Auckland Lions
 |
|
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| Exited | 2008 |
| Former details | |
| Ground(s) | |
| Coach | Graeme Norton, Brent Gemmell |
| Competition | Bartercard Cup |
| Records | |
| Premierships | 2006, 2007 |
| Minor premiership | 2006, 2007 |
The Auckland Lions were a rugby league club that had teams in both the New Zealand Bartercard Cup and the NSWRL Premier League. They were mostly drawn from the Mt Albert Lions Rugby League club. Mt Albert had a proud tradition in Auckland and had previously won two Bartercard Cup competitions as a stand-alone club.
The Bartercard franchise wore a yellow jersey with a blue V, while the Premier League side wore royal blue jerseys with a white V.
In 2008 the Bartercard Cup was discontinued and the Auckland franchise in the New South Wales Cup was renamed the Auckland Vulcans.
In 2007 the Lions competed in the Sydney-based NSWRL Premier League. Graeme Norton was appointed coach for the side in 2007. The Lions acted as the official reserve grade side for the New Zealand Warriors. The team was composed of Auckland Rugby League talent and Warriors players not taking part in first grade action. The New Zealand Kiwis coach at the time, Brian McClennan, served as Director of Football for the first few weeks of the season before stepping down to concentrate on the National side.
Their first game was a stunning 27-8 victory over the reigning Premiers, the Parramatta Eels. After several good early performances including upsetting a Dragons team with a lot of first grade talent, the Lions season started to slide with a six match losing streak that was broken in Round 13 with a 10-8 victory over the Manly Sea Eagles at Mt Smart Stadium. Following another two game slump, the Lions embarked on a streak, winning four out of five games to re-enter unlikely finals contention. A loss to Canberra in their penultimate game of the season saw their finals hopes evaporate, and a depleted Lions squad lost heavily to Penrith to end their first season in Premier League. The Lions finished a creditable 10th spot, just two wins outside of the top eight.
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