Fox Memorial standings Fox Memorial results Round 1 (Newton) picking up the ball v Mt Albert. scored his first try for Richmond. He had moved to Auckland from the Taupiri club and had played for New Zealand in 1930 and again in 1935 and 1936.The season was officially declared open by
John A. Lee, the parliamentary under-secretary to the prime minister and the president of
Auckland Rugby League. H Walmsley, the vice-president did the ceremonial kickoff in the main 3pm match between Mt Albert and Newton. The matches were played at Carlaw Park in rain with occasional hail. There was some controversy at the end of the match between Marist and City. Left winger, Sidney Loader scored a try for Marist with time up but the ball was still in play which won them the match. City protested the result believing too much time had been played but the time keeper gave a detailed description of why time had been added and City accepted the result.{{cite news
Round 2 of Ponsonby before their match with City.Following the Manukau win over Richmond, which was the first time the two teams had ever competed at a senior level, Mr. Albert Cowan, one of the founders of the Manukau senior side entered their dressing room to congratulate the team. Whilst there he suffered a fatal heart attack and was unable to be revived. It was the first time that Manukau had ever played against Richmond in a senior rugby league fixture. The 3pm kickoff games were underway and the flags were lowered to half mast. News of his death reached the nearby Domain where the reserve matches were taking place. Upon hearing of his death the Manukau reserve team game was stopped. Manukau had won the match with a fine defeat of last years champions Richmond.
Thomas Trevathan debuted for Manukau in the five eighths after moving north from Dunedin where he had been a rugby union representative. He went on to play twice for New Zealand later in the year, while his brother
David Trevathan became an All Black in 1937. They were related to
William Trevarthan who played for the All Golds in 1907–08. During the game international
Cliff Satherley was concussed and taken to Auckland Hospital.
Alan Clarke made his first appearance for Marist since 1934 when he had retired. He played in the second row with Daniel Keane with Joe Woods unavailable and "showed he still maintains his form".
Len Scott, the 29 year old winger for Devonport scored a telling try from halfway when he took a cross field kick and raced away to score. Scott had played for New Zealand in 1928 and 1932, and his form was good enough this season for him to be selected to play against the Australian side later in the year.
Round 3 (Devonport) (Richmond)New Zealand international
Eric Fletcher had to leave the field for Richmond with a foot injury. It was to be his last ever appearance in rugby league as he moved back to
Palmerston North and was reinstated to rugby union. He finished the season playing several matches for
Manawatu before retiring and taking up representative golf. His younger brother Keith had joined the club recently and debuted for the senior side soon after. Richmond was still struggling to fill the full back position with the retirement of Cooke and Reece Marshall was tried there, and though he kicked well he was weak under pressure. With Fletcher leaving the field
Wally Tittleton moved in to first five eighth from centre and played well.
Harold Tetley came out of the scrum to play second five eighth. In the main match at Carlaw Park Devonport comfortably beat Marist. Marist were still without their captain, fullback
Norm Campbell and his stand in Bill Glover went off injured early in the game.
Alan Clarke tried filling in at the position but was a failure and then winger Arthur Furlonger moved there in the second half but "was well below the required standard".
Len Scott who had scored a "sensational try the previous Saturday, was responsible for an even better try... intercepting in his own twenty-five, he ran round the opposition and then straightened to outpace all his opponents and score between the posts". Ponsonby proved too good for Manukau, particularly in the backs. The Manukau forwards were much stronger in the first half but they were criticised for playing too tightly.
Jack Hemi's kicking was outstanding, taking many long range efforts. At one point he attempted a drop goal from ten yards inside his own half that only missed when it "swerved past the top of one post". His punting was also traveling up to 70 yards with Ponsonby full back Frank Paton having to turn and chase after the ball more than once.
Round 4 goal kicking for Manukau v City. City outscored Manukau three tries to two but the goal kicking of Jack Hemi was the difference. After kicking six goals the previous weekend he kicked five more for City in their 16–11 win. It was the first ever time that Manukau had beaten City in the senior grade. The two sides had only met three previous times in
1912 and
1913 with City winning two (5-3 and 7-4), and a 3-3 draw. Last years top try scorer, Newton winger Hugh Brady made his first appearance of the season for them and kicked two goals in their surprise 23–5 win over Devonport who had been unbeaten.
Round 5 (Manukau) (former NZ international, on debut for Newton)Members of Parliament,
John A. Lee (Grey Lynn),
Bill Jordan (Manukau), and
Jim Barclay (Marsden) "were interested spectators" at
Carlaw Park and were entertained with afternoon tea by the league. Clarrie Petersen scored two tries for Mt Albert in their 23–18 win over Manukau. He started the match in the forwards but was moved out on to the wing (when Ray Halsey went off injured) and there he scored two "fine tries". He had transferred from Hawkes Bay where he played rugby union at the beginning of the season. He moved to Ponsonby in 1937 and then North Shore in 1940 representing Auckland four times from 1938 to 1941. Fellow forward Joseph Gunning scored a try and kicked four goals, while for Manukau
Jack Hemi added another nine points to his season tally which now stood at 41. Rugby recruit, Len Kawe scored one of their other tries with the third going to
Steve Watene. The outstanding forward on the ground was said to be
Frank Pickrang the Manukau second rower who had joined the club from King Country rugby. Manukau had led 16–5 at halftime but fell away in the second half as Mt Albert asserted themselves. It was the first time the two teams had met in senior grade football. Devonport also overturned a 10–6 halftime deficit to win 29–10. Retired
Allan Seagar who was coaching the side was a last minute replacement for centre Trevor Jordan and he struggled to get the ball out to his wingers Clifford Hall and
Len Scott, though he did score a try. The veteran Devonport forwards, Arthur Sowter, Tony Milicich, Horace Hunt, and Ted Scott all played well with the outstanding player being recent rugby recruit Reg Hollows. For City, Carl Spiro played well on debut for them after transferring from Mt Albert. Newton centre, Roy Bright scored two magnificent tries after cutting through holes, one was a swerving 60 yard effort finished under the posts and drawing a "fine ovation from the spectators". All seven of the tries in Newton's loss to Richmond came in the second half after Newton led 4–2 at the break. For Richmond
Noel Bickerton and
Harold Tetley both scored twice. Their last try came after the full time bell was rung. Many of the Newton players had stopped playing despite the ball still being in play and winger Hugh Brady had left the field when the try was scored. Ultimately however it did not affect the result as Richmond already led by two points at the time. On the opposite wing from Brady was
Dick Smith, the former New Zealand representative who was debuting for his new side after transferring from Devonport. In Marist's 16–11 win against Ponsonby their West Coast second rower
John Anderson was outstanding, scoring two tries where he outpaced the Ponsonby fullback, Frank Paton.
Round 6 The City v Mount Albert match was played at Prince Edward Park in
Papakura. Thomas Pawson left the field during the match with an ankle injury and then Harry Halliwell was knocked out by a late tackle in the first half and was unconscious for "three quarters of an hour".{{cite news
Round 7 , City's outstanding winger., Devonport's coach who had come out of retirement.In the main match Ponsonby trailed 13–0 to Devonport at halftime before scoring 17 second half points to win 17-15 following a penalty to Frank Paton in the last few minutes. The main reason was the combination of Walter Stockley and
Brian Riley in the five eighths and
Arthur Kay at centre three quarter. Though Riley was said to have developed a bad habit of taking passes one handed and sending them on the same way. Kay's try came when he "cut the defence to shreds". Devonport played loose forward Ted Scott at five eighths who did a good job of "harassing" Stockley. Alongside Scott was
Allan Seagar their coach who had come out of retirement was well watched. Edgar Morgan was the outstanding forward for Ponsonby and was on the verge of representative honours. In City's 18–12 win over Richmond the outstanding back was once again
Lou Brown, scoring three tries. In a description of the match the newspaper refereed back to a comment made the previous season when the
Auckland team was described as "Lou Brown and twelve others". Having scored over two hundred tries playing professionally in England he still dominated back play in Auckland despite now being 31 years old. His third try saw him cross the field from his wing, chiming into the backline on the opposite side of the field creating an overlap from which he scored. Their other try was scored by William McLaughlin who was playing on the wing. He had spent time in the five eighths, loose forwards and now the wing and had gained a reputation as being a "handyman" capable of filling in almost anywhere to a high standard. George Kerr, the Devonport fullback played his best game of league to this point taking the ball at his feet while running at full speed on several occasions. On the number 2 field Newton missed the services of first five eighth
Ted Brimble, while Manukau's first five eighth
Thomas Trevathan was also unavailable. Brimble was the bigger loss to his backline which did not function as well as normal. Manukau even survived the loss early in the game to a knee injury to their star fullback
Jack Hemi.
Steve Watene moved into fullback, his position from years gone by and played very well and also kicked four goals including a last minute penalty to win the match. A Hollis played his best game to date in the five eighths while recent recruit Peter Mahima showed improvement at halfback. Davis was reinstated on the wing after recovering enough from a broken collar-bone. In the Newton backs Roy Bright scored a fine try, while
Claude Dempsey was strong at fullback as usual and Frederick Sissons and
Dick Smith played well. For Manukau it was their first ever senior grade victory over Newton after suffering 3 losses to them in their only previous matches in 1912 and 1913.
Round 8 debuted for City after retiring in 1931.After a remarkable four and a half year absence, former Kiwi
Craddock Dufty turned out for City at the age of 36 at fullback in their 16–5 loss to Marist. His appearance caused considerable interest and he weighed 14st 12lb and looked "remarkably fit". He scored 47 points over the remainder of the season which meant he was the 6th highest point scorer for the season. During the Manukau and Devonport match George Kerr had to leave the field with 15 minutes remaining with a leg injury and
Steve Watene came up from fullback to join an attack and scored the equalising try with minutes to go. For Ponsonby A. Payne was carried from the field near full time with a side injury. In Newton's 11–8 loss to Mt Albert they were without centre Roy Bright, and five eighth
Ted Brimble. At one point during the game on the number two field, their winger Pat Young was tackled close to the sideline and smashed into the picket fence with "terrific impact". He was said to have been "badly shaken" but fortunately was not badly injured and that this was an ongoing issue with the fence only about 9 feet from the sideline.
Round 9 (Manukau) (Newton)
Angus Gault was concussed whilst playing for Manukau against Richmond and was taken to hospital. In the same match Richmond winger, Owen Wilkie scored three tries. For Manukau
Steve Watene scored all of their points with a try and four goals. In Mt Albert's 9–7 win against Devonport,
Gordon Campbell made his season debut in his accustomed position of hooker. Devonport were without their full back George Kerr who had been in excellent form and he was replaced by Herbert Thompson who ran strongly but did not kick well. Rhodes also made a reappearance for Devonport at five eighths with loose forward Horace Hunt joining him at second five eighth. Hunt had been the Auckland cricket wicketkeeper in the 1929–30, 30–31 seasons. City trailed Ponsonby 16–8 at halftime but held Ponsonby scoreless in the second half. With a few minutes to go they were behind by one point when
Lou Brown made a run down the wing and kicked ahead to the goal line where his half back Arnold Porteous won the race to score the winning try. Both Jackie Rata (centre three quarter), and Jack Tawhai (second five eighth) played "splendidly" for City with Rata responsible for two of their tries. In their forwards, Bay of Plenty rugby union player Tai Raymond debuted and was impressive. For Ponsonby, their captain and first five eighth Walter Stockley "played his best game this season".
Dick Smith scored his first points for Newton after transferring from Devonport. It was to be his only season with Newton before rejoining his old Devonport club in 1938.
Round 10 (Richmond centre), Marist's goal kicking loose forward who had represented the West Coast and South Island in 1935.Fred Moate debuted for Manukau. It was his first game of rugby league as he had switched codes, previously represented East Coast in rugby union and was a five-eighth out of the Waima Rugby Club. In the final minute of the game he beat 4 defenders to score with Watene's conversion giving Manukau the win. It was their first defeat of Ponsonby in their 5th ever senior grade match{{cite news
Round 11 , kicked two goals for Manukau in their win and was selected for Auckland and New Zealand to play England. (Richmond)Following the Devonport v Newton match Alex Nathan of the Newton side was involved in an "incident" in the dressing room area at Carlaw Park and after a two-hour discussion taken in committee he was suspended until December 31, 1937. He had been sent off along with a Devonport player (who was never named in the media) and who was "exonerated" though both players were "warned for indulging in rough tactics on the playing field". Over the coming months the Newton club appealed the suspension to both the Auckland Rugby League and the New Zealand Council but the suspension was upheld. Specific details of the incident were also never published.{{cite news
Round 12 (Ponsonby)
Jack Hemi returned to play for Manukau after a 4-week absence due to injury and helped them to an 11–6 win over Mt Albert. Their lone try to
Frank Pickrang came after he charged down a clearing kick and scored. His form was such that he was picked in the
New Zealand team to play England, as was their five eighth
Thomas Trevathan who had been playing brilliantly since moving north from North Otago where he had been playing rugby. It was reported that following the Auckland v Great Britain match at Carlaw Park the week previous that the Manukau side had met to discuss what they had seen and learned from the match. The Auckland Star wrote that playing for the side had been a sought after venture for many Māori players and the latest to apply was
Jack Brodrick, the New Zealand Māori rugby player. He debuted for Manukau in their game with Mt Albert and would go on to play for Auckland, Auckland Māori, North Island, New Zealand Māori, and New Zealand over the following two seasons. He was played on the wing so that he could pick up some of the basics of the game but would soon move into the second row where he became one of the outstanding players in that position in New Zealand. Mt Albert hooker Huck Flanagan injured himself at work and so his place was taken by veteran hooker
Gordon Campbell and in the second half he gave his side "a feast of ball" from the scrums.
Len Scott scored what had almost become a customary try in Devonport's 8–8 draw with City. He intercepted a "foolish" pass from City's five eighth, O. Hughes to Cyril Wiberg and was rewarded for his form this season with selection in the first test side to play England.
Frank Halloran, Ponsonby's halfback played an outstanding game for them in a 9–8 win over Marist. Marist should have won the game but they missed an easy conversion of Robert Aro's try and then near the end
John Anderson crossed the try line but in trying to improve his position was pushed over the dead ball line and missed a try.
Maurice Wetherill was refereeing his 50th first grade match since his debut in 1933 after retiring from playing. He became the 6th referee to achieve the feat.
Round 13 debuted on the wing for Devonport.The City v Mount Albert and Ponsonby v Newton matches were both postponed due to the weather. The Ponsonby-Newton match was to be played at Stafford Park in Northcote. The number 2 field at Carlaw Park was covered in sheets of water so the reserve grade match due to be played there and the City-Mount Albert game were not able to be played. The weather was so bad that the 2 lone spectators sitting in the uncovered terraces were invited across the field to join those under cover in the railway stand.{{cite news
Round 14 (Mt Albert)It was decided that the 2 postponed matches from round 13 would only be played if necessary. Going into the final round of matches the points table saw the following points for each team: Manukau 17, Richmond 16, Devonport 16, Mount Albert 15, Ponsonby 12, Marist 11, City 9, and Newton 4. Mount Albert, Ponsonby, City and Newton all had played one less game but after the final round of matches Manukau progressed to 19 competition points with their easy 26–6 win over Newton. Richmond trailed them by 1 point but had completed all of their matches while Devonport were 2 points further back so had no chance of overhauling Manukau. If Mount Albert had defeated Marist they would have moved to 17 points and a win over City would have necessitated a playoff with Manukau for the title, however they were upset 13–10 by rivals Marist, therefore the 2 postponed matches were not necessary. And thus the Fox Memorial for 1936 had been decided with Manukau winning their first ever title in their first season back in the senior competition since
1913. The side had been ably captained by
Steve Watene who was the only player to transfer from another Auckland senior side. The final round also saw the debut of Andy Beyer for Richmond. He had previously represented Otahuhu and Auckland at rugby union. He played at fullback which meant Jack Greenwood moved to the wing and
George Tittleton played in the unusual position of second row with Alf Broadhead. City were unlucky to lose 10 points to 2 to Richmond and led 2–0 at halftime before losing Jackie Rata to injury after he had been displaying "billiant form". The result meant that Richmond finished runners up after failing to defence the title they won in 1934 and 1935. Mt Albert had a bad day with Bert Schultz unable to play and forward Clarrie Petersen playing in his place on the wing. Then the other Schultz brothers, John and (captain) Len went off injured in the first spell with one replaced by Lance Evans who was on debut after moving from
Christchurch. Mt Albert's
Des Herring who was playing on the back of the scrum scored all their points with two tries both of which he converted and he "emerged with honours thick upon him". For Marist Reginald Haslam was their outstanding back in their 13–10 win. In Ponsonby's win their backs stood out with
Brian Riley scoring three tries on the wing, and
Arthur Kay scoring one at centre and Walter Stockely another at five eighth. For Devonport their fullback, George Kerr "played a great game" and was said to be the best fullback in Auckland currently.
Roope Rooster (knockout competition) It was decided to admit the Senior B champion side
Papakura once again. This meant that nine teams were in the competition and Papakura drew the bye in the first round.{{cite news
Round 1 who debuted for Manukau at second five eighth. kicked the winning goal for City in extra time.The Minister of Public Works,
Bob Semple was a spectator at the games. The Manukau v Ponsonby game saw the teams evenly matched and it was only goal kicking which separated the sides.
Walter Brimble debuted for Manukau after switching from the Manukau rugby club. He was the brother of
Ted and
Wilfred Brimble the Newton five eighth and halfback respectively. Ted had played for New Zealand in 1932 and Walter and Wilfred would go on to do the same in 1938. The City v Newton match went to extra time as the score was locked at 15–15 at full time. Two five minute spells were played and the deadlock was broken when
Craddock Dufty kicked a penalty goal from the side line. In Richmond's 24–10 win over Marist, Owen Wilkie scored three tries on the wing, thanks to centre
Ted Mincham who played his best game of the season.
Wally Tittleton played well at second five eighth until he had to leave the field injured and lock,
Harold Tetley came out of the scrum and filled his position ably. Marist fielded Andrew Fletcher of the Grammar Old Boys rugby club and Clive Murdoch of the Technical Old Boys club who joined former rugby players Reginald Haslam and Robert Aro in the backs. Fletcher played well at centre before being injured just before halftime. His replacement was Francis List (brother of
Claude who went into the forwards with Vincent Bakalich moving from the forwards to the backs, and Jimmy Chalmers who had been on the wing going into the five eighths.{{cite news
Semi-finals With five teams remaining Devonport drew the bye. The Papakura v Manukau match was played at Prince Edward Park, Papakura's home ground. With 15 minutes to go Papakura led 8–0 before Manukau came home with four quick tries to win. Papakura missed five penalty shots at goal which could have made the task much more difficult. Papakura was handicapped by the fact that they hadn't played for seven weeks due to international matches and teams defaulting to them.
Steve Watene, the Manukau captain said after the match that they had "cause to thank [their] fitness for saving defeat" and that his team had been completely surprised by the form Papakura had shown.{{cite news
Major semi-final played his last game for Devonport before retiring for a second time.As there were three teams remaining in the competition a draw was made which saw Manukau receive a bye and direct entry into the final. For the resurgent City side
Craddock Dufty, playing in the loose forwards for one of the only times in his career, kicked four conversions in their win which saw both teams level 10–10 at halftime. Crucially for Devonport they lost their outstanding fullback George Kerr to a head injury soon after halftime leaving them with 12 players.
Allan Seagar took his place at fullback while Ted Scott came off the back of the scrum into the centre three quarter position. Seagar struggled at fullback where he was said to have been "too slow" and clearly injured as he "limped badly in the last 15 minutes". It was to be his last game before retiring once more though he did return for a solitary match in 1938 to assist the side. T. Lynch from Matamata played at first five eighth for City and "gave promise" scoring a try. J.C. Cowan, the Devonport halfback played well while
Verdun Scott did likewise in his second game in the five eighths.
Final Manukau won the Roope Rooster trophy for the first time in their history.
Jack Hemi scored twice and kicked two goals, while recent convert from Manukau rugby,
Walter Brimble also scored with he and Hemi teaming well in the five eighths. Another of their tries came from forward George (Tiki) Whye who was a well known middle-distance runner from the Otahuhu area and who had played for Ponsonby in 1933–34. He "was tireless in raiding, and, although he threw away a try through his notorious mishandling he had earlier finished off a passing movement in approved style". His try came after Mahima "dummied" the opposition and beat a weak tackle from Jackie Rata. Manukau led 18–5 at halftime and were dominant however they lost the services of
Steve Watene early in the second half with an injured shoulder after he was "Unnecessarily bumped" after he passed the ball. Joe Murray replaced Watene at fullback which was the position Murray had occupied for most of the season very effectively. Manukau's halfback, Peter Mahima "was one of the outstanding backs on the ground, and his sharpness from behind the scrum had City in trouble time and time again".
Phelan Shield The Phelan Shield was played for by the teams which had been knocked out of the Roope Rooster in the first round. They were however joined in later rounds by the likes of Papakura and Devonport who had been knocked out of the Roope Rooster competition in later rounds.
Round 1 Semi-finals (Ponsonby)Papakura started well against Ponsonby before being well beaten. William (Bill) Cornthwaite, an Auckland rugby union representative 11 times from 1930 to 1932 played well in the five eighths before being injured.
Bert Leatherbarrow was the outstanding forward for Ponsonby and scored three tries to go with three goals for 15 personal points. In an unusual feat all six of Ponsonby's forwards scored tries. For Marist
John Anderson scored two tries after "showed great pace in the loose" and kicked four goals for 14 of their 17 points in a 17–3 win over Richmond after the score had been 0–0 at halftime. Vincent Bakalich who was fielded in the forwards scored their other try. Richmond was well beaten and had fallen away from their famous form in recent times though they took the chance after being eliminated from the Roope Rooster to try come players out and were also hurt by injuries. Their only try went to five eighth
Noel Bickerton. They were missing
Ted Mincham, Andy Beyer,
Jack Satherley, and brother
Cliff Satherley. Jack was playing a rugby game for the Auckland Post and Telegraph side against the Wellington equivalent at Eden Park as curtain raiser to Auckland B v King Country the same day while Cliff was playing for Mt Albert as a guest player on their tour match against Hawkes Bay in Napier. He had spent most of the 1932 season in Hawkes Bay playing rugby for the Marist club there and represented the Hawkes Bay rugby side in six matches. His switch to rugby league came the following season in 1933 when he moved back to Auckland.
Major semi-final Marist were awarded a bye with three teams remaining in the Phelan Shield and progressed directly to the final.
Final Stormont Shield The Stormont Shield had been donated following the death of New Zealand player
Bill Stormont by his family. His father John Stormont had died in recent weeks. Richmond totally outplayed Manukau with centre
Ted Mincham and halfback
Roy Powell their best backs. Their centres and wingers scored six tries between them.
Steve Watene was nursing an injured shoulder from a previous game and was forced to go off before halftime when the score was just 10–9 in favour of Richmond.
Angus Gault also struggled with an ankle injury for Manukau and "limped throughout the game".
Top try scorers and point scorers The point scoring lists are compiled from matches played in the Opening round of matches, the Fox Memorial, Roope Rooster, Phelan Shield and Stormont Shield matches which all first grade sides were eligible for competing in (provided they avoided elimination from the knock out competitions).
Lou Brown after returning from playing professionally in England once again topped the try scoring lists. Roy Bright who had transferred from Ponsonby had an outstanding season for Newton scoring 14 tries from just 12 games while Richmond's winger Owen Wilkie also scored 14 tries from 18 games. The top point scorer was
John Anderson who joined Marist after transferring from the West Coast where he had played for the Blackball club and been a West Coast and South Island representative.
Jack Hemi was second and had joined Manukau from Wairarapa where he had been playing rugby union. Remarkably
Craddock Dufty featured on the top point scorer lists after a 5-year absence aged 36. ==Senior reserve (Norton Cup)==