Friday Flashback
FLASHBACK FRIDAY: STUART LEADS WEST COAST TO JUBILEE UPSET OF CANTERBURY
In honour of this weekend’s South Island Men’s Championship opener between West Coast and the Trillo Metals Canterbury Bulls Men’s team at Wingham Park, Flashback Friday marks 35 years since a memorable encounter between the archrival provinces at the same venue. West Coast Rugby League celebrated its 75th jubilee in 1989, and the representative side…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: CANTERBURY WINS 1985 RUGBY LEAGUE CUP
With the countdown until the campaigns of Canterbury’s senior representatives teams down to one week, Flashback Friday celebrates the province’s memorable 1985 season, in which it clinched the Rugby League Cup. The code was enjoying a resurgence in New Zealand during the mid-1980s courtesy of the Graham Lowe-coached Kiwis’ drought-breaking Test wins over Australia in…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: PANTHERS HALT KEAS’ STREAK TO BOOK FIRST SPOT IN 2017 GF
Ahead of yet another high-stakes showdown between Linwood Keas and Hornby Panthers in Saturday’s CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership major semi-final, Flashback Friday relives a classic playoffs encounter from the relatively early stages of the heavyweights’ epic modern rivalry. The Panthers built their 2017 campaign on blistering attack, but it was their best…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: EASTERN SUBURBS INTERRUPTS PAPANUI DYNASTY
As Eastern Eagles attempt to catapult themselves into the CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership finals with a win at Halswell Domain tomorrow, Flashback Friday recalls one of the great grand final performances from Eastern Suburbs. Papanui won four straight grand finals from 1971-74 and would take out another three in succession from 1976-78.…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: MEL COOKE’S BRILLIANT TEST DEBUT
As Hornby Panthers prepare to farewell a pair of club legends on Saturday, long-serving premiership coach Jed Lawrie and 250-game great James Baxendale, this week’s Flashback Friday goes back 65 years to the Test debut of the player recognised by most as Hornby’s – and indeed Canterbury’s – greatest rugby league product, the mercurial loose…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: CANTERBURY TROUNCE AUCKLAND IN 1993 CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
It’s that time of the year again, when our Flashback Friday segment celebrates Canterbury’s greatest-ever victory – the unforgettable thrashing of Auckland at the Addington Showgrounds in the 1993 provincial championship final. This time around we’ve got a special addition, courtesy of the recent uploading of the match by Point of Difference Rugby League Podcast.…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: KIWIS CLINCH WORLD CUP FINAL BERTH IN SHOWGROUNDS MUD
Following last night’s world premiere of Sharko, the documentary about Mark Graham made by his son Luke, in Christchurch at the Doc Edge Festival last night, Flashback Friday relives the New Zealand Rugby League Player of the Century’s last match in the city. It what ranks as one of the most dramatic and important Test matches…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: CANTERBURY UPSETS GREAT BRITAIN AT THE SHOWGROUNDS
Flashback Friday relives Canterbury’s historic defeat of Great Britain at the Addington Showgrounds in one of the great tour match boilovers, which occurred 24 years ago this month. Coming off a trying rebuilding season in ’89, the Frank Endacott-coached Canterbury side went into their match against Great Britain, a nation the red-and-blacks had not beaten…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: KNIGHTS SMASH RECORDS IN MAIDEN GRAND FINAL WIN
As Linwood Keas and Riccarton Knights prepare for their second CRL Whitehead Plumbing & Gas Men’s Premiership showdown of 2024, Flashback Friday relives the clubs’ 2002 grand final showdown – where one of Canterbury’s favourite sons set pointscoring records that may never be matched. Originally a premier club in 1931, Riccarton was an intermittent participant…
Read MoreFLASBHBACK FRIDAY: CANTERBURY REF IN THE MIDDLE FOR FIRST ORIGIN DECIDER
As the rugby league world diverts its attention to next Wednesday’s State of Origin series opener in Sydney, Flashback Friday recalls the prominent role of a Cantabrian in the first-ever decider 42 years ago. The runaway success of Origin’s one-off matches in 1980 and ’81 – largely due to Queensland’s stunning upset wins in both…
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