Auckland Rugby League 100 Years

[deluded pom?]

 

[kiwis 13 6]

1st time ive seen that doco thanks Pom for posting it

[ATLANTISMAN]

BRILLIANT CHEERED ME UP TONIGHT 

Dean Bell still looking good must be 50 + now 

 

Paul

[unapologetic pedant]

20 hours ago, deluded pom? said:

 

I watched this several times a couple of years back, it disappeared from YouTube for a while, then reappeared and seems to be getting more views this time around. I think it was made by Maori Television. I love the Auckland competition, it deserves far more awareness, especially in Australia. The Howick-Mt Albert grand final was one of the best games anywhere last year.

[Futtocks]

Just got round to watching this, and it is excellent. Great to see some past stars reminiscing about the Carlaw Park mud.

[kiwis 13 6]

Interesting points in that doco for me were

didn't know Jim Rukutai was 1st Maori to Coach the Kiwi's National side in 1921.

Mike Mclennan who recently passed away saying he had to clean toilets at school for not playing Rugby Union for the School even though he represented the school in athletics. I saw a program on Mike Mclennans unfortunate passing on NZ TV  last week his wife saying he disliked Union so much he would not even bring himself drive past Eden Park.

Stacey Jones saying the Warriors would be a greater force if the had of played a a redeveloped Carlaw Park

Clayton Friends mum fronting up to the school principal for trying to force him to play Rugby Union.

Steve Buckingham talking about what its like for white Guys playing league in NZ, Steve Buckingham should have got some games at the NZ Warriors he had already played NRL level with Adelaide Rams and was the stand out player in the lion red cup at a time NZ Warriors lacked an organizing player with excellent kicking game!

Rusty Matua saying that the NZ Warriors and NRL had taken all the money and media attention from the local game. which is true these days the local game almost never ever gets a mention in NZ media anymore.

A lady saying how 300 players a year are lost to Australia. That Trend still continues and atleast half of those that leave dont come back to NZ in a niche sport like rugby League in NZ thats creating  a big hole in people who playing and go on to be involved in the sport at all levels.

Mad Butcher the Warriors biggest supporter admitting the NZ Warriors had been a mixed blessing for NZ Rugby league.

 

[unapologetic pedant]

5 hours ago, kiwis 13 6 said:

Interesting points in that doco for me were

didn't know Jim Rukutai was 1st Maori to Coach the Kiwi's National side in 1921.

Mike Mclennan who recently passed away saying he had to clean toilets at school for not playing Rugby Union for the School even though he represented the school in athletics. I saw a program on Mike Mclennans unfortunate passing on NZ TV  last week his wife saying he disliked Union so much he would not even bring himself drive past Eden Park.

Stacey Jones saying the Warriors would be a greater force if the had of played a a redeveloped Carlaw Park

Clayton Friends mum fronting up to the school principal for trying to force him to play Rugby Union.

Steve Buckingham talking about what its like for white Guys playing league in NZ, Steve Buckingham should have got some games at the NZ Warriors he had already played NRL level with Adelaide Rams and was the stand out player in the lion red cup at a time NZ Warriors lacked an organizing player with excellent kicking game!

Rusty Matua saying that the NZ Warriors and NRL had taken all the money and media attention from the local game. which is true these days the local game almost never ever gets a mention in NZ media anymore.

A lady saying how 300 players a year are lost to Australia. That Trend still continues and atleast half of those that leave dont come back to NZ in a niche sport like rugby League in NZ thats creating  a big hole in people who playing and go on to be involved in the sport at all levels.

Mad Butcher the Warriors biggest supporter admitting the NZ Warriors had been a mixed blessing for NZ Rugby league.

 

As a coach Mike McClennan was never short on new ideas and methods. Probably his finest moments at Saints were the 1991 Challenge Cup, where they outclassed heavy favourites Widnes in the semi, then got the closest anyone did for the best part of a decade to turning Wigan over in a tight final.

Frankly, I was not that disappointed to lose Carlaw Park. Atmospheric it might have been, but it could, for let`s call them well-documented reasons, sometimes provide conditions which did the game no favours. Interestingly, I think the Auckland region is one of a number in NZ currently experiencing a drought.

Every NZ League region needs a Cathy Friend, preferably several.

Finding a way to politically address the Union grip on the schools remains the pressing issue for NZ RL. Whatever the existing health of a game, for one dominant in schools there`s always another day, for one marginalised in schools it`s forever an uphill battle. Schools, by definition, are always the future.

Rusty Matua is someone who, like Cameron Bell, would have been an NRL coach if he were Australian. Cameron transformed the fortunes of Carlisle in the early nineties through a combination of improving the players he inherited, and shrewd recruitment from the Auckland comp he knew so well.

It would be surprising if that figure of 300 players lost to Aus were not even higher a decade on. Now it`s female players as well and some of the driving forces behind Aussie clubs off the field are NZ- born.

The mild-mannered Mad Butcher took a trip to the West Coast a little while back, which yielded some good interviews on his Facebook page.

[kiwis 13 6]

 

Auckland Rugby League Provincial Rep Side and Other NZ Sides including The NZ Kiwis side did some experimental moves at times back in the day that worked about half the time to lol. That spirit has been lost from the modern day game.

The Link for the story about Mike Mclennans passing is the one called Bluey https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/sunday 

NZ needs a semi pro comp to keep people involved in the local game and have something local to aim for. The best chance of that happening would be expanding Aucklands Premier Club Competition Fox Memorial to include Canterbury, Waikato and Wellington Rep sides. The next NZ NRL TV rights deal needs to include some level of funding/ TV coverage for a NZ semi pro comp. NZ has generated profits for the NRL for 25 years now and loses hundreds of players every year to oz. 

 

[Themusician_2]

I never RL was the most popular sport in Auckland during the war it's a shame union recovered. Same thing happened in Sydney but union never recovered