The Counties Manukau rugby league team represents the Counties Manukau zone in the

Albert Baskerville Trophy The NZRL Men's National Competition (previously called the National Zonal Competition) is the top-level rugby league competition run by the New Zealand Rugby League. In 2010 the competition replaced the Bartercard Premiership following a Sparc f ...

. Previously, teams representing Southern Auckland and the

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

district of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

have competed in the

Lion Red Cup The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994 to 1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being a ...

and

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Ze ...

. They are nicknamed the Stingrays. CountiesManukaurugbyleagueteam

1994–1996: Heroes

The Counties Manukau Heroes competed in the

from 1994 to 1996. Stan Martin coached them in 1994 and 1995 before accepting a contract with the

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

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

Notable players

Notable players included; Duane Mann, Frank Watene, 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, Solomon Kiri, Jason Temu, Bryan Laumatia, 1994 captain Hitro Okesene and his brother

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

Esau Mann Esau Mann (born 11 May 1971) is a Tongan former professional rugby league footballer who represented Tonga at the 2000 World Cup. He is a cousin and brother of fellow internationals Duane and George Mann. Playing career With the launch of t ...

, Matthew Sturm, Mark Faumuina, Leroy Joe, Richard O'Connell, Te Manawa Loza, Mark Leithbridge. Jerry Seuseu and

Willie Wolfgramm Willie Wolfgramm is a former professional rugby league and rugby union player who represented Tonga national rugby league team, Tonga at two Rugby League World Cups and the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens. Background He is the cousin of fellow Tong ...

.''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

Notable players

New Zealand Warriors The 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 the Aucklan ...

who were assigned to the club included:

Sonny Fai Sonny Fai (20 March 1988 – 4 January 2009) was a professional rugby league footballer who played for the New Zealand Warriors. Background Fai was born in Auckland, New Zealand of Samoan descent. Fai often mentioned throughout his life how c ...

Nathan Fien Nathan Fien (born 1 August 1979), also known by the nickname of "Fieny", is a professional rugby league assistant coach with the Dolphins since their inaugural 2023 season in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. Fien is also a former N ...

& George Gatis

History

The Jetz entered the competition in 2004 in the place of the

Manurewa Marlins The Manurewa Marlins are a rugby league club based in Manurewa, New Zealand. In 2018 the Marlins will compete in Auckland Rugby League's Sharman Cup competition. Between 2000 and 2003 they competed in the national Bartercard Cup competition. ...

. 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 Gary Edward Kemble (born 23 August 1956), also known by the nickname "Crayfish", is a New Zealand rugby league coach and former player. He has both played and coached the New Zealand national rugby league team. He is the current head coach of t ...

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 review of the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league, rugby league football in New Zealand.#SPARC-2009, SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a 1910 Great Britain Lions tour o ...

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

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. Counties Manukau draws players from Mangere East, Howick,

Pakuranga Pakuranga is an eastern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. Pakuranga covers a series of low ridges and previously swampy flats, now drained, that lie between the Pakuranga Creek and Tamaki River, two estuary, estuarial arms of the ...

Papakura Papakura is a suburb of South Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland City Centre. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council. The ar ...

, Franklin, Tuakau, Waiuku, Pukekohe, Papatoetoe, Otara,

Manukau Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, ...

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 Rugby league teams in New Zealand 1994 establishments in New Zealand