2001 New Zealand rugby league season

The 2001 New Zealand rugby league season was the 94th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the second season of the Bartercard Cup competition that was run by the New Zealand Rugby League. The Hibiscus Coast Raiders won the Cup by defeating the Eastern Tornadoes 28-18 in the Grand Final.

International competitions

See also: List of New Zealand Kiwis matches and 2001 French rugby league tour of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea

The New Zealand national rugby league team played a one off test match against France and defeated them 36-0 at Ericsson Stadium. The Kiwis then played Australia at the new Westpac Stadium in Wellington and lost 28-10. New Zealand were coached by Gary Freeman.

The French team also played three matches against regional selections; Northern Districts, Central Districts and the South Island.[1] France won all three of these games, defeating the South Island 24-11 at Lancaster Park,[2][3] Central Districts 28-26 at the Palmerston North Showgrounds and Northern Districts 40-16 in Huntly. Jeff Whittaker coached the South Island team that featured mainly Canterbury Bulls players.[4] The team was captained by Shane Beyers and included Aaron Whittaker.[5] Northern Districts included Lance Hohaia and Hare Te Rangi.[6][7]

The Junior Kiwis included Vince Mellars, Richard Utai and Robert Tanielu.[8]

Auckland conducted a two match trip to Sydney in September 2001.[9] Auckland defeated Northern Māori 48-6 before losing to Sydney Metropolitan 34-12. They were coached by Stan Martin and included Daniel Floyd, Karl Te Mata, Tyrone Pau, Jeremy Smith, Joe Galuvao, Jason Temu, Hare Te Rangi and Cliff Beverley.

National competitions

Rugby League Cup

Tasman defeated Coastline in Tauranga to win the Rugby League Cup.[10]

Bartercard Cup

The 2001 Bartercard Cup was the second season of the Bartercard Cup competition run by the New Zealand Rugby League. After losing every match, the Ngongotaha Chiefs withdrew from the competition after round sixteen. All teams scheduled to play them after this were awarded two points for a bye. The Auckland teams were again dominant with only defending champions, the Canterbury Bulls, making the finals from outside of Auckland.

The Teams

• Hibiscus Coast were coached by Brian McClennan and Tony Benson and included captain Anthony Seuseu, Aaron Heremaia, Karl Te Mata, Jeremy Smith, Tyrone Pau, Iafeta Paleaaesina and Daniel Floyd.[11][12]
• Northcote were coached by Del Hughes and included Aaron Tucker, Jared Trott, Jamie Cook and Keneti Asiata.[13][14]
• Glenora were coached by player-coach Duane Mann and included Cliff Beverley, David and Gavin Bailey, Ben Lythe, Steve Buckingham and Shontayne Hape.[11][13][15][16][17]
• The Marist Richmond Brothers included Motu Tony, Daniel Vasau, Matthew Tuisamoa, Vae Kololo and Jason Temu.[11][18]
• Mount Albert were coached by John Ackland and included Sala and David Fa'alogo, Carl Doherty, Wayne McDade, Hutch Maiava, Fuifui Moimoi, Lee Finnerty and Andreas Bauer.[11][12][13][17]
• The Otahuhu Leopards featured Jonathan Smith, Dean Clark, Boycie Nelson, Rusty Matua and George Carmont.[17][19]
• The Eastern Tornadoes featured identical twins David and Paul Fisiiahi, Jeremiah Pai, Justin Murphy, Phillip Leuluai and Hare Te Rangi.[20] They were coached by James Leuluai.[17][21]
• The Manurewa Marlins included Mark Tookey, Kevin Campion, Cheyenne Motu, Lance Hohaia, Joe Galuvao, Channerith and Channerath Ly and Richard Utai.[13][22]
• The Ngongotaha Chiefs were coached by Cameron Bell and included Mark Woods.[13][17]
• Porirua included Robert Piva.[11]
• Wainuiomata were coached by John Lomax and included Billy Weepu, Tony Lomax, Yogi Rogers and Vince Mellars.[11][17][23]
• The Canterbury Bulls were coached by Ged Stokes, who was assisted by Phil Prescott.[24][25] The team included Shane Beyers, Lusi Sione, Robert Henare, Scott Woodgate, Tangia Tongiia and Maurice Emslie.[11][26]

Seasons Standings

Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Hibiscus Coast Raiders	21	16	1	4	1	742	425	317	35
Eastern Tornadoes	21	13	3	5	1	641	490	151	31
Canterbury Bulls	22	14	1	7	0	882	489	393	29
Otahuhu Leopards	22	14	1	7	0	691	528	163	29
Manurewa Marlins	22	13	1	8	0	657	513	144	27
Wainuiomata Lions	22	11	1	10	0	688	628	60	23
Northcote Tigers	21	10	1	10	1	566	508	58	23
Marist Richmond Brothers	21	8	2	11	1	675	595	80	20
Glenora Bears	22	9	0	13	0	630	675	-45	18
Mt Albert Lions	21	8	0	13	1	414	630	-216	18
Porirua Pumas	21	4	1	16	1	421	808	-387	11
Ngongotaha Chiefs	16	0	0	16	0	282	1000	-718	0

The Playoffs

	Qualifying finals					Semi finals					Preliminary final					Grand Final
						1	Hibiscus Coast	48
							Canterbury Bulls	16									Hibiscus Coast	28
	2	Eastern Tornadoes	10									Canterbury Bulls	30				Eastern Tornadoes	18
	3	Canterbury Bulls	12									Eastern Tornadoes	38
							Eastern Tornadoes	24
	4	Otahuhu Leopards	42			Manurewa Marlins	20
	5	Manurewa Marlins	43

Match	Winner		Loser
Elimination Play-off	Manurewa Marlins	43	Otahuhu Leopards	42
Preliminary Semifinal	Canterbury Bulls	12	Eastern Tornadoes	10
Elimination Semifinal	Eastern Tornadoes	24	Manurewa Marlins	20
Qualification Semifinal	Hibiscus Coast Raiders	48	Canterbury Bulls	16
Preliminary Final	Eastern Tornadoes	38	Canterbury Bulls	30

Grand Final

Team	Half-time	Total
Hibiscus Coast Raiders	12	28
Eastern Tornadoes	18	18

Jeremy Smith (Hibiscus Coast) was man of the match.[9]

Awards

Captain of the Year: Richard White (Hibiscus Coast)[9] Best and Fairest: Daniel Floyd (Hibiscus Coast) Coach of the Year: Brian McClennan (Hibiscus Coast)

Most Points: Daniel Floyd (308; Hibiscus Coast)[9] Most Tries: Daniel Floyd (25; Hibiscus Coast) Referee of the Year: Andy Cook (Auckland)

North Island Super Seven Series

A North Island Super Seven Series was held between seven district sides in the North Island. This competition included Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Coastline-Bay of Plenty Mariners, Taranaki, Manawatu and Wellington.[27][28][29] Taranaki and Wellington made the final after defeating Manawatu and Auckland respectively in the semi-finals.[30] Wellington won the competition, defeating Taranaki 30-24.[9]

The Coastline Mariners were coached by Tony Gordon and included Andrew Leota.[31]

Mainland Super 10

The second Mainland Super 10 competition was held between Canterbury Rugby League clubs and the South Island provincial teams. The teams involved included the Tasman Orcas (coached by Paul Bergman), Otago Raiders, Southland Rams and seven clubs from Canterbury: the Haswell Hornets, Hornby Panthers, Eastern Sea Eagles, Papanui Tigers, Riccarton Knights, Sydenham Swans and the Linwood Kews. The West Coast Chargers withdrew after the competition was moved to the first half of the season.[32]

The Papanui Tigers were the minor premiers while defending champions Tasman finished fifth.[33][34] The final was contested between the Linwood Keas and the Eastern Suburbs Sea Eagles.[35]

Australian competitions

Main article: 2001 New Zealand Warriors season

The New Zealand Warriors competed in the National Rugby League competition. They finished 8th out of 14 teams, making the finals for the first time. In the Qualifying Final they were thrashed 56-12 by the minor premiers, the Parramatta Eels.

Club competitions

Auckland

See also: Auckland Rugby League club trophies

The Northcote Tigers won the Fox Memorial trophy, defeating Richmond 30-29 in the grand final.[9] Richmond had earlier won the Rukutai Shield (minor premiership). The grand final was played at 11:50am before the Bartercard Cup grand final at Carlaw Park but still attracted 6,000 fans.

Hutch Maiava played for the Point Chevalier Pirates while Matthew Tuisamoa and Marcus Perenara played for the Richmond Bulldogs.[36]

Wellington

Robert Piva played for the Kapati Coast Bears while Vince Mellars played for the Petone Panthers. Billy Weepu and John Lomax represented the Wainuiomata Lions.[37]

Canterbury

Hornby won the Canterbury Rugby League title.

Other Competitions

The Hamilton City Tigers won the Waikato Rugby League minor premiership.[38] Hukanui defeated Turangawaewae in the grand final.

The Waitara Bears defeated Marist 14-10 in the Taranaki Rugby League grand final.[39]

References

1. 2001 France tour of New Zealand rugbyleague.co.nz
2. French show grit but not enough grunt The Press, 4 June 2001
3. French open with nailbiter Sunday Star-Times, 3 June 2001
4. Stokes overlooked for SI coaching job The Press, 11 May 2001
5. Teams named for French opener AAP Sports News, 1 June 2001
6. Waikato five to play France Waikato Times, 6 June 2001
7. Jessup, Peter (13 June 2001). "Battle-weary French maintain hectic schedule". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
8. Sydenham old boy in The Press, 3 July 2001
9. Coffey, John and Bernie Wood Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009, 2009. ISBN 978-1-86969-366-4, p.330.
10. Orcas fired up to retain league cup The Nelson Mail, 7 September 2002
11. Round 7 Bartercard Cup teams rleague.com, 26 April 2001
12. Batercard Cup Round 21 Preview rleague.com, 10 August 2001
13. Bears' migration adds some bite to clash New Zealand Herald, 8 March 2001
14. Round 7 Bartercard Cup Teams rleague.com, 26 April 2002
15. Jessup, Peter (1 September 2001). "Coaches clash over week off". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
16. Beverley gives Bears more bite The Press, 16 June 2001
17. Bartercard Cup Round 14 Teams rleague.com, 22 June 2001
18. Warriors' call-up could help Bulls The Press, 21 April 2001
19. Leopards lose Smith's services The Press, 31 March 2001
20. Twin Tornadoes cause chaos as they blow past opponents Sunday Star-Times, 16 September 2001
21. Bulls brace for potent tornado The Press, 5 May 2001
22. Bulls win Warrior challenge against Marlins The Press, 9 July 2001
23. Coaching swoop for Falcons The Evening Standard, 7 November 2001
24. Mamoe makes forward move The Press, 30 June 2001
25. Brash Bulls to lock horns with Brothers The Press, 14 July 2001
26. Stokes stands by his men The Press, 5 April 2001
27. Hemopo back in to face Coastline-Bay Waikato Times, 30 June 2001
28. Waikato pair set for 50th rep match Waikato Times, 28 July 2001
29. Sharks ride Mustangs into Super 7 home final Daily News, 8 October 2001
30. Double incentive for Sharks to net win Daily News, 13 October 2001
31. "Orcas give Mariners incentive for Challenge Cup". The New Zealand Herald. 22 August 2001. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
32. West Coast league team pulls out The Press, 9 March 2001
33. Tigers claw way to top finals berth The Press, 21 May 2001
34. Sponsorship sought for Orcas The Nelson Mail, 5 June 2001
35. Late field goals send club title east The Press, 28 May 2001
36. ARL results for June 16 Archived 26 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine rleague.com
37. Wellington League News Aug 18-20 rleague.com, 20 August 2001
38. City Tigers guaranteed top spot with lives to spare heading into league finals Waikato Times, 3 August 2001
39. Taranaki Grand Final Countdown Archived 15 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine rleague.com, 11 July 2003

Preceded by 2000 Bartercard Cup	Bartercard Cup 2001	Succeeded by 2002 Bartercard Cup