The Waikato rugby league team is a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 team that represents the Waikato Rugby League

Waikato Rugby League

Waikato Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The WRL are represented by the Waikato rugby league team...

 in New Zealand Rugby League

New Zealand Rugby League

The New Zealand Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. The NZRL was founded on the 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year....

 competitions. They competed in the Lion Red Cup

Lion Red Cup

The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994-1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being accepted into the Winfield Cup. The competition was a...

 from 1994 to 1996, the Super League Challenge Cup

1997 New Zealand rugby league season

The New Zealand rugby league season 1997 was the ninetieth season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the Super League Challenge Cup that was run by the New Zealand Rugby League...

 in 1997 and the Bartercard Premiership in 2008 and 2009. Waikato was originally known as South Auckland.

Lion Red Cup

Between 1994 and 1996, the Waikato region was represented by the Waikato Cougars in the Lion Red Cup

Lion Red Cup

The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994-1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being accepted into the Winfield Cup. The competition was a...

 competition. The teams inaugural captain was Tukere Barlow

Tukere Barlow

Tukere Barlow is a former New Zealand rugby league player who played for Warrington and represented the New Zealand Māori.-Playing career:In 1993 Barlow played for the Hamilton City Tigers, who won the Waikato Rugby League grand final. He was also selected to play for Waikato...

 while Joe Gwynne was the coach. The team was originally going to be called the Stags or the Chiefs before the Cougars nickname was selected.

Notable players included; Martin Moana

Martin Moana

Martin Moana is a former professional rugby league footballer who was an international representative and played club football in England and New Zealand.-Early years:...

, Gavin Hill

Gavin Hill

Gavin Lyle Hill was a rugby league and rugby union player, who has resided in Wellington for the last 10 years before moving back to Auckland to take a coaching position in the Air New Zealand Cup....

, Tama Hohaia, Francis Leota

Francis Leota

Francis Poipoi Leota is a New Zealand rugby league player who represented his country between 1989 and 1990, including in games that counted towards the 1992 World Cup.-Early years:Leota attended De La Salle College and played rugby union until he was 20....

, Darryl Beazley, 1994 captain Tukere Barlow

Tukere Barlow

Tukere Barlow is a former New Zealand rugby league player who played for Warrington and represented the New Zealand Māori.-Playing career:In 1993 Barlow played for the Hamilton City Tigers, who won the Waikato Rugby League grand final. He was also selected to play for Waikato...

, Butch Tua, 1995 captain Aaron Tucker, Tony Waikato, Kiwi Mark Woods

Mark Woods (rugby league)

Mark Anthony Woods is a New Zealand former rugby league player who represented his country in 1992.-Playing career:Woods is a Ngongotaha Chiefs junior in the Bay of Plenty Rugby League district. He represented the Bay of Plenty and also played for the New Zealand Māori side, including at the 1986...

 and Hekewaru Muru.

Season	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Position	Finals
1994	22	16	1	5	589	405	184	33	Second	Lost Elimination Semifinal
1995	22	13	1	8	471	379	92	27	Fourth	Lost Elimination Semifinal
1996	22	13	1	8	515	472	43	27	Fourth	Lost Preliminary Final

Late 90's

The Waikato Cougars won the Super League Challenge Cup in 1997, defeating Canterbury in the final. During this year they also defeated Auckland

Auckland rugby league team

The Auckland rugby league team is the team which traditionally represents all of the clubs which play in the Auckland Rugby League competition. The Auckland Rugby League team has traditionally been a powerhouse of New Zealand domestic rugby league...

 at Carlaw Park

Carlaw Park

Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.-History:The stadium's grandstands and terraces were built in 1916, and it became the home of rugby league in Auckland from 1921...

 for the first time since 1943 and won the Rugby League Cup. They defended the Rugby League Cup in 1998.

Bartercard Cup

The Waikato region was represented in the Bartercard Cup

Bartercard Cup

The Bartercard Cup was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zealand Rugby League...

 competition by the Waicoa Bay Stallions

Waicoa Bay Stallions

The Waicoa Bay Stallions are a rugby league team that represent the Upper Central Zone in the Albert Baskerville Trophy. This is a vast area that includes Hamilton, Rotorua and Taupo...

, a co-operative team involving players from Waikato, Coastline and Bay of Plenty federations.

Season	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Position	Finals
2004	16	4	2	10	380	455
10	9th (12)	N/A
2005	16	3	0	13	368	620
6	12th (12)	N/A
2006	18	5	2	11	494	662
12	8th (10)	N/A
2007	18	5	1	12	418	682
11	7th (10)	N/A

Bartercard Premiership

Waikato Rugby League were one of the six teams that compete in the National Provincial Competition

National Provincial Competition (rugby league)

The NZRL Bartercard Premiership was a six-team rugby league competition that ran in 2008 and 2009. It replaced the now-defunct Bartercard Cup competition as the highest level of rugby league in New Zealand. Matches have been broadcast on SKY Network Television and Māori Television. In 2009 the...

in 2008 and 2009. In both years they finished third.

Season	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Position	Finals
2008	5	3	0	2	110	138
6	Third	N/A
2009	5	3	0	2	130	108	22	6	Third	Lost Semi Final