withdrew due to injury. Before the series began the New Zealand Māori bet the New Zealand XIII 21–19 at Ericsson Stadium. Graham Norton again was the selector-coach for the New Zealand World Nines team. The squad was Stacey Jones, Marc Ellis, captain Stephen Kearney, Joe Vagana, Shane Endacott, Richie Barnett, Ruben Wiki, Quentin Pongia, Robbie Paul, Tony Tatupu, Tony Iro, Tyran Smith, John Timu and Jason Williams. Henry Paul, Matthew Ridge, Sean Hoppe, Grant Young and Gene Ngamu all withdrew due to injuries. New Zealand made the final and then defeated Western Samoa 16-0 to win the tournament. The Junior Kiwis were coached by Lex Clarke and included Brian Leauma, Frank Puletua, David Solomona, Tony Puletua, Kyle Leuluai, captain Monty Betham, Odell Manuel, Ali Lauitiiti, Peter Lewis, Fred Petersen, Joe Galuvao and Lesley Vainikolo. The team won the first match 17-16 before losing 14–18 in the second to draw the series. A New Zealand Academy side, which included Leslie Vainikolo, Wairangi Koopu, Mark Leafa, Filimone Lolohea and Ali Lauitiiti, lost to Australia under-17's 42–26 in the curtain raiser to the Super League Tri-series final. The Kiwi Ferns defeated Australia 2–0 in an unofficial Test series. The first match was won 34–26 in Wellington while the second was hosted at Carlaw Park in Auckland. The Kiwi Ferns won 40–16. The Australian Women's side won tour matches against Gisborne East Coast and Hawkes Bay. Stephen Kearney won the New Zealand Rugby League's player of the year award. National competitions Rugby League Cup Canterbury won the Rugby League Cup from Auckland 32–26 in June and then defended it against West Coast (twice), Tasman, Southland and Taranaki before losing it to Waikato 34–18 in the Challenge Cup final. Super League Challenge Cup The Sky Challenge Cup replaced the Lion Red Cup as the main domestic competition. It was cost conscious after the expensive Lion Red Cup and focused on regional pools to save on travel costs. The Competition started in August and finished on the 12 October with a grand final. Sixteen teams were grouped into four regions. Each regional pool consisted of a round robin followed by a regional three-match play off series to determine quarter final rankings, the competition then moved into a knock out phases including two teams from each region. Northern Region The Northern Zone included two Auckland sides; the Auckland Heroes, who were coached by Brian McClennan and included