Preliminary rounds Preliminary round 1 Roy Mansill debuted for Mount Albert on the wing. He was the Auckland amateur sprint champion and the son of Arthur Mansill who played 41 games for
Newton Rangers from
1918 to
1929 and three games for Auckland in
1926. Roy enlisted in the NZ air force as a pilot and was killed on a training flight at
RNZAF Base Ohakea on August 3, 1945. He was educated at
Auckland Grammar School.{{cite news
Preliminary round 2 Fred Tottey was said to have been the "outstanding player" in Mount Albert's 15–12 win over Manukau. At centre three-quarter his "speed off the mark, elusiveness and swift penetration was too much for the Manukau defence at times". For Manukau, Butler and Te Tai their new players from North Auckland again played well while
Pita Ririnui was their best forward. For Papakura in their 23 loss to Marist, the pace was set by
Harold Milliken in the forwards. He was well supported by J. Agnew and Buckeridge. While in the backs George Osborne at halfback, Ewan Cossey in the five eighths and J McInnes and L Wright in the three quarters were their pick though they mostly featured as individuals rather than was a unit. In contrast the Marist backs "at times worked sweetly in concert".
Robert Grotte at halfback "was always alert... while [Jimmy] Chalmers was penetrative in the five eighths". For City A. Smith was their most impressive back in their easy 21–0 win against Ponsonby who were once again without
Arthur Kay. James Brassey and Jim Gould looked impressive on the wings and Walter Findlater, Claude Kindley, and John Magee played well in their forwards. For Ponsonby Boyd at fullback, Funnell on the wing and Shilling at centre stood out, as did Roy Gee and Chester in the forwards. It was mentioned that North Shore would unlikely have the services of big New Zealand forward
Ross Jones this year as his farm at
Matakana was taking all his attention. They would however have
Bruce Graham, "the big Wairarapa forward". In their backs they had stars in
Verdun Scott and
Jack Smith, while Robert Cheater and Bernard Evans on the wings were very fast. Evans had played in Sydney the previous season but had started his football at the Takapuna School. Bruce Donaldson also debuted for them after moving from Mount Albert where he had been a prolific point scorer the previous year. They had also acquired the fine loose forward, Clarrie Petersen from Ponsonby.
Fox Memorial standings Fox Memorial results Round 1 , the North Shore fullback who represented New Zealand at rugby league and cricket., usually in the second row for Manukau, played in the backline.The North Shore v Mount Albert game was "hard fought all the way".
Verdun Scott and
Jack Smith "rose to every call made on them and were superlative in defence". Of the North Shore forwards Arthur Sowter and Condon were the pick. In attack the Shore side struggled to get the ball out wide but Robert Cheaters pace led to two tries. The Mount Albert forwards gave a "great display" with Richard Shadbolt and Joseph Gunning "ever prominent... [and giving] a great display". Les Clement was a "very fine attacking half". Colin Cowley was tried at fullback and "came through a hard day well but would probably be better placed in the three-quarter line". Manukau beat City 11-2 despite playing regular forwards
Jack Brodrick and
Pita Ririnui in the backline. Peter Mahima was their outstanding back scoring two "fine tries" and George Shilton and Freddie Maguire stood out in the forwards.
Hawea Mataira was "certainly the outstanding one" in their forwards, while George Raisbeck gave his side brilliant service from halfback and "showed speed and initiative". At fullback
Warwick Clarke, who would go on to represent New Zealand in 1946 gave an "exhibition at fullback that had the impress of real class". Phil Donovan and
Robert Grotte were both missing from the Marist backline. Jimmy Chalmers "gave solid service to Marist" at halfback while Gerry Hughes and Dave McWilliams were "sound throughout" in the five eighths and Cliff Hudson "also impressed for an exhibition of good all round play at centre".
Gordon Midgley went off injured in the first half and was replaced by McWilliams who went into five eighths with Ivor Uhlmann shifting to the wing where he played better after being "too flat footed" in the five eighths. In the full back position for Newton
Claude Dempsey kicked too much. Papakura failed dismally in their opening championship game despite showing promise in their preliminary game. Of their team "the only players to make any impression at all were L. Wright and [Ewan] Cossey among the backs, and
H. Milliken and Buckeridge in the forwards". In the totally dominant Richmond win over Papakura, forwards
George Mitchell, Merv Devine, Hermes Hadley, and Maurice Metcalfe "were shining lights ... who raked the ball consistently for their backs". In the Richmond backs
Abbie Graham and
Dave Solomon "were outstanding, making fine openings for their supports and showing excellent appreciation of positional play".
Laurie Mills on the wing "showed some of that dash which won him a place in the 1939 New Zealand team. Whilst on the other wing Trevor Bramley kicked 8 conversions, 2 penalties and scored a try for 23 points.
Round 2 who kicked four goals for Manukau., the Mount Albert winger who had been selected for the New Zealand tour of England the previous year in just his second season of senior rugby league.
Jack Hemi kicked four goals for Manukau in their comfortable 23-7 win over Mount Albert. He was playing his first game of the year and was said to have fielded the ball and tackled very well though mostly kicked rather than run his backs into position. W Tawhai at first five eighth and Ralph Martin who had transferred from Otahuhu at second five eighth were "shining lights" along with halfback Peter Mahima. While
Tommy Chase at centre three quarter "again revealed himself as the best pivot in the game in Auckland". The losers had to play a lot of the second half with 12 player after fullback H Mclachlan went off injured. Mount Albert failed to get clean ball to their halfback Les Clement who in turn struggled to get good quality out to the backline.
Bob Banham at first five eighth "was always looking for the opening that did not come" while
Arthur McInnarney was dangerous on the rare occasion that the ball got out to him on the wing. Newton we said to have been "spurred on by a highly partisan crowd" to a 11–6 win over Richmond. Jack Taylor was brilliant for them in the forwards always up with the play with the Auckland Star saying he "was here there and everywhere". Veteran
Claude Dempsey was safe at fullback and kicked for the line excellently and outplayed his opposite, Trevor Bramley.
Wilfred Brimble "proved as nimble as ever behind the scrum and saw that his brother (
Ted Brimble) at first five eighth had plenty of opportunities". Their back defence was excellent and they shut down a backline which included several
New Zealand international players from the past, present, and future with
Dave Solomon,
Wally Tittleton,
Laurie Mills, and
Abbie Graham all "seen in a subdued light". Marist only trailed North Shore by one point at halftime but the North Shore backs showed "superior speed" in the second half to pull away. Bruce Donaldson, who had transferred from Mount Albert played well while J McArthur on debut was good behind the scrum. For Marist their centre Cliff Hudson and winger Ivor Uhlmann were their best backs while Phil Donovan also worked hard at halfback. Papakura bounced back from their thrashing the week before to beat Ponsonby 5–0 after a scoreless first half. It was however to be their only win of the championship. Hogan and
Harold Milliken headed their forward pack with Buckeridge and Pratney also giving excellent support. J McInnes tackled well in their backs and Ray Halsey who had transferred from Marist scored a try and "showed initiative on attack". For Ponsonby, Des Williams and Wilfred Dormer had to do a lot of defending and
Roy Nurse and John Bakalich "stood out prominently" in a backline still missing the services of
Arthur Kay.
Round 3 the Marist loose forward who kicked six goals. In the 3pm match on the number 1 field Richmond beat North Shore 15–12 before 4,000 spectators. Their outstanding player was
Abbie Graham who "not only did he pave the way for several Richmond tries, but he rounded off a good day with a try himself". After halftime North Shore had to bring
Jack Smith up from centre to "keep an eye on him". Since
Dave Solomon joined the side Graham had been slightly overshadowed but he was the better of the two on Saturday and "he weaved a passage dexterously through the Shore defence on several occasions, was usually trailing in support when support was needed, and what was more, despite his slight build, invariably got his man". For North Shore Ted Scott returned to the side and "there was no better grafter on the ground". His cousin
Verdun Scott also played a sound game at full back. For Marist a key contributor was their "diminutive right winger" Jimmy Matthews who "played a rattling good game" and scored a try. Well known boxer, Dave McWilliams also crossed for two tries for Marist in an impressive 30–17 win over Manukau after leading 20–5 at halftime. Ivor Uhlmann was sound at fullback, while Benny Crocker, Dave McWilliams, and Jimmy Chalmers were dangerous near the scrum. Crocker had returned to Marist after two seasons with Papakura.
John Anderson kicked six goals for Marist. Newton gave Ponsonby their third defeat winning easily 20–0 to move to first in the standings. The "delightful five eighth"
Ted Brimble was at the heart of the Newton attack. Donald McKenzie, Harry Richards, and Linley Sanders "reacted to his clever tactics" with the later two scoring three tries between them on the wings. Loose forward Jack Taylor stood out once again in their forwards "being in every movement" and he snapped up a ball in the greasy conditions to score a try which drew applause from the crowd. For Ponsonby their former Auckland representative hooker, Huck Flanagan made his first appearance of the season. City beat Mount Albert 13–6 to gain their first win after over turning a 2–6 halftime deficit. Future New Zealand representative
Warwick Clarke "played a splendid game" at fullback for City. He had debuted in round one after transferring from
Ellerslie at the start of the season. Bill Jackson impressed in the forwards for City and it was said that he should go close to representative honours. For Mount Albert their slightly built winger Colin Cowley scored a magnificent try. Roy Mansill on the left wing mishandled but Cowley sensing a chance raced across from midfield and took possession, beating James Brassey the opposite winger on the outside then beat an attempted high tackle by
Warwick Clarke at fullback before scoring in the corner. City winger Jim Gould scored a try from halfway after capitalising on a mistake by Roy Mansill.
Round 4 a halfback through his career, played in the unaccustomed position of second five eighth for Newton outside his brother
Ted Brimble. was sent off for Papakura and suspended for two weeks. He was an All Black in 1938 before switching to rugby league and was selected for the 1939 tour of England.Ponsonby scored their first points since their preliminary game on April 6. In the City v Marist game 28 year old Gordon (Benny) Crocker of Marist fractured his right forearm and was taken to hospital.{{cite news
Round 5 In the match between Mount Albert and Marist, Richard Shadbolt and McLeod were both ordered off near the end of the game. During the week they were severely cautioned by the control board. G.D. (Huck) Flanagan, the hooker for Ponsonby was sent off in their match with Manukau for lifting in the scrums.{{cite news
Round 6 debuted for Newton, joining his brothers Wilfred and Ted. He had played four seasons with Manukau rugby league following five seasons with the Manukau rugby union club.The match between Newton and Mount Albert was played on 25 May as part of a Gala to raise money for the Sick and Wounded Soldiers’ Campaign. The gala featured the senior league match, midget league games, a representative football match, and a relay race between rugby league and football senior players.{{cite news
Round 7 , gave a characteristically good fullback display for Newton., the Mount Albert five eighths from Australia played well.The matches at
Carlaw Park were played before a large crowd of 7,000. In the main match North Shore beat Newton 12–8 with tries to forwards Condon and
Bruce Graham. Newton was ably assisted by
Claude Dempsey who invariably gave yet another outstanding performance at fullback. His "fielding was marked by unerring certainty, he kicked a good length, and moreover placed his kicks for the gaps". His opposite on the North Shore side was
Verdun Scott who was "dependable" but his line kicking "could have been improved on". In the Shore forwards Graham and Ted Scott were the most prominent. Mount Albert completely outclassed Richmond in the first half and had the game won by the interval. The Richmond backs, despite featuring four current and future internationals were disorganised and "could do nothing right". While the Rovers forwards were beaten "in the loose by the rugged Mount Albert forwards". Despite this Merv Devine, the former Wellington rugby representative and All Black trialist played an excellent game for Richmond in their defeat. He was said to be one of the few forwards who had the ability to open up play for his backs. At 14 stone in weight and 6 foot in height he "has speed, good hands, and is one of the best loose forwards in the game". In the Mount Albert backs
Bob Banham and Malcolm Cato played "splendid games" in the five eighths after getting very good service from Les Clement at halfback.
Arthur McInnarney was good on the wing scoring two tries while Basil Cranch on the other wing also played well and scored a try. The best forward on the ground was Mount Albert's Joseph Gunning who was in his fifth senior season with them. Also for Mount Albert, 27-year-old, 13 st 8 lb prop Richard (Dick) Shadbolt stood out. He had switched to rugby league in 1935 after starting his football at Hamilton West School and was a Hamilton schoolboy representative. He moved to Auckland and played rugby union for Suburbs, Marathon, and Grafton. The Auckland Star wrote "he is one of the best forwards in the game, all for the reason that he does a full share in the set scrums and tight work, and does not try to shine at the expense of other branches of forward play in the loose". Ponsonby had their first win of the season. They had played five games and scored no tries but crossed for five tries in a 21–6 victory over City. Their Hooker, Huck Flanagan won the ball constantly from the scrums and
Arthur Kay and Jack McManus "used their pace to beat the defence". McManus was making his first appearance of the season. Williams was good at halfback while
Roy Nurse played a splendid game at centre and Murphy showed promise on the wing scoring their opening two tries two weeks after his debut. At
Onehunga Papakura played "bravely" against Manukau and led at halftime but fell away badly in the second half.
Steve Watene and J Marsh's constant aggressiveness wore out the lighter Papakura pack. It was reported during the following week that
Frank Pickrang formerly of Ponsonby, and Peter Mahima of Manukau had been granted transfers to the Central club in Wellington as they were at the Trentham Military Camp preparing to go to World War 2. Pickrang returned and was later reported to have donated a magnificent photograph collection of the war to an institute in New Zealand, however Mahima was sadly killed in battle.
Round 8 about to fend Richmond fullback
Dave Solomon. (Mount Albert) who had a significant hooking duel with Huck Flanagan (Ponsonby) with both penalised several times. the big veteran Manukau forward.For Manukau in their 14–8 win over the faltering Newton, the 17 stone 2 lb forward
Steve Watene scored a try. He was well supported by J Marsh from the
Hokianga and
Pita Ririnui who the Springbok rugby team had said was the best forward they met on their 1937 tour. Both Marsh and Ririnui weighed "well over 16 stone". They were also blessed with 14 stone 7 lb
Jack Brodrick, one of the outstanding loose forwards in the game for several seasons. In Marist's 20–10 loss to Richmond, James (Jimmy) Matthews on the wing showed his pace and scored one of their two tries. He was 21 years old and had begun playing football at Parnell School. He was born in Bootle, Liverpool on February 23, 1919, and migrated with his family to New Zealand in 1927. In his teens he joined the
Akarana club before transferring to the Marist 5th grade team. Matthews debuted in the senior side in
1938 aged just 19 and weighed 10 st 5 lb. With Peter Mahima enlisting in the war effort the halfback spot was vacant and they filled it with Victor Selwyn. He had "attracted attention when a schoolboy at Pukekohe", and was this season playing for the Avondale fourth grade side where Manukau decided to recruit him to their senior squad. He only weighed 10 stone but "goes down to rushes in a fearless way, and his speed often saves him. He is only eighteen years of age". Mount Albert beat Ponsonby 27–19 with one of the interesting features the battle between hookers
Bert Leatherbarrow and Huck Flanagan. It was thought that Flanagan shaded Leatherbarrow in the hooking department though Leatherbarrow scored two tries which were "well merited" and "topped off a sterling allround exhibition". The City win over Papakura was somewhat controversial as Jim Gould was running towards the Papakura line when Ray Halsey tripped him about 20 yards out. The referee Ken McIvor awarded an obstruction try (which at this time was awarded to the 'offended' player). The Auckland Star reported said that many of the spectators thought the incident was accidental though as the defence was "at sixes and sevens". The conversion by Jack Silva gave City an 11–10 lead which they held on to.
Round 9 the Manukau back with a famous left foot side step.In a preview of the round the Auckland Star wrote about the North Shore - Manukau game saying "both teams will be strongly represented for the occasion. Manukau expect to field the heaviest pack in the code. In
Watene,
Ririnui, and Marsh they have three players over 16.0 in weight and in Rei and
Brodrick two over 14.0." An enormous club crowd of 9,000 saw the three matches there with the 4th played at Ellerslie between Mount Albert and Papakura. J Marsh of Manukau was sent off during the match which was won by North Shore 12-7 but the referee did not submit a report and so the case lapsed enabling Marsh to play the following week.{{cite news
Round 10 (Richmond), one of the standout backs in all of New Zealand rugby league. the giant 16 stone Manukau forward.With Papakura trailing Richmond 32–2 with 14 minutes their captain
Harold Milliken took his side from the number 2 field in protest at a refereeing decision by Owen Chalmers.{{cite news
Round 11 Ponsonby's win over Papakura was their 200th win in first grade matches stretching back to the inaugural season in
1910. They were the first team to achieve this feat. Reg Hollows made a reappearance for North Shore in their 7–5 win over Marist. He had played 26 games for them in 1936 and 1937, scoring 16 tries before moving to Australia where he played rugby league for Tweed Country.
Verdun Scott was the hero for his side in their 7–5 win. With the scores tied 5-5 near the end of the match and North Shore "hammering" at the Marist try line the ball was cleared downfield to him close to the sideline. He "sighted carefully, kicked deliberately and to the undisguised joy of the Shore supporters the ball sailed high over the cross-bar between the posts".
Round 12 In the match between Richmond and North Shore, 24 year old Charles Webb (Richmond) broke his jaw. He had played on after receiving the injury and was taken to hospital after the match.{{cite news
Round 13 the international five eighth for Ponsonby who played an outstanding game. was moved back to his favoured fullback position for North Shore where he excelled.
Jack Hemi returned to the Manukau side after a few weeks absence for their 22–6 loss. He had received a kick to the leg earlier in the season and missed time sporadically and was not yet back to full fitness. As a result, he played in the five eighths rather than his usual position at fullback. In the Richmond backline
Wally Tittleton at centre three quarter gave "an excptionally sound display", "and always improved the position in attack and revealed strong defensive powers. For sheer solid defence Tittleton has no superior in Auckland... [and] gave his best display of the season". Their whole backline functioned well with C Williams getting the ball away well to first five eighth
Dave Solomon and
Abbie Graham along with Tittleton "at the top of his form". The three of them were described as "devastating on attack". While
Laurie Mills and H. Harrison were "speedy and dashing wings". Ponsonby beat North Shore 8–2 with
Arthur Kay prominent in the backs where he opened up play for his outsides, with
Roy Nurse and Jack McManus impressive. In the North Shore side they moved
Jack Smith back to his more accustomed position of fullback where he gave a fine all-round display. On the 1938 tour of Australia he played at fullback, wing, centre, and even halfback in the final tour game against Sydney Firsts, and had been playing in the five eighths for North Shore recently.
Verdun Scott was injured late in the first half and replaced by Owen Wilkie. In the City-Marist match the referee George Kelly received a kick and play had to be stopped for him to receive treatment. In the same match Reginald Haslam made a return to the Marist side after not having played for years and scored a try. He had been an Auckland rugby union representative who had played against England in 1930.{{cite news
Round 14 Marist beat Mt Albert 17–16 in the final minutes after Bill Glover in the unusual position for him of five eighths "snapped a field goal". In general play Glover was described as a "brake" on their attack but Nicholson at halfback, and Jimmy Chalmers, Dave McWilliams, and Gordon Midgley "were spritely on attack and resolute on defence". At fullback for the winners Ivor Uhlmann "tackled splendidly", while Jimmy Matthews was the standout back being "quick to sense an opening" and showing speed and elusiveness. In the forwards their best was former New Zealand international, goal kicking loose forward
John Anderson while he was well supported by Bill Breed, Don McLeod and Billy Grotte. Dobbyn hooked in the absence of Kenneth Finlayson and was "fully a match" for international hooker
Bert Leatherbarrow in the Mount Albert side. For Mount Albert their five eighths
Bob Banham and Malcolm Cato played well being "efficiently fed" by halfback Les Clement, while Colin Cowley frequently "cut through" in the centre position. In their forwards the outstanding player was Joseph Gunning who also scored twice. Rcihmond's five eighths
Dave Solomon "had far too much class for their opposing backs" with
Laurie Mills and
Wally Tittleton the most impressive of the three quarters. In North Shore's 33–5 win over Papakura their fullback
Jack Smith "played an outstanding game and started many effective movements". Eric Chatham was "splendid" in the five eighths, following Bruce Donaldson at first five eighth. North Shore had only scored two converted tries in the first half with Papakura hanging in the game but ran away with it in the second half. In the Papakura side H Hogan played well at halfback. "Splendid following up by [John] Fogarty was also a feature of the game" and
Harold Milliken and Francis were also good in the forwards.
Jack Hemi and
Jack Brodrick were missing from the Manukau side but they still extended Ponsonby. Manukau led by five points at halftime but the superior play of the Ponsonby backs who finished well helped them to the win. Des Williams fed the backs well from halfback playing "easily his best game this season" while
Roy Nurse "played a brilliant game" and scored twice after being well served by the hard straight running of Jack McManus at centre.
Arthur Kay "played a fine game at five eighth" and kicked five goals. Manukau lacked combination but
Tommy Chase was "the pivot of the attack". W Tawhai played well in the five eighths as did Butler and Ralph Martin in the three quarters. In their forwards
Pita Ririnui "played a fine game". In the second half
Steve Watene came out of the scrum to check the Ponsonby backs and tackled well.
Round 15 Laurie Mills played his last ever championship game for Richmond. Mills was a Richmond junior and he and
Arthur McInnarney were the first ever Auckland Primary School representative players to go on to play for New Zealand. He progressed through the grades to debut for the senior side in 1938 and he played 49 games for them scoring 29 tries. The five foot eleven winger who weighed 74 kg also represented the
North Island team in their inter-island match in 1939. Following the trial games he was chosen for the New Zealand tour of England which was unfortunately aborted due to the outbreak of World War 2. Mills had enlisted for the war effort earlier in the year and departed for North Africa soon after his final game. He was killed in
Libya in 1941 on December 1 aged just 23. It was reported in the
Auckland Star that
Verdun Scott was returning from injury however they contradicted their earlier report that said he had received his injury playing basketball at the YMCA, and said that his injury had occurred playing table tennis.{{cite news
Round 16 , the clever Richmond centre who was now in his 5th season for them after previously playing for Ngāruawahia (1930–33) and Taupiri (1934–35) in the Waikato. He had also played 15 games for
New Zealand.The Marist forwards were impressive in their 13–5 loss to Richmond and only tired towards the end. The ground was muddy with a greasy ball with handling mistakes from both teams common. For Richmond
Wally Tittleton "gave his usual brainy exhibition at centre, making an admirable link between the five eighths and the wings, while his defence was excellent". C Williams gave "smart service" from halfback, and
Abbie Graham and
Dave Solomon "came into their own in the second spell". Graham was able to dummy past his opposite twice and break straight through leading to tries.
Jack McLeod and L Williams were the best of Richmond's forwards. The Marist fullback, Bill Glover, "was his usual aggressive self, and presented an adamant front to the Richmond raids". In Manukau's victory over Newton, 29 to 10, their halfback, Peter Mahima, was "brilliant". "He made many fine openings, and was responsible for starting movements which earned at least three tries". Manukau only led 11–10 at halftime but Newton was unable to add to its score and Manukau dominated the second half. In the loose for Manukau,
Steve Watene, one day short of his 30th birthday, "played splendidly, his knowledge of positional play often turning defence into attack. Good handling gave Watene several splendid tries. Pita Ririnui|[Pita] Ririnui also played a dashing game, and was difficult to pull down ... [while George] Shilton was also prominent". In their backs, aside from Mahima,
Tommy Chase "was in excellent form at centre, and made many fine openings for the wingers".
Jack Hemi played well at five eighths, and P Awhitu "on the wing showed plenty of dash and scored two tries". In the Newton backs, they missed
Wilfred Brimble, but
Claude Dempsey "was a tower of strength to his team" at fullback. F Oliver worked hard behind the scrum, and Linley Sanders played well in the five eighths. Frank Zimmerman impressed in the forwards. Ponsonby upset Mount Albert with
Arthur Kay "a dominant figure" who was "more than a match for the Mount Albert back line, which was unbalanced and lacked its usual combination". Shilling was dependable at fullback for the winners, while
Roy Nurse was dangerous in the three quarters and "backed up the clever efforts of [John Bakalich] and Kay. Huck Flanagan hooked well in their forwards and was well supported by Hector Dunning, W Briggs, and
Allen Laird. In Papakura's loss to City, a feature of the game was the excellent forward play of
Harold Milliken and John Fogarty who were in the middle of every attack and Fogarty narrowly missed scoring twice in the second half. The whole City pack also played well while in their backs
Warwick Clarke played a "splendid game" at fullback "and was really responsible for his teams success. His defence was superb". At centre Nesbit, and five eighths, Graham Simpson, both "played heady games" while Owen Highes "did a lot of useful work at halfback". In Papakura's backline H Hogan was useful at halfback, Ewan Cossey prominent at five eighths, and Ray Halsey "played a sound game at centre".
Round 17 debuted for Ponsonby. in his first appearance of the season for Ponsonby. The Manukau v North Shore game featured "spectacular play" with the advantage "fluctuating in an exciting fashion" throughout the first half with play sweeping "from end to end by speedy bouts of handling". In the Manukau back line Ralph Martin defended well at fullback, Mahima got the ball away quickly from the scrum and
Jack Hemi and Joe Broughton "revealing fine constructive ability at five eighths, and
Tommy Chase, Butler, and P Awhitu playing their part".
Len Jordan who would later represent New Zealand made his debut for Ponsonby after transferring from Northcote's senior B side. It was said that he was a player with a future. His try was from 40 yards out and featured "a beautiful swerving run". The Herald wrote that he was "subtle in his methods and fast off the mark". In the same match former international
Brian Riley made his first appearance of the season and was said to have retained "excellent attacking ability". In the Ponsonby forwards W Briggs and
Allen Laird "made a good impression, especially the former, who is one o the best forwards in the code for his size", and Huck Flanagan again hooked successfully for them. He had debuted for them in 1933 and represented New Zealand in 1935 and 1937. The game between City and Newton started 25 minutes and as a result they played short halves. The game was described as "ragged and uninteresting". Newton lost their winger, Mortimer Stephens to injury in the first half and he was replaced by
Walter 'Riki' Brimble. City fullback,
Warwick Clarke played a fine game for them and "he rarely missed the ball on the full and frequently raced to the three quarters and started attacking movements". The best of the City forwards was
Hawea Mataira who played his first game for three weeks. The match between Mount Albert and Papakura did not have any point scorers attributed. It was played at Fowld's Park in Morningside and like many suburban games did not have a reporter sent to it. There was a list published of point scorers to this point of the season which indicated
Bert Leatherbarrow had 65 points from 15 tries and 10 goals which suggested that he must have scored 2 tries and kicked 6 goals in the match. Papakura had many injuries and had to play the second half with just 11 players at which time the score was 29–22.{{cite news
Round 18 Somewhat confusingly the ARL originally decided to just play the Mount Albert – Richmond game in round 18. Richmond had already secured the title but the runner up needed to be decided in the event of Richmond also winning the Roope Rooster as this would mean the Stormont Shield would need to be played against the genuine second placed side. Mount Albert complicated matters by upsetting Richmond which then tied them for second with North Shore. In order to make it fair North Shore then played their round 18 match 2 weeks later against Newton at the Devonport Domain in a match which doubled as a Phelan Shield second round match. They won 33–15 to finish runner up on their own. With little riding on the game for Newton they fielded several 3rd grade players. Ultimately Richmond did indeed win the Roope Rooster meaning they played North Shore in the Stormont Shield with the Devonport-based side winning.{{cite news
Roope Rooster Otahuhu United, who had won the Senior B competition were given permission to play in the Roope Rooster competition. They were defeated by Papakura in the first round by 23 points to 9.
Round 1 Marist scored four unconverted tries to beat Newton who could only manage a solitary penalty to fullback
Claude Dempsey who "was brilliant... and frequently extricated his side from awkward situations". For the winners Jimmy Matthews, Dave McWilliams, and
John Anderson were "the pivots of the attack". In the Newton backline the equivalent players were Mortimer Stephens, Bill McKenzie, and
Walter Brimble. They fielded three third grade players including Harry Burton in the five eighths "who played a good game". Burton would go to war and in 1944 he received the
Distinguished Flying Cross award. Otahuhu was very disappointing in their step up to the top division losing 23–9 to Papakura. Their forwards were much lighter than the Papakura pack. They were also not able to field their best team and centre O McManus had to leave the field through injury. For Papakura winger Trevor Hosken scored twice while fullback J McInnes kicked three conversions and a penalty. For the Otahuhu side their best players were P McManus on the wing, Mullins in the five eighths, and T Johnston and Philip in the forwards.
Round 2 In the match between Papakura and Manukau, Selwyn Jackson made his debut for Manukau. He was a Hawkes Bay rugby representative and had gone on the 1938 tour of
Fiji with New Zealand Māori.{{cite news
Semi finals Ponsonby fielded one of their best backlines in several seasons with a mix of youth and experience with three future New Zealand league or union representatives and two former ones.
Arthur Kay in the five eighths was outstanding for Ponsonby, scoring three tries and kicking seven goals for a personal haul of 23 points, one of the largest for many years in senior club league in Auckland. The Herald said it was one of the best exhibitions seen at Carlaw Park for many years. With him in the backs was
Brian Riley at centre three-quarter, a teammate since they both made their Ponsonby debuts in 1933. Riley scored four tries, two of which came from brilliant combination with Kay. Behind them at fullback was a third grade player named Scott who "showed the coolness of a veteran and never put a foot wrong all day". The player referred to was
Bob Scott who switched to rugby union during the war years while involved with the military and would go on to become a well known All Black who played 52 times for them including 17 tests.
Roy Nurse also played well on the wing as did Carr, while
Len Jordan at first five eighths also made some "fine openings". In the forward pack, Edgar Morgan made his first appearance of the season after first playing for Ponsonby in 1936. He was over 13 stone in weight "and excels in open play".
Final Phelan Shield Round 1 Round 2 The North Shore v Newton game at Devonport Domain doubled as a championship match which had concluded weeks earlier but was needed to confirm final placings in order to find the Stormont Shield opponent for Richmond.
Jack Hemi scored all of Manukau's points from the boot with five penalties. With the scores tied 10–10 at the end of the game Manukau and Marist played an extra five minutes each way but were unable to break the deadlock which forced a replay the following weekend which Manukau won comfortably.
Jack Smith "was easily the best player on the field" in North Shore's comfortable 33–15 win over Newton and he "worried the opposition repeatedly with his strong and elusive running". Ted Scott, their regular loose forward played out of position at halfback and was "slow" with the only other back to impress being Eric Chatham. In their forwards Tom Field, Zane-Zaninovich, and Clarrie Petersen were the hardest workers, showing "up spasmodically with clever dribbling and free handling".
Round 3 W Mataira was sent off for City in their match with Papakura.
Semi final Jack Hemi once again proved his worth for the Manukau team at fullback. He scored two tries and kicked three conversions in their comfortable win over City. He not only ran into position after receiving kicks but on two occasions joined into the passing and scored. Robert Deverall, the former Huntly club, and South Auckland (Waikato) representative player made a difference in the Manukau five eighths.
Final Jack Hemi started the game by sending the kickoff between the posts. Then a while later he converted the first try which brought up his 100th point in all games for the season. Hemi added three more goals to finish with 108 points and then a week later in a friendly rugby game for Manukau and a Tauranga Māori side he kicked three more goals. Following the game
Bert Leatherbarrow announced that he was retiring. An article in the
Auckland Star said “he made a start with football when seven years of age and was then goalkeeper for the North Shore fifth grade soccer football team. In his school days at Devonport he played rugby, and he also played rugby in North Auckland and Taranaki. Then he played league in the North Shore junior grades”. Leatherbarrow was selected in the New Zealand side in 1939.{{cite news
Stormont Shield Final Merv Devine and McWilliams the fullback went to camp to prepare for departing for World War 2 on the Thursday prior to the game but it was hoped that they would be able to travel back for the game however they were not. At halftime Richmond led 10-2 but the second half was all in North Shore's favour and they held Richmond scoreless and scored three tries, converted one, and kicked a penalty to win 15–10.
Jack Smith "gave one of the best displays seen at Carlaw Park this season".
Top try scorers and point scorers Scoring from all senior club competitive matches in Auckland including preliminary round games but excluding friendly matches against out of town opponents.
Laurie Mills was the top try scorer despite only playing 14 games. He departed in August for World War 2 where he was killed on December 1 in Libya 1941 after having fought in the Greece and Crete campaigns.
Bert Leatherbarrow scored 13 tries from the hooker position which was a very unusual feat.
Jack Smith was the top scorer in the competition with 122 while, despite missing the early season matches for Ponsonby,
Arthur Kay was second with 115 including 50 goals. He had only begun kicking late in his career but showed remarkable ability at it. ==Senior reserve competitions==