A Feast of Feats
Aotearoa at the FIFA U20 World Cup, Warriors Juniors notes, Marco Rojas debuts in Chile, NZ NBL leaders, Blackcaps yarns + more
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Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Daejarn Asi Mana (Rugby League)
How Are Things Looking For Liberato Cacace At Empoli For The 2022-23 Serie A Season? (Football)
Flying Kiwis – August 9 (Football)
Best Pay Attention To This Aotearoa U20 Women’s World Cup Team (Football)
2022 Blackcaps Tracker: Santner & Sodhi (The Firm) (Cricket)
27fm Weekly Playlist - August 15 (Music)
Scotty’s Word
After pondering a unique situation for Aotearoa Warriors/Redcliffe/Western Clydesdales for Friday's email dispatch, there are a bunch of update-y notes to explore. First of all neither Sefanaia Cowley-Lupo or Lleyton Finau played for WC and I couldn't find Cowley-Lupo in any of the U21s fixtures, while Finau laced up for Redcliffe U21s alongside the Warriors juniors.
There was an interesting appearance for WC though as Sebastyan Jack started in the halves and this seems to be his first Queensland U21s game of the year. Jack played a bunch of games in the halves for 2020 Warriors SG Ball before moving to Redcliffe where he played U18s Mal Meninga Cup last year. I haven't spotted Jack's name in team lists up until this round and I'll now keep track of where Jack goes from here as he may return to Aotearoa, or take an opportunity elsewhere.
Jack, Cowley-Lupo and Xavier Tito-Harris (highly touted junior at Kelston Boys) may be three play-makers who Warriors promote through their system moving forward. Tome Poona has made sporadic appearances for Redcliffe as well and all four of these lads are all decent halves prospects. As I type through this, I reckon that's a lovely play-making base to work with.
William Fakatoumafi and Daeon Amituanai left Warriors/Redcliffe for Panthers. Jyris Glamuzina left Warriors/Redcliffe for Knights and Tamakaimoana Whareaorere is also set to join Knights after spending the year with Redcliffe. Jack, like a few of the lads who have been at Redcliffe all Kiwi-NRL junior talent, will likely have opportunities elsewhere.
Redcliffe U21s had a 48-18 win and sit 3rd (11-3). Ali Leiataua started at centre, Valingi Kepu at prop, Taniela Otukolo at hooker and Jacob Laban on an edge. Finau came off the bench alongside Demetric Sifakula who is another Warriors junior who made his first appearance of the year with Redcliffe. Sifakula is an Otahuhu/De La Salle College junior who trained with the Warriors NRL squad fresh out of school last summer before suffering an injury prior to the season.
Leiataua scored two tries in this win, now with eight tries in seven games. As per Friday's dispatch there were six Warriors juniors in Redcliffe U21s. Six out of 17 is very different to 17 out of 17 Warriors juniors.
In reserve grade Redcliffe had a 34-22 win and also sit 3rd (10-5). Rocco Berry and Adam Pompey were the only young Warriors in this team, joined by squad members Jackson Frei, Pride Petterson-Robati and Dunamis Lui. That's five lads from the Warriors squad in a team of 17, again very different to a Warriors reserve grade side consisting of 17 Warriors players.
From the Warriors win over Bulldogs on Friday night, I whipped up this yarn about Daejarn Asi. The other major takeaway from that game was home field advantage and while we have seen many Warriors teams struggle at Mt Smart over our lifetimes, this has been overlooked when moaning about Warriors woes since the pandemic started. I heard Rabbitohs forward Jai Arrow describe the niggly trip to Mt Smart as 'time difference plays a part, it's cold over the there and the fans give it to ya'. The joys of playing on home turf.
Warriors had 26,009 fans at Mt Smart for their return game vs Tigers, then 18,395 fans for the next home game vs Storm and 16,212 fans on Friday night vs Bulldogs. Warriors had the third biggest crowd this round, behind the typically large crowds at Broncos and Eels home games (both 20,000+).
Factor in higher attendance because fans are frothing for NRL footy and all of this still suggests strong rugby league foundations in Aotearoa. The fact that fans are frothing for NRL footy is notable, plus this reflects the corporate stability of Warriors as hovering around crowds of 15,000 is fantastic for business. These crowds can impact games as well, whether that be dictating penalties or generating momentum for a strong finish as we saw vs Bulldogs.
Go beyond Warriors and this is why the NRL wants expansion in Aotearoa. Fans in Aotearoa support a wide range of NRL teams and through ticket sales, fan engagement or buying NRL gears, fans are more than willing to embrace all things NRL.
Twice a season or so I stop to marvel at Jesse Bromwich and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. Waerea-Hargreaves was monumental for Roosters in their win over Cowboys, scoring a try with 18 runs - 180m @ 10m/run and 16 tackles @ 84 percent in just 35mins. Waerea-Hargreaves missed the Aotearoa Kiwis Test vs Tonga and should be top-17 for the World Cup, alongside Bromwich as Kiwis kaumatua.
Their footy is worthy of top-17 selection but their mana is more valuable. These two might be the most important Aotearoa Kiwis squad members because of their mana.
Bromwich has played 15+ games for 12 consecutive seasons. Bromwich has made 400+ tackles in each of those 12 seasons, never missing more than 50 tackles in a season.
Waerea-Hargreaves has played 15+ games in 12 of his 13 seasons with Roosters. Waerea-Hargreaves has scored thee tries this season, tied for the most tries per season of his career (three tries in 2012).
Bromwich was emphatic for Storm vs Panthers, playing 56mins with 12 runs - 116m @ 9.66m/run, 2 offloads and 39 tackles @ 92.86 percent. Don't underestimate either Bromwich brother as Kenny is a low key focal point of the Storm's left edge attack and Jesse ... well Jesse wins most of his tackles and is viewed as a key leader at the best NRL club of the past 15 years.
Storm started with Bromwich and Nelson Asofa-Solomona at prop, Brandon Smith at lock. That's an all Kiwi-NRL middle trio and each of these lads is the best at what they do. Bromwich is a grizzly veteran who is also known as the best Strom grappler. No one has Asofa-Solomona's size/mobility combination in the NRL. Brandon Smith started the small middle forward trend because he is the best small middle forward. Three completely different middle forwards who are elite in their wee pocket and are hearty Aotearoa Kiwis.
Storm and All Blacks have bounced back, funny that.
Storm are now 4th and regardless of absences for Panthers, going to Panthers and winning 16-0 is a notable win. Storm have made tweaks to their team and can draw upon greater intensity when it matters after not crumbling to pressure from a few losses. Along with some of the best players in the NRL, Storm have their usual cast of 'who the duck is that guy?' lads who do a job and keep improving.
All Blacks won over in South Africa and right now the media attention seems insane as the main outlets have 'Awesome All Blacks' headlines sprinkled among coach-change yarns. All Blacks players continue to support their coach and the team's mana appears to be high - stinky teams don’t have this alignment.
A week ago in the Monday dispatch, I suggested that All Blacks culture is not NZRU culture and how that is different to Melbourne Storm. After All Blacks defeated South Africa, the NZRU bossman came out with another yarn that only reinforced my hypothesis. So far NZRU have fired assistant coaches and had two public yarns after games that only fuel drama fires … and also make little sense.
Unrelated note: Richie Mounga is my favourite All Black.
The second season of NRLWahine this year is approaching and here are all the Aotearoa wahine with contracts...
Broncos
Annetta Nu'uausala, Crystal Tamarua, Nita Maynard, Amber Hall, Amy Turner, Lavinia Gould.
Titans
Apii Nicholls, Madison Bartlett, Rona Peters, Roxy Murdoch, Georgia Hale, Hailee-Jay Maunsell, Kimiora Breayley-Nati.
Knights
Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly.
Eels
Gayle Broughton.
Dragons
Page McGregor.
Roosters
Leianne Tufuga, Mya Hill-Mona, Raecene McGregor.
Lots of kiwi ladies who played in the first campaign this year have not picked up gigs, most notably the plethora of Knights wahine from Aotearoa. This is a bit of a bummer although I suspect most of these wahine will play in upcoming NZRL domestic footy, with men's and women's squads being announced. The fact that Kiwi Ferns will be playing domestic footy is a funky wrinkle to enjoy ahead of the World Cup.
Trent Boult's first venture since opting out of his NZC contract is the UAE ILT20 where he will play for MI Emirates. Boult has recently been playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL and MI Emirates is owned by Mumbai Indians. The UAE competition allows nine international players in a playing 11, more than the usual recipe for T20 leagues around the world.
This would have been in Boult's pipeline for a while given the Mumbai Indians connection and the contract timing is obviously connected as Boult needed to make a decision. While I'm favourable towards Boult and his playing prospects for Aotearoa, it will be interesting to see if this is his only T20 excursion along with IPL or if Boult expands his horizons even further.
I'm intrigued by the state of these T20 leagues. This is too complicated for some deep in the mangroves explorations, however let's just say that I have a hunch that the T20 leagues will encounter adversity soon enough. Their exponential growth is not automatic and all sorts of random events could be factors but right now everyone assumes automatic growth.
Whether this is a factor or not, I dunno, I just find it interesting...
A bunch of IPL franchises own teams in other T20 leagues (West Indies, South Africa) and their investment propels those league. This might dilute the market and perceived scarcity that made elite T20 cricket so fun. I don't know enough about India's economy to suggest that issues there could have an impact around these leagues, I do have a hunch that these are weird times for all economies.
Will Young is playing in England's one-day competition for Northamptonshire, starting with scores of 91 and 81 before a few lower scores. Young has 210 runs @ 42avg/118.64sr from his 5inns and is leading Northants for runs, after putting up 449 runs @ 44.90avg in his 10inns of County Championship batting.
Will Williams is also continuing his wicket-taking mahi for Lancashire. Williams has 6w @ 15.16avg/3.26rpo in the One-Day Cup and currently has 23w @ 18.39avg/2.09rpo in County Championship.
Central Districts lefty Ray Toole has picked up a gig with Essex, taking 1w @ 5rpo in his first ODC appearance. Toole hasn't been a dominant seamer in Aotearoa (45.62avg in List-A) but with England shoving all sorts of cricket at players and fans, Essex probably wanted a lefty seamer and Toole fit the bill.
Kane Williamson's last 10 T20I innings: 25, 33*, 0, 28, 40*, 5, 85, 47, 4, 24.
Devon Conway has hit the minimum 20 T20I innings mark and now sits 3rd for T20I batting averages. Conway averages 47.20 and his strike-rate of 138.28 is the highest of the top-five T20I batting averages. Mohammad Rizwan and Virat Kohli sit ahead of Conway, both averaging 50+.
Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill and Glenn Phillips are top-60 for T20I batting averages, all three average over 31 with strike-rates over 120.
Lockie Ferguson is the other joker to keep tabs on as he has bowled 452 deliveries in T20I cricket and the minimum bowling marker for Cricinfo rankings is 500 deliveries. Ferguson's 16.12avg would be ranked 11th best and his strike-rate of 14.1 would be ranked 14th. Ish Sodhi has the best average (21.35) and strike-rate (15.9) of current Blackcaps T20I bowlers.
Another crisp banger…
Wildcard’s Notebook
Marco Rojas took a wee while to make his debut for Chilean powerhouse club Colo-Colo but that day has finally arrived and it did not disappoint. Marco Rojas coming off the bench and setting up the winning goal for his new club to keep them nine points clear at the top of the table on their quest for another title. They call themselves the Eternal Champions so that sounds about right.
Here’s an excerpt from tomorrow’s Flying Kiwis write-up...
It wasn’t exactly shaping up as an ideal debut for him. Colo-Colo were looking like dropping two points in their title race – although they’ve got a big lead at the moment – and Rojas himself was showing some rustiness. Not only that but the style of play was quite different to what he’s been used to in Australia. Very physical, very quick, very direct. Not always a short passing option for him and he got caught on the ball a couple times. Did have one shot attempt early but it was blocked. Also he made a nice lay-off for a teammate to shoot on target, but mostly the ball wasn’t coming his way when it should have thanks to the frantic chase for a winner.
Marco Rojas’ excellence doesn’t come from his ability to dribble around opponents, as he got stuck doing a couple times in this game. With him it’s all about his movement off the ball. A couple minutes into stoppage time he made that clear for all to see with a perfectly timed run to get in behind the defence. Colo-Colo had a goal disallowed for offside in the first half so you know the VAR wasn’t messing about. Here’s the proof…
The move almost opened up for him to shoot but a poor first touch put an end to that. But Rojas didn’t hesitate. Quick turn and a gentle nudge back to fellow sub Marco Bolados and that fella placed it smoothly into the bottom corner. There’s your winning goal. Marco Rojas with the assist. Turns out it was a dream debut after all.
Rightio, there ya go. I’ve watched a handful of Colo-Colo games since Rojas signed for them and the Chilean league, gotta say, is pretty bonkers. Living up to a few stereotypes with an unfathomable level of passion on display which often gets transferred into heavy challenges.
Multiple times I’ve seen VAR decisions determine things. The crowds are absolutely incredible. There are at least eight yellow cards every match. Often a red or two as well. This was a regular league game, albeit with some late drama, and guys were celebrating like they’d won a cup final... plus the two goalies nearly started a fight after the final whistle. They were at opposite ends of the pitch the entire game, lol. Not sure how that happened.
Basically what I’m saying is this Primera Division is heaps of fun and following Marco Rojas there is gonna be a blast.
Game two for the Junior Ferns at the U20 World Cup didn’t quite go as well as the first. They were up against Germany, a team that has won this tournament multiple times in the past but also a team that lost 1-0 to Colombia in their first match (despite having the bulk of the chances). Hard to know what to expect. Gemma Lewis named an unchanged eleven from the 1-1 draw with Mexico.
Germany didn’t look all that flash to be honest. Great technical players in this team but similar to Mexico they weren’t the best at finishing chances, certainly not initially. Plus there was a messiness in their play that I hadn’t expected to see with poor touches and a susceptibility at the back. Things that suggested maybe, just maybe, the Ferns might be able to do something here.
Both teams nearly scored early due to opposition mistakes. An awful back pass from Jana Niedermayr was bailed out by a superb Murphy Sheaff save after five mins (Niedermayr was otherwise really good tbf). After twelve minutes it was nearly 1-0 at the other end as Alyssa Whinham tackled the last defender and had Milly Clegg alongside her with only the keeper to beat but a heavy touch allowed said keeper to slide in and gather up the ball.
Germany had to make two subs in the first half because of injuries, the first after a head knock, which probably disorientated them... to go with the pressure of having lost in game one. Quite a few errors from that lot. However outside those high press instances the kiwis weren’t creating hardly anything, even Whinham was struggling for space. And the worry was that the earlier kickoff two days after a gruelling game against Mexico would be a strain on the kiwi players’ fitness, especially late in halves.
There was definitely a growing control from Germany as the first half wore on. The Junior Ferns got lucky when a Sheaff pass was charged down but ended up comfortably back in her hands. Kate Taylor made a brilliant block for another chance. A couple yellow cards in there for fouls to prevent counter attacks. They did the job though. Still 0-0 as half-time came around.
But it wasn’t to last. Germany made a couple tactical subs ten mins into the second spell and then scored pretty much immediately. Ria Clara Fröhlich with the powerful header from a corner. Sheaff was able to get a hand to it but not able to keep it out. To be fair, their corner kicks had looked dangerous from the get go.
There was a tackle on Aniela Jensen that drew a VAR check to be sure it wasn’t a red card offence. Slight shades of Kosta Barbarouses versus Costa Rica there but no dice, merely a yellow. Then Tui Dugan conceded a penalty sliding in late and Sophie Weidauer buried it on 64’ for that crucial second goal. The Frauen also headed one off the post soon after. The Junior Ferns weren’t looking like scoring. Two goals were always likely to be decisive.
Charlotte Lancaster had already come off the bench in between the German goals and with twenty to go there was a triple chance as Charlotte Wilford-Carroll, Te Reremoana Walker, and Zoe McMeeken all entered. Ruby Nathan would come on near the end. Kate Taylor had trouble in the heat and needed a check by the physio, though she was able to continue.
But credit where it’s due because the Aotearoa team did finish well. Ava Collins almost got on the end of a McMeeken through ball but the German keeper was swift off her line. Grace Wisnewski forced a save after Collins had played her through (albeit that one would have been called back for offside). Wilford-Carroll also drew a save trying her luck with the goalie out of position.
It was a strong push towards the finish line, keeping that energy up all the way to the end. Walker had a header off target from a corner. But then with players committed forward for that consolation goal the Germans got out on the counter and Gia Cymone Corley pushed the score out beyond flattery with a 94th minute goal. 3-0 to Germany was the end of it.
2-0 would have been fairer, especially after a decent first half, but the kiwis simply didn’t have it in them to deal with the variety of ways that Germany could attack. A set piece goal, a penalty goal, a counter attacking goal. None came from being broken down in shape... but still they were well beaten in the end. Aotearoa unable to turn pressure into chances the way that Germany were. So it goes.
A couple standout players here... Ava Collins was impressive. Especially in the second half after she moved from the wing to centre-forward. Still wanna see Milly Clegg starting up top though – she’s looked capable of breaking through in both games but it hasn’t quite fallen for her yet. Maybe next time. Aniela Jensen had another strong showing in the midfield. Jensen is really good technically and with plenty of bite in her game too. And of course Kate Taylor was gassed towards the end because she was absolutely everywhere in that first half. What a talent.
Mexico and Colombia drew 0-0 in the other game in the group so this result may do damage to the Fernies goal difference but they’re definitely not out of this yet. A win against Colombia on Wednesday morning 11am and they’ll at least finish third. Possibly even the second place that they need to make the knockouts. Would need to win by 2+ goals against Colombia to be sure of that though – no easy task but you never know.
NZ U20s vs Germany: Murphy Sheaff | Tupelo Dugan (Zoe McMeeken 71’), Jana Niedermayr (Te Reremoana Walker 71’), Kate Taylor, Marisa Van Der Meer (Ruby Nathan 85’) | Grace Wisnewski, Aniela Jensen | Alyssa Whinham (Charlotte Wilford-Carroll 71’) | Ava Pritchard, Milly Clegg (Charlotte Lancaster 58’), Ava Collins
Shout out to the Otago Nuggets, NBL champions for 2022. Not sure how many folks picked them to do that even a week ago at the start of the finals but they bounced the Hawke’s Bay Hawks in their play-in then dropped the 2-seed Nelson Giants in the semis and then toppled the Auckland Tuatara (in Auckland of course) one night later in the grand final. Keith Williams was brilliant, the import scoring 34 points on 11/18 shooting. Fellow import Trey Boyd also added an efficient 19 points with 5 assists. And Sam Timmins did Sam Timmins things for 10 points and 9 rebounds.
It was their defence that clinched it. In all those games but especially in the final. Their outside pressure saw the Tuatara shoot just 5/27 (18%) from deep for the game and that in turn meant that the Aucklanders couldn’t get their vaunted paint game going either. Defence wins championships, as the saying goes. Especially when paired with Keith Williams’ jump shot. 81-73 was the final score.
Williams delivered in the ultimate clutch as any team dreams that their imports will do. The calibre of imports this season has been really high which raises the standards for the domestic players. But it’s the domestic dudes I wanna focus on for a second. Here are the stat leaders in the major per game areas when only considering New Zealanders (overall rank in brackets)...
POINTS
Corey Webster – 25.4 (2)
Ethan Rusbatch – 17.7 (14)
Rob Loe – 17.2 (17)
Shane Temara – 17.0 (18)
Sam Timmins – 16.8 (20)
REBOUNDS
Rob Loe – 11.7 (4)
Sam Timmins – 11.0 (8)
Leon Henry – 10.9 (9)
Dom Kelman-Poto – 9.0 (12)
Hyrum Harris – 8.5 (14)
ASSISTS
Corey Webster – 7.3 (2)
Jarrod Kenny – 5.3 (8)
Taylor Britt – 4.5 (10)
Jayden Bezzant – 4.4 (11)
Dontae Russo-Nance – 4.4 (12)
STEALS
Dontae Russo-Nance – 2.9 (1)
Corey Webster – 1.9 (10)
Sam Dempster – 1.8 (12)
Leon Henry – 1.7 (13)
Nikau McCullough – 1.7 (14)
BLOCKS
Hyrum Harris – 1.2 (7)
Brayden Inger – 1.2 (8)
Rob Loe – 1.2 (9)
Sam Timmins – 1.2 (10)
Tai Wynyard – 1.1 (13)
Might just chuck another one in there for good measure...
MADE THREE-POINTERS
Sam Dempster – 57 at 40.7% (2)
Shane Temara – 49 at 38.0% (4)
Tom Vodanovich – 45 at 35.7% (7)
Derone Ruakawa – 40 at 44.4% (10)
Ethan Rusbatch – 38 at 28.1% (11)
Finally, I told you this day was coming a few emails ago. Martin Guptill has officially surpassed Rohit Sharma as the all-time leading run scorer in T20 internationals. Scores of 16, 20, 15 in the series against the West Indies got it done, taking him to 3497 runs in total.
Sharma is all the way back on 3487… though with the Asia Cup coming up in a week or two so don’t expect that record to last too long. India also has 3-game T20I series against Australia and South Africa before the World Cup in October. Meanwhile the Blackcaps don’t play another T20 until a tri-series against Pakistan and Bangladesh (four games) immediately prior to that World Cup. So chances are that run-scoring record see-saws over the next few months.
But in the meantime it belongs to Martin Guptill. Just as the women’s record belongs to Suzie Bates. Aotearoa batters atop both of these lists. A feast of feats…
