PAPANUI TIGERS’ RETURN TO MEN’S PREMIER STATUS IN 2026 CONFIRMED
Canterbury Rugby League is pleased to announce the CRL Board endorsed Papanui Tigers’ return to our premier men’s grade at Monday’s Board meeting.
As per Canterbury Rugby League’s by-law requirements, Papanui will enter teams in the 2026 CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership and CRL ISC Sports Canterbury Cup Premier Reserves competitions.
Papanui Tigers last featured in CRL’s top tier in 2022. The club has since partnered with Greymouth Greyhounds (2024) and Riccarton Knights (2025) as their Canterbury Cup affiliate, with Tigers players lining up at premier level for the Greyhounds and Knights during those seasons.
“Back in 2023, CRL – with assistance from clubs – developed a Senior Men’s Competition Criteria,” CRL CEO Malcolm Humm says.
“This is a framework designed to support decision-making processes regarding entry into the men’s premier competition.
“Much credit must go to the Papanui Tigers’ committee, as they have used this criterion as a key driver to get back to premier status.”
The Tigers’ rich history stretches back more than a century. The Waimari club formed in 1922 and adopted the name Papanui in 1947, winning its first senior championship in 1957.
Papanui dominated the 1970s, qualifying for eight straight grand finals from 1971-78 and winning seven premierships (only a loss to Eastern Suburbs in 1975 interrupted the Tigers’ run). The Tigers carved out subsequent grand final wins in 1992, 1998 and 2015.
Some of Canterbury’s most revered rugby league products have represented the Kiwis while playing for Papanui, including John Bond, Keith Roberts, Jim Bond, Spencer Dunn, Gary Blackler, Gary Clarke, Rodney Walker and Eddie Kerrigan. The likes of Mark Broadhurst and Terry Hermansson also earned their premier grade spurs with the Tigers before embarking on professional stints and representing New Zealand.
“We’re just super proud – it’s been a few years now, we’ve done the work, and we’re well and truly ready,” Papanui Tigers chairman Kanei Johnson says.
“The preparation the boys have put in, and how the whanau and community have committed to this new Kaupapa, is amazing. We’re just pumped to be here.
“We started this right at the beginning of the year, I reached out to CRL and said, ‘What’s the criteria to get ourselves back in the right place?’ And we’ve been just working hard against that criteria to make sure that everything is there.
“We’ve ticked all the boxes, we’ve recruited well, we’ve connected with our community, we’ve got all our players to look back at their roots and want to be a part of something special.
Papanui’s return to the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership will be overseen by Tigers product Ray Hubbard, who was recently announced as head coach.
Hubbard guided Halswell to the 2024 grand final, and will be joined at the Tigers by his former Hornets charges – and Trillo Metals Men’s Canterbury Bulls stars – Antonio Lemalu, who has played for Papanui previously, and Ken Tofilau.
“That’s one of the most rewarding things for us, that we’ve brought back our old school junior player in Ray, who we see as the best coach in the competition,” Johnson continues.
“We’re absolutely loving what he is doing for us and the development that the players have already had over these past five weeks of pre-season is just unreal. We’re really looking forward to ripping into the season.
“I’ve been here 20 years and the buzz is real. If you’ve been around Papanui for a long time, you can feel that there’s something really special in the air. All our boys are just thriving off the new environment that Ray has created for us.
“The community’s right behind us, we’ve been active on our social media and the engagement from that has been crazy … and that’s been a good drive for us as well as in the recruitment space.
“I’ve been coaching junior rugby league at Papanui for the past 13 years and to actually have something that our juniors can now look up to is really special to me. It’s been a bit of a personal goal to make sure these boys have something to look up to and can veer off into [as senior players]
“There’s a long, rich history at this club and I’m just proud to be a part of the rebuild.”
Canterbury Rugby League congratulates Papanui Tigers on their hard work and commitment in securing a return to premier football and wishes the club all the best in its 2026 endeavours.
