Bumper Weekend of Rep Action at Wainoni Park

It’s been a bumper month for representative rugby league in New Zealand, with the National Premiership and Championship competitions wrapping up on Saturday, and the Youth Nationals 15s and 17s tournaments taking place in Rotorua this week. The South Island Scorpions 15s finished their outstanding campaign in fifth, while the Scorpions 17s contest the final…

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Bulls Put Aside Final Scenario Ahead of Falcons Clash

We needed a calculator to work out the Round 3 permutations that can pitch the Canterbury Bulls into their third straight NZRL National Premiership final, but coach Andrew Auimatagi insists his team has to ignore the for-and-against scenarios if they’re to prevail in Sunday’s daunting home assignment against Akarana Falcons. “It’s a pretty complicated situation,…

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Promising Signs For Bulls In First-up Loss

Canterbury Bulls coach Andrew Auimatagi is taking plenty of positives out of his side’s first outing of the 2016 NZRL National Premiership, despite the 36-22 loss to Counties Manukau Stingrays representing a missed opportunity to take a big step towards qualifying for the final of the revamped competition. The Bulls led 16-12 early in the…

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Stingrays Outlast Bulls In Season Opener

Defending NZRL National Premiership champions Counties Manukau Stingrays opened their campaign with a 36-22 win over a gutsy Canterbury Bulls outfit in a rematch of the 2015 final at Mt Smart Stadium. The Bulls rebounded from a 12-point deficit to level the scores by halftime and grabbed the lead early in the second term, but…

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New Skipper Baxendale Primed For Bulls’ Campaign

Canterbury Bulls veteran James Baxendale has barely had time to catch his breath from Hornby’s grand final loss to Linwood before heading straight into another representative campaign. But the added honour of taking over as his province’s skipper has provided the 30-year-old with extra drive for the 2016 NZRL National Premiership. Baxendale debuted for Canterbury…

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Bulls Launch 2016 Premiership Campaign

Pride. Unity. Integrity. Grit. These are core values that will drive Canterbury Bulls’ 2016 season, as revealed by new coach Andrew Auimatagi at the team’s season launch on Wednesday night. The Bulls’ players and management, Canterbury Rugby League Board members, CRL staff, sponsors and supporters gathered at Hornby Working Men’s Club to officially kick off…

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Keas Dedicate Win To ‘The Godfather’

BY MAT KERMEEN – THE PRESS A Christchurch rugby league club have celebrated Father’s Day by honouring the man they called The Godfather. Less than two hours after Linwood Keas captain Agaese Fiso lifted the Pat Smith Memorial Trophy at AMI Stadium on Sunday, the Keas stood around Teni Tuli’s grave in an emotional tribute…

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CRL Grand Final Preview

Photo: Hornby Panthers’ Corey Lawrie (left), and Linwood Keas’ Aga Fiso (centre) and Paul Sauni pose with the Pat Smith Trophy at AMI Stadium.  KEAS PRIMED TO HEED LESSONS OF 2015 Last year’s grand final loss still stings for the Linwood Keas, but coach Andrew Auimatagi is confident his team will use that experience to…

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Keas Score Convincing Grand Final Win Over Panthers

A devastating first-half performance from the Linwood Keas laid the platform for a convincing 29-10 defeat of the Hornby Panthers in the 2016 CRL grand final at AMI Stadium. Linwood scored the first five tries of the match inside 25 minutes, and although Hornby clawed back bravely to score the only two tries thereafter, it…

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