1916 Auckland Rugby League season

The 1916 Auckland Rugby League season was the 8th year of the organisation. All grades were dramatically affected by players enlisting in the war efforts. Prior to the commencement of the season it was stated in the management committee meeting that 487 players in the Auckland district alone had committed to the war effort.[1] Teams were filled with older players and juniors. The Otahuhu senior team as was noted at their committee meeting featured “only three men eligible for military service..., and these were all registered and waiting to be called up. Of the remainder, six were married men with families, two were permanent force men, and four were under military age”.[2]

Despite this attendances were still good, with the mid season match between City Rovers and Grafton Athletic at Victoria Park attracting 3,000 spectators. While the Round 7 fixtures at Victoria Park drew the same number of spectators and 4,000 attending the round 8 matches. All the gate takings were donated to the Children's Hospital Ward Equipment Fund.[3] The final round saw over 4,000 attend Victoria Park where City Rovers won the title with a 14 points to 10 win over Grafton Athletic.[4] City also went on to win the end of season knockout Roope Rooster competition.

Owing to the effects of the war on playing strength and out of respect for the tremendous war effort there were no representative matches played in 1916, though City Rovers did play the Lower Waikato in two exhibition fixtures (home and away), and Richmond Rovers and Thames Old Boys (based in Auckland) traveled to Thames to play a match at the season end.

Preceded by
1915
8th Auckland Rugby League season
1916
Succeeded by
1917

Season news

End of season report

At the end of the 1916 season a report was made on the season and it was presented to the Auckland Rugby League annual meeting in May 1917. It stated that the playing ranks had been severely depleted over the past season as over 600 players had joined the ranks of the military to fight in the first world war. There were 42 teams in total to compete across six grades (7 in the senior grade, 5 in second grade, 9 in third grade, 7 in the fourth grade, 8 in the fifth grade, and 6 in the sixth grade). Fourteen clubs were affiliated to the Auckland Rugby League with over 800 players in total. The Mangere, Remuera, and Northcote clubs withdrew from the competition due to so many of their players going to war.

Significantly they secured the option of the Chinamen's gardens just off Stanley Street and this was to later be turned into Carlaw Park.[5]

It was suggested that the newly-formed Garrison Artillery Club enter a first grade team however as there were already 6 teams competing there was a fear that it would weaken the existing teams. Otahuhu asked for Auckland Rugby League to request a special Saturday afternoon “train to be run to bring players, spectators and the general public to Otahuhu or Saturday afternoons” during the season.[6]

Death of Graham Cook and Frank McWhirter in WW1

Graham Cook and Frank McWhirter, who had played first grade football for Ponsonby United (Cook 1915, McWhirter 1914-15) were both killed while fighting in World War I in France. McWhirter had played representative football for Auckland against Thames and Waikato in 1915. The two had been childhood friends, both attending Ponsonby school, and then going on to work for the Auckland Gas Company. They also enlisted on the same day. Frank McWhirter was killed on July 9, 1916 at the Somme in northern France and is buried at Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery, Armentieres, France.[7] Graham Cook was also killed at the Somme on July 11, 1916 in France. He is buried at the Bailleul Communal Cemetery And Extension in Bailleul, France.[8][9]

First grade championship

Thirty matches were played during the season with the 20 being played at Victoria Park. The Devonport Domain hosted the 5 North Shore Albions home matches, while Otahuhu hosted 5 matches.

Final standings and fixtures

Team Pld W D L F A Pts
City Rovers 108111125717
North Shore Albions 107121345715
Grafton Athletic 105051018510
Ponsonby United 10415101869
Otahuhu 1021645955
Newton Rangers 10208621754

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Newton had trouble fielding a full team for their match with Ponsonby and ultimately played with 11, with the 28 to 3 defeat being unsurprising.

Round 5

Round 6

The point scoring phenomenon Karl Ifwersen was missing for Grafton and possibly as a result Newton pulled off a massive upset when they defeated Grafton by 8 points to 3. Newton had conceded 73 points and scored just 11 over their previous two matches.

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Otahuhu despite playing at home were two men short for their match with Newton and went down 8 points to 4.

Round 10

Roope Rooster knockout competition

There were 3,000 spectators in attendance at the Round 1 matches at Victoria Park.[37] There were 3,000 in attendance again for the semi final between City Rovers and Ponsonby United, again played at Victoria Park in muddy conditions. As the result was a draw it meant that the teams and Auckland Rugby League had to decide on how to proceed with the competition. The eventual decision was for Ponsonby to advance to the final and City Rovers to play Newton in a second semi final. City defeated Newton and then in the final they defeated Ponsonby United in front of almost 5,000 spectators.

Round 1

Semi finals

Final

Top point and try scorers

The following point scoring lists include both Senior Championship matches and the Roope Rooster competition. Karl Ifwersen was the top point scorer for the third consecutive year with 58 points. He also topped the try scoring list with 8.

Lower grade clubs

The Telegraph Messengers Club nominated a team for the Sixth Grade. They were usually named Post and Telegraph in the media reports during the season.

End of season exhibition matches

The week after the final was played a City Rovers organised side consisting of players from City, Newton, Grafton, and North Shore travelled to Ngaruawahia to play Lower Waikato. City won by 13 points to 9. A week later Richmond and Thames Old Boys (based in Auckland) traveled to Thames to play a match. It was won by Thames Old Boys by 11 to 5.[42]

The last match of the season was played on 9 September when City Rovers played against Lower Waikato at Victoria Park. City Rovers won by 19 points to 8. This brought the Auckland Rugby League season to a close. The curtain-raiser was a match between the Referees Association and Auckland rugby league players and was won by the referees by 10 points to 5.[43]

Representative fixtures

There were no representative fixtures played in 1916 owing to the effects of the war on senior playing numbers.

References

  1. "Big Entry of Teams". Auckland Star. XLVII (107). 4 May 1916. p. 7. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  2. "Otahuhu Club". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16225). 10 May 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  3. "City Defeats North Shore". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16277). 10 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  4. "Senior Championship/Won by City Rovers/City Defeats Grafton/North Shore V Newton/Ponsonby V Otahuhu". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16289). 24 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  5. "Auckland Rugby League/Past Season Reviewed". The New Zealand Herald. LIV (16526). 30 April 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  6. "Arrangements for Saturday". The New Zealand Herald. LIII. 10 May 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  7. "Frank McWhirter". Auckland Museum. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  8. "Graham Walker Cook". Auckland Museum. 14 January 2020. p. 1. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  9. "Private Graham W. Cook". Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 204. 26 August 1916. p. 6. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  10. "Grafton's Easy Win". The New Zealand Herald. LIII. 15 May 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  11. "Opening of Season/City Defeats Ponsonby". The New Zealand Herald. LIII. 15 May 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  12. "North Shore v Otahuhu". The New Zealand Herald. LIII. 15 May 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  13. "North Shore v Ponsonby". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16235). 22 May 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  14. "City's Close Call". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16235). 22 May 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  15. "Otahuhu Beats Grafton". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16235). 22 May 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  16. "Otahuhu Beats Newton". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16241). 29 May 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  17. "City and North Shore Leading". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16241). 29 May 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  18. "City and North Shore Draw". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16241). 29 May 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  19. "Grafton Beats North Shore". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16253). 12 June 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  20. "Grafton Beats City". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16259). 19 June 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  21. "North Shore V Newton". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16259). 19 June 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  22. "Otahuhu V Ponsonby". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16259). 19 June 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  23. "Newton Defeats Grafton". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16265). 26 June 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  24. "North Shore's Easy Win". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16265). 26 June 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  25. "City V Ponsonby". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16265). 26 June 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  26. "North Shore Beats "Ponies"/Old Rivals Display Bad Spirit". Auckland Star. XLVII (157). 3 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  27. "Strong Challenge to Grafton". Auckland Star. XLVII (157). 3 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  28. "City Vanquish Newton Comfortably". Auckland Star. XLVII (157). 3 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  29. "City Defeats North Shore/City Rovers V North Shore/Grafton V Ponsonby/Newton V Otahuhu". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16277). 10 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  30. "Newton V Otahuhu". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16277). 10 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  31. "Grafton V North Shore". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16283). 17 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  32. "Club Competitions/Grafton V North Shore/City Rovers V Otahuhu/Ponsonby V Newton". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16283). 17 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  33. "City Rovers V Otahuhu". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16283). 17 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  34. "Won by City Rovers/City Defeats Grafton". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16289). 24 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  35. "North Shore V Newton". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16289). 24 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  36. "Ponsonby V Otahuhu". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16289). 24 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  37. "Fight for the Silver Cock/Ponsonby Takes Revenge/Merited Win From Shore/Newton Win and Grafton Default". Auckland Star. XLVII (181). 30 September 1916. p. 6. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  38. "Roope's Rooster/Ponsonby V North Shore/Newton Defeats Otahuhu". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16295). 31 July 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  39. "Roope's Rooster/City V Ponsonby". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16301). 7 August 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  40. "Roope Rooster Match/City Defeats Newton". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16037). 14 August 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  41. "Roope Rooster Competition/Won by City Rovers/City Defeats Ponsonby". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16313). 21 September 1916. p. 3. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  42. "Excursion to Thames/Richmond V Old Boys". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16325). 4 September 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  43. "Waikato v City Rovers/The Season Closed". The New Zealand Herald. LIII (16331). 11 September 1916. p. 10. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  44. "City V Lower Waikato". New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16319. 28 August 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  45. "The League Game/Excursion to Thames/Richmond V Old Boys". New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16325. 4 September 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  46. "Lower Waikato in Auckland". Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 217. 11 September 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
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