On March 23 the Auckland Rugby League released its annual report. It showed that despite the “overshadowing effect of the war, it was able at the end of the season to show a profit of £309”. There had been a “consensus of opinion of the leaders of governments and military authorities... that recreational sport such as football should be carried on”. It was said that the “war made serious inroads among the players, while in other directions rugby league played its part in the war effort in New Zealand. Since the commencement of the war Carlaw Park has, without cost, been placed at the disposal of many essential units engaged in war activities”. The accounts showed that the main source of revenue, which was from gate receipts had dropped from £4486 in 1940 to £3923 in 1941 which was a drop of £563. However the working account only showed a reduction of £271. In terms of referees it was noted that over 10 percent of referees had enlisted, and many others were engaged in war production work and therefore unable to work on Saturday’s. This had meant that on many occasions some members had had to referee two or three matches on a single day.
