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1913 Auckland Rugby League season

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The 1913 Auckland Rugby League season was the 5th season of the Auckland Rugby league. It followed the 1912 Auckland Rugby League season.

The first grade competition began on 3 May with the same 6 teams that had competed in the 1912 season, however Manukau Rovers pulled out of the competition midway through the season as they struggled to put a full team on the field. The Eden Ramblers also pulled out at the same time. North Shore Albions were crowned champions for the first time.

Other clubs competing in lower grades were Otahuhu, Northcote Ramblers now known as the Northcote Tigers, and Ellerslie Wanderers, who later became known as the Ellerslie Eagles. A match was also played between Avondale and New Lynn in Avondale on 13 September. The match was won by New Lynn by 23 points to 8.

Preceded by 5th Auckland Rugby League season
1913
Succeeded by

Switching Codes

Karl Ifwersen switched from rugby union where he had been playing in Auckland and made his debut appearance for North Shore Albions. He was to go on to have a remarkable rugby league career and his scoring feats were un-rivalled through the 1910s in Auckland rugby league. While New Zealand representatives Graham Cook and Cecil King had moved from Wellington and made debut appearances for Newton Rangers.

Charles Savory Controversy

In a match involving Ponsonby and Manukau in Onehunga, Charles Savory was accused of kicking an opponent. The incident was not seen by the referee but an Auckland Rugby League official claimed to have seen it and as a result Savory was banned for life by Auckland Rugby League. Savory had been selected to play for New Zealand on their tour of Australia and as a result of the ban was unable to make the trip. When the evidence was presented to New Zealand League they said that the evidence was not sufficient to justify the penalty and refused to confirm it. Auckland Rugby League then decided to strike Savory off the list of registered players thus making him ineligible to play in Auckland. Auckland selector Ronald MacDonald chose Savory to play against Wellington in their match on 23 August but was told at an Auckland Rugby League meeting that he was ineligible and they questioned why he had chosen him to play. MacDonald replied "one reason is because he is one of the best forwards in the Dominion. What was he suspended for?". A lengthy discussion followed and MacDonald refused to withdraw Savory's name from selection and a motion was then passed that MacDonald be removed from his position as Auckland selector. This was carried unanimously with Mr Angus Campbell appointed selector, and Morgan Hayward chosen to replace Savory in the side for the match with Wellington.[1]

Death of a Player

Tragedy struck in May in a 3rd grade match between Ellerslie and Ponsonby when 26 year old Adolphus Theodore Bust was killed. The death occurred at Ellerslie. He was said to have collided with an opposing player and the two of them fell to the ground with a third player falling on top of them. The other two men rose to their feet to carry on playing but Bust remained stationary on the ground. Dr. Baber was called to attend from his residence in Remuera but he found that Bust's spinal cord was fractured near the base of the skull and he recommended he be taken to hospital however Bust's father decided to have him taken to his home in Ellerslie. He was unable to be revived and died at 8.30am the following morning.[2] After the incident the deceased father said he witnessed the incident and was satisfied that it was an accident. Martin Ellis, the player involved in the tackle said that he was running down the field and Bust was waiting to tackle him and had dived and caught Ellis by the legs but his neck struck him on the hip and they both fell to the ground. The coroner returned the verdict that nobody was to blame for the death.[3]

Myers Cup (First Grade Competition)

Eighteen regular season matches were played before North Shore Albions were awarded the title with a 5 win, 1 draw, 1 loss record.

Final Standings

Team Pld W D L F A Pts
North Shore Albions 7 5 1 1 80 55 11
Newton Rangers 7 4 0 3 117 53 8
City Rovers 7 3 2 2 60 46 8
Ponsonby United 7 4 0 3 103 65 8
Eden Ramblers 5 1 0 4 18 124 2
Manukau Rovers 5 0 1 4 21 56 1

Myers Cup Fixtures

Round 1

3 May North Shore 13–10 Newton Devonport Domain  
3:00 Try: Ridings, Karl Ifwersen, Stan Walters
Pen: George Seagar
Drop: Jim Griffin
[4] Try: Maher, Cecil King
Con: Joe Bennett
Pen: Joe Bennett


3 May Ponsonby 31–5 Eden Victoria Prak  
3:00 Try: Thomas McClymont, Charles Webb, Harry Fricker 3, Arthur Carlaw, Jim Clark, Charles Savory
Con: Charles Webb 4, Charles Savory
[5] Try: B Denyer
Con: Don Kenealy


3 May Manukau 3–3 City Onehunga Recreation Reserve  
3:00 Try: Pullen [6] Try: Sheehan

Round 2

10 May Newton 46–0 Eden Auckland Domain  
3:00 Try: George Cook 2, Ike Healey, Clark 5, Jim Bennett, Cecil King, Brennan, R Roope
Con: George Cook, A Tobin, Clarke, Jim Bennett, Cecil King
[7] Referee: Benson


10 May North Shore 9–9 City Devonport Domain  
3:00 Try: Jack Paul
Con: Karl Ifwersen
Pen: Karl Ifwersen 2
[8] Try: Watene
Con: Albert Asher
Pen: Albert Asher 2
Referee: Knox


10 May Manukau 3–20 Ponsonby Onehunga Recreation Reserve  
3:00 Try: unknown x 1 [9] Try: unknown x 6
Con: unknown x 1

Round 3

17 May City 6–5 Ponsonby Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Albert Asher, Watene [10] Try: Irvine
Pen: Charles Savory
Referee: A Ferguson


17 May North Shore 19–0 Eden Auckland Domain  
3:00 Try: Stan Weston 2, Jim Griffin, Haddon 2
Con: Jim Griffin 2
[11] Referee: W Murray


17 May Manukau 5–22 Newton Onehunga Recreation Reserve  
3:00 Try: unknown x 1
Con: unknown x 1
[12] Try: unknown x 6
Con: unknown x 2

Round 4

In the Ponsonby match with North Shore Harry Fricker was ordered off for striking an opponent. The act was missed by the referee but seen by the line umpire. The match between Manukau and Eden was reported as a win to Manukau and a win to Eden in differing reports.

24 May City 5–0 Newton Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Albert Asher
Pen: Albert Asher
[13] Attendance: 2500
Referee: A Ferguson


24 May North Shore 17–7 Ponsonby Devonport Domain  
3:00 Try: Stan Weston 2, Karl Ifwersen 2, Stan Walters
Con: E Rogers
[14] Try: unknown x 1
Con: unknown x 1
Pen: Charles Savory
Referee: Benson


24 May Manukau 10–11 Eden Onehunga Recreation Reserve  
3:00 Try: unknown x 2
Con: unknown x 2
[15] Try: unknown x 3
Con: unknown x 1

Round 5

Manukau defaulted their match to North Shore Albions. The later arrived in Onehunga to find that their opponents could not muster a team. Jim Rukutai and other prominent players were said to be suffering from influenza.[16] This was to be Manukau’s last game in the senior grade for decades as they forfeited the following week along with Eden and dropped out of the senior competition. Rukutai was diagnosed with small pox and was put into isolation in a Point Chevalier hospital.[17] However it was soon after realised that he was actually suffering from a severe case of chicken pox and he made a full recovery soon after. Eden were to cease playing as a club a few seasons later and never returned.


31 May Ponsonby 8–5 Newton Victoria Park  
3:00 Pen: Charles Webb
Drop: Charles Webb 3
[18] Try: George Cook
Con: Len Farrant
Attendance: 3000
Referee: E R Harker


31 May City 18–2 Eden Auckland Domain  
3:00 Try: unknown x 4
Con: unknown x 3
[19] Pen: unknown x 1


31 May Manukau LBD-WBD North Shore Onehunga Recreation Reserve  
3:00 [20]

Round 6

A somewhat unusual event occurred in the match between Ponsonby and North Shore when it was briefly suspended after a player from North Shore dropped his false teeth. He was inevitably subjected to some “good-natured banter from the crowd”.

7 June Ponsonby 22–12 North Shore Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Hayward, Charles Webb
Con: Charles Webb 2
Pen: Charles Webb
Drop: Charles Webb 2
[21] Try: Ernie Bailey, E Rogers
Con: George Seagar 2
Pen: George Seagar
Attendance: 4000
Referee: Knox


7 June Newton 17–12 City Auckland Domain  
3:00 Try: Clark, Jim Bennett, George Cook 3
Con: Tobin
[22] Try: Ormsby, Phillips
Con: Albert Asher 2
Pen: Albert Asher
Referee: Ferguson


7 June Manukau Double Forfeit Eden  
3:00 [23]

Round 7

With Manukau and Eden both disbanding their senior teams Pullen from Manukau transferred to North Shore and played for them, while Don Kenealy of Eden transferred and played for City.

14 June Newton 17–10 Ponsonby Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Tobin, Clark, A Healey
Con: George Cook 2
Pen: George Cook 2
[24] Try: Charles Dunning, McCallum
Con: Charles Webb 2
Attendance: 2000
Referee: A Ferguson


14 June North Shore 10–7 City Auckland Domain  
3:00 Try: Sheen, William Wynyard
Con: George Seagar 2
[25] Try: Ormsby
Con: Albert Asher
Pen: Albert Asher
Referee: Harker

Knockout Competition

After North Shore had won the championship the league decided to play a knockout competition between the four remaining teams. Newton and City both won their matches and progressed to the final.

Round 1

21 June Newton 17–0 North Shore Auckland Domain  
3:00 Try: Clarke 3, A Healey, Graham Cook
Con: Jim Bennett
[26] Attendance: 2000
Referee: J Fielding


21 June City 14–7 Ponsonby Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Dunkley, Watene
Con: Albert Asher
Pen: Albert Asher 3
[27] Try: McCallum
Pen: Charles Webb, Cross
Attendance: 3500
Referee: Murray

Knockout Final

City were joined by Jim Rukutai for the match following Manukau’s senior team disbanding.

5 July City 25–5 Newton Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Harold Denize, Don Kenealy 2, Robinson, Watene
Con: Albert Asher 4
Pen: Albert Asher
[28] Try: Bowen
Con: Graham Cook
Attendance: 3000
Referee: Knox

Top Scorers

A large number of matches did not have the scorers named meaning the following lists are incomplete. Points missing are as follows: Newton Rangers (22), City Rovers (18), Ponsonby United (25), Eden Ramblers (15), and Manukau Rovers (18). The scorers for the knockout matches are also included.

Thacker Shield

On 7 September North Shore Albions journeyed to Christchurch to play against Sydenham to play for the Thacker Shield. At the start of the season Dr. Thacker, president of the Canterbury league had presented the shield for competition amongst the senior clubs of Christchurch but he had stipulated that it was open to competition to any club in New Zealand. When North Shore won the Auckland championship they immediately issued a challenge to Sydenham. North Shore sent a strong team south but were without Karl Ifwersen and Stan Walters who were representing New Zealand against the touring New South Wales side.

7 September Sydenham 13–8 North Shore Albions Christchurch Showgrounds  
3:00 Try: Kirton, Smythe 2
Con: Smith 2
[29] Try: Pullen, Rogers
Con: George Seagar

Representative Season

1913 was a busy year for the Auckland representative team as they played 8 matches for a 7 win, 1 loss record. Their only defeat was against the touring New South Wales team.

The first representative fixture of the season was played on 28 June against a Country selection at Victoria Park, Auckland. Three thousand spectators attended and 117 pounds was collected. Further matches were played against Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Nelson, Canterbury, Wellington, and New South Wales. Auckland also played an exhibition match in Pukekohe against the Auckland club champions North Shore Albions.

Representative Matches

Auckland v Country Combined

28 June Auckland 10–8 Country Combined Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: George Cook, Jim Griffin
Con: George Seagar
Pen: George Seagar
[30] Pen: Dufty 4 Attendance: 3000
Referee: Harker

Auckland v Taranaki (Northern Union Cup)

1 July Auckland 24–8 Taranaki Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: George Cook], Charles Webb 2, Arthur Carlaw, Karl Ifwersen 2
Con: Charles Webb 3
[31] Try: Taylor 2
Pen: Hooker (mark)
Attendance: 5000
Referee: A Ferguson

Auckland V Hawke’s Bay (Northern Union Cup)

26 July Auckland 34–7 Hawke’s Bay Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Karl Ifwersen 4, Albert Asher, Harold Hayward, Stan Walters, Bob Mitchell
Con: Charles Webb, Karl Ifwersen 2
[32] Try: Jim Johnson
Con: A Morrison
Pen: A Morrison (mark)
Attendance: 5500
Referee: Benson

Auckland V Nelson (Northern Union Cup)

2 August Auckland 16–2 Nelson Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Alan Blakey, Karl Ifwersen 2, Albert Asher
Con: Charles Webb 2
[33] Pen: Taylor Attendance: 2500
Referee: George Frater

Auckland v Canterbury (Northern Union Cup)

9 August Auckland 48–12 Canterbury Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Stan Weston 3, Harold Hayward 3, Bob Mitchell 2, George Cook 2, Frank Woodward
Con: Charles Webb 4, Karl Ifwersen, Stan Walters
[34] Try: Stokes, Hardingham
Con: Shanks
Pen: Shanks 2
Attendance: 6000
Referee: E Harker

Auckland v North Shore Albions (exhibition match)

16 August Auckland 14–13 North Shore Albions Pukekohe  
3:00 Try: Thomas McClymont, Alan Blakey, Jim Clark, Harry Fricker
Con: Charles Webb
[35] Try: Stan Walters, Karl Ifwersen 2
Con: Karl Ifwersen, Jim Griffin
Attendance: 400
Referee: L Neald

Auckland v Wellington (Northern Union Cup)

23 August Auckland 12–11 Wellington Victoria Park  
3:00 Try: Karl Ifwersen, Stan Weston
Con: Charles Webb
Pen: Karl Ifwersen
Drop: Karl Ifwersen
[36] Try: James Barber 2, Finlayson
Con: George Bradley
Attendance: 7500
Referee: A Ferguson

Auckland v New South Wales

30 August Auckland 2–27 New South Wales Auckland Domain  
3:00 Pen: Karl Ifwersen [37] Try: Les Cubitt, Dan Frawley 2, Sid Deane 2, Con Sullivan, Billy Cann
Con: Dan Frawley, Howard Hallett 2
Attendance: 15000
Referee: S Benson

Auckland Representative Matches Played and Scorers

Rank Name Club Played Tries Con Pen Mark Points
1 Karl Ifwerson North Shore Albions 6 10 3 2 1 42
2 Charles Webb Ponsonby United 8 2 14 - - 34
3 George Cook Newton Rangers 6 4 - - - 12
3 Stan Weston North Shore Albions 5 4 - - - 12
3 Harold Hayward Thames 5 4 - - - 12
6 Bob Mitchell City Rovers 6 3 - - - 9
7 Alan Blakey Newton Rangers 5 2 - - - 6
7 Albert Asher City Rovers 4 2 - - - 6
9 Stan Walters North Shore Albions 5 1 1 - - 5
10 George Seagar North Shore Albions 4 - 1 1 - 4
11 Thomas McClymont Ponsonby United 2 1 - - - 3
11 Harry Fricker Ponsonby United 8 1 - - - 3
11 Jim Griffin North Shore Albions 2 1 - - - 3
11 Arthur Carlaw Ponsonby United 4 1 - - - 3
11 Frank Woodward Waikato 3 1 - - - 3
11 Jim Clark Ponsonby United 1 1 - - - 3
17 Frederick W Mansell City Rovers 8 - - - - 0
17 W Tobin Newton Rangers 4 - - - - 0
17 Ormsby City Rovers 1 - - - - 0
17 D Bradburn Newton Rangers 1 - - - - 0
17 C Manning Ponsonby United 2 - - - - 0
17 Rukingi Reke Rotorua 2 - - - - 0
17 Morgan Hayward Thames 5 - - - - 0
17 Cecil King Newton Rangers 2 - - - - 0
17 Percy Williams Ponsonby United 3 - - - - 0
17 Harold Denize City Rovers 1 - - - - 0
17 Tom Avery City Rovers 1 - - - - 0
17 Charles Brockliss Newton Rangers 1 - - - - 0

References

  1. ^ "Football Resentment/League Selector Replaced/"Savory Shall Not Play"". Auckland Star. Vol. XLIV, no. 199. 21 August 1913. p. 7. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  2. ^ "A Footballers Death/Spinal Cord Fractured/Accident at Ellerslie". Auckland Star. Vol. XLIV, no. 124. 26 May 1913. p. 5. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Killed at Football". Auckland Star. Vol. XLIV, no. 125. 27 May 1913. p. 8. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Unfavourable Weather Conditions/Last Year's Champions Beaten". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15293. 1 May 1913. p. 10. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Unfavourable Weather Conditions/Last Year's Champions Beaten". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15293. 1 May 1913. p. 10. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Unfavourable Weather Conditions/Last Year's Champions Beaten". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15293. 1 May 1913. p. 10. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Newton Rangers V Eden Ramblers". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15299. 12 May 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  8. ^ "North Shore Albion V City". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15299. 12 May 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Ponsonby V Manukau". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15299. 12 May 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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  11. ^ "North Shore V Eden". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15311. 26 May 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
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  13. ^ "City Defeat Newton". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15311. 26 May 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Wins for Shore and Manukau". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15311. 26 May 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
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  17. ^ "Supposed Smallpox/Discovered at Onehunga". Auckland Star. 5 June 1913. p. 5. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  18. ^ "First Round Concluded/North Shore in the Lead". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15317. 2 June 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  19. ^ "First Round Concluded/North Shore in the Lead". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15317. 2 June 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  20. ^ "First Round Concluded/North Shore in the Lead". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15317. 2 June 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Two Leading Teams Beaten/Wins for Ponsonby and Newton". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15323. 7 June 1913. p. 4. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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  25. ^ "City V North Shore". Auckland Star. Vol. XLIV, no. 142. 16 June 1913. p. 8. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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  28. ^ "The Knock-out Final/City Rovers Team on Top/Newton Beaten by 25 to 5". Auckland Star. Vol. XLIV, no. 160. 7 July 1913. p. 7. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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  30. ^ "Auckland Defeat Country/Dufty's Fine Kicking". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15341. 30 June 1913. p. 4. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  31. ^ "The First Challenge Match/Auckland Retain the Cup/Taranaki Easily Defeated". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15352. 14 July 1913. p. 4. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  32. ^ "Auckland Defeats Hawke's Bay/By 34 Points to 7/A Spectacular Game". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15364. 28 July 1913. p. 4. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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  37. ^ "Visitors Win Easily/Auckland Team Outclasses/Big Crowd at Domain". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. L, no. 15394. 1 September 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 10 August 2019.