replaced the Auckland Warriors Colts. They were coached by Peter Sixtus. the Hawkes Bay Unicorns were coached by Mark Elia who also played in one match. The Hutt Valley Dolphins abandoned the Hawks name altogether in 1996. The team were coached by Ken Laban included Earl Va'a, who moved over from Wellington, Zane Clark, Arnold Lomax and Yogi Rogers. The Wellington City Dukes were coached by Mike Edmonds. The Christchurch City Shiners were coached by Geoff Carr. Carr was sacked mid season and replaced with Mark Vincent. The Canterbury Country Cardinals were coached by Gerard Stokes and included Paul Koloi, Blair Harding, Lusi Sione, Mark Nixon and Paul Johnson. Standings The playoffs Two time defending champions the North Harbour Sea Eagles were eliminated in the second round when they lost 14-20 to Waikato, despite the Cougars having twelve men for most of the second half. Grand Final The Grand Final was played in front of a disappointing crowd of just under 2,000 fans at Carlaw Park. Jim Stokes refereed the match which Waitakere City led 16-8 at halftime. However Counties Manukau came back to win 34-22 and claim their first Lion Red Cup. Awards Player of the Year: Jerry Seuseu (Counties Manukau) Coach of the Year: Cameron Bell (Counties Manukau) Rookie of the Year: Darryl Fisher (Waikato) Captain of the Year: Mark Woods (Bay of Plenty) Best and Fairest: Paul Howell (Wellington City) Most Tries: Cheaf Lee Fakavamoenga (21 – Counties Manukau) Most Goals: Ben Lythe (109 – Waitakere City) Most Points: Ben Lythe (240 – Waitakere City) Referee of the Year: Jim Stokes (Canterbury) Inter-Club Knockout Series Cobden-Kohinoor defeated the Kaikohe Lions 40-22 in the Inter-club knockout series. The series was for provinces which did not have a team in the Lion Red Cup. Australian competitions The Auckland Warriors competed in the Australian Rugby League competition finishing 11th out of 20 teams. The Reserve Grade team made the grand final, losing to the Cronulla Sharks reserve team 14-12. Club competitions Auckland The Otara Scorpions won the Auckland Rugby League Fox Memorial for the first time. They defeated Otahuhu 36-28 after the match went into triple extra time. Otahuhu were the minor premiers and also won the Stormont Shield. The Manurewa Marlins won the pre-season Roope Rooster tournament. The Glenora Bears won the second division Sharman Cup. Peter Feau (Otahuhu) won the Lipscombe Cup as Sportsman of the Year, Matthew