Sturm won the Rothville Trophy as Player of the Year, Milton Ross (Ellerslie) won the Burt Humphries Trophy as the Most Improved Forward while Lionel Periera (Manurewa) was the Most Improved Back. Ronald Kite (Otara) won the John Hyland Memorial Cup as coach of the year. Otahuhu included Francis Leota, Phillip Leuluai and Odell Manuel. Wellington The Randwick Kingfishers won the Wellington Rugby League's Appleton Shield, defeating Paremata 38-8 in the Grand Final. Zane Clarke played for Randwick. Canterbury Hornby won the Canterbury Rugby League's Pat Smith Trophy, defeating Halswell 22-16 in the Grand Final. The Thacker Shield was not contested due to Waro-rakau having other commitments. Halswell's Darryn Avery won the Outstanding Player of the Year award. Tony Sweetman (Linwood) won sportsman of the year. Shane Beyers (Halswell) and Don Aitken (Hornby) shared the Junior Sportsman of the Year award. Wayne Wallace coached Hornby who included Mark Nixon. Other Competitions The Bay of Islands defeated Whangarei 28-24 in an inter-district match. The Kaikohe Lions beat the Hokianga Pioneers 22-21 after extra time in the Bay of Islands competition while the Whangatauatia Mountain Men beat the Pawarenga Broncos 24-12 in the Far North competition and the Takahiwai Warriors beat the Otaika Eagles 12-4 at Jubilee Park in the Whangarei premiership. Turangawaewae won the Waikato Rugby League grand final. Taniwharau were the minor premiers in all four grades. The Waitara Bears defeated Western Suburbs 29-16 in the Taranaki Rugby League grand final. The Putaruru United beat Pikiao 35-8 in the Rotorua Midlands final while Kaiti beat Turanga 36-12 in the Gisbourne-East Coast Premiership. The Turanga Panthers won the Gisborne-East Coast title. Taradale defeated Tamatea 32-0 in the Hawke's Bay Rugby League championship. Otaki Whiti Te Ra defeated Kia Ora 27-20 in the Manawatu Rugby League Final. Waru-rakau retained the West Coast Rugby League title, defeating Marist in the Grand Final. Marist included Wayne Dwyer. Otago did not play a representative fixture during the season for the first time in over 80 years. The Otago competition featured four teams. The Gore Cup, a fixture between the champion Otago and Canterbury clubs, was contested for the first time since 1929. Eastern Suburbs defeated South Pacific 44-32. He Tauaa won the Southland Rugby League Grand Final, defeating the Wakitipu Cougars 22-18. The Cougars had played in the Otago competition in 1995. References New Zealand rugby league seasons