2023 New Zealand rugby league season

NZRL National Competition 2023
NZRL National Competition 2023
League	National Competition
Teams	12
Premiers	Auckland Vulcans (1st title)
Broadcast partners	Sky Sport

The 2023 New Zealand rugby league season was the 116th season of rugby league played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the National Competition, run by the New Zealand Rugby League.^[1]

National Premiership

Select matches were broadcast live by Sky Sport.^[2]

Teams

Six teams contested the National Premiership, all in a single division round robin followed by a final.^[3]

Team	City/Region	Home Grounds
Akarana Falcons	Auckland	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland Sunnynook Park, Auckland
Auckland Vulcans	Auckland	Cornwall Park, Auckland
Canterbury Bulls	Christchurch	Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub, Christchurch
Counties Manukau Stingrays	South Auckland	Massey Park, South Auckland
Otago Whalers	Dunedin	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Waikato Mana	Hamilton	FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton

Regular Season

Round 1

Home	Score	Away	Date and Time	Venue
Auckland Vulcans	48 – 22	Waikato	2 September 2023 12:00 noon	Cornwall Park
Canterbury Bulls	0 – 44	Counties Manukau	2 September 2023 2:00pm	Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub
Otago Whalers	22 – 42	Akarana Falcons	3 September 2023 12:00pm	Forsyth Barr Stadium

Round 2

Home	Score	Away	Date and Time	Venue
Akarana Falcons	30 – 20	Waikato	9 September 2023 2:00pm	Sunnynook Park
Counties Manukau	36 – 20	Otago Whalers	10 September 2023 12:00pm	Massey Park
Canterbury Bulls	8 – 56	Auckland Vulcans	10 September 2023 2:00pm	Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub

Round 3

Home	Score	Away	Date and Time	Venue
Auckland Vulcans	22 – 20	Akarana Falcons	16 September 2023 2:00pm	Cornwall Park
Waikato	10 – 62	Counties Manukau	16 September 2023 2:00pm	Resthills Park
Otago Whalers	32 – 14	Canterbury Bulls	17 September 2023 12:00pm	Forsyth Barr Stadium

Ladder


Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Pool A
1	Auckland Vulcans	3	3	0	126	50	76	6
2	Akarana Falcons	3	2	1	92	64	28	4
3	Waikato	3	0	3	52	140	-88	0
Pool B
1	Counties Manukau	3	3	0	142	30	112	6
2	Otago Whalers	3	1	2	74	92	-18	2
3	Canterbury Bulls	3	0	3	22	132	-110	0

Finals

Home	Score	Away	Date and Time	Venue
Semi Finals
Akarana Falcons	8 – 26	Counties Manukau	23 September 2023 12:00pm	The Trusts Arena
Auckland Vulcans	50 – 6	Otago Whalers	23 September 2023 3:00pm	The Trusts Arena
Relegation Match
Canterbury Bulls	vs	Waikato	1 October 2023 12:00pm	Navigation Homes Stadium
Grand Final
Counties Manukau	4-70^[4]	Auckland Vulcans	1 October 2023 2:00pm	Navigation Homes Stadium

Chart

Semi-finals		Final

23 September - Trusts Arena

Akarana	8
		1 October - Navigation Homes Stadium
Counties Manukau	26
		Counties Manukau	4
23 September - Trusts Arena
		Auckland	70
Auckland	50

Otago	6

National Championship

North Island Championship

Home	Score	Away	Date and Time	Venue
Coastline Mariners	28 – 42	Northern Swords	10 September 2023 12:00pm	Mitchell Park
Northern Swords	24 – 40	Bay of Plenty Lakers	17 September 2023 1:00pm	Unknown
Bay of Plenty Lakers	22 – 0	Coastline Mariners	23 September 2023 12:00pm	Puketawhero Park

South Island Championship Pool 1

Home	Score	Away	Date and Time	Venue
Hawke's Bay Unicorns	36 – 6	Manawatu Mustangs	10 September 2023 11:00am	Coronation Park
Hawke's Bay Unicorns	18 – 42	Wellington Orcas	10 September 2023 1:00pm	Coronation Park
Manawatu Mustangs	16 – 32	Wellington Orcas	10 September 2023 3:00pm	Coronation Park

South Island Championship Pool 2

Home	Score	Away	Date and Time	Venue
Aoraki Eels	46 – 16	West Coast Chargers	16 September 2023 1:30pm	Ashbury Park
West Coast Chargers	24 – 20	Aoraki Eels	23 September 2023 1:00pm	Wingham Park

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Pool A
1	Bay of Plenty Lakers	2	2	0	62	24	38	4
2	Northern Swords	2	1	1	66	68	-2	2
3	Coastline Mariners	2	0	2	28	64	-36	0
National Men's Championship (South Island)
1	Wellington Orcas	2	2	0	74	34	40	4
2	Hawke's Bay Unicorns	2	1	1	54	48	6	2
3	Manawatu Mustangs	2	0	2	22	68	-46	0
National Men's Championship (South Island)
1	Aoraki Eels	2	1	1	66	40	26	2
2	West Coast Chargers	2	1	1	40	66	-26	2
3	Southland Rams (withdrew)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Finals

Home	Score	Away	Date and Time	Venue
Semi Finals
Bay of Plenty Lakers		Wellington Orcas
Aoraki Eels		Bye
Grand Final
Bay of Plenty Lakers	62-16^[5]	Aoraki Eels	7 October 2023	Trusts Arena

Chart

Semi-finals	Final



Bay of Plenty

Wellington
	Bay of Plenty	62

	Aoraki	16
Aoraki

Bye

Club Competitions

Auckland

The 2023 season was the 115th season of the Auckland Rugby League Premiership.

Other Competitions

Australian Competitions

The New Zealand Warriors played in their 29th professional first grade season in the Australian National Rugby League competition.

The Warriors finished 4th after the regular season with a 16–8 record for the season. In the Qualifying Final, the Warriors lost 32–6 to the Penrith Panthers. As a result, they faced the Newcastle Knights in the second week of the finals at home at Go Media Stadium and won 40–10. The side then travelled to play the Brisbane Broncos in the Preliminary Final, where they lost 42-12 and were eliminated from the competition a game short of the Grand Final.

References

^ "NZ Rugby League". www.sporty.co.nz. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
^ "National Competition Archives". New Zealand Rugby League. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
^ "New Zealand Rugby League Official Page". New Zealand Rugby League. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
^ "Auckland Vulcans crowned NZRL National Premiers |". Retrieved 1 May 2024.
^ "Bay of Plenty Men & Waikato Women Claim National Championship Titles |". Retrieved 1 May 2024.

[1] "NZ Rugby League". www.sporty.co.nz. Retrieved 24 September 2023.

[:1-2] "National Competition Archives". New Zealand Rugby League. Retrieved 22 November 2022.

[:2-3] "New Zealand Rugby League Official Page". New Zealand Rugby League. Retrieved 22 November 2022.

[4] "Auckland Vulcans crowned NZRL National Premiers |". Retrieved 1 May 2024.

[5] "Bay of Plenty Men & Waikato Women Claim National Championship Titles |". Retrieved 1 May 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Rugby league in New Zealand
Federations	New Zealand Rugby League
Representative teams	Men's ("Kiwis") Women's ("Kiwi Ferns") Junior Māori Residents Wheelchair ("Wheel Kiwis")
New Zealand Kiwis	Players Coaches
Zones	Northern Auckland Counties-Manukau Upper Central Mid-Central Wellington Southern
Districts	Auckland (team) Bay of Plenty (team) Canterbury (team) Coastline (team) Gisborne Tairawhiti (team) Manawatu (team) Northland (team) Otago (team) Southland (team) Hawke's Bay (team) Taranaki (team) Tasman (team) Waikato (team) Wellington (team) West Coast (team)
Australian competition teams	New Zealand Warriors (NRL) Auckland Vulcans (defunct) Auckland Lions (defunct)
Competitions	NZRL Men's National Competition NZRL Women's National Tournament Rugby League Cup Bartercard Premiership (defunct) Bartercard Cup (defunct) Lion Red Cup (defunct)
New Zealand domestic seasons	1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

National Premiership

Teams

Regular Season

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Ladder

Finals

Chart

National Championship

North Island Championship

South Island Championship Pool 1

South Island Championship Pool 2

Ladder

Finals

Chart

Club Competitions

Auckland

Other Competitions

Australian Competitions

See also

References