CRL Round 12 Preview: Tigers and Hornets fight for finals survival
Just three rounds of the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas regular season remain – and this Saturday’s showdown between Papanui Tigers and Halswell Hornets shapes as do or die for both clubs in the finals race. Meanwhile, Linwood Keas and Eastern Eagles will all but seal first- and second-place Massetti Cup finishes with home wins in Round 12.
The sixth-placed Tigers host the fifth-placed Hornets at Papanui Domain as the club celebrates Old Boys Day. Halswell are two points adrift of the top four, while Papanui is another win further back.
The Tigers took Riccarton Knights to the wire in a 22-18 away loss in Round 11; the Hornets are coming off convincing back-to-back defeats to the Eagles and Keas.
Halswell was too strong at home when these sides met in mid-May, winning 30-4. The Hornets connection at Papanui – including former coach Ray Hubbard, and key players Antonio Lemalu and Ken Tofilau – adds extra spice this crucial encounter.
The Keas welcome Greymouth Greyhounds to Linwood Park and the Eagles are at home to Hornby Panthers. Both fixtures resulted in lopsided scorelines in favour of the visiting teams in Round 5: Linwood won 50-0 at Wingham Park, while Eastern romped to a 60-0 victory at Leslie Park.
The unbeaten Keas have a four-point break on the rest of the field and the second-placed Eagles are six points in front of the chasing pack.
But Greymouth and Hornby have both improved markedly as the season’s worn on. The Greyhounds followed up a three-match winning streak with a plucky 34-26 home loss to the Eagles in Round 11. The rebuilding Panthers have been competitive in three straight losses – scoring 24-plus points in each – following their sole win over the Tigers in Round 8.
All three CRL Whitehead Plumbing and Gas Men’s Premiership fixtures kick off at 2.45pm on Saturday, preceded by the corresponding CRL Sidekick Chartered Accountancy Canterbury Cup Conference League fixtures at 1pm.
The ladder-leading Eagles’ clash with the fourth-placed Panthers at Wainoni Park shapes as potentially the most competitive of the round, while the fifth-placed Tigers and sixth-placed Greyhounds have plenty to play for against top-three opposition.
In Round 11 of the CRL Division One competition, Linwood Keas are looking to stay in the hunt for top spot when they face Halswell Hornets at Halswell Domain (1pm).
The winner of the Eastern Eagles-Shirley Hawks clash at Wainoni Park (1pm) could finish the weekend in third, while the ladder-leading Northern Bulldogs host Ashburton Barbarians at Murphy Park (2.45pm).
After suffering their first loss of the season to Linwood Keas last Sunday, Hornby Panthers are striving to consolidate top spot in the CRL Happy Hire Women’s Premiership when they make the trip to Wainoni Park to take on Eastern Eagles in Round 8.
The Eagles are coming off a momentous win over two-time defending champs Sydenham Swans, while they will be out to avenge a 54-4 loss to the Panthers at Leslie Park in Round 3.
The Keas are searching for four straight wins in their home fixture against Shirley Hawks at Linwood Park.
Both CRL Happy Hire Women’s Premiership matches kick off at 1pm on Sunday.
