2018 New Zealand rugby league season |
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The 2018 New Zealand rugby league season was the 111th season of rugby league played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the National Competition, run by the New Zealand Rugby League.
The New Zealand national rugby league team played an end of season test match against the Australian side, before they toured Great Britain and played a three match test series against the England team. [1] [2]
Auckland were the holders of the Rugby League Cup but have not defended the trophy since 2012.
2017 will be the ninth year of the National Competition. The same four teams as 2017 will contest the National Championship, after Counties Manukau won the 2017 promotion/relegation game.
Team |
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Akarana Falcons |
Canterbury Bulls |
Counties Manukau Stingrays |
Waikato |
The New Zealand Warriors will play in their 24th first grade season in the Australian competition.
The Warriors will also fielded teams in the Intrust Super Premiership NSW and its associated under-20s competition.
During the 2018 NRL season, Auckland's Mount Smart Stadium will host a double header on 7 April where the Warriors will play the North Queensland Cowboys and the Wests Tigers will play the Melbourne Storm. [3] It will be the first NRL double-header to be staged outside Australia. [4]
Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. It opened in 1900. The south stand was rebuilt for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The stadium is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer, and it has hosted rugby league and association football matches. It is owned by Eden Park Trust Board, whose headquarters are located in the stadium.
NRL Western Australia is responsible for administering the game of rugby league football in the state of Western Australia.
Robina Stadium, also known by its sponsored name Cbus Super Stadium, is a rectangular football stadium in the Gold Coast suburb of Robina, Queensland. The main usage is as the home ground to the National Rugby League's Gold Coast Titans; this venue sometimes hosts the A-League team Brisbane Roar FC.
Manu Mapuhola Mafi-Vatuvei, also known by the nickname "The Beast", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer and convicted methamphetamine importer who was both a Tonga and New Zealand international representative winger. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL and for the Salford Red Devils in the Super League. Vatuvei was a member of the New Zealand national team that won the 2008 World Cup. He became the Warriors' top try scorer, and the first player in NRL history to score at least 10 tries in 10 consecutive seasons.
Nigel Faletoese Vagana, also known by the nicknames of "Pablo", and "Chiko", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, as a wing, centre and five-eighth. A New Zealand and Samoa international representative, he retired as the Kiwis' all-time top try-scorer with 19. Vagana played club football in New Zealand for the Warriors, in England for Warrington, and in Australia for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Vagana represented the New Zealand national team 32 times between 1998 and 2006, including playing in the 2000 World Cup. He is also the cousin of Bradford Bulls prop-forward Joe Vagana, and former Silver Ferns netball player Linda Vagana.
Stephen Peter Kearney is a New Zealand professional rugby league football coach who until 2020 was the head coach of the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL and a former player.
Ben Andrew Matulino is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s as a prop or second-row.
The Indigenous Australian rugby league team is a rugby league football team that represents Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. The team was first formed in 1973 and currently plays in an annual All Stars Match against a National Rugby League NRL All Stars team.
Alex Glenn is a former professional rugby league footballer who captained and played as a second-row and centre for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. He has played for both the Cook Islands and New Zealand at international level.
Darrell Christopher Williams is a New Zealand rugby league selector and NRL Judiciary member and a former footballer and coach. A New Zealand international representative outside back, he played his club football in the Auckland Rugby League for Mt Albert and in Sydney's NSWRFL Premiership for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Parramatta Eels. He later coached the Samoan national team.
Top-level rugby league in 2010 centered on Australasia's 2010 NRL season and Super League XV. High-profile representative competitions included the 2010 Four Nations, the 2010 State of Origin series and the 2010 European Cup.
Shaun Johnson is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback or five-eighth for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL) and the New Zealand Kiwis at international level.
Vaai "Jason" Taumalolo is a professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a lock or second-row forward for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. He has played for Tonga and New Zealand at international level.
Tohu Harris is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock, second-row and prop forward and captains the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL, and New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level.
Jordan Kahu is a former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a fullback, centre and winger for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL and New Zealand at international level.
Tuimoala Lolohea is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a stand-off or fullback for the Huddersfield Giants in the Betfred Super League. He has played for both New Zealand and Tonga at international level.
The 2015 New Zealand rugby league season was the 108th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the National Competition, which was won by the Counties Manukau Stingrays.
Solomone Kata is a Tongan professional rugby league footballer for the Leigh Centurions in the Betfred Super League. He played rugby union for Moana Pasifika for the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, having previously played for the ACT Brumbies.
Kodi Nikorima is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth, halfback, hooker and fullback for the Dolphins in the NRL.
The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the National Rugby League (NRL) and is contested by a subset of clubs from that competition. The current premiers are the Newcastle Knights.