CRL WHITEHEAD PLUMBING & GAS PRE-SEASON COMPETITION – WEEK 1 WRAP
Perennial grand finalists Linwood Keas and Hornby Panthers were both rolled in the opening round of the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Pre-season Competition, with Riccarton Knights and Eastern Eagles both producing outstanding first-up wins at Ngā Puna Wai on Friday night. Meanwhile, Halswell Hornets also progressed with an emphatic victory over Northern Bulldogs.
Eastern made a sizeable statement via a 36-16 result over Hornby, running away with the match by scoring the last four tries unanswered.
The Eagles got off to a 12-0 flyer inside 10 minutes, but the Panthers had clawed back to level the scores at 16-all in the early stages of the second stanza. The Archie Jacobs-coached Eagles finished with a wet sail, however, launching a 13-minute assault midway through the half to carve out a 20-point lead.
View this post on Instagram
Premiers seven times in the past eight seasons, Linwood went down 18-8 to a gritty Riccarton outfit that won its way through to a semi-final showdown with Eastern.
But as the team that lost by the smallest margin of the three first-round fixtures, the Keas stay alive in the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Pre-season Competition.
The Keas will line up in the semis against the Hornets, who romped to a 56-4 win at the Bulldogs’ expense.
After a reasonably tight first half, Halswell’s attack clicked into gear with eight tries after the break – including a double to Sam Levien – before Northern belatedly crossed for a four-pointer in the dying minutes.
View this post on Instagram
CRL WHITEHEAD PLUMBING & GAS PRE-SEASON COMPETITION – ROUND 1 RESULTS
6.30pm, Friday, March
Eastern Eagles 36-16 Hornby Panthers
Riccarton Knights 18-8 Linwood Keas
Halswell Hornets 56-4 Northern Bulldogs
CRL WHITEHEAD PLUMBING & GAS PRE-SEASON COMPETITION – ROUND 2 SCHEDULE
6.30pm, Friday, March 15
Semi-finals
Eastern Eagles v Riccarton Knights @ Ngā Puna Wai Field 1
Halswell Hornets v Linwood Keas @ Ngā Puna Wai Field 2
5th v 6th
Hornby Panthers v Northern Bulldogs @ Ngā Puna Wai Field 3
