CRL ROUND 12 CLUB WRAP: PANTHERS ON THE PROWL AS KNIGHTS CHARGE TO SECOND
The CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership ladder has received a shake-up with one round of the regular season remaining, with Linwood Keas sealing another Massetti Cup success, Riccarton Knights moving into second spot and Hornby Panthers putting one foot in the finals door after a trio of tight encounters on Saturday.
The Keas outlasted Greymouth Greyhounds 36-24 at Linwood Park to clinch first spot on the ladder and retain the Thacker Shield.
Alofa Faaiva had a hat-trick inside half an hour as Linwood built a 20-12 halftime lead, while fellow winger Elisara Vaifale’s second try at the hour mark essentially wrapped the match up at 30-12. Prolific scorer Navare Jacobs notched a brace for the fifth-placed Greyhounds.
The Panthers celebrated Old Boys Day with a 22-18 victory over archrivals Halswell Hornets, moving into outright fourth spot in the process.
The defending premiers held a 14-12 advantage at the break but found themselves 18-14 behind after the Hornets’ Jacob Nyman converted his own try.
Hornby loose forward Toby Gibson levelled the scores with a try 15 minutes from fulltime, with a pair of Tyrone Hill goals proving the difference in a tense closing period.
The Knights leapfrogged the Hornets into second place via a hard-fought 12-6 win against Eastern Eagles at Papanui Domain.
The bottom-placed Eagles were 6-0 ahead at halftime thanks to Uale Peneli’s try, but the Knights grafted out the victory with a pair of unconverted tries to Matariri Halbert-Pere either side of Sidney Tagicakibau’s four-pointer.
The CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership regular season is set for a thrilling conclusion next Saturday.
The Hornets and Knights face off at Halswell Domain in what is virtually a straight shootout for second. The Keas put the Thacker Shield on the line again at Linwood Park against the Panthers, who are two competition points – with a 30-point for-and-against edge – ahead of a Greyhounds side that will be away to the out-of-contention Eagles.
Linwood Keas also wrapped up top spot in the CRL ISC Sports Canterbury Cup with a 46-4 win over Greymouth Greyhounds, while Eastern Eagles’ 32-6 defeat of Papanui Tigers all but confirmed a vital second-placed finished for the defending champs.
Halswell Hornets confirmed they will finish no lower than third after a 30-16 defeat of Hornby Panthers, who are locked in for fourth.
In CRL Division One action, second-placed Shirley Hawks edged third-placed Northern Bulldogs 20-18 in a crucial result, while Riccarton Knights defeated Addington Magpies 10-4.
The CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership’s heavyweight teams asserted their dominance in Sunday’s three Round 8 fixtures.
Hornby Panthers overwhelmed Eastern Eagles 58-0 with Ripena Vaeila Umaga bagging a hat-trick; Terauoriwa Harding crossed three times as Linwood Keas defeated Woolston Rams 64-4; and Kyla Lynch-Brown ran in five tries in Sydenham Swans’ 62-0 defeat of Shirley Hawks.
CRL WHITEHEAD PLUMBING & GAS MEN’S PREMIERSHIP – ROUND 12 RESULTS
Hornby Panthers 22 defeated Halswell Hornets 18 at Leslie Park
Riccarton Knights 12 defeated Eastern Eagles 6 at Papanui Domain
Linwood Keas 36 defeated Greymouth Greyhounds 24 at Linwood Park
CRL ISC SPORTS CANTERBURY CUP PREMIER RESERVES – ROUND 12 RESULTS
Halswell Hornets 30 defeated Hornby Panthers 16 at Leslie Park
Eastern Eagles 32 defeated Papanui Tigers 6 at Papanui Domain
Linwood Keas 46 defeated Greymouth Greyhounds 4 at Linwood Park
CRL DIVISION ONE – ROUND 12 RESULTS
Shirley Hawks 20 defeated Northern Bulldogs 18 at Macfarlane Park
Riccarton Knights 10 defeated Addington Magpies 4 at Papanui Domain
CRL BARTERCARD WOMEN’S PREMIERSHIP – ROUND 8 RESULTS
Hornby Panthers 58 defeated Eastern Eagles 0 at Wainoni Park
Linwood Keas 64 defeated Woolston Rams 4 at Linwood Park
Sydenham Swans 62 defeated Shirley Hawks 0 at Macfarlane Park
