and included Willie McLean, Brian Jellick, Boycie Nelson, Ben Lythe, captain Clayton Friend, Jerry Seuseu, Stuart Lester, Matthew Sturm and Frank Watene. South Zone were coached by Andy Moore and included Earl Va'a, Blair Harding, Denvour Johnston and Yogi Rogers. Rugby League Cup Auckland defeated the West Coast 48-10 in a Rugby League Cup challenge to retain the cup. Auckland included Esau Mann, Stuart Lester and Matthew Sturm. Auckland defeated Canterbury 24-20 at Carlaw Park to retain the Rugby League Cup. Auckland were coached by Dominic Clark and included Ben Lythe, Boycie Nelson, Duane Mann, Donald Stewart, Matthew Sturm, Willie McLean and Frank Watene. Canterbury included Blair Harding, Mark Nixon and Paul Koloi. Lion Red Cup Due to the postponement of Super League in Australia several top Australian referees were available to referee matches in the Lion Red Cup. These included Steve Clark. Teams The North Harbour Sea Eagles had a new coach in Dominic Clark. The squad included Paki Tuimavave, Paul Rauhihi, Mike Setefano, Artie Shead, Don Stewart and Latham Tawhai. The Waitakere City Raiders finished the year as minor premiers and went on to make the final but could not over come Counties Manukau. The side was coached by Del Hughes and included Boycie Nelson, Willie McLean, Ben Lythe, Brian Jellick, Julian O'Neill and David Bailey. The champion Counties Manukau Heroes side was coached by Cameron Bell and included Clayton Friend, Esau Mann, Matthew Sturm, Charlie Kennedy, Stuart Lester, Meti Noovao, Francis Leota, Duane Mann, Frank Watene, Dean Clark, Gus Malietoa-Brown and Jerry Seuseu. The Waikato Cougars played their last game at Trust Bank Park in July. The team was coached by Joe Gwynne and included Darryl Fisher, Tama Hohaia and captain Tukere Barlow. Mark Woods played the first two rounds for Waikato before transferring to Bay of Plenty. The Bay of Plenty Stags were the big improvers of the competition, making the finals after coming last in the previous two years. They were coached by Lawrence Brydon who took over near the end of the 1995 season. During the season its business manager, former Kiwi coach Tony Gordon, was suspended and investigated by the New Zealand Rugby League. He was later cleared of all charges. The team was captained by Mark Woods and included Patrick Kuru. The Taranaki Rockets were coached by former Kiwi Howie Tamati. The squad included Denvour Johnston and Willie Talau. The Manawatu Mustangs