CRL Round 3 Wrap: Greyhounds off the mark as Eagles and Keas take flight
Greymouth Greyhounds held on for their first win of 2026, while Eastern Eagles and Linwood Keas made it two in a row in Round 3 of the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership on Saturday.
Coming off the bye, the Greyhounds had their first home game of the season and staved off a monumental second-half comeback from Hornby Panthers to prevail 20-18.
The Greyhounds powered to a 20-0 halftime lead at Wingham Park thanks to four unanswered tries to Navare Jacobs, Jordan Duggan, Brett Rees and Payton Guthrie. But the hosts’ completion rate fell away and the Panthers rallied after the break as James Kerapa, Blake English and Zane Paterson dotted down.
Greymouth successfully clung to a two-point lead for the latter stages, leaving gallant Hornby with an 0-3 record.
Eastern Eagles made a second successive statement, following up a home win over Riccarton Knights with a 28-20 win over previously unbeaten Halswell Hornets at Halswell Domain.
The Hornets led 16-14 at the end of a seesawing first half. Henare Kahukiwa converted his own try to put the Eagles 20-16 in front early in the second half, but Nick Evans’ second try of the afternoon levelled things up.
A draw beckoned, until Klayton Waikato nudged the Eagles ahead with a 73rd-minute penalty goal, before Harold Kolose crossed for a late try to seal it.
A second-half blitz powered the Keas to a 36-12 victory over the Knights in the grand final rematch at Crosbie Park.
Linwood raced to an 18-0 lead with four tries in the first 21 minutes, including an early brace to winger Alofa Faaiva. But Riccarton fought back bravely to cut the halftime deficit to just six points through tries to Tama-Te-Rangi Whatuira and Matt Hollis.
The Keas took control again in the second stanza, however, posting another four unanswered tries. Faaiva completed a hat-trick, while second-rower Sakiuasa Lomanikaya bagged his second. The defending champs, who had the Round 1 bye, are the only undefeated team remaining in the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership.
Results were more lopsided at CRL Premier Reserves level, with Halswell Hornets dominating the grand final rematch against Eastern Eagles 60-0 and Linwood Keas putting Riccarton Knights to the sword 62-0.
In CRL Division One, Northern Bulldogs took the outright competition lead as the only unbeaten team courtesy of a 32-10 win over Linwood Keas at Linwood Park. Jackson Tainui and Rawiri Mansfield both notched doubles for the Bulldogs.
Meanwhile, Eastern Eagles overturned a halftime deficit to beat Halswell Hornets 36-26 and Shirley Hawks got off the mark for 2026 with in a 40-34 thriller over Ashburton Barbarians at Macfarlane Park.
CRL WHITEHEAD PLUMBING & GAS MEN’S PREMIERSHIP – ROUND 3
Eastern Eagles 28 (Amby Palamo Pulega, Devaun Thompson, D’Angelo Tauti, Henare Kahukiwa, Harold Kolose tries; Klayton Waikato 2, Kahukiwa 2 goals) defeated Halswell Hornets 20 (Nick Evans 2, Iraia De Goldi, Jordan Harmer tries; Tommy Moriarty 2 goals) at Halswell Domain
Linwood Keas 36 (Alofa Faaiva 3, Sakiusa Lomanikaya 2, Montgomery Tafili, Thomas Irving, Elisara Vaifale tries; Thomas Ruwhiu, Malyche Tafili goals) defeated Riccarton Knights 12 (Tama-Te-Rangi Whatuira, Matt Hollis tries; Jimmy Wihongi 2 goals) at Crosbie Park
Greymouth Greyhounds 20 (Navare Jacobs, Jordan Duggan, Brett Rees, Payton Guthrie tries; Mac Gibson 2 goals) defeated Hornby Panthers 18 (James Kerapa, Blake English, Zane Paterson tries; Jacob Hayward 3 goals) at Wingham Park
CRL PREMIER RESERVES – ROUND 3
Halswell Hornets 60 defeated Eastern Eagles 0 at Halswell Domain
Linwood Keas 62 defeated Riccarton Knights 0 at Crosbie Park
CRL DIVISION ONE – ROUND 3
Northern Bulldogs 32 defeated Linwood Keas 10 at Linwood Park
Eastern Eagles 36 defeated Halswell Hornets 26 at Halswell Domain
Shirley Hawks 40 defeated Ashburton Barbarians 34 at Macfarlane Park
Photo credit: Abraham Atherton Photography
