30 March 2024
The New Zealand Rugby League National District 9s kicked off at Bruce Pulman Park this Easter Saturday, with Day 1 consisting of round-robin matches. By the end of the day, semi-finalist teams were confirmed consisting of the Wellington, Otago, Canterbury and Auckland boy’s sides, and Waikato, Northland, Auckland and Canterbury for the girl’s grade.
Boys 18s
Round 1 of the day saw the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Canterbury sides claim their first wins of the weekend, the Cantabrians beating Auckland the 2023 champions. Pool A’s North Island v South Island match-up between Wellington and Otago was an even contest ending in a draw.
In Round 2 Wellington and Otago chalked up their first wins of the tournament, while Canterbury continued their winning momentum. In Pool B Manawatu and Auckland clashed but neither side could clinch a victory, with the final score at 20-all.
Pool A came down to points difference in the third and final round of the day, with the Wellingtonians narrowly coming out on top of the pool ahead of Otago, for the two sides to advance to semi-finals. In Pool B the Canterbury side completed a clean sweep to finish first, followed by the Aucklanders who beat the Bay of Plenty Lakers.
Standings
Pool A
Wellington
Otago
Waikato
Northland
Pool B
Canterbury
Auckland
Bay of Plenty
Manawatu
Boys 18s semi-finals Sunday 31st March
Wellington v Auckland – 10:30am Field 2
Otago v Canterbury – 10:30am Field 5
Girls 18s
The 18’s girl’s grade kicked off the tournament with Northland, Waikato, Canterbury, and Auckland all winning their initial games. The Coastline team in Pool B are making their National District 9s Tournament debut.
Round 2 of pool matches saw Taranaki and Wellington victorious for the first time in the day, while Auckland and Waikato continued to go undefeated in their respective pools.
In the final round of the day, in Pool A Waikato cemented their place in the semi-finals by beating Taranaki to go undefeated. Waikato will be joined in the semi-finals by Northland who defeated Otago. Pool B was taken out by the unbeaten Auckland wāhine, and Canterbury who produced a large win over Coastline.
Pool A Standings
Taranaki
Pool B Standings
Coastline
Girls 18s semi-finals Sunday 31st March
Waikato v Canterbury – 10:00am Field 2
Auckland v Northland – 1o:00am Field 5
For all draw and results updates visit sporty.co.nz.
Field 1 will be broadcast on Sky Sport
Field 2 will be live-streamed on Veo
Field 3 will be live-streamed on YouTube
