Bouncing Back
Warriors beat Rabbitohs, Football Ferns lost to Venezuela, Auckland FC/Wellington Phoenix squads, Zak Foulkes spotlight, and more
Scotty’s Word
Two themes of the 2025 NRL season for NZ Warriors...
Bouncing back after losses and winning when not playing their best.
NZW bounced back from the loss vs Raiders to defeat Rabbitohs on Sunday afternoon. While they didn't have any problems scoring points, and defended well aside from Latrell Mitchell's brilliance, this was another niggly battle in which NZW had to find the win. More penalties and errors than usual stalled the flow of the set for set grind that they love, which also invited Mitchell into NZW territory.
There were splashes of adversity with Mitchell Barnett and Rocco Berry leaving the field due to injuries. Along with winning the physical battle and having enough stamina to finish as strong as they started, the ability to absorb the loss of Barnett and then Berry is the most impressive wrinkle.
NZW won four games in a row without James Fisher-Harris featuring in either of the back to back wins in Australia vs Cowboys and Dragons. That foundation was reinforced when Barnett stayed down with a knee injury as I pondered how NZW would replace such a leader like Barnett. The solution was easy: Jackson 'Go' Ford played the next 59 minutes and did what he has done in nearly every game this season.
Jackson Ford vs Rabbitohs: 59mins, 15 runs - 153m @ 10.2m/run, 1 try assist, 2 tackle breaks, 37 tackles @ 88.1%
Ford stayed on the field for the rest of the game after Barnett's departure and there was no visible drop in NZW mahi. Fisher-Harris, Ford and Erin Clark all played 55+ minutes. That's roughly the status-quo for them… but Barnett churns out 50+ minutes most games so there are some pockets of Ford and Clark getting more/less minutes. This shows the depth available as these four can all play big minutes.
Berry's departure was more undercover after 60mins. Kurt Capewell moved to right centre and this challenged the right edge as the Marata Niukore/Luke Metcalf/Capewell/Roger Tuivasa-Sheck combo was put under pressure by Mitchell working down his favoured side. NZW did well to shut down just enough of those raids to seal the win, thanks once again to Capewell covering edge forward and centre.
When Capewell’s at left edge forward, Leka Halasima plays right edge to either move Niukore to the middle or give him a rest. There is immense value in Capewell playing two roles at a high level and the same goes for Niukore, while my favourite thing about Halasima's performance was him playing both right and left edge without any dip in performance.
Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Benaiah Ioelu Debut For Roosters
Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Tanner Stowers-Smith Debut For NZ Warriors
Bouncing Back From Mt Smart Voodoo For New Zealand Warriors vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
The impact of Halasima and Demitric Vaimauga was fantastic. The best NZW team has Halasima on the bench because of what he can do when fresh, lining up against tired bodies. Another insight is that the best scenario for Halasima is from an offload - either offloading to him or quick shifts to him after an offload.
Halasima scored his try from an offload ... from multiple offloads. That phase started with Vaimauga bouncing/rolling around and offloading…
Vaimauga had three offloads which was the most for any player from either team. That's the first time he has had more than one offload in a game this season and, given that he only had one offload in his first two seasons, it's his first game of his career with three offloads.
Along with the same power/mobility combo of all NZW youngsters and the offloads, Vaimauga had three passes vs Rabbitohs. Passing and relative speed a key factors for middle forwards with coach Andrew Webster. Vaimauga has earned game time because of his power, aggression, mobility and skill; skill that stems from his background in the midfield for the De La Salle College 1st 15.
Can't forget the barometers...
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad: 1 try, 28 runs - 342m @ 12.2m/run, 8 tackle breaks, 1 offload, 8 tackles @ 88%
Wayde Egan: 64mins, 8 runs - 74m @ 9.2m/run, 1 try assist, 35 tackles @ 92.1%
Egan had the most dummy half runs for any player in this game: 5 DHR - 54m @ 10.8m/run. This flowed into Te Maire Martin who played the last 16mins at hooker and he had 2 DHR - 21m @ 10.5m/run. That's 7 DHR - 75m @ 10.7m/run for the two hookers combined and good things happen when Egan's at that 10m/run mark, let alone having Martin add his flair to the position.
Nicoll-Klokstad is awesome. I can't take folks seriously if they talk down on Nicoll-Klokstad and it's an easy insight into how tapped in your mate is because Nicoll-Klokstad does so much nitty gritty that gets easily overlooked. For example, he made a try-saving tackle on Bayleigh Bentley-Hape in the corner followed by another to hold up a Rabbitoh close to the line. Two saves in the first quarter.
He also had the most runs, run metres and post-contact metres for either team.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was better and did his job. I'm still curious about his lack of oomph which was almost half of what Nicoll-Klokstad and Tuivasa-Sheck did vs Rabbitohs. Watene-Zelezniak had 12 runs - 88m @ 7.3m/run, which is his third game below 100m in a row and Taine Tuaupiki was over 100m in his last three games on the wing.
This was an exceptional weekend for NZW as all three teams had wins vs Rabbitohs in Sydney. I have plenty of notes about the NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup teams for paid subscribers and the Patreon whanau, as well as a few paragraphs about the Otago cricket coaching situation.
T20 Blast round up
Suzie Bates: 114 runs @ 57avg/144sr (1st) | 4w @ 11avg/8.8rpo (3rd)
Logan van Beek: 50 runs @ 50avg/92sr | 5w @ 11.6avg/7.2rpo (4th)
Jimmy Neesham: 42 runs @ 42avg/140sr | 5w @ 13avg/8.1rpo
Matt Henry: 4w @ 12.2avg/6.1rpo
Jacob Duffy: 3w @ 19.3avg/8.9rpo
Zak Foulkes: 2w @ 20avg/5rpo
Kane Williamson: 39 runs @ 19.5avg/115sr
Maddy Green: 13 runs @ 13avg/162sr
Tom Latham: 7 runs @ 3.5avg/64sr
Will O'Rourke: 5 runs @ 167sr | 1w @ 107avg/13.3rpo
New Zealand's 10 Best Young Women's Cricketers After The Summer Of 2024/25
New Zealand's 10 Best Young Cricketers After The Summer Of 2024/25
Breaking Down The NZ-A Cricket Squad For The 2025 Tour Of Bangladesh
2025 New Zealand A Tour Of Bangladesh Debrief
Zak Foulkes spotlight
Foulkes is someone who should be on your radar as a possible T20 World Cup squad member. The most likely seamers to be selected ahead of Foulkes are Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy and Will O'Rourke. Ferguson has done the job for a long time and would be reliable for a major tournament, while Duffy has simply been better than Foulkes in T20Is for Aotearoa.
I have Foulkes as a better T20 bowler than O'Rourke (who has gotten more opportunities by being a trendier name via his Test/ODI mahi) and his style, with control of his variations, could be better suited to Indian conditions than Ferguson or Duffy.
Foulkes is also the best batter of these seamers with a T20I strike-rate of 145 and a T20 strike-rate of 131. Foulkes may be viewed in the Jimmy Neesham/Michael Bracewell slot by Blackcaps selectors and, while I still prefer Neesham's ability for a major tournament, I'm tracking Foulkes closely during T20 Blast in England.
This is his second season of T20 Blast having previously played in 2024 before making his Blackcaps debut. Foulkes has a wicket in each of his first two games in the Blast, after taking a wicket in all four of his innings bowled for NZ-A in Bangladesh. Here's his runs and wickets in his last 10 games...
Runs: 11, 75, 3*, 43, 0, 11, 28*, 14, 4*
Wickets: 2, 1, 1, 0, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1
Relevant stats...
T20I: 23.46avg/8.4rpo
T20: 19.62avg/7.7rpo
2024 T20 Blast: 8w @ 23.1avg/45rpo
Blackcaps best T20I bowlers last summer (since October 1st 2024)
Jacob Duffy: 21w @ 9.7avg/6rpo
Zak Foulkes: 12w @ 19.2avg/8.2rpo
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
Notes From The Football Ferns 3-1 loss vs Venezuela on Sunday morning...
Starting line-up (3-5-2):
GK: Esson
DEF: Moore – Taylor – Bunge
MID: Neville – Foster – Longo – Hahn – Jale
FWD: Kitching - Clegg
Lots of first eleven talent was missing, including the most creative players (Indi Riley and Macey Fraser). In an ideal situation, Katie Bowen, CJ Bott, and Malia Steinmetz would also be there. Probably Rebekah Stott too, though she did feature off the bench in this match. Anna Leat as well. This was a disappointing loss but it’d be very unfair not to mention some of the key players that Michael Mayne was missing.
Or should that be Michael Jackson, if we’re going by the graphics on the livestream...
I thought the Ferns began pretty positively with decent intent in possession – seeking to hit those crossfield switches out to the wingbacks (albiet not always accurately). They were working it nicely around the back and into the midfield. It just wasn’t progressing to the strikers.
NZ’s first major chance was a well-saved effort from Milly Clegg after Grace Jale’s good work had poked the ball away on the high press. Clegg took her first touch beautifully with a little shimmy but couldn’t convert the shot. She’s looked like she’s been snatching at them a bit for Halifax Tides too, still getting back into match rhythm after a very quiet last 18 months.
Jale was really good at left wing-back. She only played the first half, with Manaia Elliott and Betsy Hassett also spending time there, but the aggression was high, the workrate was sharp, she didn’t turn the ball over, and she pressed well. Probably would be better suited to the other side but that’s half the problem: all our wing-back options are better on the right. This was a different spot for Jale though, and she did more than enough to earn further looks there.
Venezuela’s three goals were all brilliantly taken. The first came after 25 mins as Dayna Castellanos collected a cut-back in acres of space (Mickey Foster slow to close out) and thus she curled in a beauty from outside the area. The second came on 40’ straight after Katie Kitching had equalised. This time Jale got cut past in the box by Michelle Romero who whipped her strike in from a tricky angle. The third only arrived in the 86th min but again it was a case of slack marking as 17yo sub Melanie Iscala banged one in over Vic Esson.
Those goals reflected two things: one was Venezuela’s ability to convert from half-chances. NZ had fewer chances overall but probably created as many clear ones as Venezuela did. But Nayluisa Cáceres made saves that Vic Esson didn’t... in large part because of the quality of those finishes. Even Kitching’s goal required two attempts… it came from another instance of high pressing (Annalie Longo won the tackle this time) with Clegg swiftly shifting the ball to her strike-partner. First shot saved. Second shot almost saved but it dipped down under the bar.
The other reflection is that, defensively, the Ferns were a wee bit off the required level. Couple too many times when the first clearance didn’t actually go clear. Some sluggish marking. A lack of pace or anticipation in the 1v1s. Not by much, just enough to give Venezuela a slight advantage that didn’t need to be there. Sorta looked like a team working with a new coach in a new formation with new combinations trying to think their way through the game without fully feeling it yet.
Venezuela were vulnerable on the press throughout that first half but in the second spell they improved their passing and things quietened down. The Ferns couldn’t keep the ball high enough to threaten another levelling goal, though they were within range at 2-1 for most of it.
Substitutions also affected the flow of the game and I’m not convinced that any of them actually made the Ferns more potent. The funkiest aspect was Betsy Hassett playing LWB on her return to the national team... that’s in line with what she’s been doing for Stjarnan and Mayne’s already shown he likes to follow those club trends (Indi Riley at wing-back, Taylor in defence, Foster in midfield, et cetera).
Substitutions: Manaia Elliot > Jale at HT; Betsy Hassett, Jacqui Hand > Neville, Hahn at 60’; Rebekah Stott > Foster at 77’; Kelli Brown, Emma Pijnenburg > Clegg, Longo at 87’
As usual, a lack of pace was pretty glaring throughout. Especially in the battles between our defenders and their forwards. That’s just the state of it at the moment and we’ve gotta avoid getting countered to limit the damage and hope that our strength and physicality shine through in other areas.
Back in the Costa Rica games, the Ferns were pretty average in the first game drawing 1-1 but then improved in the second, especially that second half, to win 1-0 thanks to that Maya Hahn goal. Hopefully we’ll see similar improvements in the second game on Wednesday morning.
By the way, it’s a super busy times for kiwi international football. The first Football Ferns vs Venezuela game was on Sunday and over the next few days we’ve got all of this to look forward to (the games will all be streamed on FIFA+)...
Football Ferns vs Venezuela on Wednesday 4 June at 4am
NZ U20s Men vs Chile on Thursday 5 June at 7.30am
NZ U20s Men vs Chile on Sunday 8 June at 7.30am
All Whites vs Ivory Coast on Sunday 8 June at 11am
All Whites vs Ukraine on Wednesday 11 June at 9am
Auckland FC 2024-26 Squad
GK – Michael Woud, [Scott Morris], Joe Knowles (S)
DEF – Hiroki Sakai (I), Dan Hall, Nando Pijnaker, Francis De Vries, Tommy Smith, Callan Elliot, Scott Galloway, Adama Coulibaly (S)
MID – Felipe Gallegos (I), Louis Verstraete (I), Jake Brimmer, Cam Howieson, Finn McKenlay (S), Oliver Middleton (S)
FWD – Guillermo May (I), Logan Rogerson, Marlee Francois, Jesse Randall, Liam Gillion (S), Jonty Bidois (S)
That’s assuming none of the scholars get upgraded or released. They’re all eligible to continue except for Luis Toomey who has aged out of the U23 bracket so he’s presumably going to be a free agent. Unless they sign him on full terms... Steve Corica did use him a few times through the season. Scott Morris hasn’t been confirmed but it sounds like that’s happening. Also not a hundy on whether Joe Knowles is still under contract or not (or even the classification of his contract, I’m only guessing that he’s a scholarship player since that wasn’t really explained).
Pretty much everyone is coming back at this stage. Max Mata’s loan deal has expired but there’s a good chance they sort something out there... unless they want to use Neyder Moreno’s vacant import spot on a number nine in Mata’s mould with more durability after Mata was caught out by a few injuries across the season. Alex Paulsen is also gone but they’ve long since had a contingency plan for that in Michael Woud.
Should be lots of motivated players there on top of a good crop of youngsters who we’ll hopefully see a little more of next term. Not a whole lot of wiggle room to add to the squad though, unless they lose a few in the transfer window.
Wellington Phoenix 2025-26 squad
GK – Josh Oluwayemi (I), Alby Kelly-Heald
DEF – Tim Payne, Corban Piper, Isaac Hughes, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Xuan Loke (S), Jayden Smith (S)
MID – Alex Rufer, Kazuki Nagasawa (I), Paolo Retre, Fin Roa Conchie, Matt Sheridan
FWD – Hideki Ishige (I), Nathan Walker (S), Luke Supyk, Gabe Sloane-Rodrigues (S), Luke Brooke-Smith (S)
Over on this side things are about as dire as they usually feel for the Welly Nix at this time of the year. They always seem to need a squad rebuild so this is standard procedure. Thing is, they got rid of most of the players they weren’t going to re-sign during the season (David Ball, Mo Al-Taay, Oskar van Hattum, Marco Rojas) so much of the work has already been done. They’ve lost Sam Sutton and Scott Wootton to Perth. Kosta Barbarouses is leaving. Stefan Colakovski and Chico Geraldes are too injured to bring back.
On the positives, they do have a lot of young dudes who got expanded opportunities this past season who’ll be looking to kick on. Several of them could be in action at the U20 World Cup later this year. There are two vacant import spots available and the other three should be stronger in their second season in the league. They’ll need to sign a minimum of three more locals too... be that upgraded scholars or outside additions. Always plenty to choose from there. The Nix do pretty good with their local recruitment as we saw with the signings of Corban Piper and Luke Brooke-Smith last year.
Wouldn’t be a bad idea to add a couple A-League veterans to the squad either to make up for the 715 games of ALM experience that they’ve lost with the departures of Barbarouses, Wootton, Rojas, and Ball... who also happened to be the four oldest players used last season. That was a squad with ten players aged 28+ and about that many aged under 20 so if they could meet in the middle a little more that’d be swell.
Check within the paid section for a breakdown on Wellington Phoenix academy player usage, comparing this season to the previous few in terms of minutes played, game appearances, goals scored, and more.
Musical Jam...