Content Wiggles
Welly Nix grooving, White Ferns T20 WC squad, Chris Wood to Nottm Forest, Warriors mahi, Steven Adams in the clutch & plenty more
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Reading Menu
Football Ferns vs USA: Squad Yarns & Preview (Football)
Flying Kiwis – January 18 (Football)
Where Are We At With The Wellington Phoenix Women These Days? (Football)
Kiwi Steve in the NBA #5: A Legacy of Clutch Buckets (Basketball)
Kiwi Steve in the NBA #4: Igniting The Revival (Basketball)
Mid-Season Canterbury Wahine Deep Dive (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
Pretty chuffed with The Niche Cache content floating around at the moment. In this week's Patreon podcast we discussed how Wellington Phoenix kept rolling despite losing Ben Waine, weaving Blackcaps and NZ Warriors into the korero. We want the Patreon whanau and Substack subscribers to drive those podcasts, but sometimes they are a good space to work through various ideas and brainstorm.
I still reckon Phoenix grooving along without Waine is one of the funkiest kiwi sports yarns at the moment. Every sport/league has different player market situations and football provides teams such as Phoenix with an opportunity to develop local players, then benefit when they depart. Phoenix bid ka kite to Marco Rojas, Sarpreet Singh and Liberato Cacace over the past decade. These lads may not have had the same transfer fee thing as Waine, but Phoenix have been able to absorb these departures fairly well.
Phoenix balance local development while chasing wins in A-League. I've got Phoenix as the best kiwi sports franchise in this pocket, joining other impressive development zones such as Wellington women and the endless supply of Canterbury seamers on the men's side in cricket. I'm not deep in the footballin' mangroves and from an outside perspective, Phoenix folks should be proud of their organisation.
This flows into Phoenix wahine who aren't winning games, but continue to grind. Ol' mate did a fabulous break down of Phoenix wahine and their slog through the A-League season.
On the surface, this all looks niggly. Phoenix wahine can't win and Football Ferns got smoked by USWNT in their first game. Kiwis love football though and women's footy has been laying foundations down for long time - Flying Kiwis has featured ladies every week for almost a decade. Non-footballin' folk should tap in and learn some of the nuance involved in wahine football as this is going to explode during the World Cup.
We also have a bunch of NZ Warriors content to prepare you for this season. You know the Niche Cache vibe and this content wiggles deep into the Mt Smart mangroves. There is a yarn about the local juniors who I've highlighted plenty in these emails, along with breakdowns about the forward pack and spine. The most recent yarn revolved around coach Andrew Webster and what kind of impact he can have this season.
What To Expect From Andrew Webster
How The Forward Pack May Operate
There will not be a breakdown about Andrew McFadden - boss man of recruitment, development and pathways. I'm curious about McFadden's mahi in this role as he has NZ Warriors experience as well as working with a good NRL team at Raiders, who also have a strong development system. Raiders have consistently recruited quality Kiwi-NRL youngsters (Matthew Timoko, Leo Thompson - now with Knights) and while McFadden operated as an assistant coach, he would have gained plenty of insight.
Like Webster, McFadden's job is made much easier by simply returning to Mt Smart. McFadden would have already been in the mixer to build an SG Ball squad and I'm still intrigued about the youngsters who could start this season in NSW Cup. The 'pathways' section of McFadden's role is all about managing these youngsters through their journey with Warriors; do players slot straight into NSW Cup, gather experience against adults in club or slowly build with NZRL U20s?
NZRL U20s starts early in March with two Auckland-ish teams in Akarana and Counties Manukau. These squads could feature Warriors juniors, even lads from around Aotearoa probably have to be based in Auckland. Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington and South Island are also involved. NRL teams have recruited lads directly from the NZRL U20s competition.
McFadden's NRL recruitment style will also be intriguing to follow. Warriors signed Marata Niukore, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Te Maire Martin, Luke Metcalf, Mitch Barnett and Jackson Ford. These players were probably signed before McFadden started, but they all share versatility and a solid-NRL-pro vibe. I'll be tracking how McFadden builds on these additions and how he balances signing NRL players from other teams, with local development.
This one is on the hoist...
Top 10 Kiwi-NRL Youngsters (funky situations/high quality/currently playing NRL)
Griffin Neame: Suburbs RL Greymouth
Matthew Timoko: Otahuhu
Simi Sasagi: Ellerslie
Starford To'a: Mt Wellington
Jaxson Paul: Northcote
Leo Thompson: Napier Boys HS
Kelma Tuilagi: Glenora
Jirah Momoisea: St Paul's College
Deine Mariner: Marist Saints
Wiremu Greig: Northern Swords
White Ferns have a T20 World Cup squad and while there is no funk in the core unit, Bernadine Bezuidenhout has been included as a wicket-keeper. This is weird because White Ferns rolled with Izzy Gaze during Commonwealth Games and the West Indies tour, then making a pivot to Jess McFadyen for the Bangladesh series. Both have been dispatched for Bezuidenthout who is definitely a better T20 batter than those two, but the planning is a bit weird.
Bezuidenhout is 10th for Super Smash runs and 3rd for HBJ Shield runs. She has Super Smash strike-rate of 111.76 this season and across 58 T20 games, she operates at 103.94sr. Benzuidenhout also hit 101 runs @ 106.31sr in an HBJ Shield game that was rained off in November.
Selecting Bezuidenhout will give White Ferns intriguing wicket-keeping options. I was rolling with Maddy Green as w/k because of the balance it offered the team and neither Gaze or McFadyen commanded T20 game time. Bezuidenhout can bat up the order as she opens for Northern in both formats, or she can play an aggressive hitting role down the order given that Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates are a world-class opening pair.
Gaze has been through a niggly patch. She was part of a third-placed WF team at Commonwealth Games and then dipped out. Gaze also did not play as w/k for the U19 team at their T20WC in the their first four games (warm-ups included), then taking the gloves in their win over West Indies.
Without doing much, let alone dominating domestic cricket, Gaze quickly entered the WF mixer. Now Gaze has been overtaken by two different players in this role, with her U19 w/k mahi to be examined as they play harder games over the next week. The U19s have bowled Indonesia, Ireland and West Indies out for less than 75 runs, losing just one wicket across their three run-chases.
WF finished grabbed a bronze medal at Commonwealth Games - which is a strong representation of the best cricket teams given colonization. WF have finished 5th in the last two T20WC which feature 10 teams. They should be among the best teams at this T20WC and make semi-finals with a new coach, refreshed vibes etc. I'm leaning towards the best players dragging this team deep into finals, but I'm not confident about that.
WF still don't represent the best wahine cricketers in Aotearoa, so there is still a splash of ugh in this squad. Rebecca Burns' hitting would be nice ahead of Lauren Down and Brooke Halliday, while Molly Penfold have a free-pass in selection. I started pondering my 1st 11 blokes team and I've rolled through the same exercise for the ladies.
These 1st 11 teams aim to lay out the best cricketers in Aotearoa - obviously with my tinge of funk. Selection involves building a team that can compete in all formats and all cricket teams need two players to run drinks, so there are two squad members. I also love spinners and skewing towards the best players, gives both teams a heavy dose of spin.
Aotearoa Wahine 1st 11
Suzie Bates
Sophie Devine
Amelia Kerr
Maddy Green (w/k)
Kate Ebrahim
Hannah Rowe
Leigh Kasperek
Lea Tahuhu
Jess Kerr
Eden Carson
Fran Jonas
Squadies: Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen
Aotearoa Blokes 1st 11
Tom Latham
Devon Conway
Kane Williamson
Daryl Mitchell
Glenn Phillips
Michael Bracewell
Tom Blundell (w/k)
Mitchell Santner
Ish Sodhi
Tim Southee
Trent Boult
Squadies: Will Young, Matt Henry (Lockie Ferguson)
Trent Boult is still a 1st 11 lad as he didn't retire and he's Boulty. Ferguson is in a bracket because of Boult's situation and I'm open to Boult never playing again, so then Henry goes 1st 11 and Ferguson is in the squad. I'll try to keep this flowing as a gauge of kiwi cricketers. Kyle Jamieson has 1st 11 talent and he returns to cricket with Auckland in Super Smash today. Big weekend of Super Smash coming up.
Black Sticks men lost to Malaysia 2-3 in their final pool game at the hockey World Cup. Not a good result. Malaysia were hearty in their defensive mahi, stacking numbers behind the ball and clogging space. The kiwis though, they made a bunch of defensive errors and the experienced lads were the main culprits. In this preview I highlighted how defence was a major issue in their Pro League games late last year and this was on display in losing to Malaysia.
This sets up a crossover game with India, early Monday morning NZT. India finished 2nd in their pool but had the same record as England who finished 1st. India scored 11 goals in their two wins over Aotearoa last year, plus they are the host nation. Tricky challenge for the kiwis.
Musical jam (Aotearoa only)...
Wildcard’s Notebook
Flying Kiwis Transfer Tracker just took a shot of tequila and a blast of cocaine with the news that Chris Wood is going to be swapping his Newcastle jersey for a Nottingham Forest one. According to multiple sources that one has been agreed by clubs and player and with the medical probably just a formality (and likely to have already taken place) it should be announced overnight. It needs to be confirmed by 1am NZT in order for him to be eligible to play this weekend.
The move is just a loan for the first six months. However it’s expected there’ll be ‘obligations’ to buy included. As in, if Forest/Wood (yeah those puns are gonna go hard, watch out) hit certain targets then Nottingham Forest will automatically have to purchase him. Nobody’s gonna tell us what those obligations actually are but gonna assume that avoiding relegation will be the main one. Maybe something about appearances too, in case he gets injured.
This is quite a turnaround for Chris Wood who it had been reported last month was perfectly happy with his role at Newcastle and willing to stay at the club, fight for his place, and do whatever he’s asked by the manager. What’s more is that the club had no intention of selling him, Eddie Howe considering The Woodsman to be an important depth option in his squad and one who is regularly trusted to come on late and help his team close out close games.
But then people are allowed to change their minds and it’s only in the last fortnight that Chris Wood had finally seen the reality of his situation. Up until that point he’d been a backup to either Callum Wilson or Alexander Isak for pretty much the entire way... but never with both of them available concurrently. That’s only happened this month as Isak has recovered from injury (and Wilson has stayed fit) and the result has been an unused sub stint and a 96th minute sub introduction in the two games with all three hombres in the matchday squad.
Meanwhile here are Nottm Forest offering him an out for at least six months, a team who’ve just lost Taiwo Awoniyi for potentially the next two months with injury, and who even at full strength have nobody of the quality of Wilson or Isak to compete with. Forest are well coached by Steve Cooper but having made a billion signings since getting promoted they’re desperate for a bit of stability.
Wood doesn’t fit their counter-attacking tendencies (although he’s way more mobile than people give him credit for, as his pressing and tracking at NUFC made clear) but that’s probably they point. They want something different. An anchor up top who can get them playing higher up the park, who also happens to be a proven Premier League performer... pretty much the same stuff that Newcastle were after last season.
And so here we are. Chris Wood scored 4 goals in 35 games for Newcastle which looks tragic until you consider two other facts: one is that he’s mostly played small cameos off the bench this season which skews those appearances to the point of irrelevance. He did come up short last season when he did have a few months as the main starter so it’s not like he was doing Haaland numbers in disguise. But that’s where the other point comes in. Goals were scarce but wins were not during the Chris Wood era. In the 35 games he appeared in the Magpies took 67 points which would be on pace for UCL footy pretty much every season.
Fun fact: Don’t call then Notts Forest. They hate that. Arch-rivals Notts County have dibs on that term therefore if you’re abbreviating then it has to be Nottm Forest with the ‘M’. But it’s not just a rivalry thing. Notts as a term refers to Nottinghamshire the county, whereas Nottingham Forest are named for the city of Nottingham.
Also, here’s a quiz question: Can you name every English club that Chris Wood has appeared for? Nottm Forest will be his 12th team in the UK, see if you can recall the other eleven. Answer at the bottom of the email.
Moving on and you may wondered why Auckland City bothered to sign Nikko Boxall when they already had a pair of All Whites in central defence. I suggested in a previous email that maybe he’d been lined up to play fullback... but then they signed Regont Murati (a former Central FC player) along with midfielder Michael Den Heijer (a former Auckland City player) both from newly minted rivals Auckland United. Dan Morgan’s also back with ACFC having left to play a couple years in South Africa. It also seems possible that Boxall’s only joining for the Club World Cup next month – which they’re preparing for away in Spain right now.
But then I noticed that Sam Brotherton’s name had stopped popping up and sure enough...
Back to the States he goes. Forward Madison are in USL League One which is the third tier in America (though there’s no promotion/relegation because franchises are king in the United States of ‘Murica). Not a fantastic level although that doesn’t seem to be what this is about. Brotherton went to university at Wisconsin-Madison so he’s moving back to an area he knows well, no doubt around people he knows well too. Fair enough.
Last we heard from NZ U19s striker Oliver Colloty’s trial circuit a hamstring injury had threatened to spoil his fun. Well, it seems like it hasn’t because now Fleetwood Town are getting amongst it too. Another League One club same as Sheffield Wednesday which was his first stop – though Weds are in the hunt for promotion. That might leave Fleetwood Town (former club of David Ball... and also Ben Waine’s new manager) offer a better hope of first team footy though. There had also been whispers of an unnamed Premier League club showing some kinda interest. If enough clubs are keen on a looksee then surely one of them will stump up with a contract, right?
Here’s something I whipped together for the latest Steven Adams article...
All twelve of his made field goals in the final minute of games with a margin of five points or less. Clutch time, in other words. Doesn’t get a lot of those moments but when the ball has come his way over the years, usually via an offensive rebound, he’s known what to do – converting on 75% of his attempts.
The latest, of course, was his game-winner against the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday. Which despite what some might think was not actually his first career game-winner. Best read the piece for more of that yarn – such as the time he almost made a tip-in buzzer beater in a playoff game or his most legendary clutch time assist or the time he won a game at the free throw line.
All of Chris Wood’s past English football clubs, in chronological order:
West Bromwich Albion, Barnsley, Brighton & Hove Albion, Birmingham, Bristol City, Millwall, Leicester City, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Burnley, Newcastle United, (Nottingham Forest)