Big Time
Alex Paulsen retrospective, All Whites Olympic prep, White Ferns weirdness, Kiwi-NRL junior abundance, domestic footy roundup, Black Sticks hockey & more
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The Rise and Rise and Rise of Alex Paulsen, From Wellington Phoenix to AFC Bournemouth (Football)
All Whites at the 2024 Oceania Nations Cup: Squad Yarns & Preview (Football)
Football Ferns vs Japan: Valuable Reminders From Forgettable Games (Football)
Flying Kiwis – June 4 (Football)
What Comes Next For The Wellington Phoenix Blokes After Their Best Ever A-League Season? (Football)
Previewing The Tall Blacks’ 2024 Olympic Qualifying Campaign (Basketball)
The Breakers Are No Longer Coached By Mody Maor (Basketball)
2024 T20 World Cup: New Zealand Blackcaps Basics & Notebook (Cricket)
Breaking Down The Blackcaps 2024 T20 World Cup Squad (Cricket)
Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: The Preston Riki Debut For Panthers (Rugby League)
Aotearoa Warriors Diary: Taking Stock Of A Golden Start To Winter (Rugby League)
Aotearoa Warriors Diary: Returning To Townsville vs Cowboys (Rugby League)
27fm Weekly Playlist: June 7 (Music)
Scotty’s Word
Why are T20 World Cups awesome? Every few years the whole world of cricket comes together to celebrate this goofy game. For all the goofy stuff the ICC does, this version of the T20 World Cup provides a chance for teams like Papua New Guinea, Uganda, United States of America and more emerging nations to compete at a major event.
This morning USA beat Pakistan and hopefully tomorrow does not involve an upset win for Afghanistan over Aotearoa. In our Subscriber Pod this week we laid out some last minute Blackcaps thoughts and the Niche Cast this week was headlined by a big ol' Blackcaps T20 World Cup preview. We have lots of Blackcaps stuff for you to digest so tap in.
The White Ferns squad to tour England will get a full yarn this weekend. The squad does not inspire optimism that White Ferns can win in England and I continue to be fascinated by the difference in White Ferns and Football Ferns perspectives. There is so much negativity about Football Ferns even though they are on the rise with immense young talent (Milly Clegg, Macey Fraser… and keen fans should know about youngsters like Ela Jerez).
Football Ferns are on the up, getting consistent experience against better teams. They have exciting talent and a core group that is gaining top-tier experience around the world. White Ferns have been sliding since 2019 and despite their losing mahi stretching across two coaches, there are lots of lovely positive yarns about White Ferns.
White Ferns don't have that level of exciting young talent. There is no Clegg or Fraser in the White Ferns mix to generate buzz and after five years of covering this beat closely, I don't have much faith in the White Ferns development pipeline. The latest quirk in White Ferns matters is Kate Anderson - who was not selected in this squad to tour England.
Latest quirk and latest example of why fans shouldn't care about White Ferns or Blackcaps contracts. Anderson and Bernadine Bezuidenhout got contracts last year, with Bezuidenhout retiring a few weeks ago. Anderson made her T20I debut soon after getting her contract and played four T20Is, all three T20Is of a tour to South Africa and then one appearance against Pakistan last year - when Pakistan grabbed a T20I series win over White Ferns in NZ.
Anderson only played in her weaker format as well. Her excellent List-A record (relative to the White Ferns selection baseline) of 31.8avg/88sr wasn’t good enough to get an ODI game. She has a solid T20 record of 21.5avg/101sr but like many who aren’t in the White Ferns cool club, Anderson was given a tricky role that didn’t empower her to perform.
That's what makes the White Ferns so weird. I've thrown up Bella Armstrong in these newsletters before and she also made her T20I debut on that tour of South Africa, playing one game. Most White Ferns don't dominate domestic cricket and for some, like Armstrong, they struggle in domestic cricket after being in the White Ferns. Armstrong doesn't deserve to be close to the White Ferns squads right now, but she is another example of goofy selections and a lack of development.
Lots of NZ Warriors stats were laid out in the written preview as well as the Sub Pod. The stat I'm still pondering is how NZ Warriors are second for average kick return metres, joining Panthers as the only teams who average 200+ kick return metres. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad returns to fullback and aside from the 'best' NZW players losing lots of games this season, Nicoll-Klokstad is a machine...
Metres per game
2019: 175m
2020: 179m
2021: 161m
2022: 109m
2023: 188m
2024: 229m
Nicoll-Klokstad, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Marcelo Montoya should help NZW roll forward vs Cowboys. Watch out for Nicoll-Klokstad running close to the ruck as well, especially with Wayde Egan back at hooker. Cowboys are big and kinda slow in the middle, which NZW can target.
Richie Tupuailei is named to make his first appearance for Sharks in Under 21 Jersey Flegg this weekend. Tupuaileai got the RugbyPass highlights package for his 1st 15 mahi with St Thomas of Canterbury College. Same with Toby Crosby when he was playing for St Pat's Silverstream in Wellington and these two are now in NRL pipelines (Crosby's with NZW).
St Thomas of Canterbury are National Secondary Schools champions for rugby league, but Tupuailei played 1st 15 there. As you can see in the clips, Tupuailei is massive and mobile which is exactly the same for Felix Fa'atili (Hornby - St Thomas of Canterbury) and Salesi Ataata (Otahuhu). Fa'atili and Ataata are starting props for Sharks U21s this week with Tupuailei coming off the bench; three big boppers from Aotearoa.
This big bopper yarn from late last year features Fa'atili and Ataata. No NZW youngsters we part of that yarn, just Kiwi-NRL juniors who are with Aussie teams and all our NZW content covers the plethora of young talent at Mt Smart. NZW have their fair share, don't worry about that.
I also came across news of Broncos signing Antonio Verhoeven from West Coast/Greymouth. Verhoeven is playing 1st 15 for St Bede's College in Christchurch which previously featured NZW forward Tanner Stowers-Smith, while there is the Griffin Neame/West Coast connection too.
Verhoeven is massive and that's helped him excel in basketball, but peep the trend of massive youngsters coming out of Aotearoa to enter Kiwi-NRL pipelines. Broncos also have Marley Igasan from Tauranga who is also massive and given how quickly Xavier Willison/Deine Mariner progressed through the Broncos pipeline, watch out for Igasan in the next year or so.
Both Black Sticks teams are playing in their respective FIH Nations Cup tournaments. The lads went 4-0 in pool play and have a crossover game against Pakistan on Sunday morning. The ladies had two wins and a draw in pool play and now face Ireland on Sunday morning.
Nations Cup is a second tier event, so the Aotearoa teams should perform well. Remember that the men have sealed Olympic qualification while the women have more of a White Ferns vibe in not qualifying for the Olympics. How the women finish this event will be informative of their plateau, while the men should be judged on their Olympic campaign which will require some momentum from these last few Nations Cup games.
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
The All Whites have named their Oceania Nations Cup squad, there’s a yarn up on the website, and as expected it’s got a heavy emphasis on the upcoming Olympics. 10/21 players under the age of 23 and therefore eligible for Paris 2024. Most of the regulars have been rested so don’t fret about any absences. Here are some of the players available for the OlyWhites (born in 2003 or later):
GOALKEEPERS: Alex Paulsen, Kees Sims, Henry Gray, Scott Morris, Alby Kelly-Heald
DEFENDERS: Tyler Bindon, Finn Surman, Sam Sutton, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Isaac Hughes, Finn Linder, Matt Sheridan
MIDFIELDERS: Marko Stamenic, Matt Dibley-Dias, Matthew Garbett, Fin Conchie, Campbell Strong, Dan McKay, Luis Toomey
FORWARDS: Ben Waine, Ben Old, Jay Herdman, Oskar van Hattum, Jesse Randall, Riley Bidois, Liam Gillion
Only 15 of those players will be selected, plus three overage dudes and four non-travelling reserves. The forward-line is where they need the most help so Chris Wood and Sarpreet Singh should be at the top of the wishlist. Then if you’re going for pure talent you pick Libby Cacace. If you’re going for fit you might lean towards someone like Tim Payne at right back or Joe Bell in midfield or potentially even Michael Boxall in central defence (or Bill Tuiloma if Boxy’s club kick up a fuss like last time).
This is what I would do...
MAIN SQUAD: Alex Paulsen, Kees Sims, Tyler Bindon, Finn Surman, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Marko Stamenic, Matt Dibley-Dias, Matthew Garbett, Ben Waine, Ben Old, Jay Herdman, Sam Sutton, Fin Conchie, Oskar van Hattum, Isaac Hughes
OVERAGE: Chris Wood, Sarpreet Singh, Liberato Cacace
RESERVES: Henry Gray, Jesse Randall, Campbell Strong, Matt Sheridan
The right side of defence remains a big issue though I have a sneaky suspicion that Bazeley will play a back three with wing-backs in which case you can manufacture someone there, possibly Garbett or Van Hattum, maybe even Old or Sutton playing on their unnatural side. Based on the Nations Cup squad, I think Jesse Randall’s probably getting in ahead of Isaac Hughes for the real deal. There are also question marks over a few availabilities, with Dibley-Dias chief amongst those. Fingers-crossed that Fulham let him miss the start of preseason without causing a kerfuffle... Bournemouth seem happy enough to let Alex Paulsen have a crack.
Writing about Alex Paulsen this week, I dipped back into a few of the TNC archives to see what I could see. This didn’t make it into the article itself but here’s something I wrote about him in March of 2021 as part of a recap of the Phoenix Reserves’ National League campaign...
Closely rivalling Ben Old was goalkeeper Alex Paulsen who in his first season as the main starter was utterly brilliant. It was miracle save after miracle save, his shot-stopping is jaw-dropping. Already heard whispers that his season highlights vid is getting Oscar buzz for Best Short Film before it’s even been released. The team’s defensive capitulation towards the end took some of the shine off of Paulsen’s season but not much. Paulsen had starred for New Zealand at the last U17 World Cup and at this point he’s the best young goalkeeper in the country, it’s not even an argument. It’s not just the shot-stopping either, he’s very good with the ball at his feet (and most importantly confident with the ball at his feet). Plus he saved multiple penalties.
He was 18 years old at that point in time and three things that stood out were his shot-stopping, his composure within the team’s build-up, and his ability to save penalties. Three and a bit years later he’s signed with a Premier League club on the back of proving himself the best goalkeeper in the A-League with the exact same profile that he had back then. He was That Bloke from day one, pretty much.
In case you didn’t read Flying Kiwis this week, make sure you indulge in the wonderful scenes of Matt Garbett celebrating promotion with NAC Breda. This video and this video ought to give you the idea.
A few curious updates with the Wellington Phoenix Wahine in recent days. After Rebecca Lake re-signed last week, we’ve had three departures. Two of them imports. Hailey Davidson had already said she wasn’t offered a new deal so she’s popped up with Dallas Trinity in the new USL Super League. There was a women’s USL last year, young kiwi keeper Blair Currie played for the South Georgia Torment (and is back there again in 2024), but the USL Super League – aka the United Soccer League Super League – is a new one with full-on second tier designation behind the NWSL. It’ll be interesting to see if we can get any kiwis into that league... early days with the signings so none so far.
Then came the news that both Grace Wisnewski and Hope Breslin would be leaving the club “as they’re exploring other opportunities”. With Breslin, that’s no shocker. She’s an import with NWSL experience who the Nix would probably have liked to keep but who is capable of earning bigger pay-cheques elsewhere. She spent a lot of last season out of position in midfield where the club would be better off signing a specialist. No dramas there.
On the other hand, Wisnewski has only played 28 games in the A-League and is still recovering from an ACL injury. Did not see an overseas offer popping up quite so soon for The Wiz but it would be awesome if that’s what’s happening. English Championship or that USL Super League seem like comfortable fits for her, supposing she returns as the same player she was before the injury (they usually do, once they get the match fitness back), but who knows it could be a rival A-League club or it could be a European Champions League club. We await with anticipation.
Most ALW teams are still getting around to making seasonal updates but Adelaide United did farewell a few players the other week. Hannah Blake and Rosetta Taylor were amongst them. Adelaide were the worst team in the competition last season so this is the best scenario. Taylor hardly played after a few appearances at the beginning of the season. Blake was a regular and finished tied for the team’s top scorer... with three goals. Blake’s always said she wants to play professionally in England so perhaps now is the time. She’s a good example of someone whose performances in the ALW would have eased her into Football Ferns squads in previous eras but there’s a little too much depth for that to be a guarantee these days.
Domestic Footy Roundup
Promised you that holiday weekend cup recap today so here it is. Had a few games still being played on Monday so couldn’t do it then. The Kate Sheppard Cup first, where we’d already had some drama in round one with last year’s beaten finalists Wellington United being knocked out by the Phoenix Reserves. Round two pretty much went as expected though. There were a few tricky fixtures in the northern realms, with Eastern Suburbs winning 4-3 against Hamilton Wanderers thanks to a very late winner from substitute Millie Boyle. 15 years old, only made her senior debut a few weeks back. That’s one to watch alright. Suburbs were 3-1 down with half an hour to go.
West Coast Rangers also had a tough time getting past Fencibles with Marissa Porteous’ 21st minute goal the difference in a 1-0 result. Other results were simpler though, with more imbalanced match-ups. The biggest win belonged to Hibiscus Coast with an 11-1 win over Uni-Mount Bohemians. Danica Urlich-Beech and Grace Chitty both got hat-tricks. The Phoenix Reserves made light work of Seatoun with a 9-0 victory, Olivia Ingham scoring three while Alyssha Eglinton got a double. Ella Jerez, Ella McCann, Daisy Brazendale, and Kyra Elder were also on the scoresheet. It was 7-0 after 32 minutes so they did show some mercy. Manaia Elliot, Aimee Danieli, and Ella McMillan all played.
There was also a 7-0 win for Auckland United vs Cambridge with Rene Wasi scoring a hatty and Ruby Nathan getting amongst it with a goal off the bench – popping back up at the old stomping ground during the A-League offseason. As if that lot wasn’t already looking ominous enough. Gotta shout out Cashmere Technical for an impressive 6-0 win against Coastal Spirit as well. Big win against their close rivals. Here’s the draw for the third round, which is due to be played on the weekend of June 15:
Ellerslie AFC vs West Coast Rangers FC
Western Springs AFC vs Hibiscus Coast AFC
Eastern Suburbs AFC vs Auckland United FC
Northern Rovers FC vs Franklin United
Palmerston North Marist FC vs Waterside Karori AFC
Petone FC vs Wellington Phoenix Reserves
Cashmere Technical FC vs Nelson Suburbs
Otago University vs Dunedin City Royals
Over to the Chatham Cup now where there were two massive upsets and they both occurred in the southern section. Defending champions Christchurch United are goneburgers after getting dropped 3-2 by Nomads United. Flynn Holdem scored a double for the victors – 16 years old and also seems to be a bit of a gun cricketer. He’s scored five goals in eight Southern League games on top of this effort. Cashmere Tech couldn’t laugh though... they were beaten 3-1 by Coastal Spirit (revenge for the women’s fixture).
There was some good fun in Palmy as Palmerston North United and Stop Out went to a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes. Stop Out prevailed there. On the other side of the scales, Napier City Rovers continue to look excellent with a 10-0 win over Palmerston North Marist, including a three-for to Sam Lack while Jonny McNamara scored four of them. Western Springs put seven past Northern Rovers. Reid Drake with a hatty. 7-0 final score.
Other games of note include Waterside Karori beating Upper Hutt 2-1 thanks to a Lachlan Cnady brace, the winner being scored right at the end. Petone also had a late win beating Island Bay 2-1. And how about Melville United who were 2-0 down against North Shore United after 75 minutes and yet they won 3-2. Goals for Erik Panzer (76’), Lucca Lim (81’), and Panzer again (84’).
Similar deal in the Nelson derby. Nelson Suburbs were 1-0 up then lost 2-1 to FC Nelson, La Bu Pan with goals on 69’ and 76’. And it was funky to see new Auckland FC signings Cam Howieson score twice in Auckland City’s 5-0 win vs Metro and Francis De Vries bag the winner in Eastern Suburbs’ 2-1 win vs East Coast Bays. Here’s the schedule for the next round...
Central United FC vs Birkenhead United AFC
Auckland City FC vs Hamilton Wanderers
Ellerslie AFC vs Onehunga Mangere United AFC
Western Springs AFC vs Eastern Suburbs AFC
Melville United vs Tauranga City AFC
Bay Olympic vs Cambridge FC
Auckland United vs Manurewa AFC
Hibiscus Coast vs Taupo AFC
Wellington Olympic vs Western Suburbs
Waterside Karori vs Miramar Rangers
Napier City Rovers vs North Wellington
Petone FC vs Stop Out SC
FC Nelson vs Ferrymead Bays
Coastal Spirit vs Nomads United
Dunedin City Royals vs Roslyn Wakari
Northern AFC vs Otago University
And here’s a tune to take you into the weekend...
When I grow up I want to be the White Ferns selector. Is there any job with less responsibility or need for the formation?
What a sweet gig, results seem irrelevant.