Lion Red Cup

Lion Red Cup

Sport	Rugby league
Inaugural season	1994
Ceased	1996
Replaced by	Bartercard Cup
Number of teams	12
Country	New Zealand
Last Premiers	Counties Manukau Heroes (1996)
Most titles	North Harbour Sea Eagles (2 titles)

The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994-1996 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 accepted into the Winfield Cup. The competition was a huge success in its inaugural year, although it made a massive loss financially. Throughout its three year history it continued to make a loss, eventually being scrapped by the New Zealand Rugby League.

Teams

The teams that participated were:

Team	Seasons	Played	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD
Auckland City Vulcans	1994	23	14	1	8	539	393	119
Auckland Warriors Colts	1995	24	19	0	5	711	398	323
Bay of Plenty Stags	1994-6	67	15	4	48	1024	2028	-1061
Canterbury Country Cardinals	1994-6	69	32	5	32	1504	1475	197
Christchurch City Shiners	1994-6	66	21	1	44	1173	1692	-519
Counties Manukau Heroes	1994-6	76	53	3	20	2115	1332	801
Hawkes Bay Unicorns	1994-6	66	24	2	40	1217	1545	-328
Hutt Valley Firehawks/Dolphins	1994-6	67	33	2	32	1460	1429	52
Manawatu Mustangs	1996	22	5	0	17	404	732	-328
North Harbour Sea Eagles	1994-6	75	50	1	24	1940	1235	1027
Taranaki Rockets	1994-6	66	23	2	41	1336	1744	-453
Waikato Cougars	1994-6	73	45	3	25	1696	1412	363
Waitakere City Raiders	1994-6	68	39	2	27	1705	1257	404
Wellington City Dukes	1994-6	66	27	2	37	1446	1554	-108

Seasons

1994

Pre-Season Cup

Before the season proper was held a pre-season "Pepsi Max Knockout" tournament. This was won by Auckland City who defeated Waitakere City 22-18 in the final on March 13.

Season Standings

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Counties Manukau	22	16	2	4	563	332	231	34
Waikato	22	16	1	5	589	405	184	33
North Harbour	22	16	0	6	514	295	219	32
Canterbury	22	15	2	5	615	410	205	32
Auckland City	22	14	1	7	517	363	154	29
Taranaki	22	10	1	11	481	536	-55	21
Waitakere City	22	9	1	12	530	487	43	19
Hutt Valley	22	9	0	13	458	489	-30	18
Wellington City	22	8	0	14	470	508	-38	16
Hawkes Bay	22	7	0	15	373	476	-103	14
Christchurch City	22	6	0	16	358	630	-272	12
Bay of Plenty	22	2	0	20	262	800	-538	4

The Playoffs

Match	Winner		Loser
Elimination Play-off	Canterbury Cardinals	30	Auckland City Vulcans	22
Preliminary Semifinal	North Harbour Sea Eagles	24	Waikato Cougars	10
Elimination Semifinal	Canterbury Cardinals	32	Waikato Cougars	6
Qualification Semifinal	North Harbour Sea Eagles	25	Counties Manukau Heroes	22
Preliminary Final	Counties Manukau Heroes	34	Canterbury Cardinals	16
Grand Final	North Harbour Sea Eagles	24	Counties Manukau Heroes	16

1995

Season Standings

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Auckland Colts	22	18	0	4	675	356	319	36
Counties Manukau	22	14	1	7	573	413	160	29
North Harbour	22	13	1	8	601	379	222	27
Waikato	22	13	1	8	471	379	92	27
Hutt Valley	22	13	0	9	544	443	101	26
Christchurch City	22	12	1	9	455	419	36	25
Wellington City	22	10	2	10	440	514	-74	22
Waitakere City	22	10	1	11	430	386	44	21
Hawkes Bay	22	10	1	11	467	486	-19	21
Canterbury	22	9	2	11	446	448	-2	20
Taranaki	22	2	1	19	339	770	-431	5
Bay of Plenty	22	2	1	19	304	752	-448	5

The Playoffs

Match	Winner		Loser
Elimination Play-off	Waikato Cougars	28	Hutt Valley Unicorns	14
Preliminary Semifinal	Counties Manukau Heroes	30	North Harbour Sea Eagles	16
Elimination Semifinal	North Harbour Sea Eagles	32	Waikato Cougars	16
Qualification Semifinal	Auckland Warriors Colts	15	Counties Manukau Heroes	14
Preliminary Final	North Harbour Sea Eagles	28	Auckland Warriors Colts	19

Grand Final

Team	Halftime	Total
North Harbour Sea Eagles	2	28
Auckland Warriors Colts	15	21

Tries (North Harbour)	1: F. Fuimaono, S. Wilson, P. Tuimavave, J.Palmada
Tries (Auckland Colts)	1: N.Vagana, B.Henare, M.Noovao, W.Swann
Goals (North Harbour)	6: Q.Dane
Goals (Auckland Colts)	1: S.Buckingham, M.Noovao
Field Goals Goals (Auckland Colts)	1: M.Noovao

1996

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Waitakere City	22	19	0	3	697	342	355	38
Counties Manukau	22	18	0	4	766	399	367	36
North Harbour	22	15	0	7	624	393	231	30
Waikato	22	13	1	8	515	472	43	27
Bay of Plenty	22	11	3	8	440	441	-1	25
Hutt Valley	22	11	2	9	444	469	-25	24
Taranaki	22	11	0	11	516	438	33	22
Wellington City	22	9	0	13	536	532	4	18
Hawkes Bay	22	7	1	14	377	583	-206	15
Canterbury	22	6	1	15	365	555	-190	13
Manawatu	22	5	0	17	404	732	-328	10
Christchurch City	22	3	0	19	360	643	-283	6

The Playoffs

Match	Winner		Loser
Elimination Play-off	Waikato Cougars	35	Bay of Plenty Unicorns	18
Preliminary Semifinal	Counties Manukau Heroes	14	North Harbour Sea Eagles	10
Elimination Semifinal	Waikato Cougars	20	North Harbour Sea Eagles	14
Qualification Semifinal	Waitakere City Raiders	26	Counties Manukau Heroes	8
Preliminary Final	Counties Manukau Heroes	22	Waikato Cougars	6

Grand Final

Team	Total
Counties Manukau Heroes	34
Waitakere City Raiders	22

Tries (Counties Manukau)	2: G Malietoa-Brown
	1: D. Mann, E. Mann, N. Ramsay, F. Watene, C. Kennedy
Tries (Waitakere City)	3. B. Nelson
	1: D. Bailey
Goals (Counties Manukau)	3: T. Loza
Goals (Waitakere City)	3: B. Lythe
Venue	Carlaw Park

References

• The Vault