September footy is always an exciting time for players and supporters of sports teams. Most have trained since 1 November the previous year, and many hours of blood, sweat and tears have been expended in the pursuit of excellence.
The Waikato Country Fare Cougars finished the 1994 round-robin with a record of played 22, won 16, drawn 1, lost 5. This placed us second behind minor premiers Counties Manukau ENZED Heroes, with Canterbury Cardinals, North Harbour Sea Eagles and Auckland Vulcans rounding out the top five.
The McIntyre system in play at the time gave the top two teams two lives, while the top qualifier had the first week off. Second played third, and fourth played fifth in sudden death. The Auckland Vulcans travelled to Christchurch to play the Canterbury Cardinals in the elimination final.
The largest — and most tuneful — band of supporters in the competition were at Carlaw Park on Friday, 2 September 1994 at 7.30pm to cheer on their team in the preliminary semi-final against North Harbour.
The heading in my Tatler Cougar Report of 7 September read:
♫ Oh what a night, late September back in ’94 ♫
The heavens opened, the lights went out, and our bus driver broke a bone in her foot — all part and parcel of an action-packed night of football at the home of Auckland Rugby League (and that was just the off-field action!).
Suffice to say, the Sea Eagles were our bogey team and two losses became three that night. Captain Duane Mann, along with the man-mountain trio of Joe Vagana, Lafaele Filipo and Donny Stewart, proved too big, too strong and too hard to contain on the saturated Carlaw Park surface.
A minor delay prior to kick-off had TVNZ concerned that a couple of floodlights had blown and there wouldn’t be enough light for television coverage.
As for the bus driver, poor Marion had to be “shipped” off to Middlemore Hospital for the night to have her foot put in a cast after slipping in the wet conditions in the Members’ Stand. Luckily, on two counts, there was an ambulance on standby as part of LRC rules, and yours truly had a bus licence and was able to drive everyone home safely.
Our focus immediately shifted to the following week’s sudden-death match-up with the Canterbury Cardinals at Trust Bank Park, Hamilton. Having beaten them both times in round-robin games, we were quietly confident — but also mighty weary.
Sudden-death footy brings a different beast at the end of the season and, sadly for the Waikato “Pussycats” (ouch!), the Cantabrians brought all four meanings of the word “cardinal” and dealt us the worst defeat of the year — 32–6 — consigning us to fourth place behind eventual grand final winners North Harbour Sea Eagles and second-placed Counties Manukau ENZED Heroes.
Shell-shocked, with in-game injuries and players already looking ahead to the following week’s semi-finals, it was a dismal way to finish the season.
“Mad Monday” had been around footy teams for years and we were about to experience it for the first time — although I can’t remember any specifics about the occasion. Strange, aye!
In reality, the WRL Playoffs were underway and any Cougar whose club team was still “alive” became eligible to play. In previous years there had been rules to stop clubs “stacking” teams with rugby players or recently eliminated players. It affected Taniwharau, Turangawaewae and Vistalite City Tigers, with the eventual WRL Grand Final seeing Turangawaewae defeat the Tigers 30–23.
The inaugural Waikato Country Fare Cougars Prizegiving was held at Hangar 18 at the old Te Rapa Air Force Base (where Te Awa now stands) on Friday, 14 October 1994.
Master of Ceremonies and 1ZH radio announcer Ronnie Phillips was supported by middle-of-the-road rock band Solitaire, and everyone enjoyed the glitz and glamour of the evening.
Player of the Year was awarded to Tukere Barlow, who appeared at the awards ceremony with a shaved head after vowing to cut his hair if the team lost the minor semi-final.
Hekewaru Muru received the Sportsman of the Year award.
Barlow later secured a contract with English club Warrington, while Moana and Hill signed with the DB Bitter Auckland Warriors for the 1995 season.
The one downside of a fantastic season was rumours surrounding the LRC debt. Journalist Murray Deaker, in his Warming Up column, was quick to criticise general manager Graham Carden, though he also acknowledged the work Carden had done.
Other scribes were also earning their “per-word salary” spinning stories about the debt-laden state of rugby league. While the players thoroughly enjoyed the season, some high-profile players and food vendors were left short-changed.
The big question being asked by the media was: Would the competition continue into 1995?
Here are a few awards that weren’t presented on the night.
TV Moment of the Year went to Beaumont Dawson, who became the team’s first television star when he was interviewed by commentators Greg Clarke and Brent Todd in the changing rooms at Trust Bank Park while lying spread-eagled on a stretcher. He had been carried off near the end of the game but was still awarded Player of the Match.
Try of the Year went to Paul “Porsche” Morrison for his once-in-a-lifetime effort against the Canterbury Cardinals at Trust Bank Park in mid-July. Playing fullback that day, he gathered a bomb 10 metres from our try line in the right-hand corner, set off at speed back toward the middle to create space, beat almost the entire team and — keeping just inside the touchline — out-sprinted the final two defenders to score in the opposite corner. Hence the nickname “Porsche” — silky smooth, speed to burn and sounds like Paul.
Goal of the Year belonged to Gavin Hill, who successfully kicked a penalty from 65 metres out at Davies Park, Huntly in Round 1. He had everyone asking, “Who does this guy think he is?” No one had seen an attempt from that distance before.
Most Tries:
Moana (14), Barlow (12), Rishworth and Tucker (10), Morrison (7).
Most Games Played:
Barlow, Rishworth and Muru — each completing the full 80 minutes in 23 of the 24 games.
Aaron “Mouse” Tucker was named Lion Red Cup Halfback of the Year, while Martin “Inga” Moana collected the Loose Forward award.
Cougars 1994 season stats:
Played 24, Won 16, Drawn 2, Lost 6 — finishing fourth overall.
The 1994 LRC wooden spoon went to the Bay of Plenty Stags, with a record of played 22, won 2, lost 20.
Special mention must go to the harmonious singing of Janet Haggie and her cohorts in the Davies Park grandstand and at all away games — even at Addington Showgrounds in Christchurch.
Among their repertoire was a song to the tune of “Rivers of Babylon” by Boney M. The “flip side” came when referees made questionable calls, prompting the crowd to belt out a version of Eric Clapton’s “I Shot the Sheriff” with slightly altered lyrics — “but I should have shot the referee!” — all in good humour.
Stay tuned, whānau. There’s still more to come.
Researched by Rex Hohaia
6 November 2025
