GREYHOUNDS’ FIRST CRL PREMIERSHIP FORAY LAYS SOLID FOUNDATION
After the tightest and most dramatic CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership in recent memory, capped by an epic grand final between old rivals Hornby Panthers and Halswell Hornets, the historic campaign of the team that ran last ranked among the most memorable of the 2024 season.
Promoted to Canterbury Rugby League’s top-tier competition for the first time, Greymouth Greyhounds exceeded the expectations of most by winning two games and giving each of their five rivals a run for their money at one time or another.
“Some people probably though we would struggle – and maybe they had the right to say that, if they’d been around the league a long time and know that level,” Greyhounds coach Kurt Dixon says.
“We lost a game (to Linwood) 40-nil, but we also won 40-nil (against Riccarton). But we’re definitely happy with how we went.
“It was a positive first year for us, with really only two players that have played A-grade footy in Regan [Stanton] and Jordy [Campbell] – Bs (Canterbury Cup) is Bs, but it’s not the same.
“You make mistakes in your own 30 [in the premiership] and you get punished.”
The Greyhounds came agonisingly close to grabbing a maiden win in their first away assignment in Round 2, pipped by a last-minute Eastern Eagles try. But they turned the tables on the Eagles five weeks later at their Christchurch ‘home’, Papanui Domain, with a breakthrough 24-20 result.
The West Coasters also came within 10 points of eventual premier Hornby twice and held grand finalist Halswell to a 14-10 scoreline late in the season.
“There were some real good patches, and the travel’s not easy but they all loved it and gave 110 percent until the bitter end,” Dixon praises.
“A few times after matches, the same thing came out in the [opposing team’s] speeches: the Coasters never give up, no matter what the score is, we’ll dig in.
“Definitely fun times, and it’s only going to be good for our guys’ footy careers moving forward, whether they stay here or move away – they’ve played at that level.
“And a couple of the young ones have excelled and they’ll grow from it. Every year they’ll get more experienced, older and tougher – you’re only really hitting your straps in your late-20s and some of them are only teenagers.”
It was impossible to go past the stunning 40-0 shutout of the playoffs-bound Knights in Round 10 in Greymouth as the season’s highlight, however.
The Greyhounds evoked memories of famous days of yesteryear at Wingham Park – when West Coast clubs provided a hostile welcome for Canterbury teams in Thacker Shield showdowns – by running in eight tries and keeping their own goal-line intact.
“That week we really wanted to prove a point. We had been playing some good footy, it was our second game at home and it was time to put on a good display – but I wouldn’t have picked that score,” Dixon admits.
“They had a good side, we made some mistakes in the first half but defended them well, and we got some ball and had a crack.
“When you’ve got the likes of JC (Jordan Campbell) with his work-rate on attack and defence, he leads from the front. It was a good win. We started again at halftime, kept defending well and then sent the message out to try and keep them to nil, which was bigger than the 40 for me.”
The Greyhounds enjoyed a remarkable record in terms of posting early points (including racing out to 10-0 against Linwood at Ngā Puna Wai before going down 52-14), but a size deficit between themselves and every other team regularly proved crucial.
The exuberance of youth was also a double-edged sword at pivotal stages of matches.
“Size doesn’t always matter, but you do need those big boys around the middle,” Dixon says.
“Also a lack of experience with taking the right options to close out a game. A couple of times it probably came down to us coaches, too.
“But a lot of it comes down to the bigger bodies and the fatigue at the back end, but that’s something we can work on. We can take it on-board and train for those different aspects.”
Dixon is already looking ahead to season 2025 and a move up the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership ladder.
While the three Wingham Park-hosted games were tremendous occasions, and Papanui Domain proved something of a home away from home staging double-headers with Canterbury Cup affiliates Papanui Tigers, he’s hoping to see more matches in Greymouth next season.
“If we can get five home games next year – each club comes over once – that will keep us happy.
“That just helps our players out, and it [makes for a fair competition], because if Riccarton had missed the finals and Eastern got in, Riccarton would have been thinking, ‘we went to Greymouth and they didn’t’. It’s a fair comp if everyone has to travel.”
The reception from the West Coast Rugby League community was another significant upshot of the watershed elevation of the Greyhounds to the CRL’s premier grade.
Support was enthusiastic when the team was making the trek over the Southern Alps and raucous when they got to play in Greymouth, while the Greyhounds’ exploits have been a boost to a resurgent junior rugby league scene in the region.
“Social media’s been a great thing, we’ve got a great following and one of the mothers keeps the scores updated, there’s people overseas following us,” Dixon explains.
“We got some good crowds, good support and it’s good for the kids when the Greyhounds play at home, because there might be a curtain-raiser, all the mum and dads bring the kids out to Wingham Park.
“Win or lose, they’re just happy to get some footy. And even the Christchurch-based Coasters will come all the way over to catch up with their mates, or there’s ex-players back home from overseas on their holidays.
“The junior grades are seeing good numbers, the 18s won the South Island tournament minus Canterbury, some of the 16s in the next year or two will be in the Greyhounds.”
Dixon also lauded WCRL chair Brad Tacon, Greyhounds co-coach Phil Campbell, manager Wayne ‘Q-man’ Keown, trainers Gene Wilson and Dean McGrath, Dave Lancaster as strapper and masseuse, physio Marion Hardwick, and the families of all involved as massive contributors to a successful season.
Before planning and pre-season training starts for their sophomore CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership starts, Dixon and the bulk of his Greyhounds staff and players will reassemble for West Coast’s campaign in the South Island Men’s Championship.
As fate would have it, West Coast’s first match is at Wingham Park against the Canterbury Bulls on September 7, with Dixon hoping cohesion and continuity garnered from the club season can counter the combined cream of the Panthers, Hornets, Keas, Knights and Eagles.
However the provincial results unfold for West Coast, there’s little question 2024 will be remembered as a pivotal year for the code in one of rugby league’s traditional heartland courtesy of the Greyhounds’ trailblazing efforts.
Photo credit: Russie Photos
