CRL Round 11 Wrap: Keas and Eagles soar towards top-two finish
Linwood Keas and Eastern Eagles cemented their top-two status in the CRL Whitehead Plumbing and Gas Men’s Premiership, while Riccarton Knights also landed a crucial victory in a tight race for the finals. Meanwhile, Linwood Keas ended Hornby Panthers’ unbeaten start to the CRL Happy Hire Women’s Premiership in Round 7 and Eastern Eagles knocked over the two-time defending champs.
The Keas improved to 9-0 with yet another dominant second-half display, turning a four-point halftime lead over Halswell Hornets into a commanding 34-6 victory.
Hornets five-eighth Hayden Thompson scored late in the first half to cut the Keas’ lead to 10-6 at Halswell Domain. But the defending champs piled on four unanswered tries after the break – including a second to fullback Xavier Talatonu.
The Eagles outlasted a spirited Greymouth Greyhounds outfit to achieve a 34-26 result at Wingham Park in seesawing contest.
The teams traded tries throughout the first half, which finished 18-12 in Eastern’s favour after a late try to halfback Klayton Waikato. A fast start to the second stanza from the visitors opened up a handy 16-point lead, while Isaiah Smith’s try with 15 minutes left all but sealed the win before the Greyhounds the last two four-pointers of the match.
The second-placed Eagles have now opened a six-point gap on the chasing pack. Meanwhile, the Knights leapfrogged the Greyhounds into third spot on for-and-against courtesy of a heart-stopping 22-18 defeat of Papanui Tigers.
The Knights led 12-8 at halftime and went further in front when winger Tristan Griffith scored his second try soon after the break. But the Tigers rallied and inched 18-16 ahead via Yahwei Te Rangi’s second try with 20 minutes left.
Matariri Halbert-Pere levelled the scores with a 69th-minute penalty goal, before Joel Leka crossed for the match-winner in the dying minutes.
Eastern Eagles maintained their lead in the CRL Sidekick Chartered Accountancy Canterbury Cup Conference League, earned a 46-24 win over Greymouth Greyhounds on the back of a second-half hat-trick from Viliami Vehekite.
Linwood Keas went into outright second with a 38-16 win over Halswell Hornets, while Papanui Tigers made it a cleansweep for the away teams grabbed a vital win in their pursuit of a finals spot by beating Riccarton Knights 24-10.
In Round 10 of CRL Division One, competition-leading Northern Bulldogs overwhelmed Eastern Eagles 60-16 at Murhpy Park with Patella Tou and Caleb Blake grabbing second-half doubles.
The Bulldogs moved ahead of Linwood Keas, who went down 52-4 to Ashburton Barbarians
Shirley stayed in the finals mix thanks to a 72-10 rampage over Halswell Hornets at Macfarlane Park, which saw Mikaere Seagar score four tries and Xandah Orchard score 24 points.
Sunday’s Round 7 results turned the CRL Happy Hire Women’s Premiership on its head.
Hornby Panthers’ undefeated start to 2026 came to an end via a nail-biting 16-14 loss to Linwood Keas at Leslie Park.
The hosts scored the first two tries and were first to get over the line in the second half as they took a 14-6 lead. But the Keas clawed back via a try to Marilyn-Rose Kolio, before veteran halfback Cassie Siataga crossed for a late match-winning try.
Eastern Eagles moved into outright third with a momentous 38-20 win over two-time defending champs Sydenham Swans at Wainoni Park.
The Eagles led 20-4 at halftime and went further ahead thanks to Bayli Rapira’s try soon after the break. Theresa Macpherson’s second try effectively put the result beyond doubt, though the Swans did match the Eagles in the second half with three tries.
CRL WHITEHEAD PLUMBING & GAS MEN’S PREMIERSHIP – ROUND 11
Linwood Keas 34 (Xavier Talatonu 2, Domanyc Fidow-Kele, Julius Mumuta, Thomas Irving, Elisara Vaifale tries; Etelani Pouli 5 goals) defeated Halswell Hornets 6 (Hayden Thompson try; Tommy Moriarty goal) at Halswell Domain
Eastern Eagles 34 (Mita Maamaloa, Taniela Leka, Klayton Waikato, D’Angleo Tauti, Henare Kahukiwa, Isaiah Smith tries; Waikato 5 goals) defeated Greymouth Greyhounds 26 (Clem Swinburn, Brett Rees, Cooper McLean, Jeremiah Lesoa, Keith Black tries; Franklin Barry 3 goals) at Wingham Park
Riccarton Knights 22 (Tristan Griffith 2, Kyle Leka, Joel Leka tries; Matariri Halbert-Perre 2, Jimmy Wihongi goals) defeated Papanui Tigers 18 (Yahwei Te Rangi 2, Christian Fetu, Jakobi Tauwhare tries; Isaac Avery goal) at Crosbie Park
CRL SIDEKICK CHARTERED ACCOUNTANCY CANTERBURY CUP CONFERENCE LEAGUE – ROUND 11
Linwood Keas 38 defeated Halswell Hornets 16 at Halswell Domain
Eastern Eagles 46 defeated Greymouth Greyhounds 24 at Wingham Park
Papanui Tigers 24 defeated Riccarton Knights 10 at Crosbie Park
CRL DIVISION ONE – ROUND 10
Shirley Hawks 72 defeated Halswell Hornets 10 at Macfarlane Park
Northern Bulldogs 60 defeated Eastern Eagles 16 at Murphy Park
Ashburton Barbarians 52 defeated Linwood Keas 4 at Linwood Keas
CRL HAPPY HIRE WOMEN’S PREMIERSIHP – ROUND 7
Linwood Keas 16 defeated Hornby Panthers 14 at Linwood Park
Eastern Eagles 38 defeated Sydenham Swans 20 at Wainoni Park
Photo Credit: Abraham Atherton Photography
