The 1928 Auckland Rugby League season was its 19th. Devonport United won the Senior A Championship for the first time under the Devonport United name, though they had won it twice before as North Shore Albions, before the North Shore merger with Sunnyside. Marist Old Boys won the Roope Rooster trophy for the first time. This was their second major trophy after winning the championship in 1924. They also went on to defeat Devonport to win the Stormont Shield.
Ellerslie United finished last in the first grade championship and as a result had to play a promotion relegation match with the winners of the B Division which was Grafton Athletic. This was the second consecutive year they had met in this match. Ellerslie won 15-13 to retain their place in the first grade. The Grafton club then decided to amalgamate with Kingsland Rovers who were also in the B Division to gain acceptance into the 1st grade competition for the 1929 season.
The senior club season featured over 110 matches through various competitions and did not finish until late October when suburban cricket competitions had already begun.
Grafton Athletic won the Senior B Division competition going undefeated season after they had been relegated the previous season, though they were beaten in the promotion relegation match with Ellerslie meaning they would have to stay there for another season. Point Chevalier defeated Grafton Athletic in the Stallard Cup final which was the Senior B knockout competition. The season was notable for the number of teams which played sides from other areas. Ponsonby, Richmond, Parnell, and the Northcote and Birkenhead Ramblers all played sides from north Auckland and the Waikato. During the year Carlaw Park saw its 300th senior grade match played on it stretching back to its opening in 1921 while the senior competitions also saw its 1000th game played (includes all official 1st grade matches and matches involving senior teams in the B Division).
Mt Albert held their first meeting at St George's Hall in Mt Albert on the evening of 3 April. Ralph Wilson chaired the meeting and George Rhodes, chairman of the Auckland Rugby League was present. It was decided that they would form a club in the Mt Albert area though they did not decide on a name at this time. They would enter teams in the third and fourth grades. During the season Auckland Rugby League made a grant of ã3 to Mount Albert for a dressing shed.
In April it was reported that Newmarket was entering a team in the 6th grade competition. They club was to wear yellow and black. There was a fear that the club would rob the Parnell club of players but the league accepted the nomination anyway. The also then entered sides in the third grade intermediate grade as well as another team in the sixth grade in the B section. They also had a Primary School side which won the schoolboy championship.
It was a very busy season, with ten representative fixtures including matches against the touring England team. Ernie Asher, Edwin Vincent Fox, and Bert Avery were appointed selectors for the representative team for the season.
At the annual general meeting of Auckland Rugby League it was noted that out of the 28 playing days during the 1927 season thirteen of them were played in wet weather; however, crowds were still good and they were happy with the growth of the game. Further developments at Carlaw Park were planned, consisting of "conveniences for ladies...extra accommodation... for players, and three more dressing rooms" at a cost of ã60. There was a lengthy discussion about Ellerslie's application to join the A Grade. They had won the B Grade competition and defeated the last placed Grafton from A Grade. The annual general meeting was held at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce on Swanson Street.
The Management Committee announced at the midway mark of the senior club season that the Thistle Cup would be awarded to the A or B grade team that had scored the most points in the second round of competition. If two teams were tied then the trophy would be awarded to the team which had scored the most points for the whole season.
An ongoing issue for many clubs in Auckland was the availability of playing fields as the number of teams grew. During the season Northcote opened a new field at Stafford Park which is still in existence adjacent to State Highway 1 just north of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Devonport also had a deputation present at the Devonport Borough Council meeting on 10 May to ask about the shortage of grounds in the area. The club asked for permission to use some of the spare cricket grounds for matches. Mayor E. Aldridge said there would be a ground available at Stanley Bay.
After Round 5 the issue of time keeping in matches at Carlaw Park was raised at the weekly Management Committee meeting. The bell had been rung in the match between Richmond and Devonport at Carlaw Park before the ball was dead which was against previously arranged rules. Agreement could not be reached on whether the timekeeper or referee should be responsible for calling time. In the end it was decided that official timekeepers should attend the Referees' Association meeting for instructions.
It was noted that the dead ball area on both fields at Carlaw Park had been reduced from 12 yards to 8 yards in accordance with the laws of rugby league.
A rule change came into effect during the season after the annual meeting of the English Rugby League. They decided that no forward at any time in the scrum could have both feet off the ground. Also forwards could not drop to one knee to attempt to hook the ball. The game in New Zealand would adhere to these rules.
The opening weekend of the season saw four first grade matches played at Carlaw Park, though these matches were not part of the competition. The round was dedicated to Richard Stack (commonly known as Dick Stack) of the Newton Rangers who had suffered a broken leg in the Stormont Shield final the previous season and the injury was so bad Auckland Hospital staff were forced to amputate it. This meant that he was unable to continue in his profession and so the league fundraised so that he was able to start his own business. A total of ã500 was taken at the gates with 10,000 spectators in attendance. The day also featured a program of boxing matches with the prizes donated back to Stack. After all the accounts were balanced it was worked out that the fund for Stack totalled ã610 12/3. An oddity of the games themselves was the low scoring nature and that all four losing teams failed to register a single point. Given the timing in the season and the fact they were for charity and competition points they were largely treated as practice matches with the City Rovers side using 18 players. Jack O'Sullivan made his debut for Marist. He was a champion bantam weight boxer and his son went on to become the well known horse racing trainer Dave O'Sullivan and his grandson is Lance O'Sullivan, one of New Zealand's greatest ever jockey's.
Round 1 saw the newly promoted Ellerslie upset Ponsonby 15 points to 8. This was Ellerslie's first ever match in the first grade. The season was ceremonially kicked off by Miss Peggy Rhodes, daughter of George Rhodes, the chairman of Auckland Rugby League Management Committee. Bill Hadley made his first grade debut for City alongside his brother Joe. Hadley switched to rugby union in 1931 and became an All Black in 1934 and played 25 games for them over three years. His older brother Swin Hadley was an All Black in 1928.
Tim Peckham, the representative halfback for Ponsonby, was suspended for 4 weeks following comments he made towards the referee in their loss to Newton.
It was decided by Auckland Rugby League after the 3rd round that they would no longer play curtain-raiser matches by Senior A Grade teams at 1:30pm. This was due to players having difficulty getting to the ground on time as they often worked on Saturdays and had to travel from the outer suburbs. A recent example had been the Newton Rangers v Devonport match where several Newton players had arrived late and the match was so late kicking off that the second half lasted only 25 minutes instead of 40. Leslie Letton, a well known rugby player transferred from rugby union where he had been playing for Marist, and scored 2 tries for Ponsonby on debut in their 18âÂÂ14 loss to Marist. He had only just left hospital days earlier after nursing a broken arm since the beginning of the season. He had played for Auckland B rugby team in 1927 and represented Waikato prior to that. Davis played break away for Ellerslie after having previously played representative league for Otago in the backs.
In Marist's win over Ellerslie representative tennis player Leslie Knott made his first appearance of the year after debuting the previous season. Dick Moisley scored 4 tries on the other wing for Marist after spending the 1927 season in the forwards before playing the previous week at standoff and now being tried on the wing. For Ellerslie Robert (Bob) Crewther was playing his second game after having played for Marist the previous season. He had started the season playing for the Petone side in Wellington before moving back to Auckland. His brother Selby was in his second year for Ellerslie after previously having played with Robert at City Rovers. At the Auckland Domain City beat Newton (6-3) who were missing Craddock Dufty, Trevor Hall, M Herewini, and Murray who were all injured.
The match between Richmond and Ellerslie was played at 9:30 in the morning on the Kings Birthday holiday as part of the celebrations.
Following the conclusion of the first round, The New Zealand Herald published the individual points tallies of all the point scorers. This was the first time this had been done. Taylor of Richmond led the standings with 46 points, Len Scott of Devonport had 33, while Craddock Dufty of Newton was third with 26 points.
Jim O'Brien the Devonport forward came out of retirement to rejoin their forward pack. he had debuted in the senior grade for Maritime in 1920 before joining Devonport in 1921 and playing over 70 games for them. He represented New Zealand once in 1925 and had played for Auckland 20 times from 1922 to 1927.
Jim O'Brien returned to the field for Marist after retiring at the end of the 1927 season. He had played for the All Blacks in 1922 before switching to rugby league in 1924. He had played for the New Zealand rugby league side in 1924 and would make the national team again later this season before going on to play 2 more seasons for the Marist side retiring finally in 1930.
The New Zealand team was playing the 2nd test against England in Dunedin this weekend so all the Auckland players in the New Zealand side were unavailable for their club sides.
William Mincham refereed approximately his 50th ever senior club match in the game at Ellerslie Reserve between Ellerslie and Richmond. He had begun refereeing in 1920 after retiring from playing. Mincham had represented Auckland and his son Ted Mincham and grandson Robert Mincham both represented New Zealand.
Marist won the Roope Rooster for 1928 after defeating Ponsonby in a closely contested final. It was the first time they had won the trophy in their history.
Extra time was played in the Ponsonby match with Newton. Craddock Dufty was tackled into touch going for a try and the match ended a 5âÂÂ5 draw with a replay required the following weekend.
After being injured and stretchered from the field the previous week Charles Gregory was moved from his regular fullback position to first five eighth with Jack Kirwan at second five eighth and Hec Brisbane at centre. The three of them combined brilliantly in their sides win. The Marist hooker Jim Johnson was sent off after a skirmish with Ponsonby forward Dooley Moore in the second half.
Marist won the Stormont Shield (named after their former teammate William (Bill) Stormont) for the first time when they defeated the Monteith Shield champions Devonport with a late try by 9 points to 8. Bill Stormont's younger brother Jim played his first game of the year in the memorial match for his brother and scored a try in Marist's win. Remarkably it was the fifth time the teams had met this season with Marist winning four (3-0, 14-13, 10-5, 9-8), and Devonport's lone win a round 3 victory by 31-22.
The âÂÂLabour Day Tournamentâ was played over two days (the official holiday, and the following Saturday). It featured Huntly from the Lower Waikato competition and Pt Chevalier who had won the second grade competition. Marist won the trophy despite having to win two games on the first day, and two more on the second. For their efforts they were awarded ã50 in prize money. Future international Ted Mincham made his debut for Richmond and scored a try.
For the second year in a row Ellerslie United and Grafton Athletic met in a match to decide who would play in the Senior A Division in 1929. Ellerslie scored a converted try in the closing stages of the match to remain in the A Grade.
Top try and point scorers for Dick Stack Benefit Games, A Division, Roope Rooster, Stormont Shield and Labour Day competitions (the competitions A Division teams competed in).
Round 1 saw the opening of the new municipal ground (Stafford Park) at Northcote prior to Northcote and Birkenhead Ramblers match with Point Chevalier. The ground was opened by Northcote Mayor A. E. Greenslade who kicked off the ball to start the match. It was approximately the 21st ground in Auckland that had hosted an official senior club rugby league match. During the season Otahuhu asked the Otahuhu Borough Council for permission to take up a collection at the Princes St. Reserve and they also asked the council if they would erect a building. The council agreed to the collection but declined in regards to the building. On June 9 Sturges Park in à ÂtÃÂhuhu was used for the first time for an official senior rugby league game when à ÂtÃÂhuhu beat MÃÂngere 7 to 5. Prior to the Round 11 matches Wirenui Mapi, the halfback of the Mangere team died after a short illness. The team wore white armbands for their match with Newton in honour of him.
Grafton Athletic won the competition after an undefeated season.
In the first round of matches the referee (Mr. Hill) in the Otahuhu v Kingsland game stopped play early and awarded the game to Kingsland due to the rough play of the Otahuhu side. There were several fights during the match and the referee had difficulty keeping spectators off the field. According to the writer in the NZ Herald this âÂÂwas not the first time the spectators at Otahuhu had made trouble, and they were really the cause of the players getting out of handâÂÂ.
The final saw Grafton and Point Chevalier tied at the end of normal time necessitating two extra periods of five minutes before Monaghan of Point Chevalier kicked a penalty goal to win the cup. This handed Point Chevalier their first ever senior trophy.
Richmond were awarded the Davis Points Shield for the most junior grade wins. They gained 75 points, with Devonport finishing second.
Devonport United won the championship, 6 points clear of Remuera, Ponsonby and Newton. Many of the results were not reported so the final standings are incomplete and shows the trailing teams 8 points behind. Newton won the knockout competition with an 8-7 win over Ponsonby on September 8.
The championship was won by Richmond who finished 2 competition points ahead of Mount Albert though with many results not reported the standings do not reflect this. Richmond also won the knockout competition when the defeated Mount Albert on October 27. Mangere United withdrew after defaulting in round 1.
Won by Richmond who were unbeaten with 15 wins, 8 points clear of Ponsonby. They had scored 308 points and conceded only 28. They also won the knockout competition when they beat Newmarket 15-10 in the final on September 29. Newmarket had beaten Devonport 6-3 in one semi final, while Richmond defeated New Lynn in the other semi final. The Richmond team had been together for four seasons and won the competition each year as they progressed from sixth grade to third. They had only lost one championship match in that time. Grafton Athletic withdrew after 1 round so have not been included in the standings. Remuera withdrew after 9 rounds having lost all their matches to that point.
Richmond won by Richmond, 2 pts clear of Remuera. Richmond also won the knockout competition when they beat Akarana in the final by 13 points to 8 on October 13. Richmond had beaten Remuera 3-2 in one semi final, while Akarana defeated City 11-3 in the other.
Akarana won the championship by 6 clear points from Devonport. Devonport beat Richmond 15âÂÂ7 in the knockout final on September 15. On July 14 the newly formed Mount Albert side entered a team mid season and played 4 matches before the conclusion of the competition. Browne Bros and Geddes were a side made up of the employees of a confectionery company which entered a team in the competition. Their only win came against the Mount Albert side on July 21 when they beat them 6-4.
Point Chevalier won the championship, 6pts clear of Richmond. Richmond won the knockout competition when they beat Newmarket 5-3 in the final on October 6. Richmond had beaten Northcote 27-7 in a semi final while Newmarket beat Point Chevalier 14-0 in the other semi final. Otahuhu withdrew after 9 rounds.
Point Chevalier won the championship with a 5 point gap back to Marist. Marist won the knockout competition with a 6-2 win over Point Chevalier in the final on September 29. Point Chevalier had beaten Richmond in one semi final, while Marist beat Devonport 11-6 in the other.
Newmarket Primary School won the championship. Otahuhu Schools won the final of the school knockout competition after defeating Onehunga Convent 13 to 3 on October 27. Otahuhu had beaten Newmarket 12-10 in their semi final while Onehunga Convent A beat Mount Albert Primary School 8-0 in the other semi final. Newton, Mount Albert, Otahuhu B, Onehunga Convent B, and Onehunga Convent C had entered teams for the knockout competition which began on September 8.
Richmond traveled north to play Hikurangi in the first rugby league match in the area. The local rugby team had become dissatisfied with their treatment by the rugby union and had switched to the league code. Richmond won the match in poor weather by 5 points to 0. Due to the terrible conditions only about 50 spectators sheltered in the pavilion while there were half a dozen cars which spectators sat in and watched from. Some reports said the referee was Les Bull, the well known Auckland referee while others said the game was refereed by Richmond manager Ben Davis.
The first representative fixture of the season was played against South Auckland for the Northern Union Challenge Cup which the visitors had won from Auckland in 1927. Auckland won the 1928 match by 22 points to 3. The game was played in poor weather and was notable for the number of serious injuries with Stan Prentice of Auckland breaking his nose, W. Smith of Huntly suffering a severe back injury, and Stan Raynor of Huntly breaking his ribs. All three of them were taken to Auckland Hospital.
A midweek trial match was played between the Possibles and Probables in order to select the Auckland team which was due to play the touring England side later in the season.
Auckland trounced Canterbury in a Northern Union Cup match by 66 points to 22 with winger Roy Hardgrave (son of former Kiwi Arthur Hardgrave) running in five tries. The match was played in good conditions for the most part and was witnessed by a large crowd of 15,000.
A North Island v South Island trial match was played at Carlaw Park. The North Island team fielded a large contingent of Auckland players including Craddock Dufty, Roy Hardgrave, Hec Brisbane, Maurice Wetherill, Stan Prentice, Frank Delgrosso, A. Scott, Lou Hutt, Wally Somers, and Jim O'Brien (Marist). The North Island team was far too good, winning 44 to 8. The following week a Probables v Possibles match was played as part of the selection process for the New Zealand team to play against the touring England side. The two teams featured the following Auckland players (Probables): Craddock Dufty, Len Scott, Hec Brisbane, Allan Seagar, Tim Peckham, Wally Somers, Jim O'Brien (Marist), Trevor Hall, Alf Scott, (Possibles): J Beattie, Trevor Hanlon, and Bill Cleaver.
A match was also played by Auckland in Whangarei. This was the first time an Auckland representative team had played in Northland and they were up against a fledgling North Auckland side. The area was relatively lowly populated and it was thought that they could not sustain both competitive rugby union and rugby league sides. Auckland win relatively convincingly and rugby league was to continue to struggle in the area for some time. The final match of the season saw Auckland go down to South Auckland both physically and on the scoreboard by 21 points to 7. The Auckland team was below strength.
Stan Prentice of Auckland broke his nose, while W. Smith of South Auckland sustained serious injuries to his back and broken ribs. While Stan Raynor also of South Auckland broke ribs with all three players being admitted to Auckland Hospital.
The entire Auckland Provincial team were Auckland club players aside from Joe Menzies
The following Auckland players were selected in the New Zealand team to play the first test versus England at Carlaw Park: Craddock Dufty (Newton), Roy Hardgrave (Newton), Claude List (Kingsland), Len Scott (Devonport), Maurice Wetherill (City), Stan Prentice (Richmond), Frank Delgrosso (Ponsonby), Lou Hutt (Ponsonby), Wally Somers (Newton), Jim O'Brien (Marist), Reserves: Tim Peckham (Ponsonby), and Trevor Hall (Newton). New Zealand won the test by 17 points to 13 in front of 27,000 spectators. Hec Brisbane who had not been considered for the first test due to injury was selected for the second test to be played in Dunedin and replaced Len Scott in the side.
Details of annual club meetings were as follows, along with notable news during the season.