Aiding The Experience
Blackcaps contracts, U19s women's footy squad, Breakers offseason moves (plus more NBL buzz), Michael Venus at the French Open + Kiwi-NRL deep cuts
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Aotearoa Warriors Diary: Winning Footy Notebook vs Dolphins (Rugby League)
Aotearoa Warriors Diary: Raiding Canberra & Ali Leiataua's Debut (Rugby League)
Flying Kiwis – June 7 (Football)
All Whites vs Sweden/Qatar: Squad Yarns & Preview (Football)
The Breakers Struck The Ideal NBL Next Star Balance With Rayan Rupert (Basketball)
The Legend Of Charlisse Leger-Walker Grows Ever Larger (Basketball)
Forecasting The Blackcaps 2023 ODI World Cup Squad (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
It's Blackcaps contracting season and whatever. Having whipped up a Henry Shipley yarn this morning, pondering Shipley gave me an enticing angle about Blackcaps contracts and their relevance for fans. This year the headlines for Blackcaps contracts zoned in on Adam Milne returning to the contract list and while Shipley does not have a contract, he may prove more valuable to Blackcaps than Milne over the next year.
Shipley has played eight ODIs in his first year of Blackcaps cricket. Milne has played three ODIs this year and two ODIs last year, combing for five ODIs in the last two years. Milne has played fewer ODIs in two years than Shipley has played in six months.
NZC Blackcaps contracts do not inform folks about Blackcaps player rankings. Various players will rack up Blackcaps games without contracts. Whether it's Trent Boult, Ajaz Patel, Shipley or any other geezer without a contract, they can all play for Blackcaps and play more than contracted players. Blackcaps contracts mean nothing to me.
Let’s take it further to another youngster on the rise in Rachin Ravindra. Five ODIs this year for Ravindra, the same as Milne’s last two years combined. And another step further for Jimmy Neesham being second for Blackcaps T20I games played (29 played, Ish Sodhi has 32) since January 1st 2022 and not being contracted.
NZ Warriors face Canberra Raiders tonight. There is plenty of preview information in this yarn and in our Niche Cast podcast to aid your viewing experience. Ali Leiataua is named to debut for Warriors and as you will be seeing plenty of stuff about Leiataua being Ali Lauiti’iti's nephew, Ali is also the brother of Onjeurlina Leiataua who played for Warriors in NRLW.
Onjeurlina played for Kiwi Ferns as recently as 2019 after her second season of NRLW with Warriors. In true Aotearoa footy abundance, Onjeurlina has also played for Black Ferns (as a 17-year-old!) and can often be spotted playing both codes each weekend. This brother/sister combination follows on from Lorina and Isaiah Papali'i playing for Warriors in NRL/NRLW as mother and son.
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There was another funky whanau wrinkle in Bulldogs signing centre Melino Fineanganofo on a train and trial deal for next summer. Melino is currently playing for Western Clydesdales in Queensland Cup after coming through Mt Albert rugby league, Auckland Grammar 1st 15 and Junior Warriors.
Melino's younger brother John has had a fabulous start to 2023 as he played a key role in Redcliffe Under 18s winning Queensland's Mal Meninga Cup. John played 1st 15 for Auckland Grammar and started his Redcliffe stint on the bench before working his way into a starting halves spot for their final. John has played a few games for Redcliffe U21s recently at centre.
While not confirmed, one would assume that Fatafehi Fineanganofo is another brother. 'Fehi' played for Auckland Grammar 1st 15 as well before moving into All Blacks Sevens. On the left is Melino, centre is Fehi and right is John…
Kiwi-NRL deep cuts from U21s footy in Queensland and New South Wales...
Burleigh love it. U21s have Cruz Lasike (Kaitaia) and Jeremaiah Tamepo (Manurewa) on wings. TJ Devery (Te Atatu) starting prop, Mahaki Hetet-Wairau (Taniwharau) at edge forward, Sam McIntyre (Glenfield) starting lock.
Jeremiah Matautia (Otara) and Henry Teutau (Marist) consistently in Townsville U21s forward pack.
Storm have Tea-Rani Woodman-Tuhoro (Takahiwai) on their wing production line with Brisbane Tigers. Braydon Seu-Easthope (Otahuhu) also starting hooker.
Taniela Otukolo (Otahuhu) at hooker and Elijah Rasmussen (WBHS) on bench for Redcliffe U21s.
Nathaniel Tangimataiti (Ellerslie) at centre for Wynnum U21s with Sefa Roache-Faimalo (Marist) in halves.
Te Hurinui Twidle (Turangawaewae) in halves for Eels U21s. Played Eels U19 then U21s fullback and now halves.
Te Umuariki Heremia-Tukere (Turangawaewae) back on the wing for Dragons U21s after moving up from U19s.
K-Ci Newton-Whare (Riccarton) staying on Storm U21 bench, scored a try last round.
Ilai Tuia (Randwick) back at starting prop for Panthers U21s. Randwick also have Jacob Laban in Warriors NSW Cup and Karl Oloapu in Bulldogs NRL.
Paaua Papuni-Abbott (Te Atatu) on Sharks U21 bench with Salesi Ata'ata (Otahuhu).
Sharks have two more Kiwi-NRL forwards with Felix Fa'atili (Hornby) and Toataua Porima (Waicoa Bay) as well. All four are big and mobile.
Benaiah Ioelu (Tangaroa Col) back at hooker for Roosters U21s with Salesi Foketi (Manurewa) on extended bench. Both played U19s and dabble in U21s. Tavita Henare-Schuster (Kia Toa) stays on wing.
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
Check it out, we’ve got a squad for the Oceania U19s Women’s Championship which is happening in a couple of weeks. This is qualification for the U20 World Cup next year. Fiji are hosting this OFC event. The NZ team has been drawn alongside Fiji and Papua New Guinea in their group, seeking to keep up a record of having won this thing every time since Australia left the confederation. Here’s the squad…
Unsurprisingly, there’s a large chunk of players continuing on from the U17 World Cup last year. That’s usually how these things go. Let us break this thing down a bit deeper.
Both U17 WC & U19 OFC: Zoe Benson, Kiara Bercelli, Lara Colpi, Alexis Cook, Aimee Danieli, Manaia Elliiott, Helena Errington, Marie Green, Suya Haering, Ella McCann, Ella McMillan, Charlotte Mortlock, Ruby Nathan, Rebekah Trewhitt
Wasn’t At The U17WC: Danielle Canham, Charlotte Eagle, Zoe McMeeken, Emma Pijnenburg
At The U17WC But Not Here: Milly Clegg, Olivia Ingham, Olivia Page, Lara Smith, Maddie Iro, Megan Simpson, Sophie Campbell
Milly Clegg is the big omission but clearly she’s got more important things going on in trying to make the Football Ferns World Cup squad. There’s also been a smaller squad picked for this current tournament hence a couple others had to drop out. Goalkeeper Charlotte Eagle was initially named in the U17WC squad but got injured and was replaced by Sophie Campbell (who is still young enough for the next U17 wave).
Danielle Canham has stepped her way into this team on the back of some fine domestic form, she absolutely stacked up the assists for Northern Rovers last year in the Nats and is now at Auckland United doing similar. Plus Zoe McMeeken and Emma Pijnenburg weren’t at the U17 World Cup… but they were at the U20 World Cup. These tournaments happen every two years whereas there’s a three-year diffo between 17 and 20, right? So there are some players whose birthdays fall in that spare year who are too old for the first half of the cycle but come back into contention for the latter half.
Just like the men’s side, there’s a dominant Wellington Phoenix presence here with nine out of 18 players from that club. Gotta let it be known though that the Nix recruit from all over the country. Aimee Danieli, Manaia Elliott, Charlotte Eagle, and Ella McMillan are all from the Waikato. Zoe McMeeken is from Christchurch. Rebekah Trewhitt from Palmerston North. Marie Green is an Aucklander. Ella McCann from Nelson. I think that’s all correct, anyway - not always easy to tell with these things. Helena Errington did go to Wellington Girls College so there’s at least one homegrown Nixer. Remember that the ALW team didn’t have a single Wellingtonian in its inaugural squad… granted they amended that with Michaela Robertson and Emma Rolston in year two.
Curious times with the NZ Breakers, who took a blow this week when Rob Loe chose to retire, but have quickly moved to find a replacement. As far as Rob Loe goes, it’s all family. If you recall back to the pando times, Loe’s wife gave birth while he was stuck over in Oz with the Breakers… and when he opted to move back to be with the family the Breakers were strangely aggressive about it – declaring that he wouldn’t play again that season (even though he later did). Then the season after that he found himself out of the rotation entirely at times. Safe to say he hasn’t always been well treated there.
However that was under a previous coaching regime back when things were a mess. It was different last campaign. Mody Maor’s leadership drastically turned things around, probably helped by a less hands-on approach from ownership, and Rob Loe had fine season. Still not as prominent as he should’ve been but he played in 31 out of 36 games averaging 5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 12.2 mins per game – shooting 54% from the field and a sizzling 43% from three-pointers. Loe’s chased that into some legitimate MVP quality performances for the Auckland Tuatara… so there’s nothing wrong with the 31yo’s ability. He just ain’t about the life no more. Wants to prioritise his young family. Can’t blame a bloke for that.
It has also been confirmed that his professional retirement includes international basketball hence he won’t be at the World Cup with the Tall Blacks. A week ago I listed a prospective TBs World Cup squad and since then two of those guys have retired: Tom Abercrombie (who is still doing one last year with the Breakers) and Rob Loe. Apparently Loe did have an offer on the table from the Breakers and he had bigger paycheques dangled his way by other NBL clubs but had no intention of moving back to Oz.
No Loe for NZB… instead they’ve signed Australian big fella Mangok Mathiang. 30 years old with South Sudanese heritage, Mathiang signed a two-way deal with the Charlotte Hornets back in 2017 after going undrafted. He only played 20 minutes across four games at NBA level but has had a tidy career in Italy, Turkey, Slovenia, and most recently Israel (another Israeli connection for the Breakers).
He also played 25 games for the Illawarra Hawks last season before leaving for Israel midway through the term. Mathiang has played internationally for Australia. Mathiang doesn’t have the shooting range of Loe but he can finish around the rim and he rebounds well.
So far the Breakers have seven players under contract plus another development player. Mathiang is the first of those who wasn’t part of last year’s squad – although they are reported to have agreed with Lithuanian prospect Mantas Rubštavičius to be a Next Star and interest is there to bring back all three imports from last term.
Breakers Under Contract: Izayah Le’afa, Cam Gliddon, Will McDowell-White, Tom Abercrombie, Tom Vodanovich, Dan Fotu & Mangok Mathiang (plus Alex McNaught as DP)
Breakers Free Agents: Dererk Pardon (I), Barry Brown Jr (I), Jarrell Brantley (I), Rayan Rupert (NBA Draft), Rob Loe (retired), Sam Timmins… plus replacement players Isaac Davidson, Jayden Bezzant & Jamaal Brantley
By the way, Flynn Cameron had a workout with the LA Clippers yesterday. It’s offseason work for the Clips, probably part of pre-draft workouts, and while there’s minimal chance of Cameron getting drafted this is still good networking for one of Aotearoa’s best ballers of his age. Cameron’s already signed with Melbourne United for the upcoming NBL season and is a good shot of making the Tall Blacks World Cup squad based on some killer performances for the TBs already in his young career. Pretty big few months coming up for that lad.
What’s more is that Auckland Tuatara head coach Aaron Young has been signed up by the Perth Wildcats as an assistant coach for next season. One more kiwi element to that lot. They already have five NZers on the playing roster and now add in one of the best young coaches in Aotearoa too. Young has been with the Tuatara for a few years now and they’ve been an NZ NBL force throughout (including in the Huskies days). He was originally born in America but moved here fairly young (attending Rangitoto High School). Young’s coaching career also entails involvements with various age grade NZ teams, some analysis work with the Breakers back in the day, and high school coaching.
An obvious connection here is Dontae Russo-Nance. The kiwi prospect has signed on with the Wildcats as a development player and has previously been coached by Young both with the Tuatara and also at St Kents College. Also on that ‘Cats team are Corey Webster, Tai Webster, Hyrum Harris, and Jack Andrew (DP). It’s actually starting to get out of hand. Soon they’ll have to relocate the team to Hamilton or something.
Speaking of the Auckland Tuatara, they’ve also announced that Kruz Perrott-Hunt will be playing for them after all. KPH had initially signed with the Tuatara but then opted instead to see if he could find something he liked in the transfer portal for his last year of college eligibility (anyone who was there during covid basically gets an extra year if they want it). But that didn’t happen so he’s back to finish the season with the Tuatara, adding yet another exciting young kiwi lad to the mix (note that Charlie Dalton and Tom Beattie were both in the Harbour team that won the national U19s last week).
Bit of a bummer in the tennis as Michael Venus and mixed doubles partner Bianca Andreescu (Canada) lost in the French Open final. They won the first set 6-4 against Miyu Kato (Japan) and Tim Putz (Germany) but lost the second set 6-4 and then 10-6 in the tiebreaker. Awkwardly, Tim Putz was actually once MV’s own Men’s Doubles partner for a wee while – although Venus is now with Jamie Murray (the brother of Andy).
Venus hadn’t had a Grand Slam run like this for some time, not since making the Mixed Doubles quarters at the Australian Open at the start of last year. Prior to that you’ve gotta go back to 2019 for another example of him making it past the second round in the mixed. His Men’s Doubles form has been a little better although he still only has one quarter-final appearance in the last four years (at the same Aussie Open).
This was the fifth Grand Slam final for Michael Venus. Two in the Men’s Doubles and three in Mixed Doubles and he’s won one of those five finals. He and Jamie Murray have won three ATP titles this year though. Overall Venus has a 20-20 record in ATP Men’s Doubles finals. He also has an Olympic bronze medal. Deadset legend of kiwi tennis.
Michael Venus in Grand Slam Finals
2017 French Open – Men’s Doubles – Won w/Ryan Harrison
2017 US Open – Mixed Doubles – Lost w/Chan Hao-ching
2018 Wimbledon – Men’s Doubles – Lost w/Raven Klaasen
2019 US Open – Mixed Doubles – Lost w/Chan Hao-ching
2023 French Open – Mixed Doubles – Lost w/Bianca Andreescu
And now enjoy some Tom Lark to finish (fresh album out today, more Aotearoa goodness)…