1996 New Zealand rugby league season

The 1996 New Zealand rugby league season was the 89th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the final season of the Lion Red Cup competition that was run by the New Zealand Rugby League. The Counties Manukau Heroes won the Cup by defeating the Waitakere City Raiders 34–22 in the Grand Final. With the outbreak of the Super League war the New Zealand Rugby League sided with the Super League organisation.

International competitions

See also: List of New Zealand Kiwis matches and 1996 Great Britain Lions tour

The New Zealand Kiwis hosted both Papua New Guinea and Great Britain in 1996, winning all five matches. New Zealand were coached by Frank Endacott and included; Richie Barnett, Richard Blackmore, Marc Ellis, Syd Eru, Sean Hoppe, Mark Horo, Tony Iro, Stacey Jones, Stephen Kearney, Gene Ngamu, Quentin Pongia, captain Matthew Ridge, Tyran Smith, Logan and Anthony Swann, John Timu, Joe Vagana, Ruben Wiki and Grant Young. Marc Ellis became the countries 36th dual-code rugby international.

PNG toured first and were defeated 62-8 in Rotorua and 64-0 in Manawatu. They also lost tour matches to the Lion Red Cup XIII, 22-24, and New Zealand Māori side, 14-40. Great Britain then arrived for a three match series. They were defeated 17-12 at Ericsson Stadium, 18-15 in Manawatu and 32-12 at Lancaster Park in Christchurch. Great Britain drew with the Lion Red Cup XIII but lost to the New Zealand XIII and the New Zealand Māori sides.

The Lion Red Cup XIII also played both sides and embarrassed the Great Britain Lions when they held them to a 22-all draw at Carlaw Park. The team was coached by Graeme Norton and included Boycie Nelson, Tama Hohaia, Marlon Gardiner, Richard Stewart, David Bailey, captain Tukere Barlow, Ben Lythe, Don Stewart, Leamy Tato, Anthony Edwards, Gareth Adams, Jonathan Hughes, Corrie Jamieson, Cheaf Lee Fakavamoeanga, Vilai Kelemete, Vai Afoa and Gus Malietoa-Brown. Another New Zealand combination containing Warriors reserves players then managed to defeat Great Britain 30-22 at Fraser Park. The team was: David Murray, Iva Ropati, Anthony Swann, Whetu Taewa, Richard Stewart; Shane Endacott, Aaron Whittaker, Brady Malam, Denvour Johnston, Hitro Okesene, Tony Tatupu, Bryan Henare, Logan Swann. Subs: Meti Noovao, Mark Faumuina, Jerry Seuseu, Darryn Avery. Tukere Barlow captained the Lion Red Cup XIII against Papua New Guinea.

The New Zealand Māori rugby league team was involved in the 1996 Pacific Challenge, a replacement for the postponed Oceania Cup. New Zealand Māori won both their matches, defeating Tonga 28-18 and Western Samoa 39-16. The Māori side included Frank Watene, Paul Rauhihi and Matthew Sturm. Doc Murray, Whetu Taewa, Gavin Hill, Sonny Whakarau, and Tawera Nikau were all added to the squad for the match against Papua New Guinea, which the Māori won 40-14. The Māori team then finished an undefeated season by upsetting Great Britain 40-28. The New Zealand Māori side was: Doc Murray; John Farrar, Ricky Henry, Whetu Taewa, Jason Walker; Jamie Stevens, Paul Howell; Paul Rauhihi, Tukere Barlow, Gavin Hill, David Pearce, Matthew Sturm, Tawera Nikau (capt). Substitutes: Neville Ramsay, Marlon Gardiner, George Milner, Sonny Whakarau. Coach: Cameron Bell.

Graeme Norton coached the New Zealand Nines team that competed in the Super League Nines tournament in Fiji. The side won the title, New Zealand's first world trophy. The squad consisted of captain Sean Hoppe, John Kirwan, Stephen Kearney, Nigel Vagana, Gene Ngamu, Tony Tatupu, Gavin Hill, Mark Carter, Stacey Jones, Tony Iro, Richie Barnett, Henry Paul, Ruben Wiki and Latham Tawhai.

The New Zealand University side competed in the Student World Cup and finished third behind Samoa and Australia.

The Junior Kiwis played five matches as curtain raisers to the five test matches. They won all five matches. Coached by Lex Clarke and managed by Ross Taylor, the Junior Kiwis included Joe Galuvao, Lesley Vainikolo, David Kidwell, Hare Te Rangi, Robert Henare, Frank Watene, Matthew Rua, Monty Betham, Kylie Leuluai and Phillip Leuluai.

A New Zealand under-18 team coached by Trevor McLeod bet Fiji under 18s in a two match series. The squad included Joe Galuvao, Lesley Vainikolo, captain David Solomona, Odell Manuel and Kyle Leuluai.

A New Zealand under-16 team played a three match series in Australia, winning all three. The team was coached by Jeff Whittaker and included David Vaealiki, Mark Leafa, Wairangi Koopu and David Fa'alogo.

Matthew Ridge won the New Zealand Rugby League's player of the year award.

National competitions

Inter Zone Challenge

A North Zone, representing the Waitakere City, Counties Makukau, North Harbour, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty franchises played a three match series against South Zone, representing the Taranaki Rockets, Manawatu Mustangs, Hawkes Bay Unicorns, Hutt Valley Dolphins, Wellington City Dukes, Christchurch City Shiners and the Canterbury Country Cardinals.

North Zone won the three matches 22-16, 21-14 and 38-16.

North Zone were coached by Brian McClennan and included Willie McLean, Brian Jellick, Boycie Nelson, Ben Lythe, captain Clayton Friend, Jerry Seuseu, Stuart Lester, Matthew Sturm and Frank Watene.

South Zone were coached by Andy Moore and included Earl Va'a, Blair Harding, Denvour Johnston and Yogi Rogers.

Rugby League Cup

Auckland defeated the West Coast 48-10 in a Rugby League Cup challenge to retain the cup. Auckland included Esau Mann, Stuart Lester and Matthew Sturm.

Auckland defeated Canterbury 24-20 at Carlaw Park to retain the Rugby League Cup. Auckland were coached by Dominic Clark and included Ben Lythe, Boycie Nelson, Duane Mann, Donald Stewart, Matthew Sturm, Willie McLean and Frank Watene. Canterbury included Blair Harding, Mark Nixon and Paul Koloi.

Lion Red Cup

Due to the postponement of Super League in Australia several top Australian referees were available to referee matches in the Lion Red Cup. These included Steve Clark.

Teams

• The North Harbour Sea Eagles had a new coach in Dominic Clark. The squad included Paki Tuimavave, Paul Rauhihi, Mike Setefano, Artie Shead, Don Stewart and Latham Tawhai.
• The Waitakere City Raiders finished the year as minor premiers and went on to make the final but could not over come Counties Manukau. The side was coached by Del Hughes and included Boycie Nelson, Willie McLean, Ben Lythe, Brian Jellick, Julian O'Neill and David Bailey.
• The champion Counties Manukau Heroes side was coached by Cameron Bell and included Clayton Friend, Esau Mann, Matthew Sturm, Charlie Kennedy, Stuart Lester, Meti Noovao, Francis Leota, Duane Mann, Frank Watene, Dean Clark, Gus Malietoa-Brown and Jerry Seuseu.
• The Waikato Cougars played their last game at Trust Bank Park in July. The team was coached by Joe Gwynne and included Darryl Fisher, Tama Hohaia and captain Tukere Barlow. Mark Woods played the first two rounds for Waikato before transferring to Bay of Plenty.
• The Bay of Plenty Stags were the big improvers of the competition, making the finals after coming last in the previous two years. They were coached by Lawrence Brydon who took over near the end of the 1995 season. During the season its business manager, former Kiwi coach Tony Gordon, was suspended and investigated by the New Zealand Rugby League. He was later cleared of all charges. The team was captained by Mark Woods and included Patrick Kuru.
• The Taranaki Rockets were coached by former Kiwi Howie Tamati. The squad included Denvour Johnston and Willie Talau.
• The Manawatu Mustangs replaced the Auckland Warriors Colts. They were coached by Peter Sixtus.
• the Hawkes Bay Unicorns were coached by Mark Elia who also played in one match.
• The Hutt Valley Dolphins abandoned the Hawks name altogether in 1996. The team were coached by Ken Laban included Earl Va'a, who moved over from Wellington, Zane Clark, Arnold Lomax and Yogi Rogers.
• The Wellington City Dukes were coached by Mike Edmonds.
• The Christchurch City Shiners were coached by Geoff Carr. Carr was sacked mid season and replaced with Mark Vincent.
• The Canterbury Country Cardinals were coached by Gerard Stokes and included Paul Koloi, Blair Harding, Lusi Sione, Mark Nixon and Paul Johnson.

Standings

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Waitakere City	22	19	0	3	697	342	355	38
Counties Manukau	22	18	0	4	766	399	367	36
North Harbour	22	15	0	7	624	393	231	30
Waikato	22	13	1	8	515	472	43	27
Bay of Plenty	22	11	3	8	440	441	-1	25
Hutt Valley	22	11	2	9	444	469	-25	24
Taranaki	22	11	0	11	516	438	33	22
Wellington City	22	9	0	13	536	532	4	18
Hawkes Bay	22	7	1	14	377	583	-206	15
Canterbury	22	6	1	15	365	555	-190	13
Manawatu	22	5	0	17	404	732	-328	10
Christchurch City	22	3	0	19	360	643	-283	6

The Playoffs

Two time defending champions the North Harbour Sea Eagles were eliminated in the second round when they lost 14-20 to Waikato, despite the Cougars having twelve men for most of the second half.

	Qualifying Finals					Semi Finals					Preliminary Final					Grand Final
						1	Waitakere City	26
							Counties Manukau	8									Waitakere City	22
	2	Counties Manukau	14									Counties Manukau	22				Counties Manukau	34
	3	North Harbour	10									Waikato	6
							North Harbour	14
	4	Waikato	35			Waikato	20
	5	Bay of Plenty	18

Match	Winner		Loser		Venue
Elimination Play-off	Waikato Cougars	35	Bay of Plenty Stags	18	Rotorua International Stadium
Preliminary Semifinal	Counties Manukau Heroes	14	North Harbour Sea Eagles	10	Carlaw Park
Elimination Semifinal	Waikato Cougars	20	North Harbour Sea Eagles	14	Davies Park
Qualification Semifinal	Waitakere City Raiders	26	Counties Manukau Heroes	8	Carlaw Park
Preliminary Final	Counties Manukau Heroes	22	Waikato Cougars	6	Carlaw Park

Grand Final

Waitakere City	Position	Counties Manukau
Willie McLean	FB	Te Manawa Loza
Brian Jellick	WG	Charlie Kennedy
Boycie Nelson	CE	Cheaf Lee Fakavamoenga
David Bailey	CE	Richard O'Connell
Robert Ofanoa	WG	Gus Malietoa-Brown
Dean Broomfield (C)	FE	Duane Mann (C)
Ben Lythe	HB	Duane Mackwood
Carl Findlay	PR	Malu Autagavia
Junior Fiu	HK	Esau Mann
Greg Ashby	PR	Frank Watene
Gareth Adams	SR	Jerry Seuseu
Anthony Edwards	SR	Steve Ekepati
Jonathan Hughes	LK	Matthew Sturm
Alan Li'o	Bench	Neville Ramsay
George Milner	Bench	Francis Leota
Graham Fafuiti	Bench	Mark Lethbridge
Wayne Kohlhase	Bench	Ray Barchard
Del Hughes	Coach	Cameron Bell

The Grand Final was played in front of a disappointing crowd of just under 2,000 fans at Carlaw Park. Jim Stokes refereed the match which Waitakere City led 16-8 at halftime. However Counties Manukau came back to win 34-22 and claim their first Lion Red Cup.

Team	Halftime	Total
Counties Manukau Heroes	6	34
Waitakere City Raiders	18	22

Tries (Counties Manukau)	2: G Malietoa-Brown
	1: D. Mann, E. Mann, N. Ramsay, F. Watene, C. Kennedy
Tries (Waitakere City)	3. B. Nelson
	1: D. Bailey
Goals (Counties Manukau)	3: T. Loza
Goals (Waitakere City)	3: B. Lythe
Venue	Carlaw Park

Awards

• Player of the Year: Jerry Seuseu (Counties Manukau)
• Coach of the Year: Cameron Bell (Counties Manukau)
• Rookie of the Year: Darryl Fisher (Waikato)
• Captain of the Year: Mark Woods (Bay of Plenty)
• Best and Fairest: Paul Howell (Wellington City)
• Most Tries: Cheaf Lee Fakavamoenga (21 – Counties Manukau)
• Most Goals: Ben Lythe (109 – Waitakere City)
• Most Points: Ben Lythe (240 – Waitakere City)
• Referee of the Year: Jim Stokes (Canterbury)

Inter-Club Knockout Series

Cobden-Kohinoor defeated the Kaikohe Lions 40-22 in the Inter-club knockout series. The series was for provinces which did not have a team in the Lion Red Cup.

	Round of 16					Quarter Finals					Semi Finals					Grand Final
	Cobden-Kohinoor (W.Coast)		44
	Whakatu (Nelson-M)		16
						Cobden-Kohinoor		11
						Waro-rakau		10
	Waro-rakau (W.Coast)		82
	Tahunanui (Nelson-M)		0
											Cobden-Kohinoor		33
											He Tauaa		12
	Pacific Raiders (Otago)		34
	Whakatipu (Sthland)		6
						Pacific Raiders		18
						He Tauaa		36
	He Tauaa (Sthland)
	St Kilda (Otago)		Default
																Cobden-Kohinoor		40
																Kaikohe Lions		22
	Kaikohe Lions (Nthland)		40
	Mt Maunganui (Coastline)		30
						Kaikohe Lions		26
						Te Paamu		24
	Te Paamu (Coastline)		28
	Whangatautia (Nthland)		26
											Kaikohe Lions		60
											Turanga		22
	Turanga (Gisborne-EC)		38
	Takahiwai (Nthland)		36
						Turanga		48
						Hokianga Pioneers		36
	Hokianga Pioneers (Nthland)		54
	Paikea (Gisborne-EC)		24

Australian competitions

Main article: 1996 Auckland Warriors season

The Auckland Warriors competed in the Australian Rugby League competition finishing 11th out of 20 teams.

The Reserve Grade team made the grand final, losing to the Cronulla Sharks reserve team 14-12.

Club competitions

Auckland

See also: Auckland Rugby League club trophies

The Otara Scorpions won the Auckland Rugby League Fox Memorial for the first time. They defeated Otahuhu 36-28 after the match went into triple extra time. Otahuhu were the minor premiers and also won the Stormont Shield. The Manurewa Marlins won the pre-season Roope Rooster tournament.

The Glenora Bears won the second division Sharman Cup.

Peter Feau (Otahuhu) won the Lipscombe Cup as Sportsman of the Year, Matthew Sturm won the Rothville Trophy as Player of the Year, Milton Ross (Ellerslie) won the Burt Humphries Trophy as the Most Improved Forward while Lionel Periera (Manurewa) was the Most Improved Back. Ronald Kite (Otara) won the John Hyland Memorial Cup as coach of the year.

Otahuhu included Francis Leota, Phillip Leuluai and Odell Manuel.

Wellington

The Randwick Kingfishers won the Wellington Rugby League's Appleton Shield, defeating Paremata 38-8 in the Grand Final.

Zane Clarke played for Randwick.

Canterbury

Hornby won the Canterbury Rugby League's Pat Smith Trophy, defeating Halswell 22-16 in the Grand Final.

The Thacker Shield was not contested due to Waro-rakau having other commitments.

Halswell's Darryn Avery won the Outstanding Player of the Year award. Tony Sweetman (Linwood) won sportsman of the year. Shane Beyers (Halswell) and Don Aitken (Hornby) shared the Junior Sportsman of the Year award.

Wayne Wallace coached Hornby who included Mark Nixon.

Other Competitions

The Bay of Islands defeated Whangarei 28-24 in an inter-district match. The Kaikohe Lions beat the Hokianga Pioneers 22-21 after extra time in the Bay of Islands competition while the Whangatauatia Mountain Men beat the Pawarenga Broncos 24-12 in the Far North competition and the Takahiwai Warriors beat the Otaika Eagles 12-4 at Jubilee Park in the Whangarei premiership.

Turangawaewae won the Waikato Rugby League grand final. Taniwharau were the minor premiers in all four grades. The Waitara Bears defeated Western Suburbs 29-16 in the Taranaki Rugby League grand final.

The Putaruru United beat Pikiao 35-8 in the Rotorua Midlands final while Kaiti beat Turanga 36-12 in the Gisbourne-East Coast Premiership. The Turanga Panthers won the Gisborne-East Coast title. Taradale defeated Tamatea 32-0 in the Hawke's Bay Rugby League championship. Otaki Whiti Te Ra defeated Kia Ora 27-20 in the Manawatu Rugby League final.

Waru-rakau retained the West Coast Rugby League title, defeating Marist in the Grand Final. Marist included Wayne Dwyer. Otago did not play a representative fixture during the season for the first time in over 80 years. The Otago competition featured four teams. The Gore Cup, a fixture between the champion Otago and Canterbury clubs, was contested for the first time since 1929. Eastern Suburbs defeated South Pacific 44-32. He Tauaa won the Southland Rugby League Grand Final, defeating the Wakitipu Cougars 22-18. The Cougars had played in the Otago competition in 1995.