CRL 2025 CLUB SEASON SET FOR BLOCKBUSTER START
The 2025 Canterbury Rugby League senior club season is upon us – a fraction earlier than usual – and three absorbing clashes mark the start of the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership.
This Saturday’s opening round is headlined by a massive westside derby between Halswell Hornets and Hornby Panthers at Halswell Domain, which doubles as a grand final rematch after the clubs’ epic showdown at Ngā Puna Wai seven months ago.
The archrivals produced one of the great grand finals of recent times, with the Hornets’ revival from 20-0 falling just short as the Panthers held on for a 20-18 triumph to send coach Jed Lawrie and retiring club legends Corey Lawrie and James Baxendale out with the Pat Smith Trophy.
FAST-STARTING PANTHERS HOLD OFF HORNETS RALLY TO CLINCH PREMIERSHIP
Corey Lawrie takes the coaching reins from brother Jed for Hornby’s CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership defence.
The Hornets have even more motivation to get one back on their neighbours, after the Panthers lifted the Thacker Shield on Halswell’s Club Day midway through last season.
Elsewhere, Greymouth Greyhounds kick off their second campaign in Canterbury Rugby League’s top tier with a Wingham Park showdown against perennial heavyweights Linwood Keas.
The Greyhounds enjoyed a memorable debut season in the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership despite finishing at the foot of the ladder. The Keas, meanwhile, are smarting from missing the grand final for the first time in a decade – upset by the Hornets in the preliminary final after claiming the Massetti Cup.
In 2024, the Keas overwhelmed the Greyhounds 52-14 in the Ngā Puna Wai Magic Round, 36-4 at Papanui Domain and 40-0 at Linwood Park.
Eastern Eagles host Riccarton Knights at Wainoni Park in another intriguing Round 1 encounter. It was Eastern’s agonising last-minute loss to the Hornets in the final round in 2024 that catapulted Riccarton into the playoffs, consigning the Eagles to a fifth-place finish.
The clubs produced three tight matches last season: the Knights won 24-14 in Magic Round and 22-20 at Wainoni Park, before the Eagles turned the tables 22-18 at Crosbie Park.
Local coaching stalwart Brent Ringdahl – who has steered Papanui (1998), Riccarton (2002 and 2004) and Hornby (2006) to premierships – takes over at the Knights in 2025.
All three matches kick off at 2.45pm.
Northern Bulldogs’ difficult decision earlier this month to postpone their return to the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership and CRL ISC Sports Canterbury Cup sees both grades move ahead in 2025 as six-team competitions, eliminating the need for byes.
The reworked draw, available here, consists of 13 rounds – two complete round-robins and three additional games per team – and will culminate in CRL Grand Final on Sunday, August 3.
The opening round of the 2025 CRL ISC Sports Canterbury Cup mirrors the top-grade fixtures, all kicking off at 1pm at the same grounds.
Eastern Eagles, the defending CRL ISC Sports Canterbury Cup champions, will take on Papanui Tigers, who signed an MoU with the Knights to become their premier reserves affiliate in 2025.
The rebuilding Bulldogs will instead defend the Division One title they won in 2024, getting their campaign underway at Murphy Park against Celebration Lions at 1pm on Saturday.
Halswell Hornets host Addington Magpies at Halswell Domain and Burnham Chevaliers welcome Shirley Hawks to Coronation Park, with both fixtures kicking off at 1pm.
Meanwhile, a Wainoni Park triple-header gets underway at 11am courtesy of an Eastern Eagles-Riccarton Knights Division One clash.
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