ARL : Premiership structure rejigged for 2015

5/2/2015
AUCKLAND RUGBY LEAGUE
Premiership structure rejigged for 2015
For immediate release

The Auckland Rugby League Premiership structure will have a different look in 2015, with the Phelan Shield and SAS Sharman Cup competitions being combined.

Last year’s Premiership Review Committee – comprised of club-nominated panel members and headed by ARL CEO John Ackland – completed a comprehensive review of the Premiership structure and made recommendations back to the clubs.

The clubs then submitted recommendations of their own, which included keeping the Appliance Shed Fox Memorial competition the same and combining the Phelan Shield and SAS Sharman Cup.

As a result the Phelan Shield competition will not exist in 2015, with five of the seven clubs from last year joining the reformatted SAS Sharman Cup competition.

The Pukekohe Pythons and Navy/North Shore Dolphins failed to meet the minimum team number criteria for this season.

The anticipated outcome of it all is that there will be a 15-team SAS Sharman Cup competition in 2015, with the Premierships being made up of two tiers, rather than three.

The competition will be played over one full round plus two extras games, being a repeat of rounds 8 and 12.

The SAS Sharman Cup winners will be promoted to the first division for the ensuing season, while the bottom placed team from the Fox will drop back down into the Sharman.

There will be no relegation from the SAS Sharman Sharman Cup, provided teams maintain the off-field criteria each year.

The Phelan Shield itself will be awarded to the SAS Sharman Cup minor premiers from this year on.

“The benefits of this change is that the SAS Sharman Cup will be a stronger competition, with more clubs given the chance to grow and push for promotion to the Appliance Shed Fox Memorial,” ARL competitions manager Patrick Carthy said.

“It’s also important that the Phelan Shield will remain an integral part of the game, as the prize for the minor premiers of the second division, just the same as the Rukutai Shield in the first division.”

The draw for the 2015 SAS Sharman Cup will be released in early March.

The 2015 SAS Sharman Cup teams are:
Bay Roskill Vikings
East Coast Bay Barracudas
Ellerslie Eagles
Glenfield Greyhounds *
Hibiscus Coast Raiders
Manukau Magpies
Manurewa Marlins
Mt Wellington Warriors
New Lynn Stags
Pakuranga Jaguars
Papatoetoe Panthers
Ponsonby Ponies
Richmond Bulldogs
Te Atatu Roosters
Waitemata Seagulls

*To be confirmed

ENDS

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