SWANS STEELED FOR BACK-TO-BACK BID

Defending CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership champions Sydenham Swans have taken the hard road to the 2025 CRL Happy Hire Grand Final Day schedule.

But a gritty semi-final win has fortified the Swans for Sunday’s showdown against their 2022-23 grand final conquerors, Linwood Keas.

“The ladies are looking good, the intensity has picked up at training this week and everyone’s locked in and ready to go – it’s a good vibe at the moment,” Sydenham coach Javaan Togiaso tells Canterbury Rugby League.

After a 30-22 loss at Hornby in the penultimate regular-season round consigned Sydenham to a third-place finish, the premiers turned the tables on the Panthers 18-10 at Leslie Park in last Saturday’s gripping semi.

The Swans trailed 6-0 after a first-half grind before piling on four unanswered tries in the first 15 minutes of the second stanza. Togiaso believes it was an ideal preparation for an all-or-nothing grand final assignment.

“Hornby really tested us, they started well and their young girls really gave it to us, especially around the ruck,” he says.

“They tested our middles and we fatigued quite quickly, we were on the back foot for most of the first half. So to only concede six points was good for us going into the second half, where we started to show what we could do we when completed our sets and doing all the little things right.

“The Panthers are a good, young side and the Keas are shaping up to be the same.”

The Keas claimed a 20-16 win at Linwood Park in May, while the Swans responded with a 36-20 victory at Woolston Park five weeks ago.

The Swans can take plenty of confidence from the latter performance, but Togiaso warns the Keas will be a tougher proposition at Ngā Puna Wai.

“They were missing a few players and I know some of them will be back this week, which gives them a big boost.

“But in that game we only had a two-player bench, so we had a talk beforehand and just knew we had to connect, lock in and make sure everyone knew we were playing for each other. It was a real good team game – and probably our best of the season to be fair.

“So we just need to stay connected this weekend, because Linwood has flair all around the park, lots of experienced players and young girls who are fit and fast.”

The Swans went down to the Keas in nail-biting grand finals in 2022-23, before outlasting the Panthers in last year’s decider.

Togiaso, who took the reins from premiership-winning coach Simon Maule this year, is counting on that big-match nous playing a crucial role in his team’s chances.

“We talked about it last night – to forget about last year and just focus on this weekend. Don’t put any pressure on yourselves and just enjoy the week, enjoy the moment, stay connected.

“We’ve got a fair few girls who played in the past couple of grand finals, so their experience will help us big time going into Sunday. We just know to not get ahead of ourselves and concentrate on what we need to do, which is playing good footy.”

The Swans will be without co-captain Caitlin Sears, who is in Newcastle for the NRLW Magic Round Rising Talent Invitational, and evergreen 2000 Kiwi Fern Vicki Logopati Campbell.

But the likes of skipper Harmony Simalie, brilliant playmaker Kyla Lynch-Brown – a two-try hero and player of the match in last year’s grand final – and ex-Kiwi Ferns prop Bunty Kuruwaka-Crowe provide Sydenham with an impressive nucleus.

“Kyla has taken a lot more leadership this year, really gathered the troops and told them to get on her back and come with her,” Togiaso praises.

“In the semi-final, she’s always well-known for her attacking skill and flair, but she shone with her defence with a lot of cover tackles. It’s been a new role as a leader this year and she’s embraced that.

“It’s definitely good to have Bunty back, she always gives one hundred percent, she never takes a backwards step and we’ve got her back in the middles this week getting some go-forward.”

Meanwhile, the Swans women’s side is relishing its role representing the Sydenham club – which does not have a team in the senior men’s divisions – on the biggest day of the CRL calendar for the fourth year in a row.

“The club has really embraced the women’s team as their premier team,” Togiaso says.

“We’re just trying to make that more of an encouragement for others outside the club, being a small club, wanting to thrive to be a premier women’s team.

“We’ve definitely taken on that role and it’s looking bright with all the young leaders and players we have coming through.

“We’ve had a few rugby [union] converts come through and a lot of them are still very young, after representing Canterbury in rugby.

“Lucy [Mahuika] is only 19 years old, she’s come down from Nelson and is playing halfback – she’s thriving in that position leading the troops around the field. It’s looking good for the club moving forward.”

The 2025 CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership grand final kicks off at 12.30pm at Ngā Puna Wai on Sunday, August 3.