1932 Auckland Rugby League season
Marist Old Boys stuffed their trophy cabinet when they won the Roope Rooster (defeating City Rovers 28–8), Stormont Shield (defeating Devonport United 15–8), and Max Jaffe Cup for finishing runner up in the Senior Championship (they beat Ponsonby United in a playoff after both teams tied for second by 37 to 8).
Richmond won the Davis Shield after their lower grade teams combined for the most competition points in Auckland.
[1] Prior to the season commencing the Mount Wellington club requested permission to change its name to Otahuhu Rovers and this was approved by the league.
[7] On Thursday, 29 September they placed an ad for intending players and supporters to be held at the Strand Theatre Buildings, Onehunga.
There were 52 people present including W. Mincham, referee of the RL Association, and Mr. T. Davis, secretary of the junior control board.
Permission was granted for the match between second grade knockout final between Mangere and Mount Albert to be played at the Onehunga Recreation Reserve.
Of this £472 was given to Auckland clubs, £68 to the Referees’ Association and the Junior Management Committee, £30 in grants to visiting teams, £195 in honorariums, and £66 in presentations and trophies.
[12] At a meeting of the Auckland Rugby League Board of Control on 17 March it was decided to continue with giving teams a percentage of the gate takings as had been started in 1931.
[13] The League made a decision on an issue that had caused problems for several years, which was the abuse of players passes to gain entry to Carlaw Park on match days.
Club secretaries would now have to supply the names of senior team players and that they would be checked in a side gate by a special official.
[14] It was decided to admit military patients from Auckland Hospital into Carlaw Park to watch Senior matches free of charge news.
At the Auckland Rugby League Referees’ Association meeting on 16 May the City Club inquired about the play the ball rule.
It was said that the rule was not being enforced properly regarding the forwards needing to be inside a 5-yard radius behind their halfback when the ball was being played.
The New Zealand Council also wished for it to be known that the attacking side had the loose head at scrums but the defending team were to put the ball in.
[18] In the middle of the season the famous All Black Bert Cooke (rugby) switched codes when he moved back to Auckland.
On 1 March Mr. D. W. McLean suffered a heart attack and died at a meeting of the North Shore Rowing Club where he was president.
He was from a sporting family with three uncles who were part of the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team that went on a rugby union tour of Great Britain.
On the morning of 4 October the Richmond senior player Harry Johns died aged 21 after a boxing match at the Auckland Town Hall the previous evening.
His form was so good that he was promoted to the senior side and made the Probables versus Possibles match which played at Carlaw Park on 23 July.
[24] It was later reported that he had sustained a concussion in the Probables v Possibles match and bled from the nose along with requiring stitches in his head.
[25] He was laid to rest on 5 October at Waikumete Cemetery following an enormous gathering at the service with boxers and footballers walking before the cortege.
[30] Horace Hunt, the former Auckland cricket representative wicket keeper scored for Devonport in their 14-9 win over Richmond.
The Auckland Rugby League were not interested in a replay as it was a matter of a possible refereeing error rather than an incorrect rule interpretation.
William (Bill) Cornthwaite, the Auckland rugby representative switched codes and joined the Marist club, debuting for them in their semi-final match where he scored a try and kicked a goal in a 19–18 win over Devonport.
Devonport United led the Stormont Shield match until about 5 minutes from time when Marist Old Boys scored the go ahead try in the corner.
A 'knockout' competition was played however it involved a full round robin with Ellerslie winning the final by 3 points to 0 over Newton on October 8.
On 9 September Ponsonby and Devonport played an exhibition match at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth where plans were underway to form a league competition.
The Ponsonby team featured Richmond Rovers player and former All Black, Bert Cooke who had recently switched codes.
Bert Cooke made his North Island debut and played brilliantly, scoring three tries for the winners in front of a crowd of 15,000.
With the attraction of the England team which had recently toured Australia the league authorities added several hundred seats by building a temporary stand at the northern end of the field at Carlaw Park.
