The Newmarket Rugby League Club was a rugby league club in Auckland, New Zealand which existed from 1928 to 1931. They then went into a hiatus until reforming in 1939 before once again ceasing to exist at the end of the 1941 season. They competed in the Auckland Rugby League lower grade competitions. The club was made up of players from the Newmarket area of central Auckland.
History 1928 Formation The Newmarket club formed in early 1928. An advertisement was placed in the Auckland Star newspaper for the “Newmarket Rugby Football Club” but at this time there was no Newmarket rugby club and the honorary secretary posting the notice was R.W. Hills who was to be the Newmarket Rugby League Club’s honorary secretary that season. The notice said “all members and intending members of the above club are requested to meet on Good Friday in the Outer Domain”. Then on April 27 a notice appeared for the “Newmarket Rugby League Football Club” stating “Practice Matches for All Grades of the above club will be held TO-MORROW (Saturday), at 2p.m. All Players and Intending Players are requested to meet opp. The Captain Cook Hotel, Khyber Pass Rd., Newmarket”. The Captain Cook Hotel was located at the site of the Lion Brewery which was a well known feature of the Newmarket area for many decades. At the April 12 Auckland Rugby League management committee meeting an application was received by the Newmarket club to enter a 6th Grade team. There was reportedly “fear”, that “the new club might rob Parnell of good players. Parnell was the suburb immediately adjacent to Newmarket and both clubs were essentially based at the Auckland Domain. Despite the concerns the committee decided to accept the nomination.
Ultimately Newmarket entered sides in the 3rd Intermediate, 6th A Grade, 6th B Grade, and the Schools grade. The 3rd Intermediate team finished third playing 15 games, winning 7, drawing 2, losing 4, with 2 results unknown, scoring 143 points, and conceding 88. The first games the club played were on May 5. The 3rd Intermediate team played against Point Chevalier at Mount Albert at 2pm with Vic Simpson the referee. They lost 8-0. The 6th A team lost to Point Chevalier at Walker Park, while the 6th B team lost to Newton Rangers 6-0 on the Outer Domain. The club had their first win the following weekend on May 12 when the 3rd Intermediate side beat Newton at Mount Albert at 2pm. The 6th A Grade team drew with Akarana 0-0. They finished the season in 4th out of 9 sides with a 15 played, 6 wins, 2 draws, 4 loss record with 3 results unknown. The 6th B team lost to Akarana 14-0. They were winless through the season losing all of their 14 matches and only scoring 3 points while conceding 284.
The Newmarket Primary Schools team played its first game on June 2 against Papatoetoe Primary School at the Auckland Domain at 1pm with Mr. A. Sanders refereeing. In their inaugural season the Newmarket side won the championship winning 10 of their 11 games and only suffering the one defeat. They scored 169 points and conceded just 10. They lost the knockout semi final on October 20 by 12 points to 10 against a team representing Otahuhu schools. On July 28 the Auckland Rugby League held a primary school’s trial to select an Auckland representative side. The match was a curtain-raiser to the North Island v South Island match at Carlaw Park. In the A Team from the Newmarket side was J. Smith at fullback, and Hick and Green in the forwards. The B Team featured Anderson at halfback, and Carey in the forwards. The B Team won 5 points to 3. Then a Possibles v Probables trial was played for the Auckland schoolboys on August 4 at Carlaw Park. The match was a curtain-raiser to the New Zealand v England test match. Several Newmarket schoolboys were named to play including in the Probables side, Smith at fullback, Anderson at halfback, and Hick, and Crowhurst in the forwards while Green was named in the reserves. In the Possibles side were Edlain in the backs, and Carey in the forwards. The game featured several players who would to on to be prominent senior players such as Eugene and Phil Donovan, Bill Glover, Freddie Maguire, and Gordon Midgley who would play for New Zealand. The Possibles side won 16 to 0. The Auckland Schoolboys representative side to play the Waikato Schoolboy side on August 11 included Anderson at halfback, and Hick and Green in the forwards with Carey in the reserves.
Near the end of the season the feat of Pat Meehan in the Newmarket 3rd Grade side in a 31-0 win over Newton Rangers were written about in the New Zealand Herald. They said “a particularly good record for a junior was made at Carlaw Park on Saturday, when P. Meehan, playing for the Newmarket third grade team, scored eight tries and kicked two goals, 23 points out of the 31 gained by his team”. On September 29 one of the 3rd grade sides players, T. Coapham broke his collarbone in their 15-10 loss to Richmond Rovers in the knockout final. It was reported that he lived in Remuera and had to be taken to Auckland Hospital.
1929, 3rd Intermediate, 5th, 6th, and Schoolboys On February 27 a notice appeared in the New Zealand Herald for the Newmarket Rugby League Football Club’s annual meeting. It was to be held on February 28 at No. 8 Melrose Street with “all members are requested to attend” by honorary secretary R.W. Hills. They posted a notice for practices for all of their teams in mid April at the Auckland Domain.
The club was entering teams in the 3rd Intermediate Grade, 5th Grade, 6th A Grade, and Schoolboys. The first round of games were played on May 4. The 3rd grade Intermediate’s first match was against Mount Albert at Mount Albert at 3pm. Newmarket won the match 28 to 0. The team list was published in the Auckland Star and included: J. Stewart, N. Funnell, R. Donkin, Clarke (2), Hunt (2), McIlroy (2), A. Clough, B. Frieny, Blundell, Beeston, Ford, R. McConnell, Daniels, Milligan, and Robson. They would go on to finish 3rd out of 8 teams with an 8 win, 5 loss record, scoring 112 points and conceding 41. They won the knockout competition when they beat Devonport United 7-6 on September 28. It was reported at this stage of the year that Ponsonby had secured the services of Pat Meehan for their senior squad. It was said that he “is a promising young player, who may have to miss the first few matches because of a recent spell in hospital. A junior, who was outstanding when he played for Newmarket”. The knockout final victory was covered by The Sun newspaper on September 30. They wrote “the Newmarket third intermediate graders scored and exciting last minute victory by 7 points to 6 when they met Shore in the final of the knock-out competition at Carlaw Park on Saturday… In the early stages the game lacked excitement, both sides spoiling the play by too much kicking. Newmarket went to the a slight attack and from a good position [Pat] Meehan managed a fine penalty goal. In the second half “play was again loose and uninteresting… weak offside play by a Shore player gave Meehan another shot at goal. He was successful and the half time score was Newmarket 4, Devonport 2. Then a few minutes before the end of the game “Newmarket produced a back movement which could be described as brilliant. With his side holding a good attacking position, halfback A. Clough snapped the ball up from a scrum and send out to Meehan, to Hunt, and on to Buchanan on the wing, who raced over in the corner for a fine try, which was not converted”.
For the June 8 games all of the Newmarket team lists were published in the newspapers. The 3rd Intermediate side was the same as a month earlier with the addition of a player named C. Leek in the backs. They lost 6-5 at the Devonport Domain “after a hard game”. The Sun newspaper said however that “the game was marred by too much talking on the field, and the Newmarket Leaguers were the chief offenders”.
The 5th Grade team to play City Rovers was Riley, Wilson, Sarney, McLennan, Allen, Banks, Geal, Dearson, Appleton, Aukett, Ford, Weaver, O’Shaughnessey, Wheelhouse, Sheehan, and Leek. They won 8 points to 0. They finished the year runners-up in the championship behind Richmond with a 9 win, 1 draw, 4 loss record, scoring 147 points and conceding 64.
Their 6th Grade A team to play Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers was Sercomb, Young, Carr, Green, Elliott, Rhodes, Smith, Tonkinson, Brown, Allen, Gore, Casey, Bishop, Crowhurst, and Smith. They lost 21 to 0 at Northcote and despite 15 players being named in their squad only 10 of them made the trip leaving them three short. The Sun wrote “Newmarket sixth grade A journeyed to Northcote and was beaten by 21 points to 0. The game was very even until the last quarter, when Newmarket lost Carey, who received injuries. In fact , up until this, Newmarket had only 10 men, and when it lost Carey, Shore began to pile on the points. It indeed says very little for those members of the Newmarket team who failed to turn up. With a full team, Newmarket would have been almost certain of a victory”. They finished the year second to last in a 10 team competition registering just one win and losing 12 games, scoring just five points and conceding 141.
Their schoolboys side to play Mount Alberts schoolboys side was McGregor, Jack, Franks, Murray, Emslie, Randell, Lund, Conway, Whitehead, Watts, Pattison, Wheelhouse, Baird, Traynor, McIvor, and Compton. Newmarket won 8 to 5 at Mount Albert at 2pm. The Sun newspaper wrote about several of the Newmarket teams the following week. Of the schoolboys side they wrote “The Newmarket schoolboys’ team travelled to Mount Albert, and after a good even game was successful in clinching a victory by 8 points to 5. Both the Newmarket and Mount Albert boys are showing a marked improvement in their play”. The schoolboys side once again won the championship after doing so in their inaugural season. They won 14 games and only lost once to easily win from second placed Newton Primary School. They also won the knockout tournament 25-5 when they beat Mangere Primary School on October 12. Then at the end of the season they also competed in a 7 team knockout tournament and won it, beating Mangere Primary School 6-0 in the final to complete a remarkable season. In the championship they scored 272 points and conceded only 21.
It was reported on July 2 that the Newmarket club had donated 2£ and 2 shillings to the Newmarket List which had been opened by the Mayor of Newmarket Mr. S. Donaldson. For the July 20 games the Newmarket 3rd Grade side featured Pat Meehan who had transferred back to the club after only playing one game for the Ponsonby seniors. It was said that he had “been on the sick list this season, and has not been seen in action except on one occasion when his side was short of players”.