Brewing Cultures
Kiwi-UFC Fight Week, Blackcaps tournament prowess, Aotearoa Kiwis RLWC, Plunket Shield, Women's National League Team of the Week & more
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Reading Menu
2022 T20 World Cup: Blackcaps Crack Semi-Finals Again (Cricket)
Learning About Kiwi-NRL Juniors Keano Kini and Karl Oloapu (Rugby League)
Football Ferns vs South Korea: Squad Yarns & Preview (Football)
2022 Women’s National League - Week 8 Review (Football)
Flying Kiwis – November 2 (Football)
2022 Kiwi-WBBL: So Much Fun (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
The fabulous Aotearoa sporting times roll on and another Kiwi-UFC fight week begins. Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker, Brad Riddell and Carlos Ulberg are preparing for UFC 281 on Sunday afternoon (NZT), which goes down at Madison Square Garden. Ulberg is coming off two wins and his fight starts the entire card, while Riddell and Hooker are both coming off two losses. Adesanya is still one of the best fighters in the world and he has three consecutive wins, also undefeated in the middleweight division, now fighting Alex Pereira who has two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing.
A preview for all four bouts will drop in the next few days. City Kickboxing currently sits as one of the best MMA teams in the world and after a tough phase in recent years, a bunch of wins at the same event will reinforce CKB's world-class standing. CKB's fighters provide plenty of intrigue and there is the extra layer of Eugene Bareman leading CKB's coaching staff.
On the back of last week's note about Bareman setting higher standards in CKB training and building their team culture even further, folks should be learning as much about Bareman and CKB coaching, as they learn about the fighters. This comes in the form of brewing culture as well as tactics, skills, and game plans.
Hooker and Riddell have been losing, so their development heading into their respective fights will be interesting. How does Ulberg keep building on his promising entry to UFC? Adesanya has fought Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori twice in the UFC, but this will be his third fight against Pereira which provides lots of experience for both parties to use. Bareman, CKB's coaches and Adesanya have ample much information about an Pereira and how that looks in a monster UFC 281 headliner will be fascinating.
Aotearoa Kiwis defeated Fiji and now prepare to face Australia in a Rugby League World Cup semi-final. Here's five things to ponder...
1) Winning games. Aotearoa is yet to roll out a fabulous performance but they keep winning. Fiji are a strong Test team (long kicking is crucial in Test footy) and offered the same chaos as Aotearoa's opponents in the group stage. Aotearoa was below par and settled into a grind, pulling away from Fiji in the latter stages. As much as folks want sublime Kiwis footy, Kiwis put Fiji in the grinder and that's useful in World Cups.
2) Joseph Manu's shadow on Brandon Smith. Manu is obviously excellent, don't overlook the Waiheke Ram at dummy half. Manu tends to follow a Smith scoot with his own scoot and Manu is a lethal threat out of dummy half for starters, let alone pouncing on a quick play the ball from Smith. Smith is playing lots of minutes and for all of Aotearoa's 'clunky' attacking movements, Smith has had no issues bursting down field from dummy half throughout RLWC.
3) Joseph Manu's shadow on Ronaldo Mulitalo and Jordan Rapana. Mulitalo and Rapana weren't perfect against Fiji, but I love them as wingers and they had many moments of funk. I view them as perfect wingers as they are awkward to tackle, can finish with a slither of space and have some kind of natural footy funk that puts them in the right spot or their instincts can save a play. Mulitalo and Rapana take pressure of Manu at the back as well, helping ease that workload so Manu can pop into dummy half more etc.
(Local media's NZ Warriors bias was on display ahead of the Fiji game. We have seen this twice this year with Shaun Johnson as Aotearoa Kiwis headlines were about Johnson, despite Johnson being at least a fourth halves option. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak isn't in the Mulitalo/Rapana zone, but all the news was about his inclusion in the squad)
4) Ideally Isaac Liu doesn't play again, but he stepped up against Fiji. Liu left Roosters for Titans and suffered a dip in his mahi this season although his Kiwis mana is evident in his steady selection. No Moses Leota or Marata Niukore (could return to face Australia) resulted in more footy for Liu and Liu responded with a hearty performance. Liu may not play again at RLWC but his work against Fiji was crucial in taking Kiwis further.
5) Aotearoa should never be viewed as favourites vs Australia. Kiwis might win and hopefully they can find extra juice for this encounter, but don't expect that.
Kiwi Ferns play Australia on Friday morning (blokes is on Saturday morning) in their last group stage game. The same vibe applies for wahine rugby league and a loss should be all good for Aotearoa as they will still progress to semi-finals. I'm intrigued by these Aotearoa vs Australia wahine fixtures to learn more about the levels of footy in both countries.
Australia selects all their players from NRLW. Aotearoa has players from grassroots local footy and this should lead to a hefty gap between the two nations. Strong Aotearoa performances against Australia could signal a growing wave of wahine rugby league in Aotearoa that is sneaking beneath the radar.
T20 World Cup semi-finals have Aotearoa vs Pakistan and England vs India. I feel similar about Blackcaps as I do Kiwis and this leads to gratitude as Aotearoa is capable of making it to knockout stages in World Cups. Blackcaps and Kiwis have both had stinky moments in our lifetimes, so enjoy these pockets where Aotearoa teams are among the best teams in the world.
Aotearoa makes finals, don't take that for granted. This may be the best era of Blackcaps cricket ever and while we all want World Cup success, Aotearoa consistently makes finals and does so more than cricket's big donnies. Aotearoa is the best sporting nation in the world and that is nothing to feel sad about.
Blackcaps T20 World Cup Batting
Devon Conway: 124 runs @ 41.33avg/119.23sr
Finn Allen: 91 runs @ 22.75avg/189.58sr
Kane Williamson: 132 runs @ 33avg/118.91sr
Glenn Phillips: 195 runs @ 48.75avg/163.86sr
Daryl Mitchell: 56 runs @ 28avg/112sr
Jimmy Neesham: 37 runs @ 148sr
Mitchell Santner: 27 runs @ 168.75sr
Blackcaps T20 World Cup Bowling
Mitchell Santner: 8w @ 12.87avg/6.43rpo
Tim Southee: 7w @ 12.85avg/6.35rpo
Lockie Ferguson: 7w @ 17.42avg/8.13rpo
Ish Sodhi: 6w @ 17.33avg/6.78rpo
Trent Boult: 6w @ 19.16avg/7.18rpo
Auckland smoked Wellington in their Plunket Shield round three game. Credit to Auckland, but this is about Wellington being rolled on their home turf once again. Wellington won their first game thanks to centuries from Tom Blundell and Rachin Ravindra in the first innings followed by Blundell's 68 and lower order runs in the second innings. Wellington then put up scores of 80 and 87 in round two's loss to Canterbury, followed by 198 and 132 agains Auckland.
Wellington don't have any more Plunket Shield games at the Basin Reserve after their first three games were all at home. Three home games; win by 1 wicket, loss by 290 runs and loss by 9 wickets.
Blundell and Ravindra are the only batters with a 50+ score, no other batter has 100+ runs. Nick Kelly moved up from Otago and he's got 97 runs @ 16.16avg. Youngsters like Luke Georgeson (91 runs @ 15.16avg), Troy Johnson (82 runs @ 13.66avg) and Tim Robinson (20 runs @ 3.33avg) have been non-factors. Ben Sears has played one game and could boost Wellington's mahi.
Kiwi-WBBL round up...
Amelia Kerr: 164 runs @ 27.33avg/118.84sr | 12w @ 20.25avg/6.75rpo
Sophie Devine: 117 runs @ 16.71avg/101.73sr | 5w @ 35avg/6.60rpo
Maddy Green: 146 runs @ 29.30avg/106.56sr
Suzie Bates: 230 runs @ 38.33avg/109.52sr
Lea Tahuhu: 4w @ 38.50avg/7rpo
Hayley Jensen: 2w @ 50avg/6rpo
Kiwi-NRL train and trial breakdown...
Panthers: Daeon Amituanai (Whiti Te Ra)
Sea Eagles: Nathaniel Roache (Richmond), Jackson Ferris (Kia Ora)
Roosters: William Fakatoumafi (Otahuhu), Junior Pauga (Glenora)
Sharks: Caleb Uele (Glenora)
Knights: Toni Tupouniua (Marist)
Titans: Vaka Sikahele (Manurewa), Immanuel Kalekale (Glenora), Emry Pere (Taniwharau)
Dolphins: Setu Tu (Otahuhu)
Warriors: Ali Leiataua (Papatoetoe), Jacob Laban (Randwick), Demitric Sifakula (Otahuuh), Zyon Maiu'u (Te Atatu)
Nathaniel Roache and Jackson Ferris have both battled injuries while flashing solid NRL potential. Sea Eagles found value in these low key lads.
Any time Kiwi-NRL juniors move to Roosters, I'm excited. William Fakatoumafi has impressed with Warriors, Recliffe (Warriors) and Panthers this year which leads him to Roosters. Junior Pauga left Warriors to play Queensland Cup with Wynnum where he commanded an NRL gig at Tigers, now Roosters. Both are centres who can dabble in fullback/wing and they should improve defensively at Roosters.
Toni Tupouniua is Stili's younger brother. Caleb Uele is Braden Hamlin-Uele's younger brother.
This crop of young Warriors who are likely to settle in NSW Cup form an intriguing pocket. Ali Leiataua, Jacob Laban, Demitric Sifakula and Zyon Maiu'u all played lots of games for Redcliffe U21s who made the Queensland final; they were elite juniors in Aotearoa who then became one of the best U21 teams in Queensland.
Hayze Perham has also joined Bulldogs where he is named in their top-30 squad. The Kiwi-NRL Bulldogs continue to simmer as an emerging force.
Wildcard’s Notebook
The Blackcaps have made the semi-finals of the last three T20 World Cups and the last four ODI World Cups. They won two of those ODI semis and one of the T20s semis with another to be decided tomorrow night. They also won a Test Championship in between. It’s pretty astounding consistency, especially during the Kane Williamson era when they’ve actually started winning some of those semi-finals. To illustrate the point further, and just because it’s interesting, here are the playing elevens from those games...
2007 ODI World Cup (lost to Sri Lanka by 81 runs)
Peter Fulton, Stephen Fleming, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Shane Bond, Jeetan Patel
2011 ODI World Cup (lost to Sri Lanka by 5 wickets)
Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Kane Williamson, Nathan McCullum, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee, Andy McKay
2015 ODI World Cup (won vs South Africa by 4 wickets)
Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Daniel Vettori, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Trent Boult
2019 ODI World Cup (won vs India by 18 runs)
Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Jimmy Neesham, Colin De Grandhomme, Tom Latham, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson
What’s buzziest about that is how Luteru Ross Taylor played all four of them. No other country made all four of these semis but the Blackcaps did and Taylor played all of them. He’s the only one and obviously there was gonna be heaps of turnover across twelve years of cricket. But it’s still notable how with each passing tournament the Blackcaps seemed to get a little more refined in their line-up balance and a little better in their performances. Everyone left the team a bit better than they found it in.
2016 T20 World Cup (lost to England by 7 wickets)
Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Colin Munro, Corey Anderson, Ross Taylor, Luke Ronchi, Grant Elliott, Mitchell Santner, Mitchell McClenaghan, Ish Sodhi, Adam Milne
2021 T20 World Cup (won vs England by 5 wickets)
Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult
2022 T20 World Cup (TBD vs Pakistan – expected line-up)
Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
The same thing is true of the T20 team though it’s funky how much things have changed from 2021 to 2022. Kane Williamson is the only bloke still batting in the same position within the top five. However those changes only apply to the batters as the bowling crew is almost entirely identical – keeping in mind that Lockie Ferguson was injured in the 2021 tournament or else he’d have played that match ahead of Adam Milne.
2021 World Test Championship Final (won vs India by 8 wickets)
Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling, Colin De Grandhomme, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult
No semis in the WTC but gotta recognise it anyway. Sneaky factor in here is how many players have been a part of this success in all formats. Williamson, Conway, Boult, and Southee are all-format blokes who won the WTC and are trying to win the T20 WC. The three other than Conway also played the 2019 ODI World Cup. Daryl Mitchell has emerged as an all-format presence since then. And looking at that expected line-up against Pakistan tomorrow... Finn Allen is the only one who hasn’t played Test cricket. The only one.
You must have seen this by now but even so you’ll surely oblige another geeze at Cam Howieson’s absolutely unreal goal for Auckland City on the weekend...
That goal makes regular halfway goals look mundane. He’s almost closer to his own penalty area than he is to the halfway line. Incredible strike and it was funky to see that clip get picked up by the global aggregators. This clip was featured on Bleacher Report’s Twitter. A Guardian fella shared it too. Etcetera.
And under all the comments/replies I saw a heap of them complaining about how bad the commentary was, lol. Fred De Jong and Harry Ngata didn’t exactly add to the hype, did they? Harry at least tried to but Fred might as well have yawned through one of the most thrilling moments of Natty League footy ever (one thing in their defence: this was late in a game that wasn’t exactly full of other thrilling moments).
As cool as it is to have the National League entirely broadcast, it’s also still frustrating that those broadcasts aren’t taken as seriously as they should be. Sky Sports don’t offer much more than the bare minimum effort. Some games only seem to have a single camera set-up. Sometimes the commentators aren’t even at the game, which is baffling. And there have been several instances where the stream has buggered up, not to mention regular spelling mistakes in the team list graphics. All of these issues are more prevalent for the women’s games too.
Plus this week’s WNL write-up was complicated slightly by Sky not even bothering to put the Northern Rovers vs Auckland United game up on demand. Made it disappear from the face of the earth. Luckily I’d watched the game live but damn... it’d never happen for rugby is all I’m saying.
The commentary is a mixed bag. Depends on who you get. Fred and Harry are a bit boring and very NZF Establishment options these days, though Ngata would be all good if he didn’t have this constant problem of getting players’ names wrong. Like, all the time. Every game. Many times per game.
Maia Jackman’s pretty entertaining but her low-key hilarious dry humour gets lost when she’s paired with one of the boring fellas. Also as a preference, the football specialists are better at providing context than the jack of all trades types (Glen Larmer is the main culprit there).
It’s easy enough just to watch with the game on mute so I don’t want this to read like a big old moan. So let’s highlight a few of the best in the business. Andrew Dewhurst can be tiresome with his Broadcast Voice and his back-in-my-day aphorisms but you cannot deny he’s a total pro who does his research, understands the game, and lifts the broadcast value of the games that he works on.
Sean Hogan has done a lot of the games hosted in the middle of the country and he’s been a great addition to the crew. Proper enthusiasm goes a long way. Plus, again, you can always tell the commentators who have prepared beforehand. Also Morgan Jarvis is always a pleasant presence on Southern United’s home games, more fan bias with him but that’s not a worry when you’re fair and genuine.
But the best of the bunch is undoubtedly Gordon Glen Watson. He’s knowledgeable, he’s conversational on the mic, and he respects the game. The matches he works on (often women’s games, I guess because of the conflict with his Auckland City media manager role) are better because he works on them.
Women’s National League – Team of the Week #8
GK – Brooke Bennett (Eastern Suburbs) – The only keeper with a clean sheet this week, that was her fourth of the term which has her in the league lead. Not a hectic week for any of the goalies. As much as anything Bennett’s here in recognition of her excellent work with ball at feet in Suburbs’ build-ups.
RB – Talisha Green (Northern Rovers) – TG is one of those players who is just all action. She’s going to make that tackle. She’s going to make that extra sprint. And back on the right side in the second half this week she was able to get forward and swing in some crosses too, including one that Kelli Brown headed home for the equaliser to start the comeback. If Green’s not one of your favourite players then you’re not watching closely enough.
CB – Kate Bennett (Central) – Yeah she gave away the last-minute penalty that cost her team the game (a slippery handball)... but that was bad luck. Other than that Bennett was in the trenches for ninety-plus minutes with some inspirational defending... as well as her deep free kick leading to Central’s first goal.
CB – Hannah Mackay-Wright (Southern United) – Is HMW the form player in the WNL right now? Tayla O’Brien, I s’pose, but at this point she doesn’t count. Mackay-Wright has gone next level over the last month. Didn’t get a goal this week but that was all that was missing. Defensive prowess at the max. Shouldering folks off the ball and moving it confidently in possession. She’s always been good but now she’s straight up one of the best players in the country.
LB – Lara Wall (Canterbury United Pride) – It’s been a tough season for the Cantabs in many ways but it would’ve been a lot tougher without Lara Wall (and a couple of their other more experienced key players too). Wall defended stoutly plus she set up the equaliser amidst the Pride’s comeback. Such a dependable performer.
CM – Saki Yoshida (Eastern Suburbs) – It feels like its her turn. Yoshida has started every game for Suburbs but tends to do the quiet work while others get the shine. Well, not today. Saki Yoshida was typically classy in the 3-0 win over Capital and it’s time she got her flowers.
CM - Tayla O’Brien (Eastern Suburbs) – Another goal and another assist. Another game in which she was the most influential player on the park. 14 goals and 6 assists from nine games. That’s better than two goal contributions per match. TOB is too good.
CM – Ruby Nathan (Auckland United) – Scored a blinder of a goal and set up another. Nathan has come back from the U17 World Cup and has been absolutely amazing. 4 goals and 8 assists in five games is sneakily an even better rate than O’Brien. One of Aotearoa’s absolute top tier attacking prospects. Not a word of exaggeration... she’s outperforming what Alyssa Whinham did at the same age in this league. Learn the name and do it quickly.
FW – Holly Kleinsman (Central) – Gutted for Central to have been 2-1 up with ten to play against Canterbury and end up losing 3-2. They benefited from some poor finishing from the Cantabs but also they put themselves in that position thanks to constant speed and movement up front, usually involving Kleinsman, which created regular chances. Kleinsman scored the first goal and helped win the penalty for the second.
FW – Kelli Brown (Northern Rovers) – Her team were 2-1 down at the break. They came back out and won 3-2 thanks to a pair of well-taken Kelli Brown goals. She showed all those striker’s instincts and plenty more, dragging her team into that comeback. Said it several times now: get this woman back in the A-League!
FW – Jasmine Prince (Southern United) – It didn’t always look like Southern were going to be able to muster an equaliser once they fell behind against Western Springs but when they did go close it was almost always Jasmine Prince who was at the heart of it. Sure enough, guess who scored the stoppage time leveller?