The 1929 Auckland Rugby League season was its 20th. One of the key events of the season was the tour of the South Sydney side.
The First Grade Championship was won by Ponsonby who defeated Devonport in the final 5âÂÂ0. Marist won the Thistle Cup for competition points accrued during the second round of matches where they went undefeated. They also won the Roope Rooster trophy after defeating Ponsonby in the final 17âÂÂ9. They weren't finished yet, defeating the same opponent to win the Stormont Shield 28âÂÂ14. This was the second consecutive year that they won both of those trophies.
Richmond entered a team into the B Grade which was arguably the first ever 'reserve grade' team in Auckland club rugby league. The B Grade competition was won by Point Chevalier who defeated Otahuhu in the final 13 points to 10. This earned Point Chevalier the right to playoff with Ellerslie who had come last in the A Grade championship losing all 14 of their matches. Ellerslie won the match by 5 points to 0 to remain in A Grade for 1930. Otahuhu beat Point Chevalier 11âÂÂ0 to win the Stallard Cup which had previously been a knockout competition for the B Grade, however this season a full round robin was played before the final.
The annual report for the completed 1928 season revealed that ã3272 was taken in gate receipts from club matches alone at Carlaw Park. The total from all matches was ã4573 with ã517 paid to injured players. A further ã609 1s 3d was spent on maintenance and improvement at Carlaw Park. Clubs were also granted ã326 18s 5d and charitable causes received ã142 10s 4d. League assets including Carlaw Park were reported as ã10,569 16s 4d, with a consolidated fund of ã9810 11s 9d.
It was stated prior to the season that Auckland Rugby League would be concentrating much more on the club game and that no representative games would be played during it. This was in response to the 1928 season where a large representative program had been played along with the hosting of the touring England team. The Senior B competition was weakened considerably after the Kingsland team amalgamated with Grafton Athletic and moved up into the A Grade. The Senior B league was also âÂÂlowered in statusâ with several of the stronger players moving into A grade sides.
On 23 April The New Zealand Herald published a lengthy summary of rugby league in Auckland from its beginnings in 1909 to the present day (1929).
The Otahuhu Trotting Club wrote to the Auckland Rugby League advising them that the league could make use of two playing grounds on its property on Tennessee Avenue in Mangere East.
On 2 April a new club was formed in Papatoetoe after a meeting was held in their town hall. It was decided to field three junior teams though ultimately they only fielded one team in the 6B Grade. This was not the Papatoetoe Panthers club which was formed at a much later date.
At a meeting of the Grafton Athletic and Kingsland Rovers League Football Clubs it was decided to amalgamate and become known as Kingsland Athletic. The meeting was attended by 80 members. They decided that their colours would be a maroon jersey with a blue and gold shield. They requested to be placed in the Senior A Grade. A lengthy discussion was held at a management committee meeting before they agreed to accept the team in the A Grade. This made the number of teams in the grade 8. Their senior team was coached by former New Zealand captain Bert Avery who had been a playing member of Maritime/Grafton Athletic.
A rule change brought in for the beginning of the season was to make each half 40 minutes in length rather than 45 minutes. Another rule change occurred prior to round 5 with alterations to the play-the-ball rule. The idea was the prevent players from playing the ball to the side. Players had been allowed to turn their body and pass the ball from the foot to their own team. âÂÂOn occasions the ball travelled but a few feet, which invariably resulted in players of both teams fighting for possessions on the ground. It must be said that too much of the game is wasted with players lying on the ball. Now it is necessary to play the ball, forwards or backwards, past the opposing player. Should it be kicked to the side, all players must stand outside the five yards limit before the ball can be handled by themâÂÂ.
An ongoing issue for club league in Auckland, and indeed New Zealand were the continuing losses of top players to English clubs. Over three seasons nine players left to join professional English sides. Wigan signed Lou Brown, Ben Davidson and Len Mason, while Wilson Hall played for Leeds, and Roy Hardgrave, Trevor Hall, and Lou Hutt all joined St. Helens. Trevor Hanlon of the Richmond club signed for Broughton Rangers club late in the season.
After a series of very wet matches played at Carlaw Park and many requests for improved changing and washing conditions the Auckland Rugby League met to discuss the matter. They planned to âÂÂincrease the showers and add hot water installationsâÂÂ. The Devonport delegate said âÂÂhis club now shared the expense of a bus, and the team went to the Tepid Baths after each match. Another delegate said that hot water provision was required for curtain-raiser and other teams, which did not desire to leave the groundâÂÂ. The league decided to begin with the work and complete it by Saturday week.
On 9 October the Management Committee met regarding the improvement of accommodation at Carlaw Park. Chairman Mr. George Rhodes said that an extra stand with dressing rooms would cost ã12,000 which was money that the league did not have. The existing stand was taken up with 800 vice-presidents who gained free entry and so there was little revenue to be gained by adding to this area. He did however say that they were âÂÂkeen to assist players in providing better dressing rooms and offices where the League could centralise its business.
South Sydney became the first ever Australian club to tour New Zealand. They played three matches. Two were played against Marist Old Boys at Carlaw Park on consecutive Saturdays and a midweek game was played against Huntly in Huntly. They were defeated in the first match 10âÂÂ9, before winning the return match 21âÂÂ5. In their loss to Marist Charles Gregory scored all the Marist points through two tries, a conversion and a penalty. For South Sydney Jack Why scored their only try in the first game against Marist, while in their second game which they won Benny Wearing, Carl Eggen, Harry Eyers, and Alf Binder all scored.
The Round 6 match between Richmond and Kingsland was postponed as Richmond had travelled to Hikurangi to play against the local team which was in its second season.
On April 20 several pre-season matches were played at Carlaw Park involving first grade teams and senior B sides. Newton Rangers defeated Richmond Rovers by 10 points to 0 with Roy Hardgrave scoring a try and kicking a penalty and converting W. Johnstone's try. Ellerslie United surprised Devonport United with a 5-5 draw. Marist Old Boys beat City 5-0, Kingsland Athletic beat Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers 13-8, and Mount Wellington and Parnell played out a 0-0 draw. The senior B teams involved were Kingsland-Athletic, Parnell, Mount Wellington, and Northcote.
During the season Craddock Dufty who had starred for Auckland and New Zealand for several seasons fell out with the Newton club and asked for a transfer to Ellerslie. The Management Committee eventually granted the transfer.In the match between Newton and Marist Roy Hardgrave was concussed and had to leave the field. G Rhodes was also concussed later in the match and was taken to the hospital. For City in their match with Kingsland, William McLaughlin broke his nose and had to leave for treatment. Cyril Brimble had moved to Newton from the Manukau rugby club. Cyril moved to Canterbury where he played representative for that province and then after moving to Wellington did the same there before his untimely death in his 40s after a vehicle accident. His younger brother Ted Brimble would follow in the following season to Newton. And then in 1935 younger brother Wilfred would also join the ranks of Newton. Another brother Walter played for Manukau league club and all three (Walter, Ted, and Wilfred), would all go on to represent New Zealand.
The game between Ponsonby and Newton was the 50th time the teams had met in senior games. Following this game Ponsonby had won 30, Newton 18, with 2 draws.
Puti Tipene Watene debuted for City after transferring from the Manukau rugby union club and kicked two penalties. He went on to play for them until 1935 before moving to the Manukau club and represented New Zealand from 1930 to 1937. Watene later became an MP for the Labour Party from 1963 to 1967 when he died of a heart attack during a meeting. His great grandson is Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
The Devonport win over Richmond was their 100th first grade win in their 20th consecutive year in first grade. To this point they had a 100 win, 12 draw, and 85 loss record. Bill Davis, the Richmond halfback was unavailable after being in a car accident after their game the previous Saturday which hospitalised him.
Alan Clarke was sent off in the Marist v City game for questioning the referee. Richmond's game against Kingsland was postponed as many members of the club were travelling to Hikurangi in Northland to play in a seven a side tournament there. The Richmond senior team won the final 8-5 over the local Hikurangi side. Patrick McCarthy was unable to play in the Devonport forwards as he had a boxing match at the Auckland Town Hall the same night.
In the match between Marist and Devonport both Courtney (Marist) and Ernest Ruby (Devonport) were sent off for fighting late in the match. For Newton Craddock Dufty refused to play in protest against the non-selection of Wally Somers. As a result Newton cancelled his registration with the club. Somers also decided to retire at this point though he ultimately joined the Ellerslie team for the 1930 season where Dufty moved to. Dufty then signed with Ellerslie where he had moved to earlier in the year. Cook was sent off in EllerslieâÂÂs match for arguing with a referring decision.
During the week Roy Hardgrave of Newton signed with the St Helens club in England as did Lou Hutt of Ponsonby. Hardgrave scored Newton's only points in their heavy loss to Hutt's Ponsonby's side. Hardgrave had played for New Zealand against England on their 1928 tour as did Hutt. Hardgrave would play 5 seasons with St Helens, playing 212 games, scoring 173 tries before returning to New Zealand and then signing with York and later Toulouse before returning to New Zealand for good where he finished his career at Mt Albert and later coaching Newton. Lou Hutt played 2 seasons for St Helens before returning to New Zealand and carrying on his career at Ponsonby before a final season in 1936 with Newton.
Another large crowd of 10,000 was in attendance at the Carlaw Park matches. City secured an upset 17-8 win over competition leaders Devonport. For the Devonport side veteran forward Ernest Ruby broke his nose in a collision. George Perry for City played at outstanding game at five eighths for City in their win. Ray Lawless made his debut in the forward pack for Richmond as a promoted junior but did not become a regular in the senior side for 2 more season. Lou Brown was in attendance, back in New Zealand for a break before returning to England to continue playing for Wigan. He was said to be impressed with the City performance. Hector Cole made a rare performance for Ponsonby, replacing Cyril Thompson at five eighth. He had only played 3 games in 1927 and 4 in 1928 following his 15 appearances for New Zealand on their 1926-27 tour of England. The team was short in the backline and he was asked to play having had no training but played well.
William Shortland, an ex-Maori All Black transferred to City Rovers and made his debut for them. He had previously represented North Auckland at the halfback position. Shortland was said to have played a âÂÂsterling game, demonstrating that the thirteen-a-side code suited his particular type of playâÂÂ. Pat Skelton also transferred from rugby where he had been playing five eighth for the Grammar Old Boys club. He joined the Ponsonby side and scored a try on debut and also set up their second try for Bill Skelton (no relation). Their match was originally scheduled to be played on the number one field as a curtain-raiser but was transferred to the number two field as the former was in a poor condition however the number two ground âÂÂsoon became a sea of mudâÂÂ. The Marist and Ellerslie match at the Auckland Domain was postponed as the field was deemed unfit for play. The condition of Carlaw Park was so bad that it was discussed at the management committee meeting later in the week and it was decided that conditions needed to be improved for players immediately.
The Minister of Education, Hon. Harry Atmore was present at the Carlaw Park games. In Newton's loss to Devonport their forward Ferguson collided with the goalpost in trying to tackle S Casey as he scored and was taken off with a suspected broken rib. A good crowd gathered at Ellerslie Reserve to watch the local team play Ponsonby on a heavy ground. At Devonport the Newton side arrived with just nine players but managed to use some lower grade players to increase their numbers. They had lost the services of ex-internationals Craddock Dufty, Wally Somers, Trevor Hall, and Roy Hardgrave in recent weeks. Devonport almost took pity on them towards the end of the game and declined to take the conversion attempt to one of their tries. R.D. Revell transferred from Ponsonby to Kingsland during the week and debuted for his new side in their win over Richmond.
Trevor Hanlon, who had played fullback for Richmond since 1924 was signed by Broughton Rangers in England. He was due to depart on the Ruahine on August 21. He played 21 games for Broughton in the 1929-30 season scoring 4 tries. He ended up not being selected in their senior side at all the following season and fell on hard times in England needing financial assistance from Auckland rugby league to return home the following season. Richmond was held scoreless for the third consecutive match. The match at Mt Wellington was the first ever senior match played there making it the 23rd venue for senior rugby league matches in Auckland since 1908.
With their win at the Auckland Domain, Marist won the Thistle Cup which was awarded to the team with the best record in the second round of the championship. Aside from that trophy the game was of no real consequence and there was talk of not playing it but Ellerslie turned out with several juniors. They competed quite well in the first half but in the second half were getting routed before the match was ended early. Dick Moisley who generally played in the forwards turned out at fullback for them with Hec Brisbane and Charles Gregory partnered in the five eighths, outside halfback Wilf Hassan. Ellerslie fielded new players Scott at fullback and brought up their third grade hooker, Arthur, to compete with future New Zealand hooker, Gordon Campbell. He was said to have performed well under the circumstances.
The Round 6 match which was postponed saw Richmond default to Kingsland.
An enormous crowd of 11,000 turned out to watch the final. Typically the championship was decided without the need for a final but with the teams level one was required to find the winner. It was played in sunshine and intermittent rain but the players were in ankle deep mud. Frank Delgrosso captained the Ponsonby side from first five eighth to their fifth championship. Devonport had been seeking to go back to back after winning the 1928 title which was their third. George Gardiner played a strong game for the winners and scored their only try.
Marist won the Roope Rooster for the second consecutive year after defeating Ponsonby 17âÂÂ9 in the final.
Arnold Berridge joined Richmond after transferring from rugby where he had been an Auckland representative player. Berridge played 16 games for Auckland from 1927 to 1929 and then moved back to rugby union the following season and played 12 more times for Auckland from 1930 to 1933. He kicked 4 penalties on debut against Devonport in a 17âÂÂ12 victory. For Richmond, the 28 year old representative soccer player Albert Whowell also took the field and basically said that he didn't know much about the league game but said he'd "give it a fly". In the match between Ponsonby and Newton, Harvey White (the Ponsonby fullback) had to leave the field with a broken collarbone early in the second half and was taken to Auckland Hospital by Ambulance. Hammond then left the field with an injured neck and went to hospital and Ken Peckham followed him soon after, also injured and needing to go to hospital. At the end of the match the well known Ponsonby forward Dooley Moore dislocated his knee. Ken Peckham's brother Tim Peckham debuted for Richmond when he came on for Agnew before halftime who was injured. Puti Tipene Watene arrived late for City but came on after quarter of an hour to play in their backline bringing their number to 13. A player named Smith was promoted for Devonport from their juniors to play at fullback and was said to have struggled. It was most likely this was 18 year old Dick Smith who (officially) debuted for their senior side two years later and would go on to represent New Zealand.
For Marist, their winger McDonald scored one of their five tries. He was an ex-Poverty Bay rugby representative. City rallied well to tie the scores at 7-7 before Marist ran away with it. George Batchelor the Marist winger scored a spectacular try from halfway rounding several City backs and then swerved infield to score under the posts. For City, Joe Hadley went off with a sprained ankle and then 25 year old William Shortland, a well known MÃÂori rugby player from Northland who had joined the side during the year was concussed and left the field. He was taken to Auckland Hospital by ambulance but his condition was not serious. For Marist Wilf Hassan at halfback played very well. As well as going on to represent New Zealand he became the two time New Zealand diving champion in the early 1930's.
It was charity day at Carlaw Park and despite there being other attractions on a significant crowd of 7,000 turned up at Carlaw Park for the Roope Rooster final. Marist won their second consecutive Roope Rooster trophy following their 1928 win which was their first. Their current and future internationals Charles Gregory, Jim O'Brien, Alan Clarke, Wilf Hassan scored their tries along with centre Phil Brady. Ponsonby scored three unconverted tries in response. After George Gardiner scored early in the second half Frank Delgrosso missed and easy conversion and then Ponsonby winger Scholfield scored to level the scores with Pat Skelton missing the conversion to give them the lead. Marist then retook the lead with a try to Alan Clarke with Wilf Hassan rounding things off with another try. Of the eight tries scored only one conversion was landed. Delgrosso was said to have played an uncharacteristically poor game at fullback after being injured early in the game. Towards the end he transferred up to the five eighths. Also late in the game tempers began to flare between the teams and Dooley Moore, the versatile Ponsonby player, today at halfback, was said to have pulled H Duane around and when Duane retaliated by throwing punches Duane was sent off.
Frank Delgrosso the Ponsonby captain went off in the second half with an injured knee which he had suffered the previous week in their Roope Rooster final loss. He was replaced in the position by Dooley Moore who left the forward pack. When Charles Gregory saw that Moore had moved to the position he repeatedly kicked deep and Moore struggled to get to the ball. George Batchelor the Marist winger scored four tries, one of which was a penalty try after he was held back by Winters. In this era such tries were awarded to the obstructed player. A McIntyre, the Ponsonby halfback injured his ankle and required treatment after the game. Marist also suffered from injuries and regular players Hec Brisbane, Jock Graham, and Dick Moisley all were unavailable. The only Ponsonby player who had been unavailable was Bill Skelton through injury. Jim Johnson made a return to the Marist forward pack after an absence and he was joined by Fleet, a Ponsonby rugby senior who had played 6 games for them during the year.
Top try and point scorers for A Division, Roope Rooster and Stormont Shield matches. Phil Brady of Marist Old Boys (Saints) was the top try scorer with 13 closely followed by A. Schofield and A.S. McIntyre of Ponsonby who both scored 12.
The Round 5 match between Northcote and MÃÂngere resulted in a win to the former team but the actual score was not stated. The standings include the final played between à ÂtÃÂhuhu and Point Chevalier, won by the latter by 13 points to 10.
In the first round of the season MÃÂngere began their match with à ÂtÃÂhuhu with just ten players, though had reached thirteen near halftime. It was the first time league had been played on the newly acquired MÃÂngere Domain.
On 8 May at the Management Committee meeting Northcote requested that the opening round match in the Senior B competition be awarded to them on account of Richmond B defaulting. However the league said that the match would be replayed at the end of the season if it would affect the outcome of the competition.
The Round 8 match between Otahuhu and Point Chevalier was held at Papatoetoe at the Papatoetoe Recreation Ground which was the first senior match played in the area. Around 1,000 spectators turned up to watch the match. Otahuhu won a close fought match 10âÂÂ6.
After Round 10 was completed the Auckland Rugby League decided that the match between Point Chevalier and Otahuhu would decide the championship. The match was played on Carlaw Park and saw Point Chevalier win by 13 points to 10.
Ellerslie had come last in the A Grade for the second year in a row. Though unlike the previous season where they had won 3 matches in 1929 they were winless after battling injuries and the loss of players. However they managed to defeat Point Chevalier, who had won the B Grade by 5 points to 0 and thus remain in the A Grade for the 1930 season. McPherson, a forward for Point Chevalier suffered a leg injury with an artery said to be severed but he was later discharged from Auckland Hospital. For Ellerslie Craddock Dufty played his first game for about a month and kicked a penalty. The only try of the game was scored by Ellerslie's Arthur.
Richmond won the Davis Shield for lower grade points accumulated once again. They would dominate this trophy throughout the 1920s and 30s.
Devonport won the championship after sealing it in round 14 with a 12-0 win over Kingsland. Mount Albert finished runner up just 1 point behind. Mount Albert won the knockout competition when they defeated Devonport on September 28. Mangere had entered a team in the competition but withdrew after defaulting their first two games. The amalgamated New Lynn and Glen Eden club (Glen Lynn) entered a team in the knockout competition, drawing with Newton 6-6, before losing to Ponsonby 18-0. The knockout competition was won by Mount Albert United.
Richmond won the championship after they beat Glen Lynn in the final by 2 points to 0 a Carlaw Park on August 17. Richmond also won the knockout competition with a 18-0 win over Ellerslie in the final on September 21. They had beaten Ponsonby B by default a week earlier while Ellerslie had upset Kingsland 11-5 in the other. Ellerslie had surprisingly made it to the final after only winning two matches during the championship. The majority of the results were reported and the final standings were published in the newspaper which was very unusual in these early decades.
The championship was won by Devonport, 3 points ahead of Akarana. The knockout competition was won by Newmarket 7 to 6 on September 28, though the score was also reported as 10-6. Devonport had beaten City by default in one semi final while Newmarket won the other semi final 12-2 against Akarana. Newton entered a team in the competition but they withdrew without playing a game, while Mount Albert withdrew after 10 rounds having only played 7 games.
Devonport won the championship undefeated with 16 wins from 16 games, scoring 356 points and only conceding 32. Richmond were runners up 9 further points back. Devonport reportedly won the knockout competition when they beat Richmond 12-5 in the final on October 19. Devonport had won their semi final 6-0 over Akarana, while Richmond beat Kingsland 7-6 in the other semi final. However the Sun newspaper reported that Akarana won the knockout competition on March 29, 1930. Mt Wellington withdrew from the championship after 9 rounds while Remuera withdrew also after playing 9 games but in the 12 rounds having defaulted for 3 weeks.
Richmond won the championship and also the knockout competition. They defeated Marist 14-9 in the knockout final on 21 September following a semi final win over Point Chevalier by 14 points to 4 while Marist had beaten Kingsland in the other semi final. Otahuhu had initially entered a side but failed to take the field and withdrew after round 1. A table was published in the newspapers after 7 rounds however many of the results in the second half of the season were not reported so the final standings are incomplete.
Richmond won the championship ahead of Otahuhu and Marist. Otahuhu won the knockout competition when they beat Richmond 11-6 in the final on October 12. Otahuhu had beaten City in one semi final while Richmond beat Kingsland 11-0 in the other semi final. The standings were reported after 8 rounds but the final standings were not reported and many results were also not reported so the following table is incomplete.
Richmond B won the championship with a remarkable point scoring record of 657 points scored with the majority of their wins coming at 0 points conceded. They also won the Milicich knockout final when they beat Northcote 16-2 on September 28. They had beaten Newton 5-3 in their semi final, while Northcote defeated Point Chevalier 2-0 in the other semi final. The championship standings were reported after 8 rounds and again at the conclusion of the season. The team featured future New Zealand international Noel Bickerton.
Newmarket won the championship. They also won the knockout competition when they beat Mangere 25-5 in the final on October 12. At the end of the season in early November a seven team knockout tournament was held at Carlaw Park with proceeds going to the purchase of jerseys. Newmarket defeated Mangere in the final by 6 points to 0 to complete a remarkable season for the side.
The Auckland Junior representative side that played South Auckland included future Kiwi Albert Laing, and Auckland representative cricket wicket keeper Horace Hunt. The full side was as follows: Albert Laing (Devonport), B. Munroe (Mount Albert), G Jacobs (Mount Wellington), H. Tate (Devonport), T Davis (Richmond), C. Dunn (Richmond), F. Martin (Kingsland), Harvey White (Ponsonby), D. Kirwan (Mount Albert), Horace Hunt (Devonport), Herb Lunn (Ponsonby), H. Forbes (Kingsland), J. Hawkes (Devonport). Reserves: J. Ragg (Newton), C. Jamieson, K. Sheddon (Remuera), F. Joy (Newton), F. Hemmingson (Grey Lynn).
The selectors for the season were the same as last year, Edwin V. Fox, Ernie Asher, and Bert Avery. The Auckland team played three matches and defended the Northern Union Challenge Cup against South Auckland, Northland, and Canterbury. Auckland played three matches between July 27 and August 24, all for the Northern Union Challenge Cup. They saw them defeat South Auckland in a hard-fought 11âÂÂ8 result, the newly formed Northland representative team by a narrow 22âÂÂ19 margin, and Canterbury comfortably by 47 points to 18. The representative season was finished with a match between the North Island and South Island won by the latter 22 to 13. Unlike in previous years the North Island team featured several players from outside of Auckland, mainly from the Waikato region.
W. Shortland had been named to play for Auckland but was left out of the side at the last minute as he was not eligible to play. The reason being that he had only recently switched codes and had not played 3 matches yet for his club. Huatahi Paki (who is pictured) broke his ribs during the match. Lindsay Simons, who was on debut for Auckland at fullback went off injured with Frank Delgrosso moving into that position and Ted Mincham coming on in his Auckland debut. Auckland won the match narrowly by 11 points to 8 before a crowd of 10,000 at Carlaw Park.
The Northland team was coached by Maurice Wetherill and included Ted Meyer as captain who went on to become a New Zealand representative in 1930. He had previously played rugby union for North Auckland and the North Island. Puti Tipene (Steve) Watene was on debut for Auckland. Victor Fagan, the Ponsonby forward also made his one and only appearance for Auckland. His son Jack Fagan was Kiwi #401 and played 17 tests for New Zealand from 1961 to 1965.
The Canterbury side was coached by former Ponsonby, Auckland, and New Zealand player, Thomas McClymont.
Len Scott was injured during the match and replaced by Allan Seagar for the North Island while for the South Island Jim Sanders was injured and replaced by Doogan. In past years the North Island team was dominated by players from the Auckland competition however the North Island team on this occasion featured players from outside Auckland such as Dick Trautvetter, Bob Stephenson, Joe Menzies and Tom Timms from the Waikato (South Auckland) side, and Ted Meyer and T Bergan from Northland.