Proverbial Wings
Wellington Phoenix winning days, HBJ Shield top performers, Flynn Cameron/Rob Loe, Warriors x Kurt Capewell & more
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Aotearoa Kiwis & Kiwi-NRL Development Bumps For Naufahu Whyte, Wiremu Greig, Keano Kini (Rugby League)
Onwards & Upwards For New Zealand Rugby League (Rugby League)
Football Ferns vs Colombia: Squad Yarns & Preview (Football)
All Whites vs Greece & Ireland: The BazeBall Era Has Arrived (Football)
The NZ Breakers Are Ready To Repeat The Dose in NBL24 (Basketball)
The NZ Breakers Have Plummeted Again... What’s Going On? (Basketball)
2023 Plunket Shield First Stanza Emerging All Stars (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
An HBJ Shield Notebook will drop tomorrow morning for theniche-cache.com and it will revolve around White Ferns stepping up. Maddy Green had scores of 91* and 77* to help Auckland grab two wins over CD while Fran Jonas took 4w on Sunday and 5w in the weekend. Georgia Plimmer scored 147 for Wellington in their win over ND before ND bounced back with a win on Sunday.
The best bowler in HBJ Shield so far is Eden Carson who has 2+ wickets in all four games so far, as Otago and Canterbury shared a win each in their weekend series. Emma Black and Gabby Sullivan are still the best non-WF seamers in Aotearoa and the seaming stocks have been boosted by CD's Claudia Green finding form, along with the emergence of Natasha Codyre (Wellington), Kayley Knight (ND) and Bree Illing (Auckland).
Mikaela Greig (CD) leads all batters for runs with scores of 84*, 39, 31 and 78 so far. I'm still intrigued by Izzy Sharp and Jodie Dean for Canterbury as emerging batters, although neither of them has a 50+ score yet. Dean is averaging 48 and Sharp's averaging 30. Auckland's sneaky important batters are Prue Catton who has three scores over 30 in four games and Josie Penfold who followed her 58 against ND with scores of 15* and 28* against CD.
Natasha Wakelin didn't cash in this weekend but she is 17-years-old and scored 59 in the first round. Sharp is 18yrs, Catton is 20yrs, Dean is 21yrs and Penfold is 24yrs - Josie is the older sister of Molly who is 22yrs. Greig is a bit older at 28yrs and another batter in this bracket is Otago's Caitlin Blakely (27yrs) who had knocks of 42 runs and 48 runs vs Canterbury.
Most Runs
Mikaela Greig: 232 runs @ 77avg/100sr
Georgia Plimmer: 186 runs @ 46avg/99sr
Maddy Green: 168 runs @ 168vg/85sr
Georgia Atkinson: 159 runs @ 39avg/71sr
Felicity Robertson: 140 runs @ 46avg/60sr
Polly Inglis: 137 runs @ 45avg/74sr
Leigh Kasperek: 130 runs @ 32avg/87sr
Jess McFadyen: 122 runs @ 30avg/74sr
Caitlin Blakely: 122 runs @ 30avg/68sr
Frances Mackay: 117 runs @ 58avg/75sr
Most Wickets
Eden Carson: 10w @ 8avg/3rpo
Claudia Green: 10w @ 11avg/3.4rpo
Emma Black: 9w @ 13avg/4.1rpo
Sarah Asmussen: 8w @ 18avg/4.4rpo
Gabby Sullivan: 8w @ 19avg/4.8rpo
Natasha Codyre: 7w @ 18avg/4.6rpo
Hannah Rowe: 7w @ 21avg/5.1rpo
Kayley Knight: 6w @ 19avg/5rpo
Bree Illing: 6w @ 21avg/5.5rpo
Fran Jonas: 5w @ 12avg/3.2rpo
WBBL heads into finals mode with Amelia Kerr's Heat playing tomorrow night against Thunder and the winner of that game takes on Sophie Devine's Scorchers on Wednesday night. Strikers are already locked in for the final with Amy Satterthwaite on the coaching staff and Sixers missed out on finals, so Suzie Bates and Jess Kerr may return for HBJ Shield next weekend.
Sophie Devine: 476 runs @ 39avg/140sr | 14w @ 21avg/8.5rpo
Amelia Kerr: 246 runs @ 27avg/119sr | 8w @ 31avg/7.4rpo
Suzie Bates: 173 runs @ 14avg/93sr
Jess Kerr: 4w @ 32avg/7.1rpo
The New Zealand Kiwis and Michael Maguire situation was wrapped up late last week. I laid out all the fabulous things happening in Aotearoa rugby league at the moment and didn't even mentioned nuggets like Kylem Vunipola (Linton) being one of the best juniors for Broncos, Ryder Williams (Marist) being the youngest Titans player with a development contract, Caius and Felix Fa'atili (Hornby) training with Storm and Sharks NRL squads or how Storm have Caius and K-Ci Newton-Whare (Riccarton) as two young big boppers from Christchurch.
As part of my Kiwi-NRL learning phase, I found that Tukimihia Simpkins (Rotorua) has been training with Dolphins. Simpkins was recruited by Cowboys from Aotearoa but left for Tigers and for whatever reason he got stuck in the Tigers system. Peter O'Sullivan would know a bit about Simpkins as he was a sought after recruit from Rotorua Boys 1st 15 and O'Sullivan was probably a key factor in getting Simpkins to Dolphins.
Apparently NZ Warriors are eager to sign Kurt Capewell and want him for next season. Capewell is a veteran edge forward for Broncos who has covered centre before but that is unlikely to happen for NZW as he's much slower now and NZW have ample depth at centre. Under the two Andys (McFadden and Webster) NZW have assembled versatile forwards such as Mitch Barnett and Marata Niukore, while also developing forwards like Demitric Sifakula in middle and edge. Capewell has that versatility thread as well.
Reports suggest that Niukore could move to middle forward with Capewell taking an edge slot. Coach Webster leaned towards Barnett being a middle forward this year and if Niukore gets more middle minutes, he is likely to drop back to the bench where he can still offer value covering all positions (he's played centre for Eels and NZ Kiwis).
Most notably, this adds another grizzly veteran to NZW forwards. I still believe youngsters like Sifakula, Tom Ale, Zyon Maiu'u and Jacob Laban can plug a hole as regular 15-20 minute guys or for sporadic appearances. That's all the young forwards need to do. Capewell joins Harris, Barnett and Niukore in the grizzly forward group with Addin Fonua-Blake's future still a bit uncertain.
I was all good with NZW bumping Josh Curran out because he played a limited role and young players can share that limited role while gathering experience. Capewell won't have a limited role if NZW are pursuing him and he is likely to be a 80 minute edge forward in the short-term possibly dipping to 60mins, with Jackson Ford continuing his 80min role.
The constant chatter about NZW wanting a prop is an easy recruitment storyline. NZW have enough middle forwards who can play 20-40mins around Harris, Barnett and Fonua-Blake. All these forwards (Afoa, Ale, Sifakula, Maiu'u) need to do is add impact off the bench in short bursts as development opportunities naturally arise during a season.
Also tap in with the terms 'prop', 'lock' and 'middle forward'. There are subtle differences between props and lock, but I prefer to use middle and edge. NZW have various styles and options in their forward pack who offer more than enough cover mid-game and during a season...
NZ Warriors forward depth chart:
Middles: Tohu Harris, Addin Fonua-Blake, Dylan Walker, Bunty Afoa, Jazz Tevaga, Tom Ale, Zyon Maiu'u
Middle/edge: Mitch Barnett, Marata Niukore, Demitric Sifakula
Edge: Jackson Ford, (Kurt Capewell), Jacob Laban
Outside Top-30: Kalani Going, Leka Halasima, Tanner Stowers-Smith
Others: Eddie Ieremia, Presley Seumanu, Harry Durbin
Musical jam...
Wildcard’s Notebook
The Mt Smart Extravaganza of football delivered us a couple of funky National League finals and a pair of Wellington Phoenix wins. Can’t ask for any more than that. Wellington Olympic (men) and Auckland United (women) are the new NZ National League champs, both of them triumphing in finals where they seemed to have considerably fewer chances but were more clinical with what they had and defended as well as they have done all season. For Olympic that was a rarity – this was their first clean sheet of the term. For United that was made exactly to order as it has been their defence all season which has carried them.
Grand final recaps are on the way and both should be published by Tuesday evening. Once those are done it still won’t be the end of the NL coverage for this year. Team of the Seasons will follow. I do triple-pronged versions of those to keep it fun: First XI, Second XI, Third XI kinda thing. I’ll get working on those very soon and I also want to do a piece highlighting the top talents in each of the Wellington Phoenix Academy sides. I did one for the WeeNix blokes earlier this year and that feels like something which could morph into an annual idea. Who knows. I’ve got a few more ideas where those came from but I don’t want to make promises that my time management can’t fulfil.
FIVE THOUGHTS FROM THE WELLY NIX SIX-POINTER WEEKEND
1) Remember how the Phoenix blokes were an absolute carnage against the xG last season? This time they’re going alright. Partly because of Oskar Zawada. Partly because Bozhidar Kraev has gotten his groove back (although he started this well last time too then faded so be careful). And partly because David Ball and Kosta Barbarouses refuse to shoot at any cost. Through the first six games, the Nix have the lowest xG total of any team at a mere 5.5 xG... and yet they’ve scored nine goals. That’s +3.6 above the expecteds. Only Adelaide United are further ahead (14 goals from 9.0 xG... blame Nestory Irankunda’s for that). That’s one thing but then consider how Alex Paulsen has now saved two penalties and it works both ways. 7.1 xG against yet only 4 goals conceded. They’re +3.1 on that count too. Again, Adelaide are better... but again only Adelaide are better. Old mates from the weekend Melbourne City have hilariously allowed less xG against than the Nix (7.0) yet have conceded three times as many goals (12).
2) There’s been a funky role for Rebecca Lake this season. A centre-back all the way for Canterbury United, she’s featured in every game for the Nix so far and always as a substitute. Usually as a defensive midfielder. Usually alongside Kate Taylor. In six appearances she’s yet to get more than a dozen minutes and yet this appears to be a pretty crucial role – in effect, she’s the closer. In there to lock things down at the end, especially when the team’s got a lead (which has been the case in 4/6 games and they haven’t blown one yet. Paul Temple’s also of course got another Canty defensive prospect doing midfield things in the form of Kate Taylor. Must be something in the water.
3) An undercover hero of the Nix Lads so far: captain Alex Rufer. You’ll not be shocked to hear he’s one of the leading tacklers in the ALM, ripping blokes off on the regular. That side of his game is lots of fun and it’s always been pretty bright. But these days there’s also a spring in his step with the ball at his feet, where under Talay sometimes things could get qu9te static with lots of rhythmic touch-and-pass kinda stuff. Almost robotic. There’s more fluidity under Italiano and Rufer looks a sharper player for it.
4) Mariana Speckmaier is really good. All the imports for the Nix are decent but Breslin and Davidson don’t always stand out above the locals (admittedly many of those locals are in career-best form). No dramas with R.Foster in goal, she’s been class so far. But Speckmaier is the one who rises above. Against Perth she was still rushing and pressing until the very last minutes, plus she’s clearly got a hunger for goals. There’s a cheeky bit of skill in there and she’s both a vertical running threat and also someone who can drift wide and get involved. Saw a glimpse of her long shot against Perth and that passes the test (as you knew it would if you saw that goal she scored in the NWSL Challenge Cup awhile back). Specky’s doing those things that an import striker ought to... just like Oskar Zawada (when he’s fit) for the fellas.
5) You know how Alex Paulsen signed a long-term deal prior to the season and I said that was more about protecting his on-sale value than actually expecting him to stay that long? Yeah so the Nix might be in the market for a new goalie sooner rather than later if this keeps up. This guy is delivering on all the hype he had coming up through the academy. He’s been spectacular. Not only the penalty saves and the general shot-stopping but his aerial game and his distribution and all those little fundamentals. He’s a serious talent.
Bonus Fact: The Nix Men have never had a bigger points haul after this many games in their history (11 points from 5 games), while the Nix Women are one point away from matching their record season points tally.
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There was an image that I used in my last All Whites article to highlight the relationship between coach Darren Bazeley and assistant Simon Elliott, here it is for y’all again...
One thing that bugged me about it though: Who the hell’s that other bloke on Bazeley’s left? Turns out that’s Dan Robinson and he’s the academy manager at Peterborough United in England’s League One. And he’s actually got a long history with kiwi football. Looks a little different these days with the slicked back hair but Robinson moved to Aotearoa in 2004 initially with Gisborne City, though will be best remembered for his tenure as goalie for Waitakere United in the old Premiership back when they were winning titles all the time. He was goalkeeper coach then assistant coach for the Football Ferns for several years (including at the 2012 Olympics) before he moved back to England to take up an academy manager role with Burton Albion, which he only left a few months ago to join Peterborough.
Obviously someone that Darren Bazeley knows very well. There’s a paywalled interview with DR on his club’s website about his “opportunity to spend three days with the New Zealand national side over the international break”. Sounds like he did a pretty excellent job with Burton (where Max Crocombe now plays, coincidentally) and was highly recruited by Peterborough. Bit of professional development with the Kiwis, doesn’t go astray. Good yarns. Hopefully now we see a couple NZ youngsters find their way into that Peterborough system in return. And, yeah, that’s that mystery solved.
(You’ll notice that’s the exact same screenshot in DR’s tweet... glad to know he read the article!)
There’s a Breakers article up on the site now that I’d been working on for a bit and the FIBA break finally gave me a chance to finish it without the stats becoming quickly obsolete. One of the angles in there was about how they didn’t retain Rob Loe, found themselves struggling for depth at the big man position, then had to watch Loe doing fantastic things for Melbourne United as an injury replacement.
Rob Loe’s time with United has finished now, he’s flown back into retirement – although the door has been left open for him to go back if there’s a long-term injury to another frontcourt player. Doubtful that’ll happen and not sure even Rob really wants it to. Seems he already stayed longer than he initially planned. But it was beautiful to see him get that swansong (if indeed that’s what it is). Only 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game but that was as a bench big who was part of the best defensive team in the league and seems to have had just as valuable off the court as on the court. And they were 7-1 in games he played so the on-court stuff was rather decent.
Coach Dean Vickerman: “When we signed Rob, we wanted to ensure that we had someone that could come in and help us have a winning record while Jo [Lual-Acuil Jr] was out. Rob was magnificent in that, both in his teaching of Ariel who was playing ahead of him, and in his threat as an elite player on the floor. His biggest impact was his ability to help others. When Jo came back, he was willing to take a step back and not play as much and play a different position while LT was out. He and his family deserve to be celebrated for the role that they played.”
Don’t think it’s a secret to say that Loe wasn’t treated particularly well by the Breakers at times there. The last season was much better though he still didn’t have a huge role in the rotation – and there was that ridiculous bit during the pandemic where he decided he wanted to see his newborn kid back in Auckland and the team acted like he was a soldier gone AWOL in need of court martialling, saying initially that he wouldn’t be back that season... then later bringing him back anyway. We’re talking about the darkest days of Breakers ineptitude so water has gone under the bridge since then. Point is that Rob Loe had a bit of a fairytale farewell there in Melbourne and on current form there’s a good chance he ends up with a ring for it.
With Rob Loe gone, the new undercover brother at MU gets to be Flynn Cameron. Because just lately that bloke has begun to really shine at the NBL level. Took some time getting going after the World Cup, missing a lot of shots and not getting many minutes, but injuries elsewhere have thrust him into more of a spotlight lately and he has responded in kind. Cameron’s last two games are the first in which he’s gone past the 20-minute mark. This is what he’s done...
vs SEM (W): 26 MIN | 14 PTS (5/8 FG, 4/6 3PT) | 8 REB | 2 AST
vs SYD (W): 26 MIN | 10 PTS (4/7 FG, 2/4 3PT) | 4 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL
And that Melbourne Utd bench unit is absolutely cooking with him out there. In 154 total minutes, Cameron has an offensive rating of 144 and defensive rating of 105, for a net rating of +39... the best in the NBL for anyone who has appeared in at least three games. Interestingly the third best mark belongs to Hyrum Harris (141o/108d/+33) whose elevation to the starting five at Perth Wildcats has been one of the major catalysts for their surge back into prominence. Alas, the give and take there is that Corey Webster has been iced out of the rotation as a result. But we’ll ignore the negative and focus on Harris doing... well, exactly what NZ NBL and Tall Blacks fans expected once a team finally gave him that extended opportunity to spread his proverbial wings.