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MNL Team of the Week, fresh Warriors wrinkles, NBL24 tip-off, Blackcaps ODI cycle, White Ferns business as usual & more
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Aotearoa Warriors Diary: Ready For Summer (Rugby League)
2023 Kiwi-NRL Grand Final Preview: Panthers vs Broncos (Rugby League)
2023 Women’s National League – Week 1 (Football)
2023 Men’s National League – Week 1 (Football)
All Whites vs Congo DR/Australia: Squad Yarns & Preview (Football)
Football Ferns in Chile: Stay The Course, Don’t Panic (Football)
The NZ Breakers Are Ready To Repeat The Dose in NBL24 (Basketball)
The Rise Of William O'Rourke & Canterbury's Funky Seamers (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
In our Subscriber Pod we discussed news reporting around two major All Whites eligibility wins (Tyler Bindon and Matt Dibley-Dias) and Israel Adesanya's drink-driving charge. Unfortunately for Adesanya, he suffered an almighty upset loss and had a court appearance to support the release of his film.
This sparked my intrigue because of how Adesanya has been covered by kiwi media prior to recent events. Adesanya and Team City Kickboxing were hounded by media during their lockdown training, which when combined with Adesanya's nature battling against traditional kiwi sporting ideals, creates a niggly relationship. I assumed that Adesanya's drink-driving charge would be big news for this reason, yet many would barely know it happened.
And it happened a few weeks prior to his loss to Sean Strickland. That loss was strange because Adesanya appeared well below par and it now makes a wee bit more sense. Athletes can and do partake in all sorts of activities prior to their sporting events, that's not new nor does it always impact their performance. Adesanya was, at the very least, in a mindset that he could drink enough to then be charged with drink-driving prior to a UFC title bout. That's not conducive with CKB's culture nor their performance standards, let alone what is required to win at the highest level.
Is this evidence of a bigger issue? I don't know. This is more a case of connecting dots to explain the poor performance. Adesanya has bounced back numerous times and CKB doesn't seem like the type of environment where slipping standards are breezed over. Adesanya has lost two of his last three fights and CKB aren't winning as much as they were a few years ago.
This leaves me fascinated about how Adesanya and CKB perform in the next six months. Shane Young and Blood Diamond seem likely to join Brad Riddell in dipping out of the UFC mixer. That's balanced by Frenchman Kevin Jousset getting a win in his UFC debut via CKB and perhaps other fresh fighters emerge. CKB has provided new fighters for the UFC consistently over the past five years and this could help maintain their presence as one of the best teams in the UFC.
CKB aren't quite at the NZ Warriors level though and as my comrade highlighted in our Thursday Niche Cast, Wellington Phoenix have embraced their junior farm. We will keep track of these development pathways as we always do and there are some fresh NZ Warriors wrinkles...
The NZRL National Premiership has a final between Counties Manukau and Auckland Vulcans this weekend in the men's competition. The early team-lists have NZ Warriors SG Ball (U19) players Phranklyn Mano-Le-Mamea, Sefanaia Cowley-Lupo, Harry Durbin, Presley Seumanu and Makaia Taufa.
Mano-Le-Mamea is the only NZW junior in the Counties team and he is likely to play halves, opposite to Cowley-Lupo. That would give NZW two SG Ball halves in a NZRL men's rep final and this is an enticing pocket to track because there is a hole in NZR play-making depth.
Durbin and Seumanu were part of the Pt Chevalier team who won Fox Memorial. Durbin is from Rotorua and Tafua is another NZW junior from Christchurch, who moved from Linwood to Otahuhu when entering NZW SG Ball.
None of the lads named above played NSW Cup. Almost half the SG Ball team has moved up to NSW Cup this year and nearly all of the SG Ball group has played against men in either NSW Cup or Fox Memorial. This doesn't include the likes of Ali Leiataua, Demitric Sifakula and Zyon Maiu'u who are all NZW youngsters. Speaking of them, I put Leiataua and Sifakula in my wider 'Emerging Kiwis' group who could feature in the Aotearoa 'A' (maybe AotearoA is cooler) squad.
To get to the Emerging Kiwis tier, we need to update the Aotearoa Kiwis tier with a realistic squad prediction...
Joseph Manu, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
Jordan Rapana, Jamayne Isaako, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
Matthew Timoko, Bailey Simonsson
Jahrome Hughes, Dylan Brown, Kieran Foran
Brandon Smith
James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota, Joseph Tapine, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Isaac Liu, Leo Thompson
Jordan Riki, Briton Nikora, Marata Niukore, Isaiah Papali'i
And the Emerging Kiwis with their other eligibility options…
Keano Kini (Northcote)
Jesse Arthars (East Coast Bays)
Reimis Smith (Sydney)
Will Warbrick (Ngongotaha)
Starford To'a (Mt Wellington - Tonga)
Asu Kepaoa (Sacred Heart - Samoa)
Deine Mariner (Marist - Samoa)
Ali Leiataua (Papatoetoe - Samoa)
Daejarn Asi (Aranui - Samoa)
Paul Roache (Richmond)
Xavier Willison (Waicoa Bay - Cook Islands)
Griffin Neame (Greymouth)
Wiremu Greig (Whangarei)
Demitric Sifakula (Otahuhu - Samoa/Tonga?)
Kalani Going (Mid-Northern)
Naufahu Whyte (Bay Roskill - Tonga)
Alec MacDonald (Auckland)
While at it, here is my attempt at a U21ish Kiwi-NRL Junior team…
Fullback: Te Hurinui Twidle (Turangawaewae - Eels)
Wingers: Tavita Henare-Schuster (Kia Toa - Roosters), Tea-Rani Woodman Tuhoro (Takahiwai - Brisbane)
Centres: Jarome Falemoe (Southern Cross - Knights), Sefa Roache-Faimalo (Marist - Wynnum)
Halves: Cassius Tia (Marist - Roosters), John Fineanganofo (AGS - Redcliffe)
Hooker: Benaiah Ioelu (Tangaroa College - Rooters)
Middles: Jeremiah Matautia (Otara - Cowboys), Henry Teutau (Marist - Cowboys), Salesi Ataata (Otahuhu - Sharks)
Edges: Nathaniel Tangimataiti (Ellerslie - Wynnum), Elijah Leaumoana (Southern Cross - Knights)
Bench: Felix Fa'atili (Hornby - Sharks), Elijah Rasmussen (WBHS - Redcliffe), Fahmy Toilalo (Otahuhu - Bulldogs), K-Ci Newton-Whare (Riccarton - Storm)
White Ferns lost the second ODI to South Africa. They are now 1-4 in ODIs this year as well as seventh (of 10) in the ICC Women's Championship after back to back ODI series defeats. Add in a stink T20 World Cup earlier this year and the Ben Sawyer era is the same as the Bob Carter era, which is a major concern for White Ferns cricket.
Amelia Kerr hit 88 runs to lead White Ferns to 253. Maddy Green and Hannah Rowe chimed in with 40-odds, Lea Tahuhu whacked 23 runs @ 100sr. The kiwis managed to take 3 wickets as South Africa cruised to 257 with a few overs to spare. Tahuhu was the best bowler with 2w @ 5.4rpo and Rowe took the other wicket as.
Hard to win when the leaders are putting up...
Sophie Devine: 17 runs @ 8.5avg/77sr | 1w @ 61avg/6.7rpo
Suzie Bates: 15 runs @ 7.5avg/40sr | 3ov @ 6.6rpo
The trend of A-Kerr being a world-class batter with diminishing bowling mahi continues. A-Kerr is the only batter with 100+ runs for White Ferns in this series and she is the leading NZ batter (399 runs @ 49.8avg) in the Women's Championship. That's sensational and A-Kerr's rise as a batter overlapped nicely with Amy Satterthwaite retiring.
A-Kerr has 2w @ 165avg/3.9rpo in 84ov of Women's Championship bowling. The breakdown of her yearly mahi and how she performs with various captains lays this out further...
2016: 20avg/3.5rpo
2017: 2.16avg/4.1rpo
2018: 19.3avg/4.1rpo
2019: 29.8avg/5.1rpo
2020: 33.8avg/4.7rpo
2021: 40.8avg/5.2rpo
2022: 39.2avg/4.4rpo
2023: 190avg/4.8rpo
Suzie Bates: 22.5avg/4rpo
Amy Satterthwaite: 27.9avg/5rpo
Sophie Devine: 41.5avg/4.5rpo
A-Kerr is the busiest White Ferns bowler in the Women's Championship by a hefty margin as well. Her 84ov put her as the only kiwi to bowl more than 56ov and this is aligned with 18.1ov being the most of White Ferns vs South Africa. A-Kerr is bowing the most, yet she is taking the least wickets ... well, against South Africa she has no wickets for 4.1rpo.
Every other pocket of White Ferns I ponder from this series is business as usual. That's the most concerning thing.
Will Young and Lockie Ferguson are my most interesting Blackcaps after the ODI series win in Bangladesh. Young hit two 50+ scores in three innings, averaging 40+ in ODI and List-A cricket. Three of Young's 50+ ODI scores (two centuries) were in NZ, while the other four are in spinny conditions with two in Bangladesh and two in Pakistan. Hopefully that's useful for the World Cup in India.
It's a lot better than Ferguson who had a solid series in Bangladesh with 2w @ 27avg/4.4rpo. Ferguson has an ODI record of 60avg/5.9rpo this year over a large sample size of 80 overs and this is his first year of ODI bowling with an average over 50. Last year's 47avg/6.2rpo is second for his worst year of ODI bowling.
Ferguson has a record of 151avg/6rpo for ODIs in India. The sample size here is only 25ov, so let's slide over to T20I to build this out. Ferguson has a record of 54.3avg/.5rpo for T20Is in India with another small sample size of 17ov. Add them all up and Ferguson isn't in great form, nor has he impressed in India for Blackcaps.
Musical jam...
Wildcard’s Notebook
The 2023-24 Australian NBL season got underway last night with Melbourne United laying down some championship credentials in an 82-67 win over South East Melbourne Phoenix. Two Melbourne teams going head to head, while the commentators spent the whole time fawning over Scottie Pippen and LaMarcus Aldridge who were in attendance (including interviewing Pippen during the third quarter). The way that league goes about hyping itself up has really tipped past the point of cringe... but the basketball is better than ever and despite there being two Melbourne teams in that season opener there were also FIVE kiwi players who took the floor.
Tell ya who was the pick of the bunch too and that was Rob Loe. He may only be there for a good time not a long time but he was massive for United in this win. Had things locked at both ends of the court. In 20 minutes of action he had a +20 impact – the best plus/minus of any player in the game – as he logged 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Shea Ili was also classy for MU, although he missed too many shots to spoil his shooting percentages. Ili shot 1/7 but still served up 8 points and 5 rebounds whilst drawing more fouls than anyone else. Flynn Cameron slid under the radar on professional debut with 3 points on 1/5 shooting off the bench but he was also a +11 so he got the job done.
On the other side Reuben Te Rangi got solid minutes off the bench for SEM... alas he might’ve had the same World Cup hangover as the others (Loe didn’t got to the WC so he was all good) because RTR shot 1/8 from the field for his 4 points and 5 rebounds. Strong defence as always though. Development player Anzac Rissetto got close to five minutes but didn’t register a meaningful stat. The record for NZers playing in a single NBL season is 20. We’re already up to five and there’s only been one game.
The Breakers get underway on Saturday night against Cairns Taipans in what will be captain Tom Abercrombie’s 400th game for the club. Incredible longevity and loyalty from the great man. I remember when the Breakers were going through strife in the early days of the ownership (by the way, I’ve heard rumours that the team may be up for sale... dunno if I believe it or not) and whenever there’d be another controversy the way they’d try to change the narrative was by giving Tom Abercrombie a new contract. The first time it sounded like his quotes were being read at gun-point.
But things have turned around for the Breaks and things have turned around for Abercrombie, who is now just universally beloved wherever he goes. Coach Mody Maor has been insistent that his jersey will hang in the rafters some day. Couldn’t argue with that sentiment for a second... although I would suggest that perhaps they finally get around to putting Mika Vukona’s up there first? One of those many controversies in the bad days was when RJ Hampton was given Mika’s old 14 jersey despite the expectation that it’d be retired one day. Well, several years later and that still hasn’t happened.
Blackcaps Batting Since 2019 World Cup
Tom Latham – 1247 runs @ 41.56 ave
Daryl Mitchell – 1025 runs @ 46.59 ave
Devon Conway – 874 runs @ 46.00 ave
Henry Nicholls – 840 runs @ 38.18 ave
Will Young – 818 runs @ 43.05 ave
Martin Guptill – 720 runs @ 37.89 ave
Finn Allen – 582 runs @ 27.71 ave
Michael Bracewell – 501 runs @ 42.50 ave
Glenn Phillips – 450 runs @ 32.14 ave
Kane Williamson – 422 runs @ 46.88 ave
Michael Bracewell is the only one of them with a strike-rate above 94... his is a whopping 118.60. Kane Williamson has not scored a century in this four year cycle, top score of 94no, and has in fact only played 12 games. Nicholls, Guptill, Allen, and Bracewell are the ones there who aren’t in the World Cup squad – although only due to injury in Bracewell’s case.
Blackcaps Bowling Since 2019 World Cup
Matt Henry – 38 wickets @ 25.52 ave
Trent Boult – 33 wickets @ 16.09 ave
Tim Southee – 28 wickets @ 29.25 ave
Lockie Ferguson – 22 wickets @ 50.18 ave
Mitchell Santner – 22 wickets @ 45.50 ave
Ish Sodhi – 22 wickets @ 33.72 ave
Blair Tickner – 16 wickets @ 42.43 ave
Michael Bracewell – 15 wickets @ 42.26 ave
Henry Shipley – 15 wickets @ 23.93 ave
Kyle Jamieson – 14 wickets @ 36.50 ave
The headline there is that seam bowling remains the dominant threat for the Blackcaps, with Trent Boult as immaculate as ever and Henry and Southee giving him good support. Less said the better about Lockie Ferguson though... that’s a concern. As is Santner’s boosted average however he does have an RPO under fives in that time which is world class for a spinner and he’s likely to be bowling in tandem with Sodhi in India, who is in decent touch.
Also in this squad with the potential to roll the arm over are: Mitchell (13 wickets at 20.23), Rachin Ravindra (12 wickets at 33.91), and Jimmy Neesham (10 wickets at 58.50). Oh yeah and G.Philly with his 6 @ 39.50.
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You may have heard about how the NZ U16 women’s team won 27-0 the other day. It was in the Oceania championships, trying to qualify for next year’s U17 World Cup, and Vanuatu were the unlucky opposition to be tormented. Obviously a result like that does nobody much good. I’ve mentioned a few times how I reckon these kiwi youth teams are bringing through more attacking fizz than ever before and sadly that’s what can happen when the depth isn’t quite there in women’s footy across some of the islands.
But those nations also can’t be cut off from these development opportunities. It is what it is. The Oceania qualifying spots are too important to New Zealand for us to swap over to Asia... although a sort of hybrid situation like they have in basketball where Oceania teams compete in Asia but retain their own confederation tournament entries would be an idea.
But despite that enormous victory, which was followed by a 7-0 win over Tonga in the semi-final... the NZers only beat Fiji 1-0 in the final thanks to a 90+4th minute winner from Marlborough’s Katie Pugh. Grand final nerves and a strong Fijian defence/goalie made things a whole lot closer than those other games. At times there was a genuine worry that this team might fail to qualify. But they got there in the end. Shout out to Fiji who in recent years have become NZ’s undisputed biggest rivals in Oceania across the various levels.
Laura Bennett won the golden boot with 10 goals, she’s from Melville United. Reminds me a lot of fellow-Melville product Manaia Elliott with her bulldozing ways on that right wing. Angela Pivac of the Wellington Phoenix also scored 8 goals, while Pia Vlok of Auckland United scored 7 and Ela Jerez of Western Springs got 6. Jerez was the one who got the winner in the Kate Sheppard Cup final, you’ll recall. The latter three should all now start popping up for their clubs in the National League.
Men’s National Team of the Week #1
GK – Scott Morris (Christchurch United) – Gotta respect a goalie who gets themselves an assist. For Moz, it came from a long throw almost to halfway to pick out Eddie Wilkinson... who then went on a mazy dribble to score the goal of the week. Oh yeah and Morris also kept a clean sheet as the Rams beat an Eastern Suburbs team that had gone undefeated all Northern League season.
RB – Daniel Atkinson (Auckland United) – AUFC had to work hard against the ten-men of Cashmere Tech and their rock-solid defence but Atkinson’s wing-back play proved the difference as he scored one goal and set up the other. DA is back from a semi-pro stint in the Netherlands. Defs one to watch.
CB – Cameron Lindsay (Christchurch United) – He’s a capped All White and an ex-Wellington Phoenix played, albeit briefly on both counts, so we had to expect the goods. Lindsay was immense for the Rams in that 1-0 win. Powerful and dominant. Won every damn header, so it seemed.
CB – Kaeden Atkins (Napier City Rovers) – At this point he’s no longer an emerging prospect. He’s got several years of NL footy under his belt and is simply one of the better defenders going around full stop. Handled the threat of Matt Brazier beautifully and set up a goal with a barnstorming run after an intercept, literally turning defence into attack.
LB – Marco Lorenz (Wellington Phoenix) – It’s a pity he didn’t get signed by Werder Bremen’s U23s after an extended trial during their preseason but given how the Welly Nix are operating these days that’s going to be their gain. Lorenz, who can play fullback or centre-back, was superb in the middle against Auckland City showing a calmness and precision beyond his years. He made his first team debut in the Aussie Cup last year and now it seems he’s a great candidate to earn one of those scholarship deals that are being dangled out to the best performing WeeNix comrades.
CM – Mario Ilich (Auckland City) – He could be here in any given week that he plays, in fairness. Such a steady presence at the base of midfield. But this week especially because he also scored the winning goal as ACFC tipped over the WeeNix 1-0 in a much tougher battle than anticipated.
CM – Yousif Al-Kalisy (Auckland United) – An ex-City player who is now a United player. The Jadon Sancho of the NZ National League... except in a good way because YAK was the initiator for most of AU’s best footy in a ball-dominant win against a dogged Cashy Tech side. Carrying on his fine winter form.
CM – Dre Vollenhoven (Auckland United) – Honestly, see above. Except that where Al-Kalisy was the instigator, Vollenhoven was the artist. Super creative, always finding space. He set up the equalising goal. That combo with Al-Kalisy (DV is ex-City as well) already looks like magic.
FW – Deri Corfe (Napier City Rovers) – The bro arrived as advertised. They told us that he was full of tricks and full of goals and the one-time Manchester City Academy forward delivered with two goals and an attempted rabona. What more could you possibly ask for?
FW – Eddie Wilkinson (Christchurch United) – I mean, did you see that goal he scored? Nobody creates space the way that Eddie Wilks creates space.
FW – Kailan Gould (Wellington Olympic) – Strange that WO could score five goals and only get one player in this XI... but they actually had a tough time of it for long spells against Manurewa, who largely limited their rapid transitions. I say ‘largely’ because nobody contains Jack-Henry Sinclair for ninety minutes. But what really got them going was set pieces and Kailan Gould’s corner kicks were essential to that, setting up the first goal and scoring an olimpico fourth. This spot could as easily have gone to Sinclair or Joel Stevens but those corners tip the scales towards the Bulldog.