The Ponsonby Ponies are a rugby league club based in Ponsonby, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1908 and was originally named Ponsonby United. The Ponies compete in the Auckland Rugby League competition and are the oldest rugby league club in NZ.
1917 Ponsonby first grade champions1918 Championship winnersPonsonby with the Thacker Shield in 1920.Newton v Ponsonby, April 24, 1928Ellerslie v Ponsonby, April 28, 1928Ponsonby players meeting Lord Bledisloe on May 12, 1934 when the new grandstand at Carlaw Park was opened. Ponsonby captain Lou Hutt is introducing the players.
The Ponsonby United side which won the 1929 Auckland Rugby League championship. The club was founded in August 1908 by two returning All Golds, Billy Tyler and Charlie Dunning.[2]
In 1930 Ponsonby celebrated their 21st anniversary with a social on October 13 at the Druids Hall.
1952 saw the club win the "treble" of the Fox Memorial, Roope Rooster and Stormont Shield all in one year. This feat was to be repeated in 1972.
In 1979 the club merged with Maritime to form Ponsonby-Maritime however this merger only lasted until 1983. They were relegated in 1992, and have not regained a position in the first division since then.
The club celebrated its centenary in 2008.
In 2015 the Ponies entered back into the Sharman Cup & the rebuild began with a number of former players returning. 2017 was a great season for the Ponsonby Ponies with an outstanding team of former juniors assembled during pre season under coach John Mana. A new committee & chairman was voted in, giving a breath of fresh air into the club.
Following the 2019 season, Auckland Rugby League denied the club entry to its competitive men's competitions indefinitely, citing the clubs inability to meet competitive criteria, despite Ponsonby making the playoffs in 2017 and 2018.
The 2020 season saw the club denied entry to field a male team in any Auckland competitive senior grade competition by ARL, though they did send a team to play the Kia Toa Tigers in Dunedin as a display of its ability to field a competitive team. Otago being the only league welcoming of the clubs attempts to play competitive matches.
Following this, Ponsonby formally entered a men's premier team in the 2021 Otago Rugby League Premiership, travelling to play all games in Otago between Dunedin and Oamaru. A mammoth undertaking for the club which displayed its desire to play competitive games, despite adversity.
Ponsonby won the 2021 Otago Rugby League Minor Premiership, before COVID-19 prevented their ability to travel and participate in the scheduled Grand Final against Otago University, who Ponsonby had defeated earlier in the season.
In 2022 they are fielding a team in the premier grade after several years of negotiations with Auckland Rugby League. Ponsonby were supported in their application by Glenfield, who offered to play in the reserve grade, allowing Ponsonby to compete in the Fox Memorial competition and return to competitive football in Auckland.
Notable players
Between the years 1909 and 1986 Ponsonby developed 44 players that gained New Zealand representative status. Brackets indicates the year that they first represented New Zealand.
The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond.
Charles Dunning was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907–1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.
The 1908 New Zealand rugby league season was the first season that rugby league had been played in New Zealand. Auckland played Wellington in a two match series that was won by Auckland 1-0. Otago and Southland also participated in a two match series which was drawn 1-all. Auckland and Taranaki then drew a two match series.
The Manukau Magpies are a rugby league football club based in Māngere, a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand, who compete in the Auckland Rugby League. The club was established in March 1912 after a meeting in Onehunga. That year they fielded a senior team and two junior teams.
The 1909 New Zealand rugby league season was the second season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand.
The 1910 New Zealand rugby league season was the third season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand.
The 1911 New Zealand rugby league season was the fourth season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand.
The 1912 New Zealand rugby league season was the fifth season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand.
The 1925 New Zealand rugby league season was the 18th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand.
Arthur Carlaw was a New Zealand rugby league player who played a role in the establishment of the sport in New Zealand and represented New Zealand.
The City Newton Dragons are a defunct New Zealand rugby league club that was based at Victoria Park, Auckland. The club was created in 1948 by a merger of two original clubs, the City Rovers and Newton Rangers. Both the Rovers and the Rangers participated in the inaugural Auckland Rugby League competition in 1910. In 2004, the club was absorbed by the Ponsonby Ponies, who play a match in the City Newton colours annually to keep the heritage of the club alive.
John James "Jack" Stanaway, also known as Hone Haira, was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand Māori and was an international test referee. His brother, Alex Stanaway, played rugby league for New Zealand.
The 1911 Auckland Rugby League season was the second full organised club season in Auckland following the 1910 Auckland Rugby League season. City Rovers won the title again after winning it in the competitions inaugural year.
The 1918 Auckland Rugby League season was its 10th since its inception in 1909. It was again severely affected by the ongoing war with several hundred players serving overseas and 44 killed who were named in the annual report. North Shore Albions withdrew from the competition early in the season and on other occasions teams played short-handed. There was also a truncated representative program with only a trial match and one full Auckland representative match versus Canterbury, which was played at the Auckland Domain in front of 10,000 spectators.
The 1921 season of Auckland Rugby League was its 13th. Seventy two teams played across its six main grades.
The 1909 Auckland Rugby League season was the league's first ever official season. It celebrated its centenary in 2009. Four representative matches had been played in 1908 as players in Auckland attempted to showcase the new code to both Auckland residents and those elsewhere.
The 1931 Auckland Rugby League season was its 23rd.
The North Shore Albions were a rugby league club based on the North Shore of Auckland in Devonport before moving to Bayswater at a later time. They formed in 1909 and folded in the early 2000s due to a lack of playing numbers. At the start of the 1920 season they were renamed Devonport United when they amalgamated with the Sunnyside club. It was proposed at the merger that they be known as North Shore Albions but Sunnyside objected and the name of Devonport United was chosen. In 1937, 17 years later at their annual general meeting they decided to revert to the name "North Shore Albions" as they had been commonly referred to as "shore" for many years. Chairman H. Mann made the proposal and it was adopted by the club. Aside from Northcote and Birkenhead Ramblers they were the only club on the North Shore at that time. They closed their doors in 2005. The only remaining club connected to them are the Northern Brothers who are based at Ngataringa Bay Sports Field. Their senior team is an amalgamation of East Coast Bays Barracudas and Glenfield Greyhounds but are based more in the North Shore Albions traditional area which includes the navy ground which has provided many players and teams over the years. The predominant colours are black and green which have been common colours of all the North Shore clubs over the decades.
Inglis Ivan Irwin Levers Littlewood was a rugby league player who represented New Zealand for the first time in 1925. In so doing he became Kiwi 181. He also represented the Lower Waikato, South Auckland, and Auckland representative rugby league teams from 1919 to 1927.
Maritime was a rugby league club in Auckland. They competed from 1918 to 1930 under the name Maritime for 4 seasons, Athletic for 4 seasons, Grafton Athletic for 3 seasons and Kingsland Athletic for 2 seasons, before the club was 'forced' to join with Marist Old Boys in 1931.
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