auckland Lions also competed in the

NSWRL Premier League The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

but they were replaced in 2008 by the

Auckland Vulcans The Auckland Vulcans were an Auckland based rugby league club that participated in the New South Wales Cup. They were administered by the Rugby League Development Foundation. The team was selected from the Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial C ...

. *Two points for a Bye as the Ngongotaha Chiefs withdrew from the competition

Mount Albert Senior Team Records (1928-1944)

The season record for the most senior men’s team in the club.

All time top point scorers (1935-1943)

The point scoring lists are compiled from matches played in matches from the first grade championship, the Roope Rooster, Phelan Shield, and Sharman Cup only. One off matches and exhibition matches are not included. The matches and point scorers includes the combined Newton-Mount Albert side of 1942.

References

External links

Official Club Website
{{OldBartercard Rugby clubs established in 1927 1927 establishments in New Zealand