Crusaders squad announced for first pre-season hit out

29 Jan 2026

The Crusaders have named a 37-man squad to face the Highlanders in the first pre-season game of the 2026 season.

The team is set for an afternoon of footy in the regions as they venture south to Fraser Park in Timaru on Friday 30th January.

The squad features a mixture of experience and some fresh faces who are joining the Crusaders squad for the first time for the match that will see a 4x 20 min quarter format.

Ethan Blackadder will captain the first half XV that will see midfielder Toby Bell feature alongside the steady head of Braydon Ennor. Fans will be excited to see Crusaders Academy product James White start in the fullback position after a stellar NPC season with Canterbury.

Finlay Brewis will make his long-awaited return from injury to start at loosehead alongside Manumaua Letiu and Seb Calder in the front row.

Antonio Shalfoon and Tahlor Cahill will be paired at lock while exciting newcomer Oli Mathis and Johnny Lee will bring power to the forward pack.

Kyle Preston and Taha Kemara will start in the 9/10 combo while Wider Training Group member Kurtis MacDonald will be on the left wing, with support from Chay Fihaki on the right.

Rivez Reihana will start the second half in the number 10 jersey and will take over the captaincy from Blackadder for the second half.

The front row will feature two new faces to the red and black: Wider Training Group members Jack Sexton and Tomasi Maka, alongside Kershawl Sykes-Martin.

Xavier Treacy will be paired with Jamie Hannah at lock, while loose forwards Dom Gardiner, Corey Kellow and Xavier Saifoloi will complete the forward pack.

Louie Chapman, who is set for an exciting season after earning his first full contract will start at halfback, while dynamic back Cooper Grant will start at centre alongside Dallas McLeod.

Explosive playmaker Maloni Kunawave will steady the ship at fullback while new faces Nic Sauira and Jae Broomfield will bring some flair on the wings.

Kick-off is at 3.30pm.

The match is officially sold out, but there is a livestream available on our YouTube channel.

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	First half	Second half
1	Finlay Brewis	Jack Sexton
2	Manumaua Letiu	Tomasi Maka
3	Seb Calder	Kershawl Sykes-Martin
4	Antonio Shalfoon	Jamie Hannah
5	Tahlor Cahill	Xavier Treacy
6	Ethan Blackadder (C)	Dom Gardiner
7	Oli Mathis	Corey Kellow
8	Johnny Lee	Xavier Saifoloi
9	Kyle Preston	Louie Chapman
10	Taha Kemara	Rivez Reihana (C)
11	Kurtis MacDonald	Nic Sauira
12	Toby Bell	Cooper Grant
13	Braydon Ennor	Dallas McLeod
14	Chay Fihaki	Jae Broomfield
15	James White	Maloni Kunawave