CRL 2024: ROUND 7 CLUB WRAP
Greymouth Greyhounds’ maiden CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership campaign netted a historic first victory in Round 7, while Riccarton Knights and Linwood Keas finished the weekend level atop the Massetti Cup standings.
The Greyhounds have been knocking on the door of a breakthrough win – and it came via a gripping 24-20 result against Eastern Eagles at Papanui Domain.
The teams were locked 10-all at halftime before the Eagles, who drew with the Keas in Round 6, clawed to a narrow lead in the second stanza. But a late try to Tayla Eason secured a momentous two competition points for the Greyhounds, the premiership’s road warriors, on their fifth consecutive trip over the Southern Alps.
The Knights marked their Club Day and second-rower Kolio Vailuu’s 200th match with a rollercoaster 28-22 win in a top-of-the-table clash with Halswell Hornets.
The visitors led 10-4 early at Crosbie Park, but the Knights piled on four unanswered tries – including a celebratory four-pointer to Vailuu and winger Rangitane Thompson’s second. A rapid-fire double to the Hornets’ stalwart centre Nicholas Evans midway through the second half set up a grandstand finish, but Sidney Tagicakibau’s second try gave the Knights some breathing space.
A blistering start laid the foundation for Linwood’s 32-22 win against Hornby Panthers at Linwood Park.
The perennial grand final opponents drew 26-all at Leslie Park in Round 2, but the Keas took control at home with four unanswered tries inside 20 minutes. The Panthers gamely closed the gap to 26-16 during the second half but Thomas Irving’s second try with 10 minutes left effectively wrapped up a vital result.
Image credit: Abraham Atherton Photography
Eastern Eagles and Hornby Panthers maintained their share of the lead in the CRL ISC Sport Canterbury Cup, carving out away wins over Papanui Tigers (26-20) and Linwood Keas (42-0), respectively.
A flying start and dominant finish saw third-placed Halswell Hornets power to a 48-22 win over Riccarton Knights.
Draws were the flavour of the afternoon in CRL Division One, with Burnham Chevaliers and Woolston Rams unable to be split in a 24-all stalemate at Coronation Park, and Papanui Tigers and Addington Magpies playing out a 30-all thriller at Papanui Domain.
Ashburton Barbarians sit alongside Northern Bulldogs at the top of the Div 1 ladder after a convincing 42-16 defeat of Shirley Hawks at Macfarlane Park.
Linwood Keas brought Hornby Panthers’ unbeaten start to the CRL Bartercard Women’s Premiership season to an end in Sunday’s Round 3 headliner, with Briana Hoeta’s try breaking a deadlock and giving the defending champs a 24-20 victory.
The Keas bounced back after conceding the first two tries to lead 20-8 early in the second half thanks to a Lialanie Muamua hat-trick, before the Panthers regained some momentum and levelled up with two converted tries.
Maya-Lin Mataele and Caitlin Sears dominated the scorecard as Sydenham Swans romped to a 58-0 win over Woolston Rams. Centre Mataele scored the first three tries of the match and finished the afternoon with five, while halfback Sears racked up 26 points from three tries and seven goals.
Burnham Chevaliers head the premiership table, however, coming off last week’s bye with a 14-4 victory against Eastern Eagles to stay undefeated.
CRL WHITEHEAD PLUMBING & GAS MEN’S PREMIERSHIP – MASSETTI CUP ROUND 7 RESULTS
Greymouth Greyhounds 24 (Brett Rees, Jesse Wihongi, Luke Negri, Aston Wilson, Tayla Eason tries; Wihongi 2 goals) defeated Eastern Eagles 20 (Mita Maamaloa, Peneli Peneli, Carlos Te Rupe Jones, Taniela Leka tries; Cyrus Timo-Latu, Leka goals) at Papanui Domain
Linwood Keas 32 (Thomas Irving 2, Uili Uili, Maoluma Sakaria, Sakiusa Lomanikaya, Elisara Vaifale tries; Daniel Hartley 4 goals) defeated Hornby Panthers 22 (Jesse Rogers, Jackson Stewart, Christian Fetu, Devaun Thompson tries; Tyrone Hill 3 goals) at Linwood Park
Riccarton Knights 28 (Rangitane Thompson 2, Sidney Tagicakibau 2, Tristan Griffith, Kolio Vailuu tries; Te-Morehu Reweti, Matariri Halbert-Pere goals) defeated Halswell Hornets 22 (Nicholas Evans 2, Cameron-Brody Greig, Kalyne Thomas-Dallas tries; Jacob Nyman 3 goals) at Crosbie Park
CRL ISC SPORTS CANTERBURY CUP – PREMIER RESERVES ROUND 7 RESULTS
Eastern Eagles 26 defeated Papanui Tigers 20 at Papanui Domain
Hornby Panthers 42 defeated Linwood Keas 0 at Linwood Park
Halswell Hornets 48 defeated Riccarton Knights 22 at Crosbie Park
CRL DIVISION ONE – ROUND 7 RESULTS
Ashburton Barbarians 42 defeated Shirley Hawks 16 at Macfarlane Park
Burnham Chevaliers 24 drew with Woolston Rams 24 at Coronation Park
Papanui Tigers 30 drew with Addington Magpies 30 at Papanui Domain
CRL BARTERCARD WOMEN’S PREMIERSHIP – ROUND 3 RESULTS
Linwood Keas 24 (Lialanie Muamua 3, Laura Bayfield, Briana Hoeta tries; Terauoriwa Harding 2 goals) defeated Hornby Panthers 20 (MooMooga Palu 2, Tiara Te Maari-Whiley, Anika Gates-Thorn tries; Kyra-Lee Westland 2 goals) at Leslie Park
Burnham Chevaliers 14 (Hilda William, Nikita Williams, Michaell Van Pelt tries; Nikita William goal) defeated Eastern Eagles 4 at Wainoni Park
Sydenham Swans 58 (Maya-Lin Mataele 5, Caitlin Sears 3, Salome Naikau, Gemma Attwood, Usipua Togiaso tries; Sears 7 goals) defeated Woolston Rams 0 at Woolston Park
