Page 11 - NUAFC EBook

2009 saw the passing of Club Founder and Patron Joseph
(Joe) Templeton.
In 2012 we were assisted in the production of our match-
day bulletin by the Waikato District Council.
By the beginning of this season the website had
accumulated over 25,000 photos of teams and game shots.
In 2008 Centennial Park became the home ground of the
Waikato FC summer franchise. Improvements were made to the
changing rooms, the pitch and the clubrooms. The field was
fenced and seating was borrowed from the Hamilton car racing
circuit. Many members of Ngaruawahia United were involved
behind the scenes in support of the franchise. Chatham Cup
2011 saw the appointment of Phillip Ruggles as senior 1971 Round 4
coach along with a new committee to assist in the re- 1972 Round 4
establishment of Ngaruawahia United as a local force in Waikato 1973 Round 3
football. At the same time Sharp Copiers came to our aid in fully 1974 Round 1
sponsoring a 20-page full colour programme for the senior home 1975 Round 1
games. The senior team came second in the Lotto Northern 1976 Round 1
League Division 2 and were promoted to Division 1 for 2012. 1977 Round 3
At the end of the 2011 season the local council 1978 Round 1
commenced an upgrade of the No. 1 field, resurfacing it and 1979 Round 1
installing an under-pitch automatic watering system. 1980 Round 4
Approximately $80,000 has been invested in its upgrade. The 1981 Round 3
first official fixture played on the pitch was on 24th March 2012 1982 Round 2
against Birkenhead United in the Northern League Div. 1 1983 Round 2
competition. 1984 Round 5
With permission from Audrey Harron (the daughter of 1985 Round 1
our founder Joe Templeton) and the local Council, the #1 pitch on 1986 Round 1
Centennial Park was renamed as Templeton Field. 1987 No Entry
2013 - Joel Pinto Nunez was appointed as Senior Coach 1988 Round 3
for the 2013 season. After a shaky start we moved towards the 1989 Round 1
top of the NRFL Division. The last match of the season (a catch- 1990 Round 4
up one) against North Shore was taken in convincing fashion by 1991 Round 2
Narra 5-0. This ensured us second position behind Glenfield 1992 Round 2
Rovers and promotion to the Premier League. 1993 Round 5
Six members of the squad were picked up by three ASB 1994 Round 3
summer league sides. Federico Marquez and Steve Morrison 1995 Round 2
(Canterbury United), John Irving (Auckland City), Reid Drake, 1996 Round 5
Danyon Drake and Ben Latham (Waikato United). 1997 Round 2
2014 - Rodrigo (Rodi) Rojas was appointed Senior Coach 1998 Semi-finals
to take the team through the Premier League. Rodi has played 1999 Round 4
120 senior games for the club as well as many more in the lower 2000 Round 4
divisions. This year saw the website photo collection swell to 2001 Round 1
over 46,000, covering all grades from the First Kicks players to the 2002 Round 3
Senior sides as well as off-field activities. 2003 Round 2
At the end of the 2016 season the club voluntarily 2004 Round 3
withdrew from the Northern League as the prospect of 2005 Round 4
appointing a coach for the following year was bleak, despite us 2006 Round 4
being able to field two senior teams.. 2007 Round 3
Playing in the Waikato A Division in 2017 saw the club 2008 Round 3
gaining 2nd place and achieving promotion into the Waikato 2009 Round 3
Championship League. This season saw an influx of fresh faces 2010 No Entry
and the appointment of Jeff Tozer, Rodi Rojas & Richard Harris as 2011 Round 3
co-coaches, with the goal of reaching the Waikato Premier 2012 Round 2
League. 2013 Round 5
The 2018 season saw the team heading the field 2014 Round 3
throughout the competition and were guaranteed promotion to 2015 Round 2
the WaiBoP Premier League for 2019. The club website had now 2016 Round 3
bloomed to containing over 78,000 match and team photos. 2017 No Entry
The club also celebrated its 50th Jubilee. 2018 Round 2

11