Promising Signs For Bulls In First-up Loss

Canterbury Bulls coach Andrew Auimatagi is taking plenty of positives out of his side’s first outing of the 2016 NZRL National Premiership, despite the 36-22 loss to Counties Manukau Stingrays representing a missed opportunity to take a big step towards qualifying for the final of the revamped competition. The Bulls led 16-12 early in the…

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Stingrays Outlast Bulls In Season Opener

Defending NZRL National Premiership champions Counties Manukau Stingrays opened their campaign with a 36-22 win over a gutsy Canterbury Bulls outfit in a rematch of the 2015 final at Mt Smart Stadium. The Bulls rebounded from a 12-point deficit to level the scores by halftime and grabbed the lead early in the second term, but…

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New Skipper Baxendale Primed For Bulls’ Campaign

Canterbury Bulls veteran James Baxendale has barely had time to catch his breath from Hornby’s grand final loss to Linwood before heading straight into another representative campaign. But the added honour of taking over as his province’s skipper has provided the 30-year-old with extra drive for the 2016 NZRL National Premiership. Baxendale debuted for Canterbury…

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Bulls Launch 2016 Premiership Campaign

Pride. Unity. Integrity. Grit. These are core values that will drive Canterbury Bulls’ 2016 season, as revealed by new coach Andrew Auimatagi at the team’s season launch on Wednesday night. The Bulls’ players and management, Canterbury Rugby League Board members, CRL staff, sponsors and supporters gathered at Hornby Working Men’s Club to officially kick off…

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Keas Dedicate Win To ‘The Godfather’

BY MAT KERMEEN – THE PRESS A Christchurch rugby league club have celebrated Father’s Day by honouring the man they called The Godfather. Less than two hours after Linwood Keas captain Agaese Fiso lifted the Pat Smith Memorial Trophy at AMI Stadium on Sunday, the Keas stood around Teni Tuli’s grave in an emotional tribute…

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CRL Grand Final Preview

Photo: Hornby Panthers’ Corey Lawrie (left), and Linwood Keas’ Aga Fiso (centre) and Paul Sauni pose with the Pat Smith Trophy at AMI Stadium.  KEAS PRIMED TO HEED LESSONS OF 2015 Last year’s grand final loss still stings for the Linwood Keas, but coach Andrew Auimatagi is confident his team will use that experience to…

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Keas Score Convincing Grand Final Win Over Panthers

A devastating first-half performance from the Linwood Keas laid the platform for a convincing 29-10 defeat of the Hornby Panthers in the 2016 CRL grand final at AMI Stadium. Linwood scored the first five tries of the match inside 25 minutes, and although Hornby clawed back bravely to score the only two tries thereafter, it…

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Canterbury Development Primed For All-or-nothing Challenge

Canterbury Development coach Te Hira Niha insists his team needs to put a truncated build-up behind them ahead of Saturday’s do-or-die clash with Auckland Development. In a revamped national competition format, the winner of the showdown at Mt Smart Stadium No.2 will progress into the second-tier NZRL Championship, along with the winners of the Northern,…

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Canterbury Bulls Preliminary training squad

Bowden, Shane Linwood Keas Butson, Michael Northern Bulldogs Fidow-Kele, Jiordan Linwood Keas Grace, Dene Hornby Panthers Leka, Kyle Celebration Lions Lima, Jonathan Celebration Lions Tafua, Roger Papanui Tigers Te Amo, Reuben Riccarton Knights Tou, Patella Aranui Eagles Arona, Tevin Hornby Panthers Bamford, Christopher Linwood Keas Baxendale, James Hornby Panthers Ka, Josh Papanui Tigers Kakoi, Alani…

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