General 2014 Auckland Rugby League Competition

[mt.wellington]

FOX MEMORIAL SHIELD GRAND FINAL

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Pt Chevalier Win Fox Double-Overtime Thriller
It took 89 minutes of gritty rugby league, but Pt Chevalier have won their second-consecutive Appliance Shed Fox Memorial Premiership after beating Mt Albert 18-17 following double extra time.

It came down to the very last minute of extra time for the result to be confirmed, with Mt Albert halfback Cody Walker, so often the hero for the Lions over the years, missing a game-winning shot at goal after the siren.

It was a hectic end to an outstanding match at Waitakere’s Trusts Stadium.

After scores were tied 12-12 at the end of regulation time Mt Albert took the lead in the 82nd minute thanks to a field goal from Walker.

Three minutes later Pt Chevalier stole it back when winger Saula Solomona scored in the corner and Jonathan Carl converted from the sideline in what turned out to be the winning moment.

After finishing the season as minor premiers Pt Chevalier came into the match as underdogs, having lost to the Lions twice in the past month.

The win means the Pirates now hold all of the major Auckland Rugby League trophies – the Fox, Konica Minolta Roope Rooster [challenge cup which goes on the line every home game], Stormont Shield [champions of champions each year], Kiwi Shield [club championship] and Rukutai Shield [minor premiership].

But it was Mt Albert who looked the most promising to start the game, with tries to Jeremiah Faaumuumu and Malakai Houma taking them out to a 10-0 lead.

Slowly but surely Pt Chevalier found their feet in the contest though, and after Api Malua scored and Carl converted they trailed by just 10-6 at the break.

With the miserable weather showing no signs of improving Mt Albert elected to take early points in the second half, kicking a penalty to take the lead back to six.

After a 20-miunte break in scoring Pt Chevalier needed only a half chance to get over for their second – Solomona sliding over for a try which went unconverted and left Mt Albert 12-10 up.

A Mt Albert knock on followed by back-to-back penalties set Pt Chevalier up with an easy penalty shot which they took to tie the game up at 12 apiece.

Both sides had numerous chances to seal the game, but an inability to get field goal attempts away meant the game went to extra time.

Current Premiership rules mean that two five minute periods of extra time must be played before golden point comes into effect.

In the end there Pt Chevalier came up with the clutch plays when they counted, with Carl’s 86th-minute sideline conversion, following Solomona’s try, proving the decisive play.

At full time coach Grant Pocklington, who earlier in the week had been named ARL Coach of the Year, credited the bond his side had developed this season for the gutsy victory.

“Our brotherhood got us over the line,” he said.

“We had seven players out today and it didn’t matter, they all just wanted to do it for each other.

“It was special, a big congratulations to Mt Albert, but to have to go to extra time and then have it down to the kick was incredible.

“It is sad for Cody (Walker), he is a good footballer, but that is how it goes.

“I wouldn’t say I was confident, but I had a good feeling.

“I can’t believe we have gone back-to-back, not many sides do it and to have every major ARL trophy with the club is outstanding.”

Pt Chevalier 18 (Malua, Solomona x2 tries; Carl 3 goals. DEFEAT Mt Albert 17 (Faaumuumu, Houma, Rota tries; Walker 2 goals; Walker 1 field goal)

 

[mt.wellington]

For full replays go the following links:

Fox Memorial

Sharman Cup

No Phelan Shield coverage as yet...

 

[kiwi's 13-6]

the guy in the lower right of the picture 2 post above looks like todd carneys identical twin unless point chev signed the real one....

disappointed for east coast bays my dad and uncle played for that team as kids and my cousin played for them in the kids grades as well and my grand dad lived around the corner from the ground, but congratulations to all the sides for a seasons hard work

 

[mt.wellington]

the guy in the lower right of the picture 2 post above looks like todd carneys identical twin unless point chev signed the real one....

Think thats Jonathan Carl. Fills in on the wing for the Warriors Reserve Grade every now and then...

 

[Stone]

Thanks for those links mt. wellyz ... I managed to watch the Sharman on Sunday, but didn't bother to watch the Fox, so I gave it a watch last night

I'm not a fan of either team, far from it, but I have to admit that it was a pretty intense game & a good watch, a real war of attrition in the wet

I've gotta say, some of those Pt Chev boys displayed a real lack of class when they ran up & pushed over, an obviously distraught, Cody Walker after he missed that final conversion attempt

Good on the Pirates skipper for giving him a hug afterwards though

 

[Juju]

I've gotta say, some of those Pt Chev boys displayed a real lack of class when they ran up & pushed over, an obviously distraught, Cody Walker after he missed that final conversion attempt

Good on the Pirates skipper for giving him a hug afterwards though

I thought Pt Chev were dicks right through the whole game. Really poor sports.
(I did see similar from the Lions too though)

 

[ramraider78]

Thanks for those links mt. wellyz ... I managed to watch the Sharman on Sunday, but didn't bother to watch the Fox, so I gave it a watch last night

I'm not a fan of either team, far from it, but I have to admit that it was a pretty intense game & a good watch, a real war of attrition in the wet

I've gotta say, some of those Pt Chev boys displayed a real lack of class when they ran up & pushed over, an obviously distraught, Cody Walker after he missed that final conversion attempt

Good on the Pirates skipper for giving him a hug afterwards though

They are bro's from there Northcote days walker an Moses - what you don't see is some of the Pt Chev players poking fingers to the Mt Albert crowd after Cody get's pushed over.

 

[mt.wellington]

Thanks for those links mt. wellyz ... I managed to watch the Sharman on Sunday, but didn't bother to watch the Fox, so I gave it a watch last night

I'm not a fan of either team, far from it, but I have to admit that it was a pretty intense game & a good watch, a real war of attrition in the wet

I've gotta say, some of those Pt Chev boys displayed a real lack of class when they ran up & pushed over, an obviously distraught, Cody Walker after he missed that final conversion attempt

Good on the Pirates skipper for giving him a hug afterwards though

It was an awesome final TBH. Intense and a real battle. Couldnt have been a better battle. Was hoping it was a draw after 100 minutes so they would have to split it lol.

Cody Walker got clean bowled over by Arden McCarthy in what was a stupid and senseless act. No need for it. There was discussion after the incident by the refs to award Mt Albert a penalty but the ref had already blown the final whistle so there was nothing that could be done...

 

[Stone]

Yeah I have absolutely no love for Pt Chev aye, not really anything to do with this current crop of players, who's sportsmanship obviously leaves a lot to be desired, but more from what I saw in my own playing days ... many many moons ago lol

I played for Oats from the age of 8 to 20 & during that time I watched Pt Chev go from an average team, with one awesome player in it, Stacey Jones, to an absolutely unbeatable force stacked with 3/4 of the Auckland Rep Team of the time

Now the official story is that, "oh these players just decided to come over to Pt Chev, all on their own accord, just so they could all play with Stack", who to be fair, we could all see from the age of 8 was going to be a future Kiwi's legend, even then he was a freakishly gifted player & athlete
But we knew for a fact that they had poached most of their team, because they had tried to get some of us, including myself, to transfer over there, but most of the team I played with were True Blue Otahuhu boys, sure we had some boys who had come over from other clubs, like Mt Wgtn, Rewa & Kura, but it was always on their own accord
The core of our team were a very tight knit group who had all grown up together, went to school together etc, so we were fiercely loyal to our local club & there was no way we would ever play for anyone else, but we basically had to sit there & watch as, one by one, all the best players from most of the other clubs, even ones as far away as Mangere East, oh & Guttenbeil from Northland, all made there way over to the Pirates

We managed to get to a couple of Grand Finals against them, but got absolutely smashed both times, on the second occasion we were so frustrated by the situation, consecutive GF defeats by 40+ points, that we just decided, fuck it, we've lost the game but lets win the fight & started an all in brawl, one of our Tongan boys, who was in the sin bin at the time, even jumped the picket fence & proceeded to consecutively KO three Pirates in a row, he lived off that for years lol
Apparently, as I found out afterwards, it was the first time there had ever been an all in brawl at Carlaw Park on Schoolboy Grand Final Day, definitely not something to be proud of, as it was not at all a good look for the game (my grandparents who came to watch me play for the 1st & only time were horrified lol) it definitely reflected poorly on our team & on our club as a whole, it also gave all those other clubs, who labled most of us Southsiders "nothing more than a bunch of thugs" more ammo to condemn us with, but hey, at least we won something that day lol, in all seriousness though this was how frustrated we had become, because we basically felt like we were playing against the Auckland Rep Team masquerading in Pt Chev jerseys

The following year I moved up a grade from U/15s to U/17s, just to be in a more level playing field & enhance my own chances for Rep selection, but wouldn't you know it, the entire Pt Chev squad moved up to that grade as well & being the mostly poached Rep stacked team that they were & now with a few U/17 players thrown into their squad, they dominated that grade too, albeit not as convincingly, but they still took it out in the end, narrowly beating us in the semis, so that's how good they were

Now while I can kind of understand the reasoning behind poaching players at a senior level, if not condoning it, I'll never to this day understand why someone would do that at a schoolboy level, to my way of thinking it just promotes a mercenary, win at all cost mentality, which at that age is just plain irresponsible & potentially damaging to a young mind, IMO those players also miss out on the genuine pride you feel by playing for YOUR LOCAL CLUB & the true camaraderie that you gain from building a team through the grades & attaining achievements with the guys you grew up with, maybe I'm just old school but sometimes old school is the best school

So that in a nutshell is why I have no love for Pt Chev, or any amateur team for that matter, that buys or poaches its success & from what you guys are saying, nothing much has changed in that regard, in saying all that though, I have always been & remain to this day a massive fan of Stacey Jones, it wasn't at all his fault that any of that stuff happened & the only bad thing I can say about the guy is that I just wish he grew up in Otahuhu

 

[slaughterhouse.sa]

Really? Was only aware of their budget this year after finding out how much Richie was getting to coach them. Oats tried to get Blackie back but werent even close to the amount that Kura ended up being. Even Howicks offer of 25K wasnt close.

Some the players Ive spoken just laugh about how dumb Kura is with their payments. And theyre Kura players lol. Management and sponsors dont have a clue and think money will talk. Gravy train all right. Not getting enough bang for their buck...

Howick dont have that much money.
Their manager is popular and runs a popular barbershop out south.
I think he runs nightclubs or something too
Hence the partying lol

Tony Tuia, Zeb Lousi would be on top dollar.
The rest would only be on win payments,

No more than Otahuhu used to be and nothing in relation to the Lions, Pirates and Eagles.
In fact - I heard Oats - hired Bluey Mclennan for mega bucks mid-season to help them out of relegation

Papakura obviously have some big sponsors which is good.
But yeah they need a cleanout of bad characters - send them back to mangere Atu Tupou, Roman Hifo. A few players like that Mangere can really shape a team.

 

[Stone]

I'm a long time out of the game, as far as being an active member of any club goes, stopped playing & coaching League when I got into competitive Martial Arts

So I was just interested to know, what is top dollar for some of these upper echelon Fox boys these days ?

And is it even possible to genuinely compete on a regular basis, if your club doesn't have the deep pockets to match some of these chequebook clubs ?

Edit: Have I inadvertently asked a taboo question there or something lol

 

[ramraider78]

Howick dont have that much money.
Their manager is popular and runs a popular barbershop out south.
I think he runs nightclubs or something too
Hence the partying lol

Tony Tuia, Zeb Lousi would be on top dollar.
The rest would only be on win payments,

No more than Otahuhu used to be and nothing in relation to the Lions, Pirates and Eagles.
In fact - I heard Oats - hired Bluey Mclennan for mega bucks mid-season to help them out of relegation

Papakura obviously have some big sponsors which is good.
But yeah they need a cleanout of bad characters - send them back to mangere Atu Tupou, Roman Hifo. A few players like that Mangere can really shape a team.

I won't start on Howick but they have a lot more $ then some other Fox clubs lol No choice to get buy in's when you don't have any quality juniors coming through - they still get paid for a loss.

LOL those Hawks boys over there have been pretty open about it over at Kura - $ for them, I've been told they just collect there envelope and gap it ,no effort to spend some time with the locals; have to laugh because they will stage a walk out i reckon in the off season to get more $ LMAO same situation they did with Howick this year - Those players you mention won't come back, they'll go to the $ club's for the best offer.

Coaching merry go round will start in the off season in the Fox an Shaman.

 

[mt.wellington]

Coaching merry go round will start in the off season in the Fox an Shaman.

Started at Otahuhu mid season lol. Coach and Preacher will be gone I reckon...

 

[mcdenda]

Dexter Su'e , Prop forward?

 

[ramraider78]

Started at Otahuhu mid season lol. Coach and Preacher will be gone I reckon...

Blackmore could be back there next year? old boys been chasing him all year I hear.

 

[mt.wellington]

Pt Chev team off to Bali lol...

 

[mcdenda]

wow just wow
what a waste of $$$$$$$$$

should be saving that to send fullas over for trials in november

 

[ramraider78]

Pt Chev team off to Bali lol...

View attachment 10024​

LOL at least there's one Hawks junior in the photo HAHA Malo George.

 

[slaughterhouse.sa]

I won't start on Howick but they have a lot more $ then some other Fox clubs lol No choice to get buy in's when you don't have any quality juniors coming through - they still get paid for a loss.

LOL those Hawks boys over there have been pretty open about it over at Kura - $ for them, I've been told they just collect there envelope and gap it ,no effort to spend some time with the locals; have to laugh because they will stage a walk out i reckon in the off season to get more $ LMAO same situation they did with Howick this year - Those players you mention won't come back, they'll go to the $ club's for the best offer.

Coaching merry go round will start in the off season in the Fox an Shaman.

Agreed - how much money spent shows in the top 4 placings.
If you recruit smart though - you dont always have to spend big money for players.

Young players are happy to play in a well run team and a good chance of playing Fox footy.

Who coached Mangere this year?
Mangere need some strong/senior characters in the team if they want to be contenders.

The players are never happy - thats the reason many of them left as well.
Not just money.

Marist & Richmond dont have any money either.
Whilst Glenora & Northcote spent a little.

 

[mt.wellington]

The reality is you have to spend something at Fox level or you won't be in the Fox. The difference is the budgets the clubs have to work with. No surprises who wins between a $20K club and a $120K club. Ones off to Bali and the others off back to the Sharman...