Bader Intermediate Flag Football fairytale 
On a whim, Bader Intermediate entered a flag football team into a training opportunity and ended up heading to a national tournament in Wellington, which their rag-tag bunch managed to win. That earns the local school the opportunity to go to the United States in January to represent New Zealand at a world tournament and get to attend the NFL’s Pro Bowl.

Bulls make the Sal’s NBL finals for the first time
In their fourth season competing, the Franklin Bulls made the Sal’s NBL finals for the first time. Inspired by coach Dan Sokolovsky and his group of never-say-die attitude group of players, the Bulls spent the majority of the season in the top three in the standings and won their first playoff game when they knocked out the Wellington Saints.

Cam Roigard selected for the All Blacks
On the back of a Player of the Year campaign with the Steelers in 2022, Roigard enjoyed a phenomenal break-out season, firstly with the Hurricanes in Super Rugby before being picked in the All Blacks for the first time, becoming Onewhero’s first ever All Black in the process. He made the World Cup squad and impressed in his couple of outings.

CMRFU structure changes/Lawton departure
It will be a new-look Counties Manukau Rugby in 2024 with a major governance restructure voted through by the clubs, that took effect late in 2023. In addition, chief executive Aaron Lawton announced he would be moving on in the first quarter of 2024, ending a successful reign that has helped improve the Union’s outlook.

Franklin United’s unbeaten season
Franklin United completed a season for the ages in 2023 when they enjoyed an unbeaten season in the Northern Conference. They won their division and then had to overcome a trip to Hamilton for a winner-takes-all promotion spot that will see them compete in the second tier of Northern Region Football in 2024.

Karaka wins the Spark Cup regional competition
Karaka beat arch rivals Pukekohe Metro in the final of the Spark Cup regional competition that includes the leading clubs from Counties Manukau, Hamilton and Waikato Valley. Inspired by a brilliant hundred from skipper Luke Williamson, Karaka took out the final in convincing fashion.

Legendary rugby star Bruce Robertson passes away
The iconic Bruce Robertson sadly passed away after a long illness in 2023. Renowned as arguably the greatest centre New Zealand has ever produced, Robertson was ranked the greatest player to ever play for Counties Manukau.

Liam Lawson makes it to Formula 1
The Pukekohe product became just the 10th New Zealander and just the second in the past 30 years to compete in a Formula 1 race. He was called up to replace the injured Daniel Ricciardo at the AlphaTauri team and impressed in his five races, beating his more experienced teammate in all bar one of them.

Local league clubs plan Sharman Cup entry
At the completion of the 2023 club season, plans were confirmed by both the Pukekohe Pythons and the Tuakau Broncos that they would enter a senior men’s team in the Sharman Cup for the first time in many seasons. Both clubs have been training before Christmas in a sign that the plans will become reality.

Manurewa AFC make the National League
Manurewa AFC enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top level of football in New Zealand in a phenomenal 12-month span. They secured promotion to the Northern League for the 2023 season and did not look out of place, securing a top four spot by season’s end. That led to a place in the National League, where again they looked good, finishing in the top half of the table.

Manurewa wins McNamara Cup on the siren
In what was arguably the greatest ever finish to a McNamara Cup final, Manurewa scored twice inside the final three minutes, and after the final siren had sounded to steal victory over Karaka. Larenz Tupaea-Thomsen calmly kicked a conversion, 15m in from touch to secure back-to-back titles for Manurewa.

Maramarua 1 wins Premier Gold title
For the second straight season, Maramarua 1 won the Premier Gold title at Pukekohe Netball Centre. Having been the best side throughout round robin play, the team calmly dispatched of their challengers in the knock-out stage to secure a second successive title.

New CSH initiative a shot in the arm for smaller sports
Counties Sports Hub announced the submit your own story ideas section of their website, allowing any club, player or fan to submit stories for publishing. It means that every sport now has the opportunity to showcase themselves and for sports fans to truly use Counties Sports Hub as the voice of sport in the region.

Northern Stars finish second in ANZ Premiership
The Northern Stars enjoyed another strong campaign in the ANZ Premiership but came up just short against the cross-town Northern Mystics in the grand final. They edged the defending champion Central Pulse by one goal to make the decider but proved no match for the Mystics.

Powerlifting youngster wins world championship
Remember the name – Seth Snijder. The Pukekohe teenager announced himself with a youth world championship and three world records in 2023 in Rome. At 18, he has the world at his feet and 2024 promises to be a big year for him.

Pukekohe Park holds final motor racing meeting
For the last 65 years Pukekohe Park has been the spiritual home of motorsport in New Zealand but that all ended in April when the track hosted its last ever motor racing event. It will now be a horse only race track, and hosted the Boxing Day races.

Simon Child wins SEA supreme award
Black Sticks hockey star Simon Child beat out a stack of worthy opponents to win the Supreme Award at the Sporting Excellence Awards, run by Counties Manukau Sport.

Success of local cricketers
Local cricketers have achieved significantly over the past 12 months – Sandeep Patel scored a double century for Counties Manukau earlier in the year before making a maiden first class century at the start of the 23-24 season. Manukau City teammate Scott Johnson earned a Northern Districts contract while Karaka’s Sam Varcoe has scored a number of centuries across all formats. The establishment of a Counties Manukau women’s team has seen a number of players earn Northern Districts selection.

SVG commits to US move after stunning debut
Shane van Gisbergen turned heads when he won on his NASCAR debut mid-way through the year. His performance started discussions of a full-time move and he confirmed 2023 would be his last in Supercars. He now heads to the US for a crack at NASCAR but managed to add a third Bathurst title to his name before departing.

Waiau Pa complete memorable clean sweep
The Waiau Pa Hockey Club completed a memorable clean sweep to win both the premier men’s and premier women’s titles at Counties Manukau Hockey in 2023.