1923 Auckland Rugby League season

The 1923 season of the Auckland Rugby League was its 15th. The First Grade competition featured 7 teams with the Fire Brigade club who featured in it in 1922 not entering a team.

Preceded by
1922
15th Auckland Rugby League season
1923
Succeeded by
1924

First grade winners

City Rovers won their 6th championship title and the 3rd in succession after defeating Athletic 8–7 in the final. With a round to play City was only 2 competition points ahead of Athletic so it was decided to play a final to decide the champions. The match was played on Carlaw Park in front of an enormous crowd of 11,500 with £325 received in gate takings.[1] City were the second team to win three consecutive titles after Ponsonby United had won the competition in 1917, 1918, and 1919. It was to be 61 years until it happened again with Mt Albert winning the title from 1984–86 before Northcote won 4 titles from 1991–94, Glenora 3 titles from 1997–99, and Pt Chevalier won 3 titles from 2013–15.

Ponsonby won the Roope Rooster Knockout competition for the second straight year and their third time in the competitions history after defeating City Rovers 14–3 in the final.

Representative team

The Auckland representative team played 5 matches for 4 wins and a 20–20 draw. The draw was arguably the most significant result as it was in a match for the Northern Union Challenge Cup against South Auckland. Auckland had lost the cup to the same opposition the previous season and as the match was drawn South Auckland retained it. The two teams met again at the end of the season at Carlaw Park which Auckland won convincingly however the cup was not being played for as it was only defended at the holders home ground.

Manukau rugby league team

Near the end of the season the Manukau and Mangere clubs sent a letter to the Auckland Rugby League which was read at the management committee meeting on 29 August. It stated that the two clubs had decided to amalgamate and would enter a team in the senior grade the following year provided permission was granted, which it was. The Manukau club is the Manukau club of today, though the Mangere club is not related to the modern day Mangere East who were not founded until 1963. The Manukau club were located in their early decades in the Onehunga area before moving much later to their current location at Moyle Park.

Obituary

William Southernwood

William Southernwood was a Ponsonby first grade player from 1918 until the start of the 1923 season. He tragically drowned on the night of 31 March, 1923 when the boat he owned (the launch, Lorraine) capsized while attempting to cross the Tairua Bar. He had been at the Whitanga Regatta during the afternoon and as he attempted to enter Tairua in strong winds and heavy seas the boat was struck by a large wave capsizing it. It was struck by 3 more breaking waves and smashed to pieces. Southernwood was in the engine room at the time and was never seen again. Also onboard was Bill Walsh, his Ponsonby team mate and current Kiwi player. Walsh had his legs tangled in fishing line and after falling into the water was saved by Silston Cory-Wright who was in another vessel. He entered the water and cleared his legs of the fishing line, and used a benzine tin to keep them afloat until they could be rescued. Walsh was in a poor state by this time. He then put a lifebelt over his shoulders and kept him up until they could be pulled in. They then needed to be "rubbed for nearly an hour to bring them round". Three other men lost their lives on board the Lorraine, H Chappell, T Culhan, and N Robson. Another man, Alex Rolandson was on another vessell (Elida) which in trying to assist them he fell overboard and also drowned.[2][3][4] Prime Minister William Massey telegraphed to Tairua his sincere sympathy from himself and his wife for the bereaved relatives.[5] Walsh recovered sufficiently and was able to assume the position of club captain which he had been elected to for the 1923 season.[6] On the one year anniversary of Southernwood's death the Ponsonby Rugby League Football Club placed a memoriam notice in the Auckland Star "In memory of our club mate (Billy) W Southernwood, accidentally drowned, launch disaster Tairua, March 31, 1923".[7]

Monteith Shield (first grade championship)

The 1923 First Grade Championship was arguably the most keenly fought in the competitions history to this point with three teams in the hunt for the title up until the last two weeks. Marist Old Boys who were in a good position to win the title lost in the 12th and 13th rounds and bowed out of contention, leaving City Rovers and Athletics to contend. It was ultimately won by City Rovers who finished the season with a 10 win and 2 loss record, as did Athletic, with a final being required to determine the winner. City won by the narrowest of margins 8–7 to go back to back.

Final standings

Team Pld W D L F A Pts
City Rovers 1311022287222
Athletic 1310031808720
Marist Old Boys 1290217010818
Devonport United 1260613514112
Ponsonby United 124081181798
Newton Rangers 122010851834
Richmond Rovers 121011932392

A final was played between City Rovers and Athletic after the round robin to decide the title with City winning 8 points to 7 in front of 11,500 spectators at Carlaw Park.

First grade fixtures

The First Grade season was particularly close right until the end. In the final round the step was made to play both games on Carlaw Park number 1 field for the first time (usually one match was always played on the number 2 field at the same time). If Athletics had defeated City Rovers in the main match they would have won the championship for the first time however they lost to City which forced a final to be played the following week between the same two teams and City were again victorious to claim their 3rd straight championship.

round 1

Round 2

Round 3

round 4

Round 5

Round 6

round 7

Round 8

Ponsonby defaulted their match with Newton after they could only manage 8 players.

Round 9

round 10

Richmond defaulted their match with City as they had a large number of players injured or ill.

round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

The match between City and Athletic saw two forwards ordered off, one from each team. Hec McDonald the future Kiwi debuted for City in the match after being drawn to Auckland from the Waikato.

championship final

Roope Rooster knockout competition

The Roope Rooster competition was interesting as Ponsonby went on to win it despite being un-competitive in the First Grade competition. Thomas McClymont and Bill Walsh emerged from retirement, and Ivan Littlewood transferred back to the club from Waikato where he had moved, to bolster their team for the Roope Rooster competition. They defeated Richmond and Marist comprehensively before beating a slightly weakened City team (with Maurice Wetherill suffering from influenza, and Bill Davidson with a leg injury) in the final 14–8.

Round 1

Athletic had a forward ordered off early in their match with Devonport United but still managed to lead at halftime before conceding the lead and the match in the second half.

Semi finals

Final

Top try scorers and point scorers

These lists include tries and points scored in the First Grade competition and the Roope Rooster competition only. A Godick of the Devonport who scored 6 tries during the season later moved to Fiji to live and help promote the game of rugby union in the islands there.[57]

Other club matches and lower grades

Athletic v Wednesday representative team

During the season a Wednesday afternoon competition was played and it was decided to play a match between Athletic who had a bye and a representative team from that competition as curtain-raiser to the City RoversMarist Old Boys match.

Labour Day Carnival and charity sevens tournament

On 20 October there was a carnival held at Carlaw Park with 7 a-side football on one field and seven-a-side rugby league on the other. There were three first round matches played with Richmond, Athletic A, and Devonport victorious. Richmond received a bye in the semi-finals and met Athletic in the final who they defeated 5 points to 0.

The following weekend another seven-a-side tournament was held at Carlaw Park to raise money for the Takapuna Orphanage which was destroyed by fire. Unfortunately the weather was particularly bad in the morning which had an effect on the attendance with only 1,000 spectators. The teams were supposed to composed of senior players but in reality were largely made up of junior players.

Seven-a-side carnival results
Date Score Score Venue
First Round 20 Oct [59] Richmond2Athletic B0Carlaw Park
First Round 20 OctAthletic A5Marist Old Boys3Carlaw Park
First Round 20 OctDevonport10Ponsonby6Carlaw Park
Semi Final 20 OctAthletic A6Devonport3Carlaw Park
Final 20 OctRichmond5Athletic A0Carlaw Park
Seven-a-side tournament results
Date Score Score Venue Attendance
First Round 27 Oct [60] Devonport21Athletic3Carlaw Park1,000
First Round 27 OctPonsonby9City0Carlaw Park
Semi Final 27 OctDevonport14Marist Old Boys8Carlaw Park
Final 27 OctDevonportWBDPonsonbyLBDCarlaw Park

Lower grade clubs

There were 6 lower grades in 1923, though the sixth grade was split into A and B divisions once again, and one of the grades was a cadets grade.

Grades were made of the following teams with the winning team in bold:

  • Second Grade: Athletic, City, Devonport, Ellerslie, Epsom, Ihumatao (misspelled as Ihumata in the newpapers), Kingsland, Mangere, Marist Old Boys, Newton, Otahuhu, Ponsonby, and Richmond
  • Third Grade: City, Coromandel, Devonport, Ellerslie, Ihumatao, Kingsland, Manukau, Marist, Parnell, Point Chevalier, Ponsonby, Richmond, and Victoria Cruising Club.
  • Fourth Grade: Athletic, City, Devonport, Ellerslie, Kingsland, Mangere, Manukau, Marist, Newton, Otahuhu, Parnell
  • Fifth Grade: City, Manukau, Marist, Newton, Northcote, Point Chevalier, Richmond, and Takapuna
  • Sixth Grade A: Athletic, City A, Devonport, Ellerslie, Manukau, Marist, Otahuhu, Parnell A, Parnell B, Ponsonby A, Richmond
  • Sixth Grade B: Athletics, City, Ellerslie, Manukau Cruising Club, Marist Parnell, Ponsonby, Richmond
  • Cadet Competition: 22nd Company, 26th Company, 27th Company, 29th Company, 34th Company, 36th A Company, 36th B Company, 49th Company

Exhibition matches

Richmond traveled to Taumarunui towards the end of the season when they had a bye in the First Grade competition and were victorious against the local side by 14 points to 5. In Round 12 Athletic played a match against representatives of the Wednesday league which was a mid week league competition in Auckland as a curtain-raiser to the CityMarist game. Athletic won by 9 points to 5.

On 15 September the Athletic and Parnell 4th grade teams played a match in Whangarei which was the first time and organised game of rugby league had been played in the area. As both of the teams were composed of junior players, the game was not of a high standard and gained little interest.

List of Exhibition Matches
Date Score Score Venue Attendance
Exhibition Match 28 July [61] Taumarunui5Richmond14Taumarunui
Exhibition Match 15 Sep [62] Athletic 4th Grade11Parnell 4th Grade9Kensington Park, Whangarei
Exhibition Match 22 Sep [63] Ponsonby6City3Carlaw Park7,000

Representative season

The Auckland representative side played 5 matches. They started the season with a match against Wellington in which they ran up a huge score, winning by 71 points to 12. Their second match was played mid week against Hamilton, before two games against South Auckland and finishing the season with a game against an Auckland provincial team.

Auckland challenged South Auckland for the Northern Union Cup which it had lost to the same opponents in 2022. The match was drawn and so South Auckland retained the cup. Auckland later played an Auckland provincial team and won comfortably in front of 7,000 spectators on Carlaw Park. A curtain-raiser was played between the Referees Association and the Junior Advisory Board, and was won by the former by 10 points to 6. In the final full league fixture of the season Auckland played South Auckland again and were this time victorious 25 to 11.

Auckland v Wellington

Every single member of the Auckland team scored points aside from Bill Davidson which was ironic given that he was one of Auckland Rugby League's most prolific point scorers.

Auckland v Hamilton

In the match with Hamilton which, was played midweek, there were no players from the Ponsonby United and City Rovers clubs available as they were playing the Roope Rooster final on the following Saturday.

South Auckland v Auckland (Northern Union Challenge Cup)

Auckland v Auckland Province

Auckland v South Auckland

Auckland representative matches played and scorers

NoNameClub TeamPlayTriesConPenPoints
1Clarrie PolsonNewton Rangers559033
2Craddock DuftyAthletic447128
3Ben DavidsonCity Rovers260018
4A GodickDevonport232013
5Hec McDonaldCity Rovers23009
5Maurice WetherillCity Rovers23009
5Bert LaingDevonport United43009
8Wally SomersNewton Rangers42108
8Nelson BassMarist Old Boys52108
10Ivan LittlewoodPonsonby United21207
11Harry DouglasDevonport United42006
11Frank DelgrossoPonsonby United12006
13F WilsonCity Rovers30204
14Hec BrisbaneMarist Old Boys21003
14Jim O'BrienDevonport United31003
14Clarence WebbDevonport United31003
14StevensMarist Old Boys21003
14Richard StackNewton Rangers21003
14JohnstonDevonport United11003
14V ThomasCity Rovers31003
14Bill StormontMarist Old Boys21003
14W HanlonPonsonby United11003
23Wilson HallAthletic30102
24Billy GhentMarist Old Boys20000
24J McGregorAthletic10000
24G YardleyAthletic10000
24Bert AveryAthletic10000
24SherlockMarist Old Boys10000
24W ScottDevonport United10000
24M McNeilRichmond10000
24McDonaldRichmond20000
24Stan WebbRichmond20000

References

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