The National Competition (originally named the National Zonal Competition) is the top level 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...

 competition run by 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....

. The competition replaced the Bartercard Premiership following a Sparc

Sport and Recreation New Zealand

Sport and Recreation New Zealand is the New Zealand government body responsible for community sport and recreation programs. It was formed on 1 January 2003 and took over the functions of the Hillary Commission, the New Zealand Sports Foundation and the policy arm of the Office of Tourism and...

 funded review and restructure of 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....

. Seven teams compete in the competition each representing a Zone. These zones are: Northland, Auckland, Counties Manukau, Upper Central, Mid Central, Wellington and Southern.

Senior teams compete for the Albert Baskerville Trophy which is named after Albert Baskerville, the organiser of the 1907-1908 All Golds tour. Under-17s compete for the Mark Graham Cup which named after Mark Graham

Mark Graham (rugby league)

Mark Kerry Graham is a New Zealand retired rugby league footballer and coach. A back-rower and former captain of the New Zealand national rugby league team, he has been named as the greatest player the country has produced in the century from 1907 to 2006.-Playing career:An Otahahu junior, Graham...

, the New Zealand Rugby League player of the century. Under-15s compete for the Nathan Cayless Cup which is named after Nathan Cayless

Nathan Cayless

Nathan Frederick Cayless is a retired New Zealand-Australian professional rugby league footballer, who was a long-time captain the Parramatta Eels of the National Rugby League. His position of choice was prop forward. He is also a former captain of the New Zealand national team, whom he led to...

, the only captain to win the World Cup

Rugby League World Cup

The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league competition contested by members of the Rugby League International Federation . It has been held nearly once every 4 years on average since its inaugural tournament in France in 1954...

 for New Zealand.

Teams

Team	Nickname	2010 Coach	Home Grounds
Northern	Swords	Joe Rau	Lindvart Park, Kaikohe Jubilee Park, Whangarei Okura Park, Whangarei
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...	Pride	Brent Gemmell	Mt Smart Stadium Mt Smart Stadium Mt Smart Stadium, formerly Ericsson Stadium, is a stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the home ground of National Rugby League team, the New Zealand Warriors... , Auckland Cornwall Park Stadium Cornwall Park Stadium Cornwall Park Stadium or Cornwall Park is a cricket ground in Auckland, New Zealand. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1958, when England women played a New Zealand women's touring team. The ground has also hosted three Women's Test matches and three Women's ODIs.-External links:* at... , Auckland
Counties Manukau Counties Manukau rugby league team The Counties Manukau rugby league team represents the Counties Manukau zone in the Albert Baskerville Trophy. Previously, teams representing Counties Manukau have competed in the Lion Red Cup and Bartercard Cup. They are nicknamed the Stingrays...	Stingrays	Rusty Matua	Bruce Pulman Park, Papakura
Waicoa Bays	Stallions	Tahe Morunga	Resthills Park, Hamilton Blake Park, Tauranga Puketawhero Park, Rotorua
Central Heartland rugby league team The Central Vipers are a New Zealand rugby league team that represent the Mid-Central Zone in the Albert Baskerville Trophy. The draw on players from the Hawkes Bay, Manawatu and Taranaki districts. In 2010 the Central Vipers were known as Heartland....	Vipers	Mike Graham	Clifton Park, Waitara Arena Manawatu Arena Manawatu Arena Manawatu is the current name of the 180,000 square metre publicly owned recreational complex just west of the Palmerston North city centre in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of New Zealand.It has three linked indoor stadiums, with movable tiered seating... , Palmerston North Yarrow Stadium Yarrow Stadium Yarrow Stadium is situated in the central suburb of Westown in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand, with main vehicle access off Maratahu St... , New Plymouth
Wellington	Orcas	Trevor Clark	Fraser Park, Wellington Porirua Stadium, Porirua
South Island South Island rugby league team The South Island rugby league team represents the Southern Zone in the Albert Baskerville Trophy. The Zone represented the Southland, Otago, West Coast, Canterbury and Tasman districts. They are nicknamed the Scorpions...	Scorpions	Brent Stuart Brent Stuart Brent Clifford Stuart is a rugby league coach and former player who represented his country.-Playing career:A West Coast and Canterbury representative, Stuart spent two years in the Northern Territory in the mid-1980s and represented the Territory against Parramatta. In 1993 he was invited to be...	Rugby League Park Rugby League Park Rugby League Park is a rugby league stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. Formerly called the Addington Showgrounds, the ground is owned by the Canterbury Rugby League.-History:... , Christchurch

Seasons

Year	Albert Baskerville Trophy	Score	Score	Defeated	Minor Premiers	Wooden Spoon	Mark Graham Cup	Nathan Cayless Cup
2010 2010 New Zealand rugby league season The New Zealand rugby league season 2010 was the one hundred and third season of rugby league that was played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the new National Zonal competition run by the New Zealand Rugby League...	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...	14	6	Counties Manukau Counties Manukau rugby league team The Counties Manukau rugby league team represents the Counties Manukau zone in the Albert Baskerville Trophy. Previously, teams representing Counties Manukau have competed in the Lion Red Cup and Bartercard Cup. They are nicknamed the Stingrays...	Auckland	Northern Swords	Counties Manukau	Counties Manukau
2011 2011 New Zealand rugby league season The 2011 New Zealand rugby league season was the one hundred and fourth season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the National Competition run by the New Zealand Rugby League...	Auckland Pride	44	34	South Island Scorpions	Auckland Pride	Northern Swords	Auckland Pride	Auckland Pride
2012 2012 New Zealand rugby league season The 2012 New Zealand rugby league season will be the one hundred and fifth season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year will be the National Competition run by the New Zealand Rugby League.-International competitions:...