1921 Auckland Rugby League season

Club teams by grade participation Junior Management Committee The Junior management committee elected for the season was: G. Stevens, W. Church, J. Ball, H. Clayton, W. Dowle, A.E. Smith, W. Lusty, W.J. Davidson (Hon. Sec), T. Fielding (Chairman), J. Aggers, K. Lippiatt. Club name changes and mergers On 13 April the Management Committee of the Auckland Rugby League met. At the meeting Grafton was granted permission to change its name to "Fire Brigade Club". Devonport United notified the league that the Devonport Borough Council had allocated the Devonport Domain for its use. During the season the club was named 'North Shore' and 'Devonport' interchangeably by both The New Zealand Herald and the Auckland Star. In 1920 the club had seen a merger between North Shore Albions and the Sunnyside club and agreed on the name Devonport United but it appears that the stronger club's name was still more favoured by those reporting on the games, and it was eventually the name adopted by the club. While the Kingsland Rovers club wrote asking for advice on what it should do regarding a ground for the club to play at.{{cite news Carlaw Park open for business Carlaw Park was named after James Carlaw who had been heavily involved in the development of rugby league in the Auckland area for many years. History was made on 25 June when the first ever match was played on Carlaw Park between City Rovers and Maritime. The match was won by City Rovers 10 points to 8. Prior to the match an official opening ceremony was held. "The park was declared open by Hon. Arthur Myers, MP. Mr and Mrs. Carlaw were each presented with a gold badge and certificate of life membership on the ground, and at the conclusion of the ceremony Mrs Carlaw kicked off for the first game on the new park".{{cite news Female football club denied by the league On 12 July a meeting was held in Parnell to form a "girls" rugby league competition with over 40 enrolling. They were to play a game on Carlaw Park on the following Saturday afternoon. They were all aged between 16 and 20 years of age. The chairman of the Parnell club, Mr. A.R. Turner explained "that it wished to develop the girls as well as the men, and to this end the club was being formed at the suggestion of the girls". A trophy "similar to the Monteith Shield" had been donated, and "members of the Auckland League Management Committee had donated a football, and were providing assistance in supplying jerseys. At the meeting when the time for enrollment came it was described that "they rose in a body and fairly rushed the table, which was in danger of being overturned in the excitement of the moment" Ivan Culpan, secretary of the league told the girls that the league would train them every evening in the lead up to the match.{{cite news Arthur Singe switches to rugby league At the beginning of the season Marist Old Boys enticed Arthur Singe to join the club. He was an outstanding rugby player playing in the wing-forward position (flanker in today's terms). He played for the New Zealand Army rugby team which toured Great Britain and then South Africa at the end of the war. When he returned to New Zealand he played for the Marist rugby club and played for Auckland 8 teams. He narrowly missed the New Zealand rugby team to tour Australia after playing just 10 minutes in the North Island v South Island match which acted as a trial of sorts. He switched codes and joined Marist, playing for them in 1921–22 and 1925–26 before going on tour with the New Zealand team on their ill-fated tour of England. Seven players went on strike due to issues with management on the tour and were ultimately banned for life. Singe was the only Auckland player among the strikers. The ban was lifted in 1962, 26 years after his death in 1936. Singe was to play 48 games for Marist scoring 148 points, 15 games for Auckland scoring 25 points, and 8 matches for New Zealand. == Monteith Shield (first grade championship) ==

Monteith Shield standings Monteith Shield fixtures Round 1 Arthur Singe debuted for Marist. His mother was Irish and father Chinese, making him one of the first ever players of Asian heritage in New Zealand representative rugby league along with James Hing who played in the same era for Marist and later coached Point Chevalier. Singe had played for the New Zealand Army rugby union team during World War 1. Singe narrowly missed out on selection for the All Blacks in 1920 after playing for the North Island in a trial match and soon after switched to rugby league. He was a loose forward and went on to play rugby league for Auckland and New Zealand. On the 1926-27 tour of England he was one of several players who boycotted matches due to a disagreement with the coach/manager and was suspended for several matches. Following the tour he was banned for life by the New Zealand Rugby League. In 1962 the New Zealand Rugby League lifted the ban on Singe and his 6 teammates. However by this time 4 of the 6 players had already passed away including Singe who died in 1936. Round 2 Round 3 An enormous crowd of 6,000 attended the Marist v Newton match which was somewhat of a surprise as Marist were relatively new in the grade and had only won one of their two opening matches. The game was delayed 20 minutes as officials took that amount of time to clear the #2 field at Victoria Park of spectators. At halftime Newton led 5-4 and as the #1 field was now empty the second half was moved to that field. With 12 minutes remaining Newton still led 5-4 but Percy Gallagher of the Marist side scored a try, converted by Arthur Singe to put them in the lead. Remarkably the same pairing repeated the feat twice more to take a 19-5 lead before Arthur Eustace ran 75 yards to secure the win with the crowd pouring on to the field amidst the action. Round 4 Ivan Littlewood debuted for Maritime and scored a try in their 12-10 win over Newton. He went on to represent Auckland 22 times from 1921 to 1927 and played for New Zealand in 1 test match in 1925. He was a consistent try scorer with 80 tries from 120 club games from 1921 to 1934 and finished with 12 tries this season which made him the unofficial top try scorer. Round 5 The match between Marist and Devonport was originally scheduled to be played at the Devonport Domain. However the Marist club protested to the Auckland Rugby League that they had played at that venue the week before and the ground was particularly hard and also that many of their players could not get away from work early enough to travel to the ground and they would likely forfeit. The league sent a delegation to inspect the ground. It was then decided to move the match to the Auckland Domain number 3 field. Round 6 Round 6 was somewhat farcical. Devonport fielded several juniors and when the score got to 14–0 in favour of Maritime very quickly four Maritime players changed teams to make it a more even contest. The remainder of the game more resembled a practice match. While Newton defaulted their match with Fire Brigade as only 6 players turned out. The New Zealand Herald match report stated that "counter-attractions proving too strong for the Newton players". Round 7 Round 8 John Lang, who had switched to rugby union weeks earlier was denied reinstatement in that code. As a result he returned to rugby league and joined the Marist club, making his debut in their game against City. He went on to represent them for 4 seasons and also made several appearances for Auckland while a Marist member. Ernie Herring also formally of the Maritime club had tried to transfer to the Marist rugby union club but instead turned out for the Marist rugby league side. The Auckland Rugby League cleared their transfers before kickoff. Herring scored a try for Marist in their loss to City. For City Ben Davidson scored two tries and the New Zealand Herald referred to him as 'Harley Davidson' in their match report, presumably after the motorcycle which had become popular at the time. One of City's tries was scored by Harry Hawkes who actually lost the ball over the line but he did so after crashing into a spectator who was on the field of play so the referee awarded the try anyway. Spectators crowding on to the field was a constant problem at the Auckland Domain and Victoria Park matches which drew very large crowds and had almost no fencing. Round 9 Round 9 saw the opening of Carlaw Park and the first ever match played on its soil. Auckland mayor and Auckland Rugby League president, Arthur Myers officially declared the ground open before 7,000 spectators. James Carlaw and his wife were presented with certificates making them the first two life members of the park. Only one match was played with City Rovers defeating Maritime by 10 points to 8 after overcoming a 0-8 half time deficit. Bert Lunn of the Maritime side had the honour of scoring the first try on the ground. A City player, George Reid was accidentally kicked in the head and was taken to hospital where he was treated for a "minor scalp wound".{{cite news Round 10 Round 11 The City v Newton game was discontinued at halftime due to the score line. Newton had started the match a man short and the score line had already blown out to 37–5 by the interval. Roope Rooster knockout competition The first round match between Marist Old Boys and Maritime ended controversially with Marist complaining that the match had finished early (when they were trailing by 10 points to 8). They protested and the match was replayed with Maritime winning 21 to 10. The referee in charge, Walter Ripley announced his resignation in the following week but did referee again for several years and later served on the board of the Referee's Association. The final was won by City Rovers who defeated Maritime in the final in front of a large crowd by 30 points to 14. Over £230 were taken at the gate which was a record for Carlaw Park, albeit in its first season of use. From this 50 percent went to the Auckland League Sick and Injured Players' Fund, 25 percent to the Hospital Radium Fund, and 25 percent to the St. John Ambulance Association.{{cite news Round 1 Semi final Round 1 replay Semi final Final The gate takings for the final were £230 which was a record to this early point in Carlaw Parks history. It was to be divided 50 percent to the Auckland Rugby League Sick and Injured Players' Fund, 25 percent to the Hospital Radium Fund, and 25 percent to the St. John Ambulance Association which provided first aiders to all the league matches.{{cite news Top try scorers and point scorers The lists include points scored in the Monteith Shield first grade competition and the Roope Rooster competition only. Games played are estimates only based on team lists published in the Auckland Star and New Zealand Herald the day before the games, and match reports where generally several players were named. == Other club matches ==

Thacker Shield The Thacker Shield was held by Ponsonby United coming into the 1921 season however there was a dispute over whether the shield should be held by North Island teams as it was unclear if it had been intended for competition among South Island teams only. The New Zealand council decided that the rules should be amended to allow North Island teams to hold it but the donor, Dr. H.T.J. Thacker and the Canterbury Rugby League would not agree to them. As such the shield was returned to the donor. Mr. C Weaver donated a trophy to take its place and this became known as the Challenge Shield and it was this that Ponsonby went on to defend twice. They first hosted Petone from Wellington who they beat 18–13. In the curtain-raiser Petone juniors were defeated by Richmond by 14 points to 8. In the evening the Petone players were entertained at the Druids' Hall by the Ponsonby club and Auckland League. They later defeated Huntly 19–8 before losing the Shield to local rivals City Rovers Ponsonby v Petone Ponsonby v Huntly For the Huntly side Huatahi Paki scored a try. He had previously spent a season in Auckland playing for the City Rovers side along with his brother George Paki and following the 1922 New Zealand Maori tour of Australia was signed by the St George side in Sydney for the 1923 season. The match was played in terrible conditions with heavy rain and as a result the crowd was only around 2,000. City v Ponsonby City took the Thacker Shield from Ponsonby and added it to their other trophies gained during the season. Harry Francis (City) and Sam Lowrie (Ponsonby) were sent off for fighting one another during the second half. Ben Davidson had earlier left the field so City only had 11 players for a time before Davidson was able to rejoin the game. Exhibition matches Hamilton v Maritime Cambridge v City Rovers On August 13 the City senior side travelled to Cambridge to play the local team at Victoria Square. City took a young side with just 6 regular first grade players in the travelling party (Paki, Wetherill, Peckham, Francis, Reid, and Hawkes). After leading 6-5 at halftime City eventually lost 16-14. Ernie Asher the City secretary travelled with the side which was entertained afterwards at the Triangle tea rooms, and later the Town Hall Pictures. == Lower grades ==

There were 7 lower grades in 1921. Second grade Newton defeated Maritime in the second grade final by 17 points to 11 at Carlaw Park to win the Second Grade Cup. Future New Zealand representative Charles Gregory played for Newton. They ultimately finished the season with a 10 win, 1 draw, 1 loss record, scoring 149 points and conceding 57.{{cite news Third grade (Myers Cup) Kingsland Rovers won the competition when they drew with Newton 9-9 on August 6 in round 12. Future New Zealand international Claude List was in the Kingsland side, aged 18. In the first 5 rounds many results were reported however the second half of the season had very few reported. Parnell entered a team in the knockout competition which began on August 13 and had a 3-3 draw with Ellerslie. Marist were scheduled to play Ellerslie in round 1 but there was no result reported and they withdrew from the competition after this. Fourth grade Otahuhu won the championship though not all results were reported. Fifth grade City Rovers defeated Richmond by 5 points to 2 to win the championship. There were very few results reported during the season. Marist entered 2 teams however their B team withdrew after round 3. Kingsland withdrew after round 11, and North Shore and Manukau after round 12. Parnell entered a team late in the season to play a friendly match. Sixth grade A Richmond won the competition. There were very few results reported during the season. Parnell entered a team in the competition on July 23 though it is unclear if their 5 matches counted towards the championship. Only one of their results was reported, a 9-2 loss to Maritime. Sixth grade B Ponsonby won the competition. There were almost no results reported beyond round 6, with only 3 of Ponsonby's results reported. Parnell entered a team on July 16 and played 3 matches. It is unclear if their matches contributed to the final standings, the only game that had a result reported for them was a 33-0 loss to Ponsonby. Cadet competition This was the first year that a cadet competition had been played. The 18th Company won the competition. The 34th Cadets were based in Mt Eden while the 51st Senior Cadets were based in Devonport. This competition was won by the 18th Company of Senior Cadets after they won the final game of the season defeating the 13th Company by 7 points to 2. The 23rd Company played a match with the 37th Company which they won 19 to 0. This match was outside of the competition. ==Auckland representative fixtures==

It was a very busy season for the Auckland representative team with eleven matches played. Though in reality B and C teams played some of the fixtures as matches were played at the same time in different centres. One of the matches was by the Auckland touring team against Ponsonby on August 13, in the weekend prior to their departure. They won seven matches and lost four. On 20 August Auckland played three matches, which showed off their depth. One at Carlaw Park versus King Country, one in Hamilton against South Auckland, and one against Wellington on the Basin Reserve. They won against King Country and Wellington, with a loss against South Auckland. Auckland v New Zealand Auckland v Wellington (Northern Union C.C.) Auckland v Hawkes Bay (Northern Union C.C.) Auckland v Ponsonby This match was something of a practice match and played as a curtain raiser to the Maritime - Marist Round 1 replay in the Roope Rooster though it had a huge crowd in attendance of nearly 10,000 at Victoria Park. Ben and Bill Davidson scored all of Auckland's points in their 22-12 loss. For the strong Ponsonby side Sam Lowrie and Bill Walsh scored two of their three tries, while Thomas McClymont kicked 5 goals. Auckland v King Country South Auckland (Waikato) v Auckland Wellington v Auckland West Coast v Auckland Hawkes Bay v Auckland The Auckland team was mentioned as "Auckland B" in 2 sources however they were named as Auckland on multiple occasions and was essentially the same team which played South Auckland the week prior where it was considered Auckland and therefore they have been considered a full Auckland side. Canterbury v Auckland Hawkes Bay v Auckland B Auckland v South Auckland (Waikato) Auckland representative matches played and scorers Bill Williams began the season playing for Newton Rangers however after they were struggling for numbers and defaulted a game he transferred to the Fire Brigade team where he played 3 matches in June and July. == New Zealand representatives from Auckland ==

Team to tour Australia Backs • Eric Grey (Maritime) • Charles Woolley (Fire Brigade) • Bill Davidson (City Rovers) • Bert Laing (City Rovers) • Clarrie Polson (Newton Rangers) Forwards • Wally Somers (Newton Rangers) • Bill Williams (Newton Rangers) • Henry Tancred (City Rovers) • George Paki (City Rovers) • Joe Meadows (Ponsonby) • Bert Avery (Maritime) == References ==