The whole family was listed, with ages in brackets as Harold P. (34), John (9), Cyril (7), Edward (Ted) (5 and a half), Lionel (3), Walter (3), Jane (30), and Wilfred (1).

The New Zealand Herald wrote that "Manukau was weakened by the absence of [Leo] Heazlewood and [Arnold] Berridge, but the substitute five-eighths, W. Brimble proved a distinct find".

[18] The round was marred by the death of the Otahuhu captain, and All Black, Bert Palmer who died after collapsing in their match against University at the Showgrounds after breaking his neck.

[25] On May 6 the Manukau backs were disappointing in a 12–0 loss to University though Hunter and Berridge played well, and "there were odd occasions when Brimble did brilliant things".

[43] At one point after a long forward rush "Brimble judiciously kicked to Flett, who following up fast, crossed the line and scored".

Early in the game with the Manukau forwards dominating "Brimble beat Green, the University first five-eighths, several times, only to find his passes go astray".

[66] Then in another win, against University in the main match at Eden Park the forwards played well "with a rare flash of individualism by the two Manukau five-eighths, Brimble and Poulton".

The Herald remarked that "Brimble’s last couple of games were below his best form" and that he and Poulton in the five-eighths "gave promise earlier on of developing into a good combination.

[75] At Manukau's end of season prize-giving and social at the Foresters' Theatre in Onehunga on October 31 he was among the players congratulated for gaining representative honours which also included Leo Heazlewood who had played representative rugby for Wellington, the South Island, the North Island, Auckland, and later Canterbury as well as being an All Black trialist on multiple occasions, and Cyril Pepper who became an All Black in 1935.

Brimble with Stone in the five-eighths "were steady on defence, while occasional cuts-in and short punts by both players frequently placed the winners on attack".

[120] The Herald wrote that "Brimble, the former Manukau Rugby Union five-eighths, made a fine opening and carried play to the Ponsonby line, where [Peter] Mahima scored a good try".

Jack Brodrick made a 60-yard run before tackling Harold Tetley of Richmond and Angus Gault "snapped up the ball and Brimble was over in a flash".

[144] In a 22 to 5 win against Newton the following week Brimble and Mahima gave "attractive exhibitions" along with forward Jack Brodrick, Len Kawe, and Puti Tipene Watene.

[158][159] In a preview of Manukau's Fox Memorial championship round 1 game against Newton it was suggested that Brimble and Broughton in the five-eighths were likely to "make the play fast and open".

Brimble, "although not so conspicuous on attack as usual, showed out for some clever defensive work", and the Auckland Star mentioned that his "constructive play was good".

While not so prominent as usual on attack against Richmond, Brimble did great defensive work, his keen sense of anticipation enabling him to save some awkward situations".

It was said "speed from the base of the scrum, due to the fine combination of the Brimble brothers, gave the North backs every opportunity, and deep thrusts were made in the defence".

[182] While a correspondent from Auckland writing in The Referee (newspaper) of Sydney said "outstanding last year, Walter P. Brimble, five eighth, has a lot of speed and is very elusive, with a keen sense of anticipation on defence".

[189] The Herald speculated that it was "very likely that the combination and speed of the Brimble brothers in the inside positions made a vast difference to the team’s penetration".

It rained during the first half and made the ground greasy with it said that "the play of the New Zealand backs did not inspire confidence, there being a lack of enterprise, while they seldom managed to penetrate the opposing defence".

[191] During the second half Brimble "made an opening for the first try, slicing the defence at the 25 yards line, after taking a well timed pass from Gordon Midgley" before scoring under the posts.

It was said that Wilfred, "the scrum half showed none of the adventurous spirit which marked his second Sydney display, and he broke the hearts of both his forwards and supports by the way he kicked away the limited number of scrummage favours he received".

They went on to say that Wilfred had been sick before the match but "got the passes away crisply and used a short kick through the defence when he found the tackled crowding his brother at five eighth.

[199] The Telegraph said "Grotte showed more initiative than did [Wilfred] Brimble in Brisbane last Saturday, his chief weakness being a habit of throwing his passes too high to his supports.

[204] The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate newspaper erroneously wrote in relation to their ancestry that "the Brimble brothers, who are Maoris, have delighted the crowds by their clever work behind the pack in Australia.

The Truth newspaper wrote that "had the Brimble brothers received the opportunities that came the opposition’s way, wingers Jack Smith and Ray Brown would have been seen to better advantage".

[221] Auckland won 28 to 22 though the backs were surprisingly disappointing with Brimble, Tittleton and Rangi Chase not combining as well as expected given they had played together a lot in Australia.

In the match with City, which Newton lost 10–3 Brimble (named "Riki", his nickname, in the newspaper) came on to replace Mortimer Stephens, a veteran forward who had spent time in the mid-1930s playing for St Helens and Bradford Northern in England.

[246] At the August 27 meeting of the Auckland Rugby League in 1941 it was raised that Walter had played for Manukau at some recent point despite being a registered player for Newton.

It was "discussed at some length, and it was decided that, as Brimble was not a registered member of the Manukau club, he must stand down for a period of 12 months, dating from his last game with Newton".