CRL ROUND 10 CLUB PREVIEW: PANTHERS, KNIGHTS AND GREYHOUNDS PREPARE FOR CRUNCH HOME ASSIGNMENTS
CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership moves into Round 10 with second spot going on the line at Crosbie Park, a heavyweight showdown at Leslie Park and a crunch game on the West Coast.
After getting a two-point break on the competition with last week’s 14-6 Thacker Shield-retaining victory over Riccarton Knights, Linwood Keas host archrivals Hornby Panthers.
The fourth-placed Panthers’ Round 9 fixture in Greymouth was postponed due to weather and road conditions, but the defending champs face a tough assignment to arrest a three-match losing streak.
The perennial grand finalists are yet to face off in 2025, with their previously scheduled encounter part of the postponed Round 5 washout.
Second-placed Halswell Hornets sit one point ahead of the Knights and are also coming off a loss ahead of their away assignment this Saturday.
The Hornets went down 12-10 to Eastern Eagles at Halswell Domain in Round 9 as the Massetti Cup table tightened up.
The Eagles’ victory saw them climb off the bottom rung of the ladder – though this weekend’s opponents, the now last-placed Greymouth Greyhounds, have a game in hand after last week’s postponement.
All three matches kick off at 2.45pm.
Meanwhile, the Greyhounds-Panthers fixture will be replayed on June 20 – the Friday of Matariki weekend, which is set aside as a bye round for the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership – at Wingham Park (2.45pm).
The corresponding CRL ISC Sports Canterbury Cup Round 10 matches will be played at the same grounds, getting underway at 1pm.
The fourth-placed Panthers host the ladder-leading Keas, the third-placed Hornets and fifth-placed Papanui Tigers lock horns in a pivotal encounter, and second-placed defending champs the Eagles travel to take on the winless Greyhounds.
The CRL Division One draw is headlined by a clash between second-placed Shirley Hawks and Eastern Eagles at Macfarlane Park (1pm).
Northern Bulldogs’ (1.30pm versus Halswell Hornets at Murphy Park) and Addington Magpies’ (2.45pm versus Celebration Lions at Spreydon Domain) senior men’s teams will celebrate their Club Days at their respective home grounds.
Riccarton Knights also host Burnham Chevaliers at Crosbie Park (1pm).
The fifth round of CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership matches on Sunday – all kicking off at 1pm – includes a blockbuster between 2024 preliminary final opponents Hornby Panthers and Linwood Keas at Leslie Park.
Woolston Rams host defending champs Sydenham Swans at Woolston Park, and Eastern Eagles head to Macfarlane Park to take on Shirley Hawks.
Photo credit: Abraham Atherton Photography
