1918 Auckland Rugby League season

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.[1] 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.

Ponsonby United, the 1918 first grade champions

The senior grade featured six teams. Ponsonby United won their second consecutive title with an 8-win–1-loss record. Ponsonby then travelled to Christchurch to play Sydenham for the Thacker Shield and they won 11 points to 0. City Rovers won their second Roope Rooster title with a 6–3 win over Maritime following their first win in 1916.

Senior games still regularly attracted strong crowds. The round 4 matches at Victoria Park drew an estimated crowd of 6,000.[2] While 4,000 attended the round 5 matches, 5,000 the round 7 clash between City Rovers and Grafton Athletic at the same venue,[3][4] and 6,000 witnessed the round 9 match between City Rovers and Ponsonby United.

At the season end many one-off matches were played between various teams. One of the more notable ones was a match between the Auckland Star staff and The New Zealand Herald staff. The game was won by the Auckland Star by 8 points to 4.[5] These company type fixtures were to become a regular feature of Auckland Rugby League for decades to come.

Preceded by 10th Auckland Rugby League season
1918 		Succeeded by
  1. ^ "Review of Last Season". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LV, no. 16812. 1 April 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Ponsonby Beats City/Ponsonby V City/Maritime V Newton". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LV, no. 16866. 10 June 1918. p. 8. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Newton Defeats Grafton". Auckland Star. Vol. XLIX, no. 149. 24 June 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  4. ^ "City Defeats Grafton". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LV, no. 16896. 8 June 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  5. ^ ""Star" V "Herald"". Auckland Star. Vol. XLIX, no. 233. 30 September 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 10 August 2019.