The 1915 season, and 7th of Auckland Rugby League saw the First Grade competition begin on 8 May featuring the same 6 senior clubs who had competed in 1914.
The First World War was in full effect by the time the 1915 season began. War had been declared just as the 1914 rugby league season was concluding in August 1914. As a result, several efforts were made during the 1915 season by the Auckland Rugby League to raise funds for Auckland Hospital Ship and Wounded Soldiers Relief Fund.
On 12 June, a seven-a-side tournament was arranged to be played at Victoria Park to raise money for the Auckland Hospital Ship and Wounded Relief Fund. In total £200 was raised with "almost 1,000 people" in attendance. All senior clubs entered teams and the final was played between North Shore Albions and City Rovers though the match was not completed because some earlier matches went to extra-time and the final saw an injury requiring a stoppage. As it had become dark it was decided to call the game off with North Shore leading by 3pts. A further £35 was raised from the 19 June round of matches at Victoria Park for the same cause.
Grafton Athletic were crowned First Grade champions for the first time after defeating City Rovers 10–5 in the championship final at Victoria Park in front of 4,000 spectators.
News Club teams by grade participation Team1st Grade2nd Grade3rd Grade4th Grade5th GradeTotalCity Rovers112116Otahuhu Rovers111014North Shore Albions101114Ponsonby United110114Newton Rangers101114Grafton Athletic110114Sunnyside002103Richmond Rovers001113Manukau001113Remuera United010102Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers010102Thames Old Boys011002Māngere United010001Total681010842
Māngere Rangers On April 14, the Māngere Rangers rugby league club was registered. They later were renamed to Māngere United. They were a junior club made up predominantly of Māori players and they fielded one team in the 1915 season in the Second grade. They finished in the top half of the standings behind City Rovers and Remuera. Their secretary for their first season was A. Te Meti. They only lasted 'one season' and a letter was written to the league in June 1916, informing them that the club had ceased to exist and all players from their second grade side were free to play for other sides. However, in 1918 they again entered a side in the second grade. Then in 1919 they were being coached by Jim Rukutai. The club continued to exist until 1934. Many of their players then became involved in the Manukau club and their children and grand children were associated with them for decades afterwards.
Thames Old Boys At the start of the season a Thames Old Boys club was formed made up of players who had previously lived in or had a connection with the Thames area. They fielded teams in the Second and Third grades. The club only existed from 1915 to 1920. They went on annual playing excursions to the Thames area in three of their six seasons.
The beginning of the Roope Rooster A trophy which is still played for today saw its beginnings in the 1915 season. Namely the Roope Rooster trophy which was donated by Mr. Pauntley Whittington (Dick) Roope. It was a knockout competition with one round of matches before semi-finals were played. Roope had retired from playing (for Ponsonby) and was the Auckland Rugby League chairman to start the season. However he resigned his position in order to be able to resume playing for the young Grafton Athletic club. With the semi-final between Newton and Grafton being drawn (after North Shore received the bye) the management committee decided rather than replaying a match between the same teams there would be more interest in a match between Grafton and North Shore, with Newton progressing to the final. The second semi-final was played at Victoria Park and saw both teams wearing white armbands in memory of 3 men killed in action at the Dardanelles who had played club rugby league in Auckland (Charles Savory from Ponsonby United, Charles James Hally from Otahuhu, and William Moeki from City Rovers). A charge was made for the semi-final between North Shore and Grafton with the proceeds going to the Door of Hope, the Salvation Army Maternity and Rescue Homes, Sister Esther's Relief Work, and the St John Ambulance Brigade. The final was played on 11 September at Victoria Park between North Shore Albions and Newton Rangers, with North Shore winning 10 points to 7.
Patriotic Carnival Match On July 3 a Patriotic Carnival was held at the Auckland Domain with various sports and events played. Some junior league matches took place along with an exhibition game between Grafton and City which was won by Grafton 15 to 10. For Grafton, Dick Roope, of Roope Rooster fame scored two of their tries. For City George Asher, younger brother of Albert and Ernie scored a try while their other try was scored by William Mincham. Mincham later became a test referee and his son Ted, and grandson Robert both played for New Zealand.
1st Grade championship (Myers Cup) The 1st grade championship had been competing for the Myers Cup from 1910 to 1914 but after the beginning of the war the league decided to not award trophies though the grade competitions were still competed for as normal. Twenty eight matches were played in the 1st grade competition. Nine full rounds were played followed by the final. Victoria Park was the main ground used, with matches also played at the Auckland Domain, Devonport Domain, and Otahuhu.
Statistics Including the knockout games there were 34 first grade games played with 132 tries, 56 conversions, 52 penalties, 0 drop goals, and 13 goals from a mark. The average number of points per game was 18.8, with 3.9 tries per game. With 56 conversions from 132 attempts the successful percentage was 42.4. The points per game decreased from 19.1 in 1914 to 18.8. The successful conversion percentage went from 35.8 to 42.4.
1st Grade standings TeamPldWDLFAPtsGrafton Athletic107121187015City Rovers10613936313Ponsonby United9513936311North Shore Albions941476839Newton Rangers9306801186Otahuhu Rovers9108481112
1st Grade fixtures Round 1 Bill Davidson debuted for City aged just 18. He kicked a goal but did not play again for them until the following season. He would represent New Zealand 4 years later in 1919. Graham Walker Cook debuted for Ponsonby in the forwards. He enlisted in the war effort and died his wounds in France on July 11, 1916 aged 22. Bernard Farrelly debuted in the halves for Otahuhu. He departed New Zealand in July 1917 for the war effort and was killed in action on August 30, 1918 in France. He is buried at Bancourt British Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France.
Round 2 Frederick Louis Trezise debuted for City. Several weeks later the league denied his registration due to some discipline issue stemming from his time in rugby. He had been sent off when playing for the City rugby club in a match against Marist in June 1914 and suspended. Trezise was an Auckland representative player and played 15 matches for them from 1910–13, and again later in 1923. He also played rugby for New Zealand Māori on their 1922 tour of Australia. Walter Frost debuted for Otahuhu and was moved into the five eighth position. Towards the end of 1917 he joined the forces and departed for Europe. He was a prisoner of war during 1918 at the Stalag VIII-Band camp in Poland and died of disease (Peritonitis) on October 13, 1918 aged 22. He is buried at Berlin South-Western Cemetery, Berlin, Germany.
Round 3 City travelled out to Otahuhu where they lost 2-0. They were without the services of Charles Woolley, Harold (Ray) Denize, and A Brooks who had all just signed up for the war effort. It was also reported that R. Burns who had played for City last season had been wounded in battle. Sam Magee was also unavailable due to injury while Don Kenealy was away on business. George Asher, the younger brother of Albert and Ernie joined them in the backs and played a good game at inside centre. Bert Farrelly won Otahuhu the game with a penalty kicked from halfway.
Round 4 In the match between Ponsonby and Otahuhu following a penalty being awarded to Ponsonby Arthur Hardgrave threw the ball back and it struck the referee (Richard Calthorpe) on the back of the neck and he was ordered off. It was unclear if this was accidental or deliberate according to the NZ Herald reporter of the time. At the disciplinary committee Hardgrave apologised and said that he had thrown the ball away in frustration and not at anybody in particular. The league decided to leave the matter there. During the game future New Zealand international halfback, Bill Walsh left the field injured. He was replaced by a young Arthur Matthews who would also go on to represent New Zealand in 1919, the same year as Walsh. Grafton beat Newton 15-11 with Karl Ifwersen scoring 2 tries, 2 conversions, and 1 penalty before leaving the field with an injured thigh late in the game. Alan Blakey returned to the field for the first time in 2 seasons and scored one of Newton's tries. City won their second match of the season, beating North Shore 15-8 and remarkably had not conceded a try through 4 matches.
Round 5 The Asher brothers, Albert, Ernie, and George scored all 16 of City's points in their 16-10 win over Grafton. Otahuhu were missing forwards, Sharpe, and Doherty. Both had tried to enlist for the war effort but were turned down for medical reasons so had traveled to Australia to try and enlist there. Also McCallion had moved to South Africa to farm. John Fischer had not intended to play as he was suffering from influenza, while Spence had not fully recovered from injury suffered the previous week. Captain Arthur Hardgrave was also unavailable. J Maurice made a reappearance to help the stricken side but lacked fitness and struggled. Under the circumstances they did well to only lose to Newton 18-6. During North Shore's loss to Ponsonby their captain, Hec Wynyard walked off the field and stood on the sideline.
Round 6 Otahuhu was significantly weakened once more with Richardson and Browne unavailable, Arthur Hardgrave out with illness and Bert Farrelly who missed the train from Otahuhu to the City and arrived only a few minutes before halftime. They put up a good showing however and only lost by a point to North Shore. Jack Stanaway returned to the field and played at fullback for the South Auckland side. For Ponsonby, Bernard Longbottom was ordered off for questioning the referee.
Round 7 All of the matches were played in poor conditions at Victoria Park. Rugby union and hockey had cancelled all of their matches but rugby league went ahead with the fields in a messy state. In the match between Newton and North Shore, Stan Walters, and Richard Rope were sent off for "rough play". In the Ponsonby v City game, H Manning and Harry Francis were also ordered off for rough play late in the match with both players throwing punches at each other. Manning had to be attended to with a "badly cut face". It was decided by the league to suspend both players for four weeks though City appealed the decision.
Round 8
Round 9
Championship final