CRL ROUND 4 WRAP
Hornby Panthers posted 10 tries in a 52-20 victory over Papanui Tigers at Leslie Park to remain the only unbeaten team in the Massetti Cup after four rounds.
Outside backs Regan Stanton, Dene Grace and Phillip Vaifale all dotted down twice, while captain James Baxendale finished with a personal haul of 16 points as the Panthers raced out to a 32-10 halftime lead and went on with the job.
Riccarton Knights made it back-to-back wins with an impressive come-from-behind effort against Northern Bulldogs at Crosbie Park.
The Knights scored the opening try but trailed 12-4 at halftime after tries to Bulldogs backs Anton Ferguson and Darren Tonihi. The hosts dominated the second half, however, scoring four unanswered tries to carve out a 22-14 victory.
Winger James Tongia bagged a double, while centre Zion Kamana’s hot tryscoring form continued with a four-pointer.
Linwood Keas ran away with the Eastside derby against Eastern Eagles with a powerful second-half performance, winning a Wainoni Park try-fest 48-24.
The Eagles went into the break only 16-12 down, but the three-time defending premiers piled on six tries in the second stanza.
In yet another high-scorer, Celebration Lions downed Halswell Hornets 40-24 at Cuthberts Green in a clash of the only winless teams in the competition.
The result was a huge boost for the Lions, while the Hornets – semi-finalists in 2018 – remain anchored to the bottom of the ladder.
In Sunday’s CRL Women’s Premiership matches, Burnham Chevaliers solidified their claims as the biggest threat to Linwood’s title defence, racking up a 50-6 victory over Hornby Panthers.
Celebration Lions were equally strong in a 30-6 defeat of Eastern Eagles for their first win of the season. The Keas had the bye in Round 3.
CRL MASSETTI CUP MEN’S PREMIERSHIP ROUND 4 RESULTS
Hornby Panthers 52 (Regan Stanton 2, Dene Grace 2, Phillip Vaifale 2, Tauvale Tauvale, James Baxendale, Brad Campbell, Jordan Campbell tries; Baxendale 6 goals) d Papanui Tigers 20 (Muipu Nati, Eletise Tamala, Dhontayne Berryman-Lesatele, Marekoma Mitchell tries; Jimmy Rangiawha 2 goals) at Leslie Park
Linwood Keas 48 (Ben Ilalio, Matthew Sauni, Willie Yeow, Leon Jarden, Alani Kakoi, Jiordan Fidow-Kele, Paul Sauni, Kyle Amer, Joseph Mika tries; Daniel Hartley 6 goals) d Eastern Eagles 24 (Klay Waikato, Kolone Fa’alilo, Tama Walker, Mesiah Ngatuere-Asi tries; Junior Peneli 4 goals) at Wainoni Park
Riccarton Knights 22 (James Tongia 2, Zion Kamana, Justin Lynch, Reuben Te Amo tries; Kamana goal) d Northern Bulldogs 14 (Anton Ferguson, Darren Tonihi tries; Nathaniel Tirikatene 3 goals) at Crosbie Park
Celebration Lions 40 d Halswell Hornets 24 at Cuthberts Green
TABLE: Hornby Panthers 8 (+76), Linwood Keas 6 (+56), Northern Bulldogs 4 (+16), Eastern Eagles 4 (-4), Riccarton Knights 4 (-18), Celebration Lions 2 (-12), Papanui Tigers 2 (-42), Halswell Hornets 0 (-72)
CRL CANTERBURY CUP PREMIER RESERVES ROUND 4Riccarton Knights 12 – 42 Northern
Celebration Lions 64 – 16 Halswell Hornets
Hornby Panthers 36 – 30 Shirley Hawks
Linwood Keas 104 – 0 Eastern Eagles
TABLE: Linwood Keas 8, Hornby Panthers 6, Shirley Hawks 6, Celebration Lions 6, Northern Bulldogs 4, Halswell Hornets 4, Riccarton Knights 2, Eastern Eagles 2, Papanui Tigers 2
CRL DIVISION ONE ROUND 4Marist Saints 66 – 4 Halswell Hornets
Woolston Rams 24 – 24 Burnham Chevaliers
Shirley Hawks 16 – 60 Ashburton Barbarians
TABLE: Marist Saints 8, Ashburton Barbarians 6, Burnham Chevaliers 5, Woolston Rams 3, Halswell Hornets 2, Shirley Hawks 0
CRL WOMEN’S PREMIERSHIP ROUND 3
Burnham Chevaliers 50 – 6 Hornby Panthers
Celebration Lions 30 – 6 Eastern Eagles
TABLE: Linwood Keas 6, Burnham Chevaliers 6, Celebration Lions 2, Hornby Panthers 2, Eastern Eagles 2
Photo Credit: Dai Roberts
