D E C E M B E R 9 - 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 Q B E S TA D I U M , N O R T H S H O R E , A U C K L A N D
O F F I C I A L   P R O G R A M M E
A Message from AFL New Zealand 2017 has been a busy year for the sport of AFL in New Zealand, with the gains made in recent years entrenched and strengthened. The sport has been boosted at every level by the continued AFL coverage broadcast on Duke Television and TVNZ on Demand, which now has the best presence on Free to Air television and of any sport in New Zealand. The effect of this has been profoundly noticeable, with everyone involved in the delivery of AFL New Zealand programmes reporting the upswing of knowledge and interest in AFL. The annual ANZAC campaign saw four New Zealand teams travel to Wellington including the two male AFL New Zealand Academy teams, the U18 Kahu Youth girls and the Senior New Zealand side. The U18 New Zealand team travelled to Melbourne in May to take on a representative team from the Mornington Peninsula and this was followed soon after by the 2017 International Cup, with the Senior team defeated by Papua New Guinea on the MCG by a solitary point.
In 2018, the AFL New Zealand Premiership will commence its third season in February at QBE Stadium in Auckland with the national competition now hosting a raft of young talent travelling through regional Youth Competitions. The backbone of New Zealand Senior teams are the Regional Leagues that are represented here this weekend. The AFL New Zealand NPC is the culmination of a season of tough matches and exciting contests. Every player here has earned their place through performance over the season, and should be proud to represent their region. AFL New Zealand wishes every team the best of luck, and we hope that you will play with the values held dear by AFL fans in New Zealand. Play fair, and play with respect for opponents, teammates, spectators and officials.
FEBRUARY 11TH–APRIL 8TH 2018 QBE STADIUM, AUCKLAND
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AUCKLAND
The Auckland AFL is the largest regional league in New Zealand, with six clubs covering the vast breadth of New Zealand’s largest city. Auckland’s squad includes a large contingent of players who who have represented New Zealand, either at Senior or age group level. Key players such as Te Kopa Tipene-Thomas, Sam McKenzie and Ty Smith provide the Buccaneers with a wealth of experience and Head Coach Chris Mundell has several young up and coming players who could surprise during this year’s tournament.
#
FIRST NAME
SURNAME
1
Shane
Leat
2
David
Cory-Toussaint
3
Hamish
McKay
4
Kevin
Crowe
5
Josh
Copeland
6
Sam
Mckenzie
7
Joey
Alesich-Tamariki
8
Matt
Kemp
9
Josh
Cunliffe
10
Carlos
Donnell-Brown
11
Rhys
Pegoraro
12
Andrew
Azzopardi
13
Jake
Tucker
14
Michael
Gregson
15
David
Rattenbury
16
Stephen
Parton
17
Jackson
Clince
18
Steph
Tabaillou
22
Ty
Smith
COACH
Chris Mundell
24
Tim
Stokes
ASSISTANT COACH
Rob Malone
26
Harison
Manks
ASSISTANT COACH
Mitchell Ryan
27
Mitch
Ryan
MANAGER
Michael Lentini
28
Declan
Crann
PHYSIO
Jessica Williams
33
Te Kopa
Tipene Thomas
CANTERBURY
The Canterbury Cobras have won the tournament four times over the past six years and will be desperate to once again regain the title of National Provincial Champions. Their squad features plenty of players from this years Canterbury League Premiers the Christchurch Bulldogs, who defeated the Eastern Blues in the 2017 Premiership. New head Coach Izaak Williams has assembled a strong squad and the Cobras will be once again well placed to pursue the title.
COACH
Izaak Williams
ASSISTANT COACH
Adem Manderovic
#
FIRST NAME
SURNAME
2
Sam
Anderson
6
Adam
Clarke (VC)
8
Jay
Johnson (C)
9
Sean
Butler
10
Dan
Benny
11
Dean
Smith
12
David
Cook
13
Brad
Mavor
13
Shaun
Owen
14
Jacob
Edy
15
Tobias
Foley
16
Garrett
Beck
17
Jed
Williams
18
Kyle
Smith
19
Matthew
Smith
20
Jamie
Exeter
22
Dean
Cameron
24
Nathan
Hayes
27
Nick
Rhodes
30
Shaun
Harrington
ASSISTANT COACH
David Smith
31
Samuel
Burdett
RUNNER
Jason Beck
32
Stevie
Ferres
MANAGER
Samuel Burdett
33
Finn
Moffat
PHYSIO
Physio by Design
35
Alex
Frew
OTAGO
The Otago Riot are the newest team in the NPC, with this being their fifth appearance. Every year the sport grows in the deep south, and the Riot are better placed than ever to win their first NPC match. AFL in Otago is organised by stalwarts Michael Bruhn and Warwick Kain, who are once again leading the campaign. The impact of key players will be crucial for the Riot. New Zealand representative Logan Toomer is captaining their side, and is joined by a small group of NZ High Performance players. Otago has a relatively young squad, and the test for the Riot will be in depth and bench strength. If they can maintain solid performances from their entire squad, they could be the dark horse this season. COACH
Warwick Kain
ASSISTANT COACH
Reyne Westbury
MANAGER
Binny Guy
PHYSIO
Lydia Henderson
#
FIRST NAME
SURNAME
1
James
McKenzie
2
Hitaua
Arahanga-Doyle
4
Ali
Cargo
6
Michael
Bruhn
7
Josh
Hook
8
Conner
Hamlin
9
Hayden
Johnston
10
Antony
Stadnyk
13
Josh
Mackie
14
Teege
Westbury
16
Chris
Bailey
19
Logan
Toomer (C)
20
Brad
Affleck
22
Brennan
Clarke
25
Tristan
Burnett
27
Emerson
Baker
29
Reyne
Westbury
30
Heta
Scarf-Matthews
32
Andrew
James
33
Jamie
Angus
50
Logan
Selvadurai
52
Trey
Westbury
53
Tom
Bekkers
61
Sam
Johnston
WELLINGTON
The Wellington Tigers were runners up in 2016 when they hosted the tournament at Hutt Park. With a similar squad backing up from last year, the Tigers will look to go one better and win the tournament. The Wellington AFL is made up of 4 clubs, with the Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs the recent winners of the 2017 Premiership. Wellington is fortunate to have a strong group of players to select from, following on from a positive local club season.
HEAD COACH
John Jackson
ASSISTANT COACH
Alan Hunter
TEAM MANAGER
Wayne Harvey
PHYSIO
Aroha Montgomery
#
FIRST NAME
SURNAME
1
Misi
Faimalo
5
James
Kusel (VC)
7
Blake
Neve
9
Sam
Green
10
Johno
Sabo
13
Alex
Awatere
19
Shannon
Paku
21
Tom
Robinson
23
Kade
Riddell
30
Tayne
Lockwood
31
Craig
Morgan
43
Phillip
Wakefield
47
James
Sharp
48
Stanley
Chung
50
Hugh
Wilson
52
Jason
Cox
53
Andrew
Bisset
55
Kewa
McMillan-Parata
56
Conu
Dodd
57
Luke
Shervey
58
Daniel
Lewington
60
Joshua
Morgan-Ranui
71
Peter
Halstead
76
Michael
Willis
77
Michael
Martinez
98
James
Terry (C)
Itinerary Saturday December 9th 1.30pm
Wellington vs Auckland
GAME 1
Q1
Q2
Q3
FULLTIME
Q2
Q3
FULLTIME
Q2
Q3
FULLTIME
Q2
Q3
FULLTIME
Q2
Q3
FULLTIME
Q3
FULLTIME
WELLINGTON AUCKLAND
3.00pm
Canterbury vs Otago
GAME 2
Q1
CANTERBURY OTAGO
5.00 – 6.30pm
NPC Function.
Sunday December 10th 9.30am
Auckland vs Otago
GAME 3
Q1
WELLINGTON OTAGO
11.00am Canterbury vs Wellington GAME 4
Q1
CANTERBURY AUCKLAND
12.30pm Lunch 1.30pm Wellington vs Otago GAME 5
Q1
AUCKLAND OTAGO
3.00pm
Canterbury vs Auckland
GAME 6
Q1
Q2
CANTERBURY WELLINGTON
4.30pm
Presentations
Best player for each team | Leading Goal Kicker | Tournament Best Player | Tournament winner
5.00pm
Tournament Concludes