NOW OR NEVER FOR CRL HAPPY HIRE GRAND FINAL DAY HOPEFULS
CRL Happy Hire Grand Final Day spots are on the line across all four senior grades this weekend, including a CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership blockbuster between Linwood Keas and Halswell Hornets.
The Keas, searching for their 10th consecutive premiership grand final appearance, went down 18-12 in a gripping major semi at Linwood Park last Saturday after a scoreless second half.
But the defending champs get another bite at the cherry at home with a prelim against the Hornets at 2.45pm this Saturday for the right to take on Hornby Panthers on CRL Happy Hire Grand Final Day (Sunday, August 11).
Halswell held off Riccarton 14-8 in an elimination semi thriller to take a step towards a grand final berth that has eluded the club since winning its last title in 2014.
The Hornets have fallen one game short of the decider in each of the past three seasons, losing to the Panthers in three straight preliminary finals.
Both Linwood-Halswell encounters so far in 2024 have been tight affairs. The Keas prevailed 24-16 at Linwood Park in Round 5 on the back of Danny Latu’s second-half double, while they edged the Hornets 18-16 at Halswell Domain in Round 10 after surviving a late rally by the home side.
Halswell’s premier team is hoping to join their CRL ISC Sport Canterbury Cup team on CRL Happy Hire Grand Final Day, with the Hornets awaiting the winner of Saturday’s (1pm) preliminary final between Eastern Eagles and Papanui Tigers at Wainoni Park.
The Eagles – pacesetters in the premier reserves competition for most of the season – are striving to bounce back from last week’s 14-12 defeat to the Hornets, while the surging Tigers upset Hornby Panthers 30-28 on the road in their elimination semi.
The Eagles won all three regular-season encounters, but their most recent – just four weeks ago – was a 32-30 barnburner at Wainoni Park.
Northern Bulldogs are aiming to parlay their regular-season dominance in the CRL Division One competition into a grand final spot when they host Papanui Tigers in the first knockout semi-final on Saturday (1pm).
The Bulldogs finished four points clear of the field with just one loss.
Second-placed Ashburton Barbarians welcome third-placed Woolston Rams to Robilliard Park in the other knockout semi at 2pm. The Rams carved out a convincing win in Ashburton back in April, but the Barbarians turned the tables at Woolston Park just four weeks ago.
Sydenham Swans and Linwood Keas face tough knockout semi-finals as they chase a third straight CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership grand final showdown.
The table-topping Swans take on fourth-placed Burnham Chevaliers at Ngā Puna Wai, while two-time defending champs the Keas host third-placed Hornby Panthers at Linwood Park. Both matches kick off at 1pm on Sunday.
The Panthers have made a huge impression after joining the CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership in 2024, including a win and a draw in their two matches against the Swans. Their only regular-season clash with the Keas resulted in a nail-biting 24-20 loss at Leslie Park.
