Dark Forces
Dark Forces
Warriors still can't catch a break, Breakers don't want kiwis, emerging domestic cricketers, NBL magnificence, and domestic football roundups
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Breaking Down The New NRLWahine Players For 2024 (Rugby League)
Exploring Another New Low For The New Zealand Women's Cricket Team In T20 Series Sweep vs England (Cricket)
Five Funky Movers In The 2024/25 Domestic Cricket Contracts (Cricket)
Catching Up On How The Wellington Phoenix Offseason’s Been Going (Football)
Aotearoa at the 2024 Oceania U19 Men’s Championship (Football)
The OlyWhites Have (Finally) Named Their Squad for the 2024 Olympics (Football)
The Football Ferns Have Named Their Squad For The 2024 Olympics (Football)
How Have Those NZ Breakers Next Star Lads Been Tracking Since Their NBA Drafts? (Basketball)
27fm Album Jukebox – July 2024 (Music)
Scotty’s Word
Another pesky loss for NZ Warriors with their 18-20 defeat to Raiders. NZW have lost their last two games by a combined three points and while there are mishaps (as there has been all season stretching back to the clunky start in losing to Sharks at Mt Smart), the dark forces have also been working against NZW.
As noted after the loss to Bulldogs - I haven't seen an NRL team lose two wingers and a fullback during the game. That's not normal, and in that match-up it was terrible timing. NZW didn't get the penalty late in that game either.
NZW scored four tries and Raiders scored three. Goal-kicking was a key factor in this defeat but Chanel Harris-Tavita may be the fourth goal-kicking option behind Shaun Johnson, who wasn't playing, and Taine Tuaupiki and Adam Pompey, who both suffered injuries during the loss to Raiders. Tuaupiki didn't get a kick in his 8mins while Pompey slotted his one kick, leaving Harris-Tavita to miss his three kicks.
Not only have NZW had three then two outside backs leave the field in their last two games, which were teeny-weeny margin losses, they also lost their two best kickers on the field vs Raiders. The outside back injuries caused major changes. Although Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is a lovely option to cover for Tuaupiki, NZW were weakened by Tuaupiki's departure and all the changes that followed.
Wayde Egan, Mitchell Barnett, Kurt Capewell, Dylan Walker and Jackson Ford played 70+ minutes vs Raiders. Leka Halasima has moved to centre in each of his first two NRL games. His versatility earned him these bench spots but the plan surely wasn't for Halasima to play 37 and 47 minutes in his first two games.
The losses vs Bulldogs and Raiders include things that overshadow how hard NZW had to work to be in the contest to almost seal the win. Craziness in the Bulldogs game and goal-kicking in the Raiders loss brush aside some admirable mahi from NZW. It doesn't seem like the stars are aligning for NZW this season, even though there is still a chance for NRL shenanigans in the finals mix...
NRL Finals Mixer
5th - Sea Eagles - 25 points - Bye remaining
6th - Bulldogs - 24 points - No bye
7th - Dolphins - 24 points - No bye
8th - Cowboys - 24 points - Bye
9th - Dragons - 24 points - No bye
10th - Raiders - 22 points - No bye
11th - Broncos - 20 points - Bye
12th - Rabbitohs - 20 points - No bye
13th - Knights - 20 points - Bye
14th - Warriors - 19 points - Bye
15th - Titans - 18 points - No bye
Below are some funky domestic cricketers who folks may not know much about...
Auckland: Harjot Johal - 23yrs - Righty seamer
Two FC games. 7w @ 25avg/3.1rpo. All 7w in his debut then no wickets in his second game but he had scores of 65 and 19 in his second outing.
Northern Districts: Fergus Lellman - 23yrs - Righty A/R
Three FC games. 60 runs @ 12avg and 3w @ 28avg/3.3rpo. A wicket in each of his three bowling innings. Nothing major here but Lellman has a steady flow of 20+ scores stretching back to the 2020 U19 World Cup where he scored 134runs @ 33avg/81sr. Six 20+ scores in last 12 innings. Strong pedigree, could find regular game time.
(Lots of U19WC funk in that 2020 crew. Most notably ND's Kristian Clarke who scored 62 runs @ 115sr and led NZ for wickets with 7w @ 14avg/3.9rpo. Clarke has two FC 50+ scores but his bowling is awesome with averages of 28.6 (FC), 21.8 (LA), 30.3 (T20)).
Central Districts: Will Clark - 22yrs - Righty A/R
Too good for this list but Clark isn't mentioned in the youngster class. Averaging 42.8 in FC batting and 46.7 in LA batting. A few wickets with his sneaky heavy seam. Should be a consistent 1st 11 player for CD in all formats this season.
Wellington: Nick Greenwood - 24yrs - Righty bat
Averaged 27 in Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy with a combined seven 50+ scores. Best zone is LA batting with 39.7avg/89sr. Jersey international who has an excellent T20I mahi: 30.8avg/144sr.
Nations Greenwood has played T20Is against: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Switzerland, Uganda, UAE, USA, Zimbabwe.
Canterbury: Fraser Sheat - 26yrs - Righty seam
33 FC games, 103w @ 25avg/2.8rpo. 14w @ 19.5avg/2.2rpo last summer in Plunket Shield. Always snares Plunket Shield wickets but lost in Canterbury's stacked seam attack. Only played 12 Ford Trophy games with 28.7avg/4.7rpo and took 6w @ 8.6avg/2.7rpo in three Ford Trophy games last season.
Otago: Thorn Parkes - 24yrs - Lefty bat
LA batting average of 53 with three 50+ scores in his eight innings of Ford Trophy last summer. Solid start to FC batting with 32avg in a tricky role for youngsters as an opener. Already has a FC century and eight 50+ scores in 30 innings. Could command more Super Smash game time and settle as an all-format Volt.
Aotearoa Olympic Schedule Up To Friday
Football Men vs Guinea: 25th - 3am
Sevens Men vs Japan: 25th - 4am
Sevens Men vs South Africa: 25th - 7:30am
Sevens Men vs Ireland: 26th - 2:30am
Football Women vs Canada: 26th - 3am
Sevens Men Finals: 26th
Musical jam...
Wildcard’s Notebook
If you were blessed with fortune yesterday, then you’ll have watched that NZ NBL semi-final. The Canterbury Rams beat the Taranaki Airs 112-111 to advance to the decider. An expected outcome... but they needed double overtime to get it done.
It was a fantastic game of basketball that wavered in both directions along the way though the Rams seemed to have it in the bag leading by 11 points with 2:13 left in the fourth quarter. Yet the Airs came surging home with a barrage of three pointers, including Flynn Cameron nailing a ridiculous shot on the buzzer to force OT. Five minutes later it seemed like the Rams would survive again only for Carlin Davison to hit a fadeaway jumper on the buzzer for a second OT. Two buzzer-beating shots in a row from Taranaki.
Then it seemed like the Airs would progress after that second overtime, leading in the final moments... until Lachlan Olbrich got free under the hoop from a Taylor Britt inbounds pass with three seconds on the clock and it was Canterbury who progressed after all. Don’t overlook Olbrich’s work screening Davison away from the hoop on the final 0.2 second play either, ensuring CD couldn’t get to a lob pass that was 100% aimed in his direction. Remarkably entertaining sporting activities. The National Basketball League delivers these knockout thrillers with incredible endings every single year.
Even better is that this game was stacked with fascinating kiwi statlines. Carlin Davison carryied on his recent form with 22p/13r/3a/5s. Flynn Cameron’s best offensive game of the year saw him log 25 points on 8/15 shooting, including six triples. Taylor Britt was a little sloppier than usual with some missed shots and turnovers but he saved his best stuff for when it mattered most, scoring 20 points with 8 assists. Walter Brown and Max Darling each shot 4/7 from deep with Brown scoring 17 points and Darling 20 with 10 rebounds.
On Wednesday evening the Auckland Tuatara face the Franklin Bulls in the other semi. Grand final to be played at 2pm on Sunday. The Bulls made it this far after shockingly dismantling the Wellington Saints in the previous round. The Saints are the keenest three-point shooters in the comp but their favourite aspect completely abandoned them when it mattered most. They shot 3/31 as a team from deep. Izayah Le’Afa was 1/9. Tohi Smith-Milner was 1/7. Meanwhile, the Bulls were 15/29 from their threes so yeah that’s about enough to decide a game all by itself. MVP candidate Luther Muhammad scored 29 points for Franklin.
Best Three-Point Percentages by NZers (Min. 10 Makes)
Walter Brown (Canterbury Rams) – 42.6%
Flynn Cameron (Taranaki Airs) – 42.3%
Alonzo Burton (Southland Sharks) – 42.0%
Rob Loe (Auckland Tuatara) – 41.9%
Ethan Rusbatch (Franklin Bulls) – 41.7%
Te Tuhi Lewis (Tauranga Whai) - 41.4%
Tom Vodanovich (Auckland Tuatara) – 41.2%
Taylor Britt (Canterbury Rams) – 40.0%
Liam Judd (Manawatu Jets) – 39.6%
Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’Afa (Wellington Saints) – 39.2%
Meanwhile, the (so-called) “New Zealand” Breakers have apparently signed a new player. ESPN is reporting that they’ve come to terms with Sean Bairstow, a 6’8 Australian guard who just graduated from VCU and who happens to be the younger brother of Cameron and Jarred Bairstow. It’s a two year deal but with a club option on that second year. SB is 23 years old. He did four years at Utah State before transferring to Virginia Commonwealth Uni as a grad student, where he averaged 10.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game as a regular starter. Very erratic shooting throughout his college career, especially from deep. Sometimes very good, sometimes awful across his various seasons. Looks like another project player in a squad that’s full of them. Petteri Koponen better be one heck of a coach.
PG - Parker Jackson-Cartright (I) | Mitchell McCarron | Alex McNaught (DP)
SG – Mojave King| Sean Bairstow
SF – Grant Anticevich
PF - Jonah Bolden | Carlin Davison (DP) | Max Darling (DP)
C – Sam Mennenga | Dane Pineau
NBL rules say 11 players on the main roster, with up to three of them being imports. Plus you can have a bonus 12th player if you sign a Next Star. There are often injury replacements along the way, and of course there are also the development players. Granted, Alex McNaught (3), Max Darling (1), and Carlin Davison (0) played a combined four minutes under Mody Maor last season so don’t expect too much from that avenue, although Coach Kop might be more open to the idea.
As things stand, the Breaks have eight dudes on board with two more imports and a Next Star to follow. Kop says that he wants a secondary ball-handler and another big guy so those are probably the profiles we’ll see fill the import spots. Chuck in a Next Star who’ll probably be an athletic wing with a large wingspan like they’ve had for the last couple of years. That leaves one available spot for another local player. In short, we’re looking at a maximum of two fully-rostered kiwis at the Breakers this season, plus Mojave King who has kiwi heritage and was born in Dunedin but grew up in Australia and has repeatedly said he considers himself an Aussie and wants to represent them someday if possible.
The Breakers also chose to hire an untested Finnish head coach rather than any of the plethora of impressive NZers in the kiwi league and beyond. Plus they lied about his role in NBA Summer League with San Antonio Spurs. Then Matt Walsh had the temerity to say that: “Petteri... shares my vision of growing the game of basketball in New Zealand”. The vision that involves signing five new Australian players and only one New Zealander so far this offseason. Yeah, that vision.
Domestic Football Roundup
Oh we’ve got ourselves a title race in the Men’s Northern League, you’d best believe it. Auckland City hosted Birkenhead United last Wednesday night and it really looked like Birko were going to serve them up after Mony Patterson scored twice inside the first half hour. But ACFC being who they are, they rallied back with a Michael Den Heijer goal (62’) and then snatched a 2-2 draw thanks to Regont Murati in the 87th. A massive comeback from the Navy Blues to remain top of the table, championship calibre effort.
Except... then they drew 1-1 away to Western Springs on the short turnaround. Kailan Gould had given them the lead in the first half but Caspar McGavin came up big with the 81st minute leveller. Combine that with Birko producing a strong second-half performance to beat Manurewa 4-1 away, courtesy of a Sam Philip hatty, and it’s now the red-and-white stripes who sit first after all... slightly ahead of ACFC not on goal difference but on goals scored. Both have 36 points. Both have +25 GD. But Birko’s scored five additional goals. Six rounds remain... and it’s not just those two. Eastern Suburbs beat Melville United 1-0 thanks to a Dejaun Naidoo goal so they’re only two points back, while Western Springs are on 32 points.
Behind them, Auckland United are a further five points adrift so it looks like we’ve got a title race instead of a top four race this year. AUFC did win 1-0 away to West Coast Rangers with Ishveer Singh scoring on 83’. Bummer for Tauranga City who were 2-0 up after 25 minutes away to East Coast Bays but went on to lose 4-2. Malcolm Young got a brace for ECB. And sadly for Hamilton Wanderers, they remain last because they could not hang onto a 3-1 lead in the dying moments on the road against Bay Olympic. Liam Bailey and Callum McNeill (pen) both scored after the ninetieth minute. Getting very hard to picture anything other than Melville and Hamilton Wands getting relegated (while don’t forget that third-to-last will need to win a playoff as they make room for the Auckland FC reserves next year).
There is no title race in the Women’s NRFL Premier Division. Not after Auckland United won 5-1 against Hibiscus Coast with Angie Pivac and Ruby Nathan both scoring braces. Elsewhere, West Coast Rangers and Western Springs played out a competitive 2-2 draw, meaning that Auckland Utd move six points clear at the top, still undefeated. We also saw Eastern Suburbs win 1-0 against Hamilton Wanderers with Kenya Brooke scoring the only goal (57’), while a Kate Berry double gave Fencibles a 2-1 win over Ellerslie – giving those two victorious teams a four point gap ahead of Western Springs and the cutoff for National League qualification.
Lots of goals in the Men’s Central League this week. Miramar Rangers scored heaps of them as they won 8-1 against North Wellington. Hat-trick for the main man Sam Mason-Smith in there, as well as a couple more for Josh Tollervey. They weren’t able to gain any ground on MNL qualification though, not with Western Suburbs matching them by beating Petone 2-1 with Connor Wilson scoring both goals, nor with Napier City Rovers easing to a 5-1 win away to Island Bay. Sneaky three goals for Oscar Faulds there to extend his lead in the Golden Boot ranks - Faulds has 21 goals and his team has only played 14 matches. That’d be why the Wellington Phoenix are bringing him in on trial soon. Wellington Olympic had a week off (they already played their fixture against the WeeNix ahead of time to create space for the Nix around the Oceania U19s). They’re on 39 points. NCR and Wests are on 34 points. Rangers are on the outside looking in with 28 points.
Also, shout out to Stop Out who may have previously lost 8-0 in consecutive games (one cup, one league) against Wellington Olympic but this week they won 3-2 against Waterside Karori. Big drama at the end of that match. Karori were 1-0 up before Connor Gaul tied it after 74 mins. An 81st min on goal restored the Wharfies lead only for Gaul’s 87th min equaliser. Then Xavier Coleman won it for SO in stoppages. Good fun.
To the Women’s Central League and the two top dawgs were supposed to meet, Waterside Karori vs Wellington United, but it seems the weather had other ideas. Match postponed. That still left Petone to win 7-1 against Seatoun with Dani Ohlsson scoring three and Pepi Olliver-Bell getting two. Isabella Yarwood’s goal was the diffo in a 1-0 Palmerston North Marist win against Moruroa... this despite PN Marist’s goalie Leonie Heck being sent off with 25 to go. Not sure who had to put the gloves on but whoever it was they kept the sheet clean. And also Taradale won 4-1 against Victoria Uni.
Finally we must have some Southern League. In the Men’s comp, Christchurch United came up huge for a 3-1 win away to Dunedin City Royals. Absolutely had to get those three points from a tricky fixture and that they did. However it didn’t gain them any ground on the top two because Coastal Spirit won 2-0 against Nomads (yes, Alejandro Steinwascher scored again, albeit a penalty), while Cashmere Technical were emphatic in an 8-0 win away to Selwyn United. Yuya Taguchi, Gabriel Gallaway, and Jack Hallahan all scored braces. It was only 1-0 after 51 minutes... then Kwadwo Amoafo got sent off (after only being subbed on at HT) and it all fell to pieces for the home side. But, hey, they should get some residuals from the Finn Surman sale so they’ve still had a great week.
There was also a 4-1 win for Ferrymead Bays over FC Twenty11, with Cameron Rean’s double inspiring a second half comeback. Extra harsh considering Twenty11 are still chasing their first win of the season. Additionally, Nelson Suburbs smashed Universities 5-1. Lennon Whewell and Trevin Myers with two goals each – they’ve both at 11 for the season, fourth-equal in the division. Technical have 34 points in first, Coastal have 33 in second, Christchurch Utd 30 points in third.
And in the Women’s Southern League, Cashmere Technical scored inside two minutes through Aimee Phillips but went on to lose the derby against Coastal Spirit 2-1. Laura Newman got the winner (71’). Rare defeat for Tech that opens up a three-team title race after Dunedin City stayed perfect through four rounds with a 2-1 win over Nelson Suburbs. Jasmine Barney scored Subs goal fresh from her time with the NZ U20s but DCR were too good. Chuck in a 1-1 draw between Otago Uni and Roslyn-Wakari too for good measure. Paul Ifill’s daughter Romy plays for RWAFC, if you didn’t know (unused sub here though).
Musical Jam offering...