Friday Flashback
FLASHBACK FRIDAY: PANTHERS EDGE HORNETS IN EXTRA-TIME GF THRILLER
As westside neighbours Hornby Panthers and Halswell Hornets prepare for their do-or-die preliminary final showdown at Leslie Park, Flashback Friday revisits the last of the clubs’ 11 Pat Smith Trophy Challenge encounters. The Panthers and Hornets had previously squared off in the 1984-87, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001 and 2012 grand finals, with a Corey…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: BROWN SENDS WARRIORS INTO GRAND FINAL
As the finals series in CRL’s 2023 senior competitions get underway this weekend, Flashback Friday relives arguably the greatest finals moment in the Australian premiership involving a Canterbury product. Lewis Brown, a grand final winner with Riccarton Knights and a Canterbury Bulls rep as a teenager, played 198 NRL games for the Warriors, Penrith and…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: NOONAN CREATES GRAND FINAL HISTORY WITH CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN
With Canterbury Rugby League and NRL’s Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs entering into a pathways partnership, announced last week, Flashback Friday looks back at the first notable link between our region and the Sydney-based club. Rugged Linwood prop/second-rower Bill Noonan played three Tests for New Zealand in the late-1960s, but arguably carved out a greater legacy as a…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: KIWIS COMPLETE LIONS WHITEWASH AT LANCASTER PARK
As Queensland prepares to complete a rare State of Origin cleansweep over New South Wales in Sydney next Wednesday, Flashback Friday revisits the 1996 Test series between New Zealand and Great Britain, where the Frank Endacott-coached Kiwis sealed a 3-0 whitewash of the tourists in Christchurch. Taking over the national reins in 1994, successful Canterbury…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: BULLDOGS OUTLAST KEAS FOR MAIDEN TITLE
It’s been a tough 2023 Massetti Cup campaign so far for Northern Bulldogs, but they’ll be up for the daunting battle against defending champs Linwood Keas at Ngā Puna Wai in Saturday’s Magic Round. Flashback Friday revisits the blue-and-whites’ historic 2007 premiership triumph, when these clubs met in the Pat Smith Trophy grand final. Kaiapoi…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: ‘KIWI ORIGIN’ 1996
The concept of a ‘Kiwi Origin’ series has regularly been floated over the years, with prominent figures confident New Zealand could replicate a competitive version of Australia’s annual State of Origin extravaganza. North Island versus South Island fixtures were a regular part of the New Zealand Rugby League calendar from 1925-65, before being replaced by…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: HORNBY WINS CRL’S FIRST GRAND FINAL
As Hornby Panthers prepare to celebrate their 2023 Club Day on Saturday – and with their sights firmly set on the Pat Smith Trophy amid a tight Massetti Cup race – Flashback Friday relives the club’s victory in the inaugural Canterbury Rugby League men’s premiership grand final. With Linwood at the forefront of lobbying, the…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: LION RED CUP 1994-96
This week’s Flashback Friday revisits a brief, but memorable, pocket of Canterbury Rugby League history – the three-season existence of the Canterbury Country Cardinals and the Christchurch City Shiners in the Lion Red Cup premiership, which kicked off 29 years ago. The ambitious domestic 22-round, 12-team competition – also drawing clubs from Auckland and surrounding…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: CANTERBURY V AUSTRALIA 1965
As the rugby league world turns its focus towards next week’s State of Origin series opener, Flashback Friday revisits the only time Canterbury took on the cream of New South Wales and Queensland – its sole match against Australia, when the provincial side hosted the star-studded 1965 tourists in Christchurch. Previous Australian sides to tour…
Read MoreFLASHBACK FRIDAY: KNIGHTS SMASH RECORDS IN MAIDEN GRAND FINAL WIN
As Riccarton Knights gear up for the Friday night spotlight at Ngā Puna Wai courtesy of their Massetti Cup showdown with Hornby Panthers, Flashback Friday recalls the record-shattering 2002 grand final performance that delivered the club its first premiership. Originally a premier club in 1931, Riccarton was an intermittent participant in Canterbury Rugby League’s top…
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