CRL NEWS
Real the latest local league news
PANTHERS PRIMED TO REDRESS FINALS BALANCE AGAINST KEAS
Few clubs in the world of rugby league would be as familiar with one another as Hornby Panthers and Linwood Keas. The archrivals have met almost 30 times in the past eight seasons, while they are preparing to square off in the Pat Smith Trophy Challenge for the seventh time...
SWANS FIND IDEAL MIX AHEAD OF GRAND FINAL SHOWDOWN
Sydenham Swans are banking on their blend of experienced premiership-winning stalwarts and exuberant first-timers to regain the CRL Women’s Premiership from Linwood Keas on Happy Hire Grand Final Day at Ngā Puna Wai on Sunday. Champions in 2020-21, the Swans were run down late in a 22-20 thriller in the...
KEAS COMBAT LONG BREAK IN BID FOR BACK-TO-BACK WOMEN’S TITLES
By the time Linwood Keas run out onto Ngā Puna Wai for the CRL Women’s Premiership Grand Final to face Sydenham Swans, it will have been 42 days since their last game. A combination of weather cancellations, byes and defaults have conspired against the defending champions, who have also taken...
LINWOOD V HORNBY: THE RIVALRY CONTINUES
This Sunday’s CRL Men's Premiership Grand Final at Ngā Puna Wai will see another chapter of one of Canterbury Rugby League’s greatest club rivalries unfold. Linwood Keas and Hornby Panthers will go toe-to-toe for the Pat Smith Trophy for the seventh time in eight years – and the 10th time...
CANTERBURY BULLS SECURE SENZ AS NAMING RIGHTS SPONSOR
The SENZ Canterbury Bulls will compete in next month’s NZRL National Premiership following a partnership between Canterbury Rugby League and the national sports broadcaster to become the naming rights sponsor of the region’s flagship men’s representative team. “We are grateful and excited with the opportunity to partner with our national...
RED AND BLACK REPORT 2023: EDITION NO.12
The Red and Black Report shines a spotlight on Canterbury Rugby League products featuring in Australia’s elite and lower-grade competitions. NRL The Dolphins have faded out of NRL finals contention, but Aranui Eagles product Jamayne Isaako and Burnham Chevaliers junior Kodi Nikorima remain in great form. Isaako scored a scintillating...
CRL 2023: FINALS WEEK 2 WRAP
Linwood and Hornby will meet in the Pat Smith Trophy decider for the seventh time in eight years after the Panthers carved out a 26-12 victory in Saturday’s CRL Men’s Premiership preliminary final against Halswell Hornets. The Panthers, who bundled the Hornets out of the finals at the corresponding stage...
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...
CRL YOUTH WRAP & WEEKEND PREVIEW
YOUTH WRAP – AUGUST 7-9 The dominant teams in the CRL 16s and 14s Boys grades will contest next week’s youth night competition grand finals after all four carved out convincing semi-final victories at Ngā Puna Wai. In Monday’s 16s semis, unbeaten Linwood Keas defeated fourth-placed Celebration Lions 40-16, while...
NZ MEP FABRICATIONS SECONDARY SCHOOLS RUGBY LEAGUE COMPETITION KICKS OFF NEXT WEEK
Canterbury Rugby League is pleased to announce the details of the NZ MEP Fabrications Secondary Schools Rugby League Competitions, featuring 16 teams across three grades. Played on Mondays, the competitions get underway on August 14 and wrap up with finals on September 11. The 13-a-side Boys Championship and the 11-a-side...
CRL 2023: FINALS WEEK 1 WRAP
Playoffs experience came to the fore as Linwood Keas’ CRL Men’s Premiership and ISC Canterbury Cup sides defeated the minor premiers of the respective grades on a dramatic opening day of the 2023 finals series. The Keas snared the first spot in the Pat Smith Trophy Grand Final via a...
FLASHBACK 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...
