League: Whanganui Boxon on hiatus for season

The Whanganui Boxon's premier team will be going on hiatus this season as both the Manawatu (MRL) and Taranaki Rugby League (TRL) competitions have struggled to put together full competitions.

Both the Boxon and Linton Cobras moved from a stagnate MRL to join a six-team TRL competition last season, with Boxon winning their way into the grand final where they lost after a comeback by the Bell Block Marist Dragons.

However, 2018 coach Haze Reweti said the MRL has not recovered their other premier club sides and TRL only have two confirmed local teams, so they have opted to pull out altogether.