CANTERBURY RUGBY LEAGUE 2024: AN UNFORGETTABLE YEAR
As 2024 draws to a close, we’re reflecting on what has been an amazing year for rugby league in Canterbury.
On and off the field, from junior to elite level, encompassing community-based initiatives, historic announcements and the return of Test football to our city, it’s hard to recall 12 months quite like it – and Canterbury Rugby League’s identity has rarely felt stronger.
“2024 has been an incredible year for rugby league in the Canterbury,” CRL CEO Malcolm Humm says.
“At the outset of each year, we establish our strategic priorities which include stretch targets. These targets are aligned with the CRL Strategic Plan 2023-2026. In 2024, it would be fair to say these stretch targets, and then some, were achieved.
“A key goal within the CRL Strategic Plan 2023–2027 is profile and perception. I believe the profile and perception of rugby league in Canterbury has increased – and improved – over the past 12 months due to the likes of dual international Test matches, Canterbury’s re-entry back into the NZRL National Youth Tournament and the delivery of free swimming lessons to our tamariki, with the purpose of protecting lives.
“It is expected our profile will only be increased with the hosting of the 2025 NZRL National Youth Tournament at Ngā Puna Wai. Our partnership with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs has been cemented and we are now seeing more players and coaches being recipients of quality development opportunities, whilst there has been a substantial increase in referees through the formation of a development pathway.
“Additionally, a key goal of CRL’s is to ensure our membership is safe whilst playing our great game of rugby league, so to support this goal CRL partnered with the Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust in 2024 with the aim of ensuring players who suffer from concussion injuries are supported appropriately and there is a clear and evidenced-based return to sport plan for them.
“Our game is now being played in secondary schools throughout Canterbury – and this has created some real excitement. There is a real desire from secondary schools to enter the CRL Secondary Schools competition whilst some have higher aspirations of competing at the NZRL National Secondary Schools Tournament.
“We have had substantial growth in the game over the past two years with many new players to game either starting off their sporting careers in rugby league or transitioning from other sports. Although this growth is exciting to witness, CRL recognise this falls on clubs and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all rugby league clubs in Canterbury for their mahi and support to the game.”
Let’s revisit the big moments from the year that was:
CRL swimming lessons initiative: Saving lives through rugby league
Canterbury Rugby League’s commitment to providing its community with valuable life skills outside of the rugby league sphere – as well as a desire to directly mitigate Aotearoa’s worrying preventable drowning figures – prompted the establishment of a free swimming lessons programme for our tamariki in January.
Any eight-year-old registered with a Canterbury Rugby League club in 2024 received free swimming lessons during terms 2 and 3 (the opportunity was extended to nine-year-olds in some areas and at smaller clubs).
The initiative will also see eight-year-olds move through to free swimming lessons as nine-year-olds in 2025 as the next group of eight-year-olds come through. Canterbury Rugby League plans on offering our tamariki three years (eight-, nine- and 10-year-olds) of the programme.
The support of Waimakariri District Council, Selwyn District Council and Christchurch City Council has been vital and greatly appreciated, providing the pools and facilities to roll out the swimming lessons. The initiative was featured on Newshub’s AM show.
Canterbury’s standalone district status announced
For the purposes of playing in NZRL National Tournaments and Competitions, Canterbury Rugby League returned to standalone district status in 2024 after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Southern Zone Rugby League in February.
Canterbury had come under the Southern Zone banner – along with five other districts – since 2009, when New Zealand Rugby League switched to a countrywide zonal structure following a review committee recommendation in the wake of the Anderson Review. The push towards becoming a standalone district aligns strongly with CRL’s 2023-26 Strategic Plan.
The most significant upshot of the change was Canterbury regaining its own presence at national youth tournaments, providing a direct line of sight from age-group representative rugby league to the elite Trillo Metals Men’s and Women’s Canterbury Bulls teams.
The Canterbury 16s and 18s boys teams were the first to celebrate this change, competing in the red and black strip in the National Youth Tournament in Rotorua in October. Their girls counterparts will follow suit in 2025.
CANTERBURY RUGBY LEAGUE RETURNS TO STANDALONE DISTRICT STATUS
Bulldogs partnership flourishes
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs solidified the club’s commitment to its pathways and development partnership with Canterbury Rugby League via the unveiling of the Canterbury Bulls/Dogs Academy and the CRL Development Academy at Ngā Puna Wai in February.
The Bulldogs also delivered a coach upskilling session and training clinics for more than 60 junior players on a busy day at the home of Canterbury Rugby League to kick off the open invite 13s CRL Development Academy, and a 14s and 15s Bulls/Dogs Academy.
Meanwhile, the inaugural CRL Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Youth Grand Final Day unfolded at Ngā Puna Wai in July.
The title deciders for the 14s Girls, and 14s, 15s and 16s Boys grades were played with members of the Bulldogs’ Pathways and Development staff in attendance to cast their eye over some of the region’s most promising emerging players.
The year wrapped up with the Bulls/Dogs Development Day, a full day of events with two coaching clinics, a skills clinic and a game. Over 75 kids and 40 coaches got involved.
The partnership, established in 2023, has proved invaluable to Canterbury’s young players and coaches.
BULLS/DOGS ACADEMY AND CRL DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY LAUNCHED AT NGĀ PUNA WAI
Knights take out reintroduced pre-season comp
Whitehead Plumbing & Gas, already a highly valued supporter of our youngest participants as naming rights sponsor of CRL’s Junior Programme since 2019, expanded its backing to include naming rights sponsorship of the CRL Men’s Premiership.
The agreement extended to the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Pre-season Competition, the first of its kind in Canterbury for 31 years.
Over three weeks at Ngā Puna Wai, six clubs vied for the first senior silverware of 2024 in a knockout tournament. Riccarton Knights held off Halswell Hornets 30-22 in an absorbing final, with the competition well received by all clubs and the local community for providing meaningful pre-season hit-outs.
KNIGHTS TRIUMPH IN CRL WHITEHEAD PLUMBING & GAS PRE-SEASON FINAL
Canterbury juniors flood NSWRL and QRL competitions
An unprecedented number of Canterbury juniors featured in the NSWRL’s Harold Matthews Cup (under-17s), SG Ball (under-19s) and Jersey Flegg (under-21s) competitions in 2024, with several featuring in high-stakes matches at the pointy end of the season.
The Warriors completed one of the most notable Harold Matthews Cup campaigns in the competition’s history by overwhelming Western Suburbs Magpies 34-16 in the grand final. A star performer throughout the season, Linwood lock Lennox Tuiloma scored the Warriors’ last try and was named player of the match in the decider, while Hornby’s Isaiah Savea came off the bench.
Hornby second-rower Sosaia Alatini was a prolific tryscorer in Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs’ SG Ball charge and bagged another four-pointer (his ninth in 11 games) as his side went down to St George Illawarra in the grand final. Linwood winger Chelden Hayward and Northern half Bronson Reuben also featured for the Bulldogs during the season.
The Jersey Flegg grand final saw West Coaster and former Halswell junior player Callum Donaldson celebrated in the Bulldogs’ 14-12 grand final victory over a Cronulla Sharks side featuring Hornby’s Felix Faatili.
At senior level, tyros Tanner Stowers-Smith (Halswell) and Makaia Tafua (Linwood) were mainstays for the Warriors’ NSW Cup team that finished fourth. Sunshine Coast Falcons landed fourth in the Queensland Cup with the help of explosive former Hornby and Canterbury Bulls forward Caius Faatili, while ex-Northern veteran Sheldon Pitama played in the competition’s grand final for Redcliffe Dolphins – a 34-20 loss to Norths Devils.
Sydenham Swans CRL Women’s Premiership winner Isabella Waterman made her NRLW debut for Newcastle Knights before playing in club’s run to the NSW Women’s Premiership grand final, where they lost to Illawarra Steelers. Canterbury rep and Woolston Rams star Cassie Siataga shone for Wentworthville Magpies in the NSW Women’s Premiership, and Papanui second-rower Jaydika Tafua starred for Cronulla Sharks’ Tarsha Gale Cup (women’s under-19’s) campaign before becoming a regular in their NSW Women’s Premiership line-up.
The weekly Red and Black Report at canterburyrugbyleague.co.nz again kept supporters up to date with the exploits and achievements of our Canterbury products in Australian competitions.
Greyhounds make premiership debut
After proving one of the strongest teams in the CRL ISC Sports Canterbury Cup in recent seasons, Greymouth Greyhounds made their debut in the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership in 2024 – a huge milestone in the century-old relationship between Canterbury Rugby League and West Coast Rugby League.
The Greyhounds went down 46-10 to Halswell Hornets at Greymouth’s Wingham Park in their season opener – surrendering the Thacker Shield in the process – but soon found their feet in the top flight.
The Kurt Dixon-coached outfit endured a heartbreaking, last-minute 22-17 loss to Eastern Eagles in Round 2 but turned the tables on the Eagles five weeks later at Papanui Domain, the Greyhounds’ surrogate home ground in Christchurch, to chalk up a historic maiden win 24-20.
Competitive throughout the campaign, the Greyhounds’ season highlight came in the form of a stunning 40-0 rout of eventual semi-finalists Riccarton Knights in the second of their three matches at Wingham Park.
GREYHOUNDS’ FIRST CRL PREMIERSHIP FORAY LAYS SOLID FOUNDATION
Tamariki flock to Ngā Puna Wai for Backyard Footy tournament
Ngā Puna Wai played host to Canterbury Rugby League’s innovative Backyard Footy primary school tournament on Tuesday, bringing together 42 teams from 26 schools – with an unprecedented 400-plus tamariki participating – on a brilliant day for the junior game in partnership with Primary Sports Canterbury.
Backyard Footy is six-a-side rugby league with modified rule to encourage high player involvement and exciting, free-flowing games, which are 10 minutes long.
BACKYARD FOOTY TOURNAMENT DRAWS OVER 400 TAMARIKI TO NGĀ PUNA WAI
CRL teams up with Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust
In May, CRL signed a groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding with the Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust, providing invaluable support and education to our rugby league community.
This MoU – a first for the Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust with a regional sporting body – aims to ensure everyone in our sport has access to the necessary information, support and treatment in regards to head injuries and concussion.
Over 220 specialised staff in the Trust’s interdisciplinary team – which includes speech language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, dietitians, social workers, nurses and rehab coaches – work together to provide an integrated approach to rehabilitation and recovery.
CRL TEAMS UP WITH LAURA FERGUSSON BRAIN INJURY TRUST TO TACKLE CONCUSSION AWARENESS AND RECOVERY
Phil Borrell announced as CRL Chairperson
Dr Phil Borell succeeded Wally Wilson QSM as CRL Chairperson in late-May. The widely-respected Wilson felt he was vacating the Chairperson role after a two-year term with the game in a good position for the future after a tenure that included the adoption and implementation of the 2023-2027 CRL Strategic Plan, the development and pathways agreement between CRL and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, and Canterbury again being represented in national youth tournaments after a transition process in which CRL regained its identity as a separate district.
Borrell, who in February facilitated CRL’s inaugural ‘Tama tū, Hapori ora Wānanga’ kaupapa, was Vice Chairperson under Wilson, and his nomination was accepted by the CRL Board as the new Chairperson.
A former player, Dr Borrell is a Senior Lecturer (Above the Bar) at Aotahi: School of Maori and Indigenous Studies at the University of Canterbury, having taught at UC since 2008. Meanwhile, he earned a PhD in 2022 for his doctoral thesis, PolySaturated: illuminating the experiences of Polynesian athletes in professional rugby league¸ which provides insight into the experiences of Polynesian players by showcasing their own pūrākau (stories) as knowledge.
NZRL accolades for Canterbury icons
An icon of Halswell Hornets and Canterbury Rugby League, Jeff Whittaker added to his Life Memberships from those organisations with the ultimate recognition from the game’s national body in June.
Whittaker was awarded New Zealand Rugby League Life Membership at the NZRL AGM, acknowledging his incredible contribution at all levels of the game.
Later in the year, legendary former Kiwis coach Frank Endacott was unveiled as one of 12 new NZRL Legends of League – the highest honour on offer to former representatives of our national teams.
Endacott was inducted into the Legends of League ranks alongside the likes of his former international charges Matthew Ridge, Sean Hoppe and Nigel Vagana, 1970s and ’80s greats Graeme West, James Leuluai and Dane Sorensen, 2008 World Cup-winning captain Nathan Cayless, and champion back-rower/centre Simon Mannering.
CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership provides most exciting season in years
The 2024 CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Premiership was a rollercoaster from start to finish, featuring frequent lead changes at the top of the table and the barest of margins between the top five clubs.
Defending champs Linwood Keas ultimately captured the Massetti Cup by finishing first past the post, while Hornby Panthers – who sat second-last deep into the campaign – rallied to grab second spot.
In a suitably dramatic conclusion to the regular season, Eastern Eagles were on course to snatch a finals berth when they led in the dying stages at Halswell Domain in the last round. But the Hornets scored a last-minute try to break the Eagles’ hearts and rescue Riccarton Knights.
Swans prevail in expanded CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership
Reflecting the growth in women’s rugby league, the CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership swelled to seven teams in 2024 with Hornby Panthers and Addington Magpies joining the competition.
The youthful Panthers made an immediate impact with their attack-focused style and finished third in a tight regular-season race, before rolling defending premiers Linwood Keas 26-10 in the semi-finals.
Table-topping Sydenham Swans defeated fourth-placed Burnham Chevaliers 44-14 in the semis, then atoned for their 2022-23 grand final losses with a gripping 20-12 victory over the Panthers in the decider.
Brilliant halfback Kyla Lynch-Brown led the Swans’ second half surge with two tries after the scores were locked 6-all at halftime, while Kyra-Lee Westland bagged both of the Panthers’ tries.
Ngā Puna Wai packed on GF Day as Panthers send coach Lawrie out on top
Hornby Panthers earned the first berth in the Pat Smith Trophy Challenge with an 18-12 major semi victory over Linwood Keas. Halswell Hornets held off Riccarton Knights 14-8 in the sudden-death semi, before ending the Keas’ run of nine straight grand final appearances with a stunning 26-18 preliminary final win at Linwood Park.
Qualifying for their first grand final in 10 years, Hornets supporters flocked to CRL Happy Hire Grand Final Day – as did the fanbase from Hornby – to create the biggest crowd ever seen at Ngā Puna Wai. The neighbouring archrivals delivered a classic.
The Panthers raced to a 20-0 halftime lead on the back of two long-range intercept tries, but the Hornets recovered spectacularly in the second stanza as Josh Everett’s hat-trick slashed the deficit to just two points. In a gripping final 15 minutes, Hornby held on to win 20-18. Livewire fullback Sincere Harraway claimed the Mel Cooke Trophy as best on ground, as he did when the Panthers took out the 2021 title.
The Panthers’ win allayed the club’s recent grand final heartbreak and provided a fitting farewell for long-serving coach Jed Lawrie, as well as retiring on-field stalwarts Corey Lawrie and James Baxendale. The Panthers also finished the season with the Thacker Shield.
Along with the Swans’ CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership grand final victory, Northern Bulldogs capped a dominant Division One campaign by overwhelming plucky Ashburton Barbarian 40-20 in the decider, and Eastern Eagles grinded out a 14-6 win over the Hornets in the CRL ISC Sports Canterbury Cup grand final.
FAST-STARTING PANTHERS HOLD OFF HORNETS RALLY TO CLINCH PREMIERSHIP
Trillo Metals Men’s Canterbury Bulls take out South Island, National Championships
The Trillo Metals Men’s Canterbury Bulls team swept all before them under new coach Walter Wilson in 2024.
Relegated from the NZRL National Premiership last year, the Trillo Metals Bulls escaped with a last-gasp 16-14 win over West Coast Chargers in treacherous Greymouth conditions in their South Island Men’s Championship opener.
The Danny Latu-led side was unstoppable from that point, powering to a 54-6 win over Aoraki Eels at Ngā Puna Wai and clinching the South Island title with a convincing 32-12 defeat of Southland Rams in Oamaru. Halswell hooker Antonio Lemalu carried off the Quentin Pongia Medal as the tournament’s MVP.
The Trillo Metals Men’s Canterbury Bulls then stormed to the National Championship title – and promotion to the NZRL National Premiership in 2025 – with a rousing 36-22 victory over North Island champions Wellington Orcas at Ngā Puna Wai.
SECOND-HALF SURGE LIFTS TRILLO METALS CANTERBURY BULLS TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Two wins for Trillo Metals Women’s Canterbury Bulls amid challenging campaign
The Trillo Metals Women’s Canterbury Bulls team navigated multiple obstacles to bookend their NZRL National Premiership campaign with a pair of victories.
Winless in 2023, the Trillo Metals Women’s Bulls opened the competition with a 22-8 defeat of Wellington Orcas at Ngā Puna Wai, underpinned by the game-breaking class of halves Kyla Lynch-Brown and Tori Harding, a powerhouse forward-pack display and ultra-committed goal-line defence.
The three Auckland teams proved too strong over the following three weeks as the Bulls’ playing ranks were hit by injuries, and the dual selection of several key players in Canterbury’s Farah Palmer Cup squad and the Scorpions’ National Youth Tournament team.
But the Joseph Mika-coached side finished the season on a high by steamrolling Waikato 26-8 in Hamilton.
TRILLO METALS CANTERBURY BULLS WOMEN’S POWER TO CONVINCING HOME WIN OVER ORCAS
Canterbury refs make their mark
A landmark year for Canterbury Rugby League in myriad areas was reflected in the refereeing sphere. CRL has enjoyed a huge spike in new referees in 2024, as well as an unprecedented number featuring at national tournaments – including meteoric progress for several newcomers.
Thirteen Canterbury referees were busy in the middle or running the touchlines in representative rugby league in the latter stages of the season.
The 2023-24 Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership grand final referee, Jack Feavers, who also refereed Jersey Flegg Cup matches and earned a NSW Cup touch judge call-up this season, was joined in the NZRL National Premierships by experienced local whistle-blower’s Daryl Mataiti, Owen Harvey and Simon Buttery, and relative novices Micah Lepou and Porfi Vivas. Jordyn Robertson, Darryn Hopewell, Reon Hatata and Dan Jourdain officiated South Island Championship matches.
Meanwhile, Feavers, Mataiti, Harvey and Robertson were on deck at the New Zealand Secondary Schools and National Youth Tournaments. Lepou and Cheyenne Cleeve refereed at the NZSST, where Aleigha MacDonald Cope and Jackson McKnabb partook in an invaluable development opportunity as part of NZRL’s Young Referee Programme. MacDonald Cope went to feature at the girls’ National Youth Tournament in Tauranga.
Canterbury announced as 2025 National Youth Tournament host
In August, New Zealand Rugby League revealed Canterbury will host its annual National Youth Tournament for the first time in 2025.
The first-rate facilities at Ngā Puna Wai, the home of Canterbury Rugby League since 2019, will welcome boys and girls 16s and 18s teams from all over the country for the marquee festival of youth footy next September-October.
Traditionally held in Rotorua, the rangatahi tournament had been running since 2010. The last occasion a national tournament was staged in Canterbury was 1993, when Burnham Military Camp hosted the schoolboy 15-year-olds nationals.
Back-to-back NZSST glory for St Thomas’
St Thomas of Canterbury College created history last year by becoming the first school from outside Auckland to win the New Zealand Secondary Schools Tournament in 23 years.
But the team truly cemented their legacy in September by sealing rare back-to-back titles in 2024 with a series of outstanding performances at Auckland’s Bruce Pulman Park.
Andrew Auimatagi-coached St Thomas’ stamped their intentions on the opening day of pool matches on Friday, overwhelming Aorere College 42-0 and Manurewa High School 32-4. But they had to dig deep on the second day, outlasting De La Salle College 24-14 in their last group fixture and backing up three hours later to put away St Paul’s College – their opponents in the 2023 final – 24-4 with a dominant second-half display in the semis.
St Thomas’ got off to a flyer in the final in a rematch with De La Salle before hanging on for a 24-18 triumph.
Haeata Community Campus, St Bede’s College and Hornby High School competed in the NZSST’s championship division.
The secondary schools space again proved an area of impressive growth locally in 2024, with 16 teams involved across three grades in Canterbury Rugby League’s competitions.
St Thomas’ Blue, Haeata, St Bede’s and Christchurch Boys’ High School Storm made up the Boys Championship grade, while Avonside Girls’ High School, Rolleston College, Te Aratai College and the combined Te Aho Matua ki Waitaha Kōtiro team featured in the Girls Championship.
St Thomas’ Gold, Hornby High, Lincoln High School, Rolleston College, St Bede’s, Christchurch Boys’ Warriors, Te Aratai College and Te Aho Matua ki Waitaha Tama competed in the Boys Development grade, which was split into two pools.
Unforgettable week in Canterbury for Pacific Championships double-header
On the back of the Warriors’ sold-out trial against Wests Tigers in February and NRL premiership fixture against Canberra Raiders in March at Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch was announced as the venue for a historic Pacific Championships double-header in October.
The Kiwis and Kangaroos were locked in for their first clash in the city since 1989, while the Kiwi Ferns-Jillaroos fixture marked New Zealand’s first women’s Test in Christchurch since 1998 – and the Australian women’s team’s first-ever visit to the South Island.
It proved a week-long rugby league extravaganza in Ōtautahi, featuring an open training session at Ngā Puna Wai with the Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns, a huge crowd for the fan day at Wainoni Park with all four teams in attendance, and a star-studded High Performance Leadership & Coaching breakfast run by CRL with the support of NZRL where Test coaches Stacey Jones, Mal Meninga, Ricky Henry and Brad Donald entertained the guests in a wide-ranging Q&A session.
A capacity 17,000-strong crowd watched two absorbing Test matches unfold on the Sunday of Labour Weekend, with both Australian teams ultimately taking the spoils in hard-fought encounters.
Riki earns Kiwis debut, Auimatagi joins Kiwi Ferns staff
Uncapped Brisbane Broncos second-rower and Hornby Panthers product Jordan Riki received a call-up for the Kiwis’ Pacific Championships title defence, joining fellow Canterbury products Jamayne Isaako (Aranui Eagles), Kodi Nikorima (Burnham Chevaliers) and Griffin Neame (Halswell Hornets via West Coast) in the squad.
The 24-year-old made his Test debut in front of friends in family in Christchurch, coming off the bench in New Zealand’s 22-10 loss to Australia.
Former Canterbury Bulls mentor and Linwood Keas premiership-winning coach Andrew Auimatagi also enjoyed a massive career highlight in the form of joining the Kiwi Ferns’ staff as an assistant coach.
The year’s best and brightest recognised at CRL awards
The Hornby Club once again hosted the Canterbury Rugby League prizegiving, celebrating the highest achievers and hardest workers of 2024.
Northern Bulldogs’ Cameron Godfrey carried off the Canterbury Rugby League Sportsperson of the Year award, while Hornby Panthers won the Club of the Year gong.
The Trillo Metals Canterbury Bulls Women’s Sportswoman of the Year was Irene MacArthur and Cooper Te Hau earned the corresponding Bulls Men’s award.
Vale
A watershed year for rugby league in Canterbury was tinged with sadness by the passing of several beloved figures in our game.
Kiwi #351 John Bond, Halswell Hornets mainstay Merv Whittaker, tireless volunteer and former Canterbury Rugby League employee Shirley Luke, and ex-Hornets premiership winner and Canterbury Bulls rep Danny Champion were among the people we lost in 2024.
