1929 Auckland Rugby League season
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 5–0. 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 17–9. They weren't finished yet, defeating the same opponent to win the Stormont Shield 28–14. 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 11–0 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.
Season News and Summary
Auckland Rugby League Management
The annual report for the completed 1928 season revealed that £3272 was taken in gate receipts from club matches alone at Carlaw Park. The total from all matches was £4573 with £517 paid to injured players. A further £609 1s 3d was spent on maintenance and improvement at Carlaw Park. Clubs were also granted £326 18s 5d and charitable causes received £142 10s 4d. League assets including Carlaw Park were reported as £10,569 16s 4d, with a consolidated fund of £9810 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 ‘lowered in status’ 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.
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.
New Clubs and Mergers
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. 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.
Rule Changes
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. “On occasions the ball traveled 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 them”.Player Losses
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. T. Hanlon of the Richmond club signed for Broughton Rangers club late in the season.Improvements to Carlaw Park
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 “increase the showers and add hot water installations”. The Devonport delegate said “his 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 ground”. 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 £12,000 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 “keen to assist players in providing better dressing rooms and offices where the League could centralise its business.
South Sydney Tour
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 10–9, before winning the return match 25–5.Obituaries
Leonard Neild
Leonard Neild who had refereed club and representative matches in Auckland for many years in the 1910s and 20s was killed in a car accident in Otorohanga on September 2. He also refereed test matches between New Zealand and England in 1920 and 1924. He was living in Ponsonby at the time of his death.Albert Ernest Powell
Albert Ernest Powell died on October 1 as a result of suicide. Powell had been joint manager of the New Zealand team which toured Australia in 1911, and was manager of the side again in 1919 which played Australia. He was the Auckland selector for many years up until 1926 and was made a life member at this point. He was also the time-keeper and press steward at Carlaw Park.Powell had served in the Boer War and World War 1. At the time of his death he was working as a mechanic for the Post and Telegraph Department. It was said that he had not shown any signs of depression but had been suffering from insomnia for quite some time. He left behind a widow, a daughter and 2 sons.Monteith Shield (First Grade Championship)
The Round 6 match between Richmond and Kingsland was postponed as Richmond had traveled to Hikurangi to play against the local team which was in its second season.Senior A Grade Standings
Senior A Grade Fixtures
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.Round 1
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 McLaughlin broke his nose and had to leave for treatment.Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
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.Round 6
Round 7
In the match between Marist and Devonport both E Ruby and Campney 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. Dufty then signed with Ellerslie where he had moved to earlier in the year. Cook was sent off in Ellerslie’s match for arguing with a referring decision.Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
W Shortland, an ex-Maori All Black transferred to City and made his debut for them. He had previously represented North Auckland at the halfback position. Shortland was said to have played a “sterling game, demonstrating that the thirteen-a-side code suited his particular type of play”. P 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 W Skelton. Their match was originally scheduled to be played on the number one field aa a curtain-raiser but was transferred to the number two field as the former was in a poor condition however the number two ground “soon became a sea of mud”. 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.Round 13
R.D. Revell transferred from Ponsonby to Kingsland during the week.Round 14
T Hanlon of the Richmond senior side was signed by Broughton Rangers in England. He was due to depart on the Ruahine on August 21.Postponed Round 12 Match
Postponed Round 6 Match
The Round 6 match which was postponed saw Richmond default to Kingsland.Final
Roope Rooster Knockout Competition
won the Roope Rooster for the second consecutive year after defeating Ponsonby 17-9 in the final.Round 1
A Berridge joined Richmond after transferring from rugby where he had been an Auckland representative player. He kicked 4 penalties on debut against Devonport in a 17-12 victory. In the match between Ponsonby and Newton White had to leave the field with a broken collarbone early in the second half. Hammond then left the field with and injured neck and K Peckham followed him soon after, also injured.Semi Final
Final
Stormont Memorial Shield
went off in the second half with an injured knee.Top Try Scorers and Point Scorers
Top try and point scorers for A Division and Roope Rooster matches. Frank Delgrosso became just the second player in the competition's history to pass the 100 point mark for matches played in the Monteith Shield and the Roope Rooster when he scored 108 for Ponsonby. The only previous player to do it was Bill Davidson who scored 117 points in 1922. By this point Delgrosso had scored 532 points in total for Ponsonby across all senior matches from 1919 to 1929 which was the most of any player who had played in Auckland to this point. Craddock Dufty was on 495 points however with both players still active they would continue to add to their tallies. Phil Brady of Marist was the top try scorer with 13 closely followed by Schofield of Ponsonby who scored 12.| Rank | Player | Team | Tries |
| 1 | Phil Brady | Marist Old Boys | 13 |
| 2 | Schofield | Ponsonby United | 12 |
| 3 | McIntyre | Ponsonby United | 11 |
| 4 | Winters | Ponsonby United | 9 |
| 4 | Roy Hardgrave | Newton Rangers | 9 |
| 4 | J Beattie | Devonport United | 9 |
| 4 | Len Scott | Devonport United | 9 |
| 8 | George Perry | City Rovers | 8 |
| 8 | R Carter | Kingsland Athletic | 8 |
| 8 | McDonald | Marist Old Boys | 8 |
| 11 | M Little | Newton Rangers | 7 |
| 11 | George Batchelor | Marist Old Boys | 7 |
| 11 | Graham | Marist Old Boys | 7 |
| 11 | Johnson | Marist Old Boys | 7 |
| 11 | Thompson | Ponsonby United | 7 |
| 14 | L O'Leary | Devonport United | 6 |
| 14 | Claude List | Kingsland Athletic | 6 |
| 14 | P Skelton | Ponsonby United | 6 |
| Rank | Player | Team | Tries | Con | Pen | Points |
| 1 | Frank Delgrosso | Ponsonby United | 4 | 36 | 12 | 108 |
| 2 | Charles Gregory | Marist Old Boys | 4 | 21 | 4 | 62 |
| 3 | Mincham | Richmond Rovers | 5 | 6 | 9 | 58 |
| 4 | Laurie Barchard | City Rovers | 4 | 14 | 2 | 44 |
| 5 | Phil Brady | Marist Old Boys | 13 | 0 | 0 | 39 |
| 6 | Schofield | Ponsonby United | 12 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 6 | Allan Seagar | Devonport United | 4 | 10 | 2 | 36 |
| 8 | Roy Hardgrave | Newton Rangers | 9 | 4 | 0 | 35 |
| 9 | McIntyre | Ponsonby United | 11 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
| 10 | Simons | Devonport United | 0 | 11 | 5 | 32 |
B Grade Standings and Results
Two results were unknown. The Round 5 match between Northcote and Mangere resulted in a win to the former team but the actual score was not stated. The Round 10 result between the same two teams was also not published. The standings include the final played between Otahuhu and Point Chevalier, won by the latter by 13 points to 10.Senior B Grade FixturesIn the first round of the season Mangere began their match with Otahuhu with just ten players, though had reached thirteen near halftime. It was the first time league had been played on the newly acquired Mangere 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 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 10–6. 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.
Senior A/Senior B Promotion-Relegation Matchhad 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.Stallard Cup Competition
Auckland Rugby League Lower Grades and Exhibition GamesLower GradesGrades were made of the following teams with the winning team in bold:
Representative SeasonThe 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 11-8 result, the newly formed Northland representative team by a narrow 22-19 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.Representative FixturesAuckland v South Auckland (Northern Union C.C.)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 broke his ribs during the match.Auckland v Northland (Northern Union C.C.)Auckland v Canterbury (Northern Union C.C.)Inter Island Matchwas injured during the match and replaced by Allan Seagar for the North Island while for the South Island 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 Ted Meyer, Dick Trautvetter, Bob Stephenson, Joe Menzies, Tom Timms, and T Bergan.Auckland Representative Matches Played and Points ScoredAnnual General Meetings and Club News
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