The Counties Manukau rugby league team represents the Counties Manukau zone in the Albert Baskerville Trophy. Previously, teams representing Southern Auckland and the Franklin district of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

have competed in the Lion Red Cup and Bartercard Cup. They are nicknamed the Stingrays. CountiesManukaurugbyleagueteam

1994–1996: Heroes

The Counties Manukau Heroes competed in the Lion Red Cup from 1994 to 1996. Stan Martin coached them in 1994 and 1995 before accepting a contract with the

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle, Cumbria, C ...

. He was replaced by Cameron Bell for the 1996 season.

Notable players

Notable players included;

Duane Mann Duane Darrin Mann (born 28 June 1965) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 2000s. A Tonga and New Zealand international representative , he captained both sides. Mann played his ...

Frank Watene Frank Watene (born 15 February 1977) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or forward in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for Tonga (1995 Rugby League World Cup squad), New Zealand Junio ...

, 1995 captain Dean Clark,

Whetu Taewa Whetu Taewa (born 19 October 1970) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand six times between 1989 and 1996. Playing career New Zealand Whetu was born on the West Coast, New Zealand and started p ...

, Clayton Friend, Des Maea,

Gus Malietoa-Brown Gus Mailetoa-Brown (born 28 July 1975) is a former Western Samoa international rugby league footballer. Playing career A Manurewa and Papakura junior, Mailetoa-Brown first attracted interest from the Brisbane Broncos. However, by 1994 he was pla ...

Solomon Kiri Solomon Kiri (born 26 October 1972) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s for the Adelaide Rams and the Western Reds. New Zealand Kiri played for the Counties Manukau Heroes in the 199 ...

, Jason Temu,

Bryan Laumatia Brian Laumatia is a former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Cronulla Sharks in the Super League in Australia. Playing career In 1994 he played for the Counties Manukau Heroes in the Lion Red Cup, and represented Auckland ...

, 1994 captain

Hitro Okesene John Haitrosene "Hitro" Okesene () (born 22 September 1970), also known by the nickname of "Nitro",Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s ...

and his brother Paul, Esau Mann, Matthew Sturm, Mark Faumuina, Leroy Joe, Richard O'Connell, Te Manawa Loza, Mark Leithbridge. Jerry Seuseu and Willie Wolfgramm.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'',

New Zealand Rugby Football League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

, 1994. p.106

Season results

2004–2008: Jetz

The Counties Manukau Jetz were a franchise in the Bartercard Cup.

Notable players

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

who were assigned to the club included: Sonny Fai,

Nathan Fien Nathan Fien (born 1 August 1979), also known by the nickname of "Fieny", is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 2000s and 2010s. He last played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the Nat ...

George Gatis George Gatis (born 25 March 1978) is a former rugby league footballer who played as a in the 2000s in the NRL and the Super League. He played for the New Zealand Warriors, and the North Queensland Cowboys in two separate spells in the Nationa ...

History

The Jetz entered the competition in 2004 in the place of the Manurewa Marlins. They finished a disappointing seventh and missed out on the playoffs. 2005 however was a better year with the team performing well, losing to eventual winners Mt Albert in the Preliminary Final. In 2006 they again made the playoffs but were eliminated by Tamaki in the first week. Before the 2007 season long serving head coach Gary Kemble announced his retirement to concentrate on business interests so former Northern Storm coach Geoff Morton was appointed for the season. The team's final season was its worst with it coming second to last.

2010: Zone

Following the

Sparc SPARC (Scalable Processor Architecture) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture originally developed by Sun Microsystems. Its design was strongly influenced by the experimental Berkeley RISC system developed ...

review of the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

the new zonal competition was launched in 2010. Counties Manukau became a stand-alone zone with a team that was separate from

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. Counties Manukau draws players from Mangere East,

Howick Howick may refer to: Places *Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa **Howick Falls * Howick, Lancashire, a small hamlet (Howick Cross) and former civil parish in England *Howick, New Zealand **Howick Historical Village **Howick (New Zealand electo ...

, Pakuranga,

Papakura Papakura is a southern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately 32 kilometres south of the Auckland CBD. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council. Papakura is a ...

, Franklin, Tuakau, Waiuku, Pukekohe, Papatoetoe, Otara, Manukau and Otahuhu.Counties Manukau
Auckland Rugby League In the 2010 season, Counties Manukau won the Under 15 and Under 17 tournaments but lost the final of the senior competition, being defeated by Auckland 14 – 6.

References

{{Lionredcup Rugby league in Counties Manukau New Zealand rugby league teams 1994 establishments in New Zealand