2013 New Zealand rugby league season

The 2013 New Zealand rugby league season was the 106th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the National Competition run by the New Zealand Rugby League. The competition was won by the Akarana Falcons, who defeated the Counties Manukau Stingrays 22-12 in the final.

The New Zealand national rugby league team competed in the 2013 ANZAC Test in addition to the end of year World Cup.

International competitions

The New Zealand Kiwis played the annual ANZAC Test against Australia at Canberra Stadium on 19 April, losing 12-32.^[1][2] The squad was Josh Hoffman, Sam Perrett, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Dean Whare, Jason Nightingale, Kieran Foran (c), Shaun Johnson, Jesse Bromwich, Issac Luke, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Frank Pritchard, Kevin Proctor, Alex Glenn, Bench: Elijah Taylor, Sam McKendry, Ben Matulino, Tohu Harris. Captain Simon Mannering was ruled out on the day of the test, with Glenn replacing him in the starting side and Harris joining the bench. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was the reserve.^[3][4]

At the end of the year the Kiwis participated in the 2013 World Cup, where they made it to the final and lost to Australia 2-34. The tournament was hosted in England, Wales, France and Ireland.^[5] The Kiwis played a warm up game against the Cook Islands side, winning 50-0. The match was not an official test match and featured a six-man bench and an unlimited interchange.

The New Zealand Māori side hosted the Murri Queensland Indigenous team. Coached by Darren Pirini, the squad consisted of Steve Wateford, Thyme Nikau, Rusty Bristow, Zebastian Luisi, Tee Mahe, Cody Walker, Jody Henry, Sam Rapira, Kurt Kara, Charlie Gubb, Bodene Thompson, Rulon Nutira, Scott Jones, Hamiora Mihaka, Tony Tuia, Jay Pukepuke and Kouma Samson.^[6]

The Junior Kiwis lost 26-38 to the Junior Kangaroos at WIN Jubilee Oval on 13 October 2013. The side included Kurtis Rowe, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Jeremy Hawkins, Ngani Laumape, David Fusitua, Tuimoala Lolohea, Mason Lino, Albert Vete, Manaia Cherrington, James Taylor, Raymond Faitala-Mariner, Joseph Tapine, David Bhana (c). Interchange: Mitch Clark, David Minute, Zach Docker-Clay, Takai Moeakiola.

The Kiwi Ferns competed in the Women's World Cup, losing the final for the first time. As part of the Festival of World Cups, New Zealand also sent a tertiary and defence force teams.

The NZRL's player of the year was Kieran Foran.^[7]

National competitions

Rugby League Cup

Auckland were the current holders of the Rugby League Cup but did not defend the trophy during the season.

National Competition

2013 was the fourth year of the National Competition.

• The Akarana Falcons were coached by Steve Buckingham and included Tevita Latu and Malo Solomona.^[8]
• The South Island Scorpions were renamed the Canterbury Bulls. They continued to represent the entire South Island. The Bulls were coached by Mike Dorreen.
• The Counties Manukau Stingrays included Zebastian Luisi and Mataupu Poching.
• The Wellington Orcas were coached by Mike Kuiti.

Season standings

Source:^[9]

Final

Australian competitions

The New Zealand Warriors spent their 19th first grade season in the Australian competition, playing in the National Rugby League.

The Junior Warriors again competed in the Holden Cup, while the Auckland Vulcans competed in the NSW Cup.

Club competitions

Auckland

The Auckland Rugby League competition began on 30 March and ended on 18 August when the Point Chevalier Pirates defeated the Mount Albert Lions 24-22 in the grand final.^[10] The Sharman Cup was won by the Richmond Rovers who defeated the Otara Scorpions 18-14 and the Mount Wellington Warriors defeated the Glenfield Greyhounds 39-10 to win the Phelan Shield.

Zebastian Luisi was named the player of the year, Point Chevalier's Matiu Love-Henry was the rookie of the year, Mount Albert's James Blackwell was the competitions top try-scorer and Mount Albert's Cody Walker won the Lance Painter Rose Bowl as top goal scorer.^[11]

• The Mount Albert Lions are coached by Steve Buckingham and include Matthew Sturm.^[10]
• The Howick Hornets include player-coach Zebastian Luisi.^[10]
• The Point Chevalier Pirates include Tevita Latu, Malo Solomona and Jeremiah Pai.^[10]
• The East Coast Bays Barracudas are coached by Ken McIntosh.^[10]
• The Richmond Bulldogs include Vae Kololo.^[10]
• The Papakura Sea Eagles include Eliakimi Uasi.

Wellington

The University Hunters defeated the Randwick Kingfishers 22-10 to win the Wellington Rugby League competition.

Canterbury

The Hornby Panthers won the Canterbury Rugby League grand final with a 22-20 win in overtime over Halswell. It was the first game of rugby league to be played at Christchurch's Rugby Park.^[12]

Addington, Sydenham and Linwood all celebrated their centenaries during the season.^[13]

References

Rugby league in New Zealand Federations New Zealand Rugby League Representative teams Men's ("Kiwis") Women's ("Kiwi Ferns") Junior Māori Residents New Zealand Kiwis Players Coaches Matches Zones Northern Auckland Counties-Manukau Upper Central Mid-Central Wellington Southern Districts Auckland (team) Bay of Plenty (team) Canterbury (team) Coastline (team) Gisborne Tairawhiti (team) Manawatu (team) Northland (team) Otago (team) Southland (team) Hawke's Bay (team) Taranaki (team) Tasman (team) Waikato (team) Wellington (team) West Coast (team) Australian competition teams New Zealand Warriors (NRL) Auckland Vulcans (defunct) Auckland Lions (defunct) Competitions National Competition Rugby League Cup Bartercard Premiership (defunct) Bartercard Cup (defunct) Lion Red Cup (defunct) New Zealand domestic seasons 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017