Graeme Norton 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...

 former 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...

 footballer and coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

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Early years

Norton first coached the Northcote Tigers

Northcote Tigers

The Northcote Tigers are a rugby league club based in Northcote, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1910 as the Northcote Warriors.The Tigers compete in the Fox Memorial competition run by the Auckland Rugby League. Between 2000 and 2002 the Northcote Tigers competed in the national Bartercard...

, who he led to two Fox Memorial grand final wins and a National Club knockout championship.

He first came to national attention while in charge of the North Harbour Sea Eagles

North Harbour Sea Eagles

The North Harbour Sea Eagles were a New Zealand rugby league club that represented North Harbour in the Lion Red Cup from 1994 to 1996. For the first two seasons they were coached by Graeme Norton....

 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...

. He was in charge for both the 1994 & 1995 seasons, in which they won back to back premierships. In both years he also won the Sam Johnson Cup for Harbour Sports' Coach of the Year.

With the 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....

 joining Super League

Super League war

The Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...

 Norton was appointed to coach the New Zealand

New Zealand national rugby league team

The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...

 nines

Rugby league nines

Rugby league nines is a version of rugby league football played with nine players on each side. The game is substantially the same as full rugby league, with some differences in rules and shorter games. Nines is usually played in festivals, as its shorter game play allows for a tournament to be...

 team in the Super League World Nines Competition

Super League (Australia)

Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...

. The team won the competition in Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

 in 1996 and again in Townsville in 1997.

In 1997 he also coached the New Zealand side in the Super League Tri-series

Super League Tri-series

The Super League Tri-series was a rugby league football tournament contested in 1997 between Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand representative rugby league teams...

 . Disappointingly, the team lost to both Queensland and New South Wales.

After this he all but retired from coaching, as his contribution to the game was limited to his son's Under-16s team.

Kiwis and Premier League

He came back into national prominence when he was appointed assistant coach of the New Zealand Kiwis by Brian McClennan

Brian McClennan

Brian "Bluey" McClennan is the head coach for the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League . He was previously the head coach of the New Zealand national team and then England's Leeds Rhinos club...

 in 2005. The Kiwis were hugely successful, winning the 2005 Rugby League Tri-Nations

2005 Rugby League Tri-Nations

New Zealand 38 defeated Australia 28 New Zealand 38 (C. Toopi 3, N. Cayless, N. Vangana, B. Webb tries; S. Jones 7 goals) defeated Australia 28 New Zealand 38 (C. Toopi 3, N. Cayless, N. Vangana, B. Webb tries; S. Jones 7 goals) defeated Australia 28 (B. Tate 2, M.Gasnier 2, M. King, A. Johns...

 tournament.

In 2007 he stepped down from this position to coach the Auckland Lions

Auckland Lions

The Auckland Lions were a rugby league club that had teams in both the New Zealand Bartercard Cup and the NSWRL Premier League. They were mostly based around the Mt Albert Lions Rugby League club...

 club in the NSWRL Premier League

NSWRL Premier League

The New South Wales Cup is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales previously known as the NSWRL Premier League. It has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve grade competition. It is now the premier open age competition in the state...

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