NPC AND FPC DRAW CONFIRMED FOR 2022
The Manawatū Turbos will have the honour of kicking off the Bunnings Warehouse NPC season for the second consecutive season.
Manawatū fans will have the chance to show the rest of the country how to support their team when the Turbos host Canterbury in the newly structured provincial competition’s opening match at 7.05pm on Friday August 5 at Central Energy Trust Arena.
This season sees the end of the premiership and championship division with all 14 teams competing for the same title in a nine-week, 10-game regular season, followed by a three-week playoff series featuring quarter finals, semi-finals and the final.
Meanwhile, the Manawatū Cyclones will be hunting for back-to-back titles in the Farah Palmer Cup following on from their dominant 2021 Championship-winning season.
The Farah Palmer Cup retains the premiership-championship structure with the Cyclones promoted to the topflight.
Under the direction of head coach Fusi Fe’aunati, who is in his sixth season at the helm making him the longest standing head coach in the team’s history, and with new assistant coach Slade Sturmey, there are high hopes the young Cyclones side will continue their impressive form from recent seasons which saw them finish third-overall in 2020 and the Championship winners in 2021.
They won’t have to wait long to send a message to the Premiership with an opening match on the road against Waikato on July 16. The Cyclones then host back-to-back home matches against Bay of Plenty on Sunday July 24 and Counties Manukau on July 30.
They then hit the road to take on Auckland on August 6, before returning to Central Energy Trust Arena on August 13 to take rivals Wellington before rounding out the regular season against Canterbury on August 20 and then a final round bye before the playoffs.
While the Cyclones will be looking to replicate their form, the Turbos hoping to continue their improvement with a third playoff berth in four seasons.
The side, which will again be coached by Peter Russell and Greg Fleming, face a challenging start to the campaign.
Following their season opener against Canterbury, they will back-up against Auckland on Wednesday 10 August in Palmerston North. They then tackle North Harbour in Albany on August 14 to tally their first three games within nine games.
The enticing home-slate of games continues August 21 when long-time rivals Hawke’s Bay comes to Central Energy Trust Arena. The Turbos also host Tasman on September 2 and Otago on September 25. Their remaining away games are against Waikato (August 26), Counties Manukau (September 10), Taranaki (September 16) and Northland (October 2).
Memberships for the 2022 Turbos and Cyclones season will be on sale soon.
Turbos Draw
Friday 5 August – Manawatū v Canterbury, 7.05pm, Central Energy Trust Arena
Wednesday 10 August – Manawatū v Auckland, 7.05pm, Central Energy Trust Arena
Sunday 14 August – North Harbour v Manawatū, 4.35pm, Albany
Sunday 21 August – Manawatū v Hawke’s Bay, 4.35pm, Central Energy Trust Arena
Friday 26 August – Waikato v Manawatū, 7.35pm, Hamilton
Friday 2 September – Manawatū v Tasman, 7.05pm, Central Energy Trust Arena
Saturday 10 September – Counties Manukau v Manawatū, 7.05pm, Pukekohe
Friday 16 September – Taranaki v Manawatū, 7.05pm, New Plymouth
Sunday 25 September – Manawatū v Otago, 2.05pm, Central Energy Trust Arena
Sunday 2 October – Northland v Manawatū, 2.05pm, Whangarei
October 7-9 – Quarter finals
October 14-15 – Semi finals
October 22 – Final
Cyclones Draw
Saturday 16 July – Waikato v Manawatū, TBC
Sunday 24 July – Manawatū v Bay of Plenty, 12.05pm, Central Energy Trust Arena
Saturday 30 July – Manawatū v Counties Manukau, 2.05pm, Central Energy Trust Arena
Saturday 6 August – Auckland v Manawatū, TBC
Saturday 13 August – Manawatū v Wellington, 2.05pm, Central Energy Trust Arena
Saturday 20 August – Canterbury v Manawatū, TBC
2-4 September – semi-finals
10 September – Final
Competition Structure
Bunnings Warehouse NPC
All 14 teams compete for the same title.
Regular season is nine weeks featuring 10 games per team
Quarter finals, semi-finals, finals
Teams were split into Odds and Evens pools to define their first six games. Manawatū were in the evens pool with the teams below.
Evens Pool
Manawatū
North Harbour
Canterbury
Northland
Taranaki
Tasman
Auckland
The final four matches were selected through a crossover game draft.
Bunnings Warehouse Farah Palmer Cup
Teams are split into the Premiership and the Championship. After the Cyclones won the Championship in 2021, they were promoted to the Premiership.
The seven teams in the Premiership all play each other once.
The playoff structure features a semi-final and final.
Premiership Teams
Manawatū
Waikato
Canterbury
Auckland
Counties Manukau
Wellington
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