The 1994 New Zealand rugby league season was the 87th season of rugby league in New Zealand. The main feature of the season was the inaugural Lion Red Cup competition that was run by the New Zealand Rugby League. The North Harbour Sea Eagles won the Cup by defeating the Counties Manukau Heroes 24–16 in the Grand Final. At the end of the season the New Zealand national team was also assembled for a tour of Papua New Guinea.
See also: List of New Zealand Kiwis matches.
The New Zealand national rugby league team did not play at home in 1994, instead embarking on a two test tour of Papua New Guinea. The Kiwis won all five matches, including a match against the Port Moresby Vipers. New Zealand included; Gary Freeman, Daryl Halligan, Terry Hermansson, Sean Hoppe, Stephen Kearney, John Lomax, Duane Mann, Jarrod McCracken, Gene Ngamu, Tawera Nikau, Hitro Okesene, Matthew Ridge, Tony Tatupu, Brendon Tuuta, Aaron Whittaker, Ruben Wiki and Jason Williams.
The New Zealand Residents toured Australia, winning all four games, before defeating Western Samoa 64–2 at Carlaw Park in Auckland. The team was Peter Edwards, Mike Dorreen, Tevita Vaikona, Maea David, Aaron Whittaker, Whetu Taewa, Solomon Kiri, Brett Roger, Henry Paul, David Bailey, Aaron Tucker, Faausu Afoa, Duane Mann (captain), Tony Tatupu, Jason Temu, Des Maea, Hitro Okesene, Simon Angell, Gavin Hill, Martin Moana, Aaron Lester and Logan Edwards. Kiwis coach Frank Endacott was also the Residents coach.[1]
The New Zealand Māori side competed at the 1994 Pacific Cup in Fiji. The side was coached by John Solomon and included Blair Harding, Alex Chan, Tane Manihera, Leroy Joe, Mark Woods and Darren Rameka.[2] The team failed to make the semi-finals for the first time, finishing third in a five team pool after losing to Tonga and the Australian Aborigines.
New Zealand sent a national team to the World Sevens for the first time. The team defeated France and the USA before losing to Fiji in the quarter-finals. The team included Earl Va'a, Jorgen Rogers, Richard Stewart and Jason Mackie and was coached by Paul Sixtus. The Wainuiomata Lions won the New Zealand Sevens competition held before the World Sevens.[3] [4]
The Junior Kiwis went on a five-match tour of Australia, winning four matches, including defeating the Australian Schoolboys in Australia for the first time ever. Coached by Gary Kemble the squad was: Spiro Tuilaepa, Gus Malietoa-Brown, Robbie Paul, Danny Lima, Nigel and Joe Vagana, Stacey Jones (captain), Justin Ngamoto, Ben Lythe, Stuart Lester, John Mann, Billy Weepu, Arti Mamoe, Takofe Kalauta, John Couling, Brad Williams, Clive Arona, Luke Johnstone, Dean Johnsen, Zane Clark, Chris Faifua and Regan Avery.
Duane Mann was the New Zealand Rugby League player of the year after leading the New Zealand national rugby league team and New Zealand Residents sides and captaining the North Harbour Sea Eagles to the Lion Red Cup.[5] The other finalists were Daryl Halligan, John Lomax, Whetu Taewa and Aaron Whittaker.
Western Samoa conducted a three match tour of New Zealand, its first ever. They defeated Wellington 22–14 and Manawatu XIII 36–22 before losing to the New Zealand Residents 64-2.[6]
The team was Raymond Tusa, Ola Loau, Earl Va'a, Lokeni Savelio, Paki Tuimavave, Tony Tuimavave, Vinnie Winterstein, Mark Faumuina, Mike Setefano, Matthew Tuisamoa, Don Stewart, Henry Suluvale, Gafa Tuiloma, Ron Siami, Willie Poching, Mualia Fuiava, Wayne Schuster, Tafunai Alaelua, Toka Tofaeano, Muse Galuvao and Veli Patu. The coach was Steve Kaiser. Tony Tuimavave was the captain while Willie Poching led the team against Manawatu. Tea Ropati was originally named in the squad but withdrew due to injury. Maika Felise was later added to the squad.
Auckland and Wellington both unsuccessfully challenged Canterbury for the Rugby League Cup during the season.
First, Wellington were thrashed 72–14 by Cup holders Canterbury on Anzac Day. The Wellington side was weakened the day before the match when the four Hutt Valley Firehawks players selected withdrew after a Lion Red Cup match. Wellington included Paul Howell while Canterbury included Tevita Vaikona, Phil Bancroft, Aaron Whittaker, Marty Crequer, Henry Suluvale and Shane Endacott.[7]
Then Auckland, coached by Dominic Clark, lost 20–28 to Canterbury on Queen's Birthday. The Auckland team included Solomon Kiri, Whetu Taewa, Bryan Laumatia, Brian McClennan, Fa'ausu Afoa, Jason Palmada, Stacey Jones, Duane Mann, Tony Tatupu, Doc Murray and Hitro Okesene.[8] Canterbury included Mark Nixon, Logan Edwards, Marty Crequer, Tevita Vaikona and Shane Endacott.[9]
Buoyed by the acceptance of an Auckland team into the 1995 Australian Rugby League competition, the New Zealand Rugby League launched a twelve-team national club competition in 1994. Known as the Lion Red Cup for sponsorship reasons, this competition proved to be hugely expensive and lost a million dollars in 1994.[10]
Before the season began a pre-season "Pepsi Max Challenge Cup" was held. This involved all twelve teams and was held on a knock out basis. Auckland City won the tournament, defeating Waitakere City 22–18 in the final on March 13.[20] North Harbour and Taranaki were the two defeated semi-finalists.
The Counties Manukau Heroes finished the season as minor premiers.[21]
| width=175 | Team | width=20 abbr="Played" | Pld | width=20 abbr="Won" | W | width=20 abbr="Drawn" | D | width=20 abbr="Lost" | L | width=20 abbr="Points for" | PF | width=20 abbr="Points against" | PA | width=20 abbr="Points difference" | PD | width=20 abbr="Points" | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counties Manukau Heroes | 22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 563 | 334 | 219 | 34 | |||||||||
| Waikato Cougars | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 589 | 405 | 184 | 33 | |||||||||
| North Harbour Sea Eagles | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 524 | 299 | 225 | 32 | |||||||||
| Canterbury Country Cardinals | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 615 | 410 | 205 | 32 | |||||||||
| Auckland City Vulcans | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 517 | 363 | 154 | 29 | |||||||||
| Taranaki Rockets | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 481 | 536 | -55 | 21 | |||||||||
| Waitakere City Raiders | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 530 | 487 | 43 | 19 | |||||||||
| Hutt Valley Firehawks | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 474 | 499 | -25 | 18 | |||||||||
| Wellington City Dukes | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 470 | 508 | -38 | 16 | |||||||||
| Hawkes Bay Unicorns | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 377 | 485 | -108 | 14 | |||||||||
| Christchurch City Shiners | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 358 | 634 | -276 | 12 | |||||||||
| Bay of Plenty Stags | 22 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 262 | 800 | -538 | 4 | |||||||||
| width=130 | Match | width=190 | Winner | width=13 | width=190 | Loser | width=13 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elimination Play-off | Canterbury Cardinals | 30 | Auckland City Vulcans | 22 | |||||
| Preliminary Semifinal | North Harbour Sea Eagles | 24 | Waikato Cougars | 10 | |||||
| Elimination Semifinal | Canterbury Cardinals | 32 | Waikato Cougars | 6 | |||||
| Qualification Semifinal | North Harbour Sea Eagles | 25 | Counties Manukau Heroes | 22 | |||||
| Preliminary Final | Counties Manukau Heroes | 34 | Canterbury Cardinals | 16 |
| North Harbour | Position | Counties Manukau |
|---|---|---|
| Quinten Dane | Wilson Marsh | |
| Steve Johnston | WG | Bryan Laumatia |
| Jason Kaulima | CE | Whetu Taewa |
| Richard Stewart | Solomon Kiri | |
| Matthew Tuisamoa | ||
| Vinnie Clark | ||
| PR | Kerry Pomare | |
| Duane Mann (C) | Hitro Okesene (C) | |
| Lafaele Filipo | Jason Temu | |
| SR | Paul Okesene | |
| Matthew Sturm | ||
| Glen Palmer | LK | Esau Mann |
| Jeff Thurston | Bench | Willy Wolfgramm |
| Bench | Fred Morunga | |
| Michael Patterson | Bench | Des Maea |
| Patrick Hellesoe | Bench | Steve Ekepai |
| Graeme Norton | Coach | |
| Team | Halftime | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Harbour Sea Eagles | 20 | 24 | |
| Counties Manukau Heroes | 6 | 16 |
| Tries (North Harbour) | 2: J.Kaulima | |
|---|---|---|
| 1: F.Afoa, L.Filipo, J.Palmada | ||
| Tries (Counties Manukau) | 1: G.Malietoa-Brown, E.Manu, S.Ekepati | |
| Goals (North Harbour) | 1: Q.Dane, L.Tawhai | |
| Goals (Counties Manukau) | 2: W.Marsh | |
| Date | 25 September | |
| Referee | Phil Houston | |
| Venue | Carlaw Park | |
| Broadcast | TVNZ |
Team of the Year
| Top Try Scorers
| Top Point Scorers
|
With the advent of the Lion Red Cup, the National Provincial Championship was run as a second division for provincial sides who did not have a team in the Cup. Six teams participated with the West Coast winning the Championship after an undefeated season. The Gisborne-East Coast Lions won their first game since May 1991.[24]
| Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 242 | 65 | 10 | |
| Northland | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 117 | 113 | 7 | |
| Manawatu | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 170 | 136 | 6 | |
| Gisborne-East Coast Lions | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 106 | 172 | 3 | |
| Southland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 103 | 199 | 2 | |
| Otago | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 80 | 159 | 2 |
St. Paul's College won the National Secondary Schools Cup after they defeated Wainuiomata College 33–10 in the final. 23 Schools took part in the inaugural national competition with Huntly College and Aranui High School also making the semi-finals. The final was played as a curtain-raiser to the Lion Red Cup grand final. St. Paul's included Stacey Jones in their side and also won the Auckland Rugby League title.
See also: Auckland Rugby League club trophies. The Northcote Tigers won the Fox Memorial in 1994 for the fourth consecutive year defeating the Otahuhu Leopards 32–12. Otahuhu won the Rukutai Shield (minor premiership) and also won the Stormont Shield and preseason Roope Rooster tournament. Northcote included Paul Rauhihi and Ken McIntosh while Otahuhu included Leroy Joe, Danny Lima, Brian Henare and Meti Noovao.
Hibiscus Coast were the main surprise, finishing second in the minor premiership with Brian McClennan as the player-coach.
Leroy Joe from Otahuhu won the Lipscombe Cup as the Premier One sportsman of the year.
Marist-Northern, coached by Ken Laban, won the Grand Final 37–26 over the Upper Hutt Tigers. The Wainuiomata Lions were the minor premiers but lost twice in the playoffs to be quickly eliminated.
Maika Felise from Wainuiomata won the Colin O'Neil Trophy as the best and fairest in the competition.
The Papanui Tigers won the Pat Smith Challenge Trophy by defeating last years champions, the Haswell Hawks, 14–4 in the Canterbury Rugby League grand final. Papanui, who featured Shane Endacott and Blair Harding, also won the minor premiership.
Aaron Whittaker was named the Canterbury Rugby League's player of the year.
The Moerewa Tigers won the Northland Super Six Series by defeating the Takahiwai Warriors 34–28.[25]
The Portland Panthers won the Whangarei City & Districts title, by defeating the Takahiwai Warriors 30–20 in Whangarei.
The Kaikohe Lions won the Bay of Islands title, by defeating the Moerewa Tigers.
The Te Paatu Warriors won the Far North Districts title, by defeating the Whangatauatia Mountain Men.
Minor premiers Turangawaewae defeated the Hamilton City Tigers 30–23 to win the Waikato Rugby League Final. Taniwharau, led by Tama Hohaia, won the Pre-season tournament while Hamilton Boys' High School won the High School Shield.[26]
Piako dominated the Bay of Plenty Rugby League season, winning the early season Ces Mountford Trophy round before finishing with the minor premiership and winning the grand final 22-10 over Turangi.
The Western Suburbs Tigers defeated the Waitara Bears 22–20 in the Taranaki Rugby League grand final to end the Bears dominance of the region. The Kia Ora Warriors, coached by Peter Sixtus, won the Manawatu Rugby League grand final 20–16 over Linton.
The Taradale Eagles upset Tamatea 38-22 in the Hawke's Bay final to deny them their third consecutive premiership in front of 1500 fans. Minor premiers, the Repongaere Eels, defeated the Turanga Panthers 36–24 to win the Gisborne-East Coast grand final.
The Golden Bay Boars defeated the Motueka Tigers 22-19 in the Nelson competition before defeating the Blenheim Knights 42–4 to win the Top of the South competition. Blenheim were the Marlborough champions. This was the first time a team in any sport from Takaka had ever won a Nelson competition.The Golden Bay Boars women also won their respective competition in the same year making it a clean sweep for the Boars.
Waro-Rakau smashed Papanui to 40–4 to win the Thacker Shield and bring it to the West Coast for the first time since 1982. Former Kiwi Blair Harding scored the only try for Papanui. The Waro-Rakau Hornets had earlier won the West Coast competition for the second consecutive year when they defeated Runanga 42–8 in the grand final. The Hornets were also the competitions minor premiers and scored 862 points throughout the season while only conceding 146.[27]
He Tauaa defeated the South Pacific Raiders 29-26 to win the Otago-Southland Swains Trophy. However, He Tauaa lost the Southland grand final to the Coalshop Leopards. The South Pacific Raiders were undefeated in Otago and won the grand final 18-8 against Kiatoa.