Expended Resources
Wellington Phoenix & Auckland FC squad building, NRLWahine Encyclopedia, White Ferns, National League football, Breakers preseason & more
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Early Guide To The 2024/25 Women's Domestic Cricket Summer (Cricket)
New Zealand vs Afghanistan Test Preview (Cricket)
Exploring Another New Low For The New Zealand Women's Cricket Team In ODI Series Sweep vs England (Cricket)
Exploring Another New Low For The New Zealand Women's Cricket Team In T20 Series Sweep vs England (Cricket)
NRLWahine Spotlight: The Incredible Rise Of Lavinia Tauhalaliku (Rugby League)
NRLWahine Spotlight: Tafito Lafaele The Broncos Big Bopper (Rugby League)
NRLWahine Spotlight: Stacey Waaka & The Black Fern Broncos (Rugby League)
NRLWahine Spotlight: Mackenzie Wiki The Canberra Raiders Powerhouse (Rugby League)
NRLWahine Spotlight: The Continued Excellence Of Georgia Hale (Rugby League)
NRLWahine Spotlight: Annessa Biddle - The Scorpion From Otara (Rugby League)
Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Sebastian Su'a Debut For Newcastle Knights (Rugby League)
Recapping The Tall Ferns at the FIBA World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournaments (Basketball)
A New Australian NBL Season Looms And Once Again It’s Chock-Full Of Kiwi Players (Basketball)
The All Whites in North America: Squad Yarns & Preview (Football)
Previewing Aotearoa at the 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup (Football)
Scotty’s Word
Busy morning churning out the kiwi sports stuff so fewer words and more info for the newsletter today...
White Ferns in T20 World Cups…
2014: 4-1 (no semi-finals)
2016: 4-1 (semi-finals)
2018: 2-2 (no semi)
2020: 2-2 (no semi)
2023: 2-2 (no semi)
2018
Wins: Pakistan, Ireland
Losses: India, Australia
2020
Wins: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
Losses: India, Australia
2023
Wins: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Losses: Australia, South Africa
Kiwi County Tour update…
Logan van Beek: 28 runs @ 28avg/44sr | 6w @ 18avg/3.8rpo
Michael Rae: 56 runs @ 9.3avg/77sr | 12w @ 29.9avg/3.9rpo
Fraser Sheat: 62 runs @ 20.6avg/92sr | 2w @ 93avg/3.3rpo
Taine Tuaupiki with NZ Warriors…
NSW Cup
2023: 14 games @ 64% wins, 6 tries, 9 try assists, 5 linebreaks, 170m/game, 73% tackling, 8.3 kick metres/game
2024: 11 games @ 64% wins, 5 tries, 10 try assists, 7 linebreaks, 162m/game, 72.5% tackling, 103.7 kick metres/game
NRL
2023: 5 games @ 60% wins, 1 try assist, 132m/game, 66.6% tackling, 3.9 kick metres/game
2024: 6 games @ 50% wins, 1 try, 3 try assists, 2 linebreaks, 152m/game, 76% tackling, 1.3 kick metres/game
NZ Warriors had a loss vs Newtown in NSW Cup and a loss vs Sharks in Jersey Flegg. NSW Cup Warriors finished fourth and will their first finals game vs Panthers in Sydney on Saturday. NZ Warriors aren't alone in dipping out of the NRL finals mix after last season...
Teams who made 2023 finals and currently outside finals in 2024: Broncos, Warriors, Knights, Raiders.
Replaced by: Bulldogs, Cowboys, Sea Eagles, Dolphins.
Wests Tigers are last in three of the four grades listed below, second to last in NSWWP...
NRL: 17th (6-17)
NRLW: 10th (0-6)
NSW Cup: 13th (6-18)
NSW Women's Premiership: 11th (2-1-6)
NRLWahine Encyclopedia for the top four…
1st - Sharks
Annessa Biddle (Otara), Brooke Anderson (Australia)
2nd - Broncos
Stacey Waaka (Ruatoki), Mele Hufanga (Mangere), Gayle Broughton (Hawera), Brianna Clark (Australia), Tafito Lafaele (Otara), Annetta Nu'uausala (Otara) Lavinia Gould (Whakatane)
3rd - Knights
Tenika Willison (Taharoa/Waikato), Shanice Parker (Australia), Abigail Roache (Howick/Richmond), Laishon Albert-Jones (Pt Chevalier), Nita Maynard (Paikea/Gisborne), Isabella Waterman (Sydenham), Grace Kukutai (Lynfield College)
4th - Roosters
Mya Hill-Moana (Taniwharau), Amber Hall (Richmond), Otesa Pule (Otara/Australia), Tiana Davison (Cliffton/Waitara)
NRLWahine stat leaders…
Tries: Mele Hufanga (tied 1st), Madison Bartlett (tied 3rd)
Linebreaks: Mele Hufanga (1st), Mackenzie Wiki (tied 6th)
Tackle Breaks: Mele Hufanga (2nd), Mackenzie Wiki (10th)
Post Contact Metres: Annessa Biddle (1st), Alexis Tauaneai (3rd)
Try Assists: Raecene McGregor (tied 6th)
Offloads: Alexis Tauaneai (1st), Amber Hall (4th)
Tackles: Georgia Hale (1st), Alexis Tauaneai (2nd), Brooke Anderson (9th)
Run Metres: Annessa Biddle (4th)
Kick Metres: Raecene McGregor (5th)
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
It’s that happy time of year again... the National League football season is only weeks away. First games kick off on the weekend of September 28 and we can probably expect confirmed fixtures within a week or so given that all twenty qualifiers are now sorted after most of the regional leagues wrapped up over the weekend. More on the specifics later but first here are the clubs that’ll be tackling the 2024 National League...
Men’s National League
Northern League: Auckland City (C), Western Springs, Eastern Suburbs, Birkenhead United
Central League: Wellington Olympic (C), Western Suburbs, Napier City Rovers, Wellington Phoenix Reserves
Southern League: Cashmere Technical (C), Coastal Spirit
Women’s National League
NRFL Prem: Auckland United (C), West Coast Rangers, Western Springs, Eastern Suburbs
Central League: Wellington United, Waterside Karori, Wellington Phoenix Reserves
Federations: Central, Canterbury United, Southern United
The two cup finals are on this upcoming week, with Auckland City vs Wellington Olympic in the Chatham Cup and Auckland United vs Western Springs in the Kate Shepard Cup. All four of those teams are amongst the clubs listed above, in fact Western Springs, the defending KSC champs, are the only non-league winner of the quartet. Auckland Utd just beat them 1-0 in the last round of the NRFL Prem with both teams seeming to pick pretty strong line-ups so neither can claim they’re unprepared. And of course the Chatham Cup final is a rematch between last year’s National League finalists. Both Auckland City men and Auckland United women won the Oceania Champions League this year, meaning they’ll be playing for trebles with the National League still to follow.
Monday morning served up good news for both Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix in the transfer market. AFC have apparently signed Nando Pijnaker. The All Whites defender has been sold for a transfer fee by his Irish club Sligo Rovers, who were careful not to state any destinations but other Irish media weren’t so worried about name-dropping Auckland FC. The Sligo manager mentioned in his farewells how Pijnaker has had transfer interest during every window he’s been with the club so it’s curious that the bid that gets accepted is for him to end up in the A-League... although the fact that his contract had less than three months left to run probably had something to do with that. As does his impending reuniting with Max Mata because those two are inseparable:
Nando Pijnaker and Max Mata were in the GC Zurich academy (Switzerland) together
They were part of the same U20 World Cup squad
They were teammates again at Sligo Rovers in Ireland
They’re soon to be reunited at Auckland FC
And they even made their All Whites debuts together (against Lithuania in 2019)
They also both played for Eastern Suburbs although in that case they didn’t overlap. And Pijnaker was linked with Shrewsbury Town at the same time as Mata, only for them to break up the dynamic duo which is probably the karmic reason why Mata’s time there didn’t really work out. At least, not yet... because he’s still technically on loan from the Shrews as it stands.
Pijnaker was having an outstanding season in Ireland and this was after he’d already made it clear with his performances that he was ready for the next step in his career. The A-League probably is a step up from where he’d been (the best players from the League of Ireland tend to move to League One/Championship clubs in England), though it’s clearly not the leap that folks would have had in mind for him at 25yo. Still, as long as the environment suits then he has the ability to be one of the better centre-backs in the competition. The proximity could also aid his All Whites status at a time when Tyler Bindon and Finn Surman are moving quickly up the ranks and there’s the large potential of a 2026 World Cup on the horizon.
Meanwhile, the Wellington Phoenix have announced the signing of Japanese forward Hideki Ishige on a two-year contract. Another versatile attacking option... further enhancing the trend of technical, creative signings that we’re seeing with Marco Rojas, Paolo Retre, Kazuki Nagasawa, and even Luke Brooke-Smith also fitting that mould to some extent. It’s obvious that Chiefy wants to adapt his team to be more proactive with the ball. This is all part of that journey.
Interesting note about Ishige is that he played against New Zealand at the U17 World Cup in 2011, scoring twice and assisting another in a 6-0 round of sixteen victory for Japan. Takumi Minamino also scored in that game. The starting eleven for Aaron McFarland’s New Zealand team went like this:
Scott Basalaj, Stephen Carmichael, Reece Lambert, Luke Adams (c), Jordan Vale, Kip Colvey, Rhys Jordan, Tim Payne, Jesse Edge, Cameron Martin, Bill Tuiloma
Jeez, some names in that lot. They also had a bit of Cameron Howieson off the bench. Some very good domestic players from that group and a few solid professionals but without the professional hooks that later youth squads would provide. Tim Payne, Bill Tuiloma, Kip Colvey, Luke Adams, Cam Howieson, and Harshae Raniga went on to play for the All Whites from that group but only Payne and Tuiloma ever really became regulars. Payne now gets to be a teammate of Ishige’s these 13 years later.
Ishige himself never represented Japan beyond the U17s, though Giancarlo Italiano reckons he had some untimely injuries that halted his progress. He’d spent his whole career in Japan up until this move, including 153 appearances in the J1-League (with 9 goals and 17 assists). They’re giving him the #9 jersey but he doesn’t seem like a straight Zawada replacement. Fascinated to see what Italiano’s got cooking on the training paddock. Here, have an updated peek at the two NZ A-League squads as things stand...
Wellington Phoenix ALM Squad for 2024-25
GK – Josh Oluwayemi (I), Alby Kelly-Heald (S), Dublin Boon (S)
DEF – Scott Wootton (I), Tim Payne, Sam Sutton, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Isaac Hughes, Matt Sheridan (S)
MID – Alex Rufer, Paolo Retre, Kazuki Nagasawa (I), Mohamed Al-Taay, Fin Conchie
FWD – Kosta Barbarouses, Marco Rojas, David Ball (I), Hideki Ishige (I), Oskar van Hattum, Luke Supyk, Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues (I), Luke Brooke-Smith (I)
Auckland FC ALM Squad for 2024-25
GK – Alex Paulsen, Michael Woud, Joseph Knowles (S)
DEF – Hiroki Sakai (I), Dan Hall, Nando Pijnaker, Scott Galloway, Callan Elliot, Tommy Smith, Francis de Vries
MID – Jake Brimmer, Cameron Howieson, Finn McKenlay (S), Adama Coulibaly (S), Oliver Middleton (S)
FWD – Max Mata, Jesse Randall, Joe Champness, Logan Rogerson, Liam Gillion (S), Luis Toomey (S), Jonty Bidois (S)
AFC haven’t confirmed that Knowles was a scholarship signing but he surely must be, not only because he’s third choice but also pretty sure there are some rules about having a goalie amongst the scholars. Likewise but opposite, I’m anticipating Alby Kelly-Heald being upgraded to a proper contract for the Nix at some stage now that Dublin Boon’s got a scholar’s deal. The Phoenix are up to 22 players including scholars with a full five-man slate of imports signed up.
Auckland are also at 22 players assuming the Pijnaker deal goes through as expected, though six/seven of them are scholars and four more import spots remain open. Got to think that’s probably it for AFC’s local signings. As for the imports, a midfielder and a striker look like the most pertinent areas to address (the current rumour is Chilean midfielder Felipe Gallegos will be next). We’ll see how much further they go with it, because they’ve spent a fee on Pijnaker and had to nurse a rule change to get Paulsen on board so they’ve expended resources on locals that would normally be saved for imports. Maybe they won’t use all five spaces?
Now, this is obviously just guess work... but based on some preseason hints and inklings, here are a couple of estimated starting line-ups to compare and contrast (AFC have been playing this 4-2-3-1 shape pretty consistently so far, though we don’t really know how the Nix will line-up yet)...
So much football stuff happening at the moment, and that’s not about to slow down, but I will just point out that the Breakers played two NBL preseason games against Sydney Kings over the weekend. The first was live-streamed, the second was behind closed doors. They lost by 44 points in the first game and by 35 points in the second game. They were without import Matt Mooney for the first but he played the second, meaning they were pretty much at full-strength and still got capitulated.
It’s only preseason and results don’t matter. They’ve got a new coach who is still no doubt settling in. But this seems to add more fuel to the fire of something which I’ve said a few times with this team and how they’ve built their roster, something that’s been buried behind the focus on their lack of kiwi players. Forget about the nationalities for a second and just look at the roster they’ve built... and it’s full of players with unfulfilled potential, questionable motivation, and exploitable weaknesses.
Mojave King is at a crossroads in his career having failed to capitalise on being drafted into the NBA. At 22yo he’s getting to the age where it needs to be production and not just potential. Jonah Bolden literally retired from the game a few years ago, not sure where his mindframe will be at. Mitch McCarron and Sean Bairstow have sketchy jump shots. Karim Lopez doesn’t even turn 18 until next April. Two of their imports are new to the league. They’re one Parker Jackson-Cartright injury away from being adrift without a paddle and there’s a rookie head coach from a foreign background expected to figure all this out. As smart as Petteri Koponen may be, that is a hell of a task that he’s got on his hands. He might well make it work but from this vantage point it’s a tricky thing to envision. Best of luck to the bro.
Domestic Football Roundup
We’re starting today in the Women’s South Island League because Cashmere Technical went down to Dunners and beat Dunedin City Royals 1-0 thanks to an 18th minute Anna McPhie goal. First league defeat of the year for DCR... and it’ll probably cost them the title because Cashmere Tech only need to win against last-placed Nelson Suburbs in a catch-up game to take the trophy on goal difference. Huge win from Tech. Might be some room for revenge later in the year with these two squads likely to make up the bulk of the Canterbury United and Southern United rosters. Elsewhere, Coastal Spirit won 3-0 against Roslyn Wakari with Britney-Lee Nicholson getting a brace, while Otago University won 5-0 against Nelson Suburbs with Alisa Tuatagaloa scoring twice. Spirit finish third and Otago Uni are fourth.
The Women’s Central League will go down to the last day after Wellington United did what they needed to with a 6-1 win over Taradale. Natalie Olson scored three. They lead Waterside Karori by one point with the two teams meeting again on Saturday arvo (WKAFC’s home game) to decide the championship. Karori won it last year in similar circumstances. Also had Petone winning 3-0 against Victoria University to nail down another third-place finish. Taradale were fourth. Palmerston North Marist ended their campaign with a win too, emerging with a 3-1 result against Seatoun who therefore lost all 14 matches of their this year.
The NRFL Premier Division was already sorted except for fourth place. Fencibles needed to win and they needed Eastern Suburbs not to win. Neither of those things happened. Shion Hwang’s very early goal gave Suburbs a 1-0 victory against second-placed West Coast Rangers (looks like WCR might have blooded a few youngsters for that match) while Fencies themselves went down 2-1 away to Hibiscus Coast. Would have been cool to see a fresh club in the National League but the table doesn’t lie. West Coast Rangers can be the fresh club instead, having very narrowly missed out last time but then cruised into the WNL this time. Will be interesting to see if a few of those Fencies players get loaned out (so to speak) to other clubs same as how a few Rangers players did last time. Oh yeah and Ellerslie beat Hamilton Wanderers 3-0, which was second-to-last beating last. Shannon Henson of WCR won the Golden Boot for this division scoring 16 times, with Charlotte Roche (Auckland United) and Danica Urlich-Beech (Hibiscus Coast) tied-second with 14 goals each.
The Men’s Southern League was the other one with National League qualification still undecided. Coastal Spirit needed to match or better Christchurch United’s result to advance. They had a heck of a scare against Universities of Canterbury but ended up winning 2-1 via an 83rd minute own goal. That win sealed the deal... but had they only drawn then the Rams could have caught them with a win against champs Cashmere Technical. They gave it a nudge but only drew 1-1. Coastal Spirit progress to the Nats for the first time. What a year it’s been for that club. On top of that, there was a 5-2 win for Selwyn against FC Twenty11 and also a 3-1 win for Nomads against Ferrymead Bays (in which three of the goals were scored in the ninetieth minute or later, though FB’s one was the last of those in pure consolation). Dunedin City Royals still have two catch-up games to play, one against Nelson Suburbs and one against Selwyn. Garbhan Coughlan’s 26 goals will be safe for Golden Boot though, unless something beyond miraculous happens.
The Men’s Central League was already done and dusted in the ways that matter. Just pride and/or giggles to play for in the final round. Wellington Olympic won 5-0 against North Wellington to prepare for their Chatham Cup final. Two for Gianni Bouzoukis in there. Napier City Rovers grabbed a late win over Western Suburbs with Liam Schofield’s 79th minute goal giving them a 2-1 win... it also gave them the same points and goal difference as Wests with only a single goal scored pushing it in favour of Wests. Oh well, they can duke it out again in the Nats and call that a tie-breaker. Miramar Rangers drowned their fourth-placed sorrows with goals as they beat Stop Out 10-0 in which Joshua Tollervey, Martin Bueno, and Nicolas Bobadilla all pocketed doubles. And fair play to Petone who were losing 1-0 to Waterside Karori with minutes left before Nick Drayton equalised in the 87th and then Sam Wall won it in stoppage time. 2-1 to Petone. That means the WeeNix stay ahead of Waterside Karori in fifth. Golden Boot there goes to Oscar Faulds with 21 of the suckers. He was last heard of trying to get a pro deal in Scandinavia though nothing seems to have happened prior to the transfer window.
Last but not least, in the Men’s Northern League old mates Manurewa AFC followed up their stunning win over Auckland City by losing 7-2 to Bay Olympic. Michael Graham scored four goals for Bay. Fortunately for Rewa, Auckland City did them a favour by winning 3-2 away to Melville (despite two late goals for Melville almost giving them a sniff). That kept Manurewa one point ahead of Melville. Melville join Hamilton Wanderers in being relegated while Rewa will have a playoff against Manukau United (second place in the Championship) to see who gets that other spot. Fencibles have been promoted as Championship champs while Auckland FC’s reserves are also being given a spot next year.
Hamilton Wanderers were already relegated. They lost 2-1 to Western Springs and had their keeper sent off at the end. West Coast Rangers and Tauranga City played out a mutually acceptable 1-1 draw. Auckland United topped Eastern Suburbs with a couple of second half goals flipping the script for a 2-1 win. Also Birkenhead lost 3-0 to East Coast Bays. Those last two results allowed Western Springs to climb up to second. Jake Mechell of Eastern Suburbs got the Golden Boot with 19 goals. Emiliano Tade (Western Springs) and Monty Patterson (Birkenhead) were second with 14. And that’s that.
Musical Jam...