Delectable Swing
Men's National League Team of the Week, Tim Southee retirement, WeeNix depth, Breakers shenanigans, and more
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All Whites in the November WCQs: Squad Yarns & Preview (Football)
2024 Women’s National League – Week 7 (Football)
2024 Men’s National League – Week 7 (Football)
Flying Kiwis – November 14 (Football)
2023/24 Ford Trophy: Auckland Finish First Stanza Top Of The Table (Cricket)
Observations From The 2024 New Zealand Cricket Resurgence (Cricket)
New Zealand T20I/ODI Tour Of Sri Lanka Notebook: Emerging Talent & Will Young (Cricket)
2024 Pacific Championship Debrief For New Zealand Kiwis & Kiwi Ferns (Rugby League)
The Kiwi-NRL Juniors Who Helped Australian Teams Win In 2024 (Rugby League)
New Zealand Warriors Sign Tanah Boyd & Pacific Championship Wrinkles (Rugby League)
Wildcard’s Notebook
It’s a solo mission for the Newsletter today, had a bit of lingering pandemic sweeping through the offices, but we battle onwards. Still gotta give the people what they want so have a dose of some of this…
Tim Southee announced his impending Test match retirement from the Blackcaps on Friday. Bit of a bummer given how he was nudging towards becoming Aotearoa’s all-time top wicket-taker. Perhaps Sir Richard had a wee word with the fella – though Southee is turning 36yo in a couple weeks and while his bowling has looked more effective than his recent record suggests, it’s still the case that his last ten Tests have seen him average 52.00 with the ball and not once in that time (spanning back to the start of the Bangladesh tour last summer) has he taken more than two wickets in an innings. In fact, in his last five Tests he’s not even taken more than one wicket in an innings. Also, regardless of form, there comes a time when athletes are simply ready to step aside. It’s his decision to make.
But we will get three more Tests (four if we make the WTC final though that’s unlikely) of Tim Southee’s delectable swing bowling at home against England - ending his career in the same way that he began it. And during those matches, here are a few statties to pay close attention to...
With 385 Test wickets, Southee is second for NZ. He’s not going to catch Hadlee’s 431. But a strong series could get him to 400 wickets which would make him just the 18th man in history to reach that figure.
Southee crept ahead of Ian Botham during the sub-continent stuff to rank 19th overall for career Test wickets. He needs six more to surpass Makhaya Ntini, 21 more to go past Curtly Ambrose.
One thing he needs to be careful of is letting his 29.88 career average blow out above 30. Around the 2021 to 2022 timeframe he was getting that average to hover around 28 but those last ten Tests have done some damage.
Southee has hit 93 Test match sixes. Ben Stokes (131), Brendon McCullum (107), Adam Gilchrist (100), Chris Gayle (98), and Jacques Kallis (97) are the only blokes ahead of him. An incredible list of batting talent to be part of... can he get to triple figures with seven more big bangers?
He also ranks fifth for the Blackcaps in non-wicket-keeper catches with 83 of them. Probably won’t get any higher than that with Williamson and Latham (both 90) the next on the list but he can still add to his tally.
Similarly, he will most likely end up with 107 Tests caps to keep him fourth for NZ until Kane Williamson inevitably overtakes him next year. Tom Latham’s only a couple years away from getting to triple-figures himself.
Southee’s most common Test victim is Dimuth Karunaratne whom he’s gotten out nine times. He’s had Joe Root on six occasions though, so maybe he can do something funky there.
Finally, Southee has played in 46 Test match victories, the most by any NZer. Ross Taylor is second at 44, then Latham and Williamson tied on 43. The latter two are on course to surpass Southee but there is a very slight chance that he could get to fifty with a WTC final triumph. Probably too much to dream of, to be fair.
Quick peek at two second-year kiwis in the NBL who are doing big things...
Sam Mennenga Season Averages in NBL24:
17 MIN | 6.9 PTS | 3.9 REB | 47% FG | 35% 3PT | 63% FT
Sam Mennenga Season Averages in NBL25:
23 MIN | 12.5 PTS | 5.3 REB | 51% FG | 32% 3PT | 62% FT
Through ten games, Mennenga has made at least one three-pointer in seven of them. He’s averaging twice as many field goal attempts per game, his offensive rebounding percentage has taken a leap, and he’s already had a 22-point game and a 25-point game. He’s been given a starting role with the NZ Breakers that he didn’t consistently have as a rookie with Cairns Taipans and is responding not only on the court but off it too, already emerging as one of the team’s main leaders.
Flynn Cameron Season Averages in NBL24:
9 MIN | 3.7 PTS | 2.1 REB | 0.9 AST | 44% FG | 43% 3PT | 68% FT
Flynn Cameron Season Averages in NBL25:
15 MIN | 8.6 PTS | 2.6 REB | 1.1 AST | 45% FG | 40% 3PT | 95% FT
Likewise, Cameron’s taken advantage of a few opportunities to start for Melbourne United... but he’s also demanding more minutes from his bench role – case and point hitting seven triples to top score with 21 points in United’s win over Adelaide. He couldn’t dream of two better veteran guards to learn from than Matt Dellavedova and Shea Ili. He’s been able to sustain some pretty excellent shooting stats despite the increase in volume whilst also turning into an excellent free throw weapon with 21/22 from the stripe so far. On four separate occasions he’s scored at least 18 points in a game.
Meanwhile, the NZ Breakers are reportedly about to do something annoying and get rid of Freddie Gillespie, their import big who has been giving great minutes as Mennenga’s back-up. Gillespie had a poor start in preseason that culminated in that headbutt suspension... more recently he’s settled into a very effective bench role. He’s got the best Defensive Rating (104) in the squad and is second only to Karim Lopez, believe it or not, for Net Rating (+18). So, naturally, they’re going to dump him for Tacko Fall.
Gillespie has a deal lined up in Italy to play for Olimpia Milan so he’s landing on his feet, at least. Might even be a payrise for him, who knows? But he was under contract so the Breakers have had to sign off on this and the clue is the 2.29m fella who has been waiting in the wings since they went to the USA. Given what a gimmick that whole situation has been from the start, it’s hard not to feel demoralised about yet another front office punt getting in the way of what the team is trying to achieve on the court... although fair play to Coach Kop and the fellas because they’ve managed to overcome everything so far.
Of course, the Breakers being the Breakers, this isn’t exactly how they portrayed it in their announcement. This from CEO Lisa Edser..
“Freddie approached us and requested a release. While bittersweet, it was an opportunity that Freddie wanted to pursue and we support him. We look forward to watching his success in the future. We thank Freddie for his contributions to the club on and off the court and wish him the best with his new team.”
Righto, so let’s get this straight:
Gillespie comes in and has a bad preseason.
He’s then suspended for one game and then after his very first appearance his team takes a two week break to fly over to America for some NBA exhibition games, with Gillespie presumably well aware that NZB used this tour last year to sign a replacement import.
Tacko Fall is then brought into the squad for those games.
Fall gets injured and is unable to play yet the Breakers bring him back to Aotearoa anyway.
Fall keeps saying he wants to play for the team and Matt Walsh encourages the idea for the future.
They try to sell tickets to a pre-game meet-and-greet with Fall... until suspiciously cancelling the event on short notice due to “travel delays” amidst a heavy backlash of reaction to the attempted grift.
Fall continues to train with the team while he works back to full fitness.
Then just when Fall is close to a return, with a FIBA break looming, Gillespie suddenly requests a release to sign with a European team that is already seven games into their season.
Yeah, gotcha. Makes total sense.
By the way, you’re going to hear a whole lot about Tacko Fall’s NBA career when this gets announced. It’s true that he did play a bunch for the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. It’s also true that his 232 career minutes is more than half what Freddie Gillespie played for the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic during his time in the league. Fall took just under 75% of his NBA shots from inside of three feet and was a 32% free throw shooter. Rebounding is good, as you’d expect for a 7’4 joker, always need some rebounds. And with those long arms he certainly blocks a mean shot. But he kinda doesn’t do much else and spent last year averaging 12.8 minutes per game in China. This move makes the Breakers worse.
The Wellington Phoenix Reserves beat Auckland City 4-3 with this starting line-up:
Dublin Boon | Tze Xuan Loke, Dylan Gardiner, Jayden Smith, Lewis Partridge | Finn Roa Conchie, Fergus Gillion | David Ball, Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues | Luke Brooke-Smith, Luke Supyk
One week later, the Welly Nix Reserves beat Wellington Olympic 3-1 with this starting line-up:
Alby Kelly-Heald | Lewis Partridge, Dylan Gardiner, Seth Karunaratne, Nicholas Murphy | Fergus Gillion, Hayden Thomas | Anaru Cassidy, Ryan Watson | Jack Perniskie, Luke Flowerdew
That’s only three starters in common (although Flowerdew did score the winner off the bench against ACFC), yet between these two games they beat both of last year’s finalists. They also won 2-0 against Western Suburbs the week prior with a side that looked a lot like the ACFC eleven.
Three wins in a row, not sure if they’ve ever done that before in the National League. Obviously the first two of those wins contained many helping hands from senior contracted players, albeit most of them were still in that U20s age range (David Ball being the enormous exception), but the Olympic win only had Kelly-Heald in goal and he’s never even played an A-League game.
Incredible reflection of the talent being amassed in that Nix Academy when they’re able to produce performances like these despite rotation like that. Seems weird to say this but I’m not sure how many other sides in the competition could make eight changes to their best line-up and still win the following week. Western Springs haven’t made eight changes to their line-ups across eight full games of footy. That’s actually true: Springs have only made four changes all season plus have used the fewest substitutions... and they’ve also won three in a row. It’s WeeNix vs Springs next week so we’ll see how that goes.
A few non-ALM contracted dudes to watch out for from that selection of players:
Dylan Gardiner is a tall, combative central defender who was on the bench for the Aussie Cup game a few months back and has been spectacular in this run of wins.
Tze Xuan Loke is a versatile fullback who can attack and defend and has made a couple of A-League benches.
Lewis Partridge is a right-sided defender who has also played on the left. Scored a banger from distance to break open the Welly Olympic game. Speedy and direct. Links up well.
Anaru Cassidy is a skilled technician who is probably a midfielder by trade but played wide with licence to roam against Olympic and had a hand in all three goals with his clever touches and slick passing.
Luke Flowerdew is a centre-forward who plays with directness, looking to attack and create, and is proving especially slippery to tackle when he gets going on the dribble.
Only the latter two are actually from Wellington. Gardiner joined from Hamilton Wanderers at the start of the year, Partridge is a Cantabrian, and Loke is a Green Island youth player from down south. It’s not about regional talent because guys and girls are being scouted from all over the country. Now watch as I repeat myself by picking a few of those lads in… drum roll…
MNL Team of the Week #8
GK – Conor Tracey (Auckland City) – It was either going to be him or his opponent William Tønning and though WT made more saves, Tracey kept the clean sheet and got the win. Three cleanies in five appearances this season for this guy.
RB – Lewis Partridge (Wellington Phoenix) – Scored a magnificent long-range goal to break the game open, this after heaps of support runner mahi in attack and some chunky defensive work too. There’s A-League potential for this bloke one day.
CB – Dylan Gardiner (Wellington Phoenix) – Same as last week, DG turned up with wicked defensive intent, showing off that aerial prowess again and this time doing so against the might of Hamish Watson. The way he’s developing, Gardiner might be the best prospect in the current crop to not already on an ALM deal.
CB – Danny Kane (Cashmere Technical) – More profound stuff from the Irishman as Tech somehow withstood a barrage from Eastern Suburbs playing against a heavy wind that kept them stuck in their own half... then set up the winner in more favourable second-half conditions.
LB – Haris Zeb (Birkenhead United) – Started the season slowly but has been awesome these past few weeks, his dribbling from the left wing giving yet another angle to the Birko attack... although it was his chipped ball over the top that set up the equaliser in a 2-1 win vs Coastal.
CM – Finn Caughey (Cashmere Technical) – Put his height to good use by winning headers, put his defensive instincts to good use by anchoring the Tech midfield (especially against the wind first half), and put his sneaky attacking instincts to good use by scoring the winning goal.
CM – Wan Gatkek (Western Springs) – Didn’t get in on the goals or assists but it was a sublime afternoon from Gatkek just hovering in that midfield, collecting the ball on the turn and stepping through pressure to pick out forward passes. Rise and repeat, all day long.
CM – Anaru Cassidy (Wellington Phoenix) – Playing out wide but regularly drifted infield into pockets to create overloads, which he did beautifully. Had a hand in all three goals that the WeeNix scored.
FW – Matthew Ellis (Western Springs) – Another goal, another assist. He has four of the former and five of the latter this term, once more showing himself to be one of the most dangerous players in the MNL with that raw, untouchable speed. Nobody’s beating this guy in a footrace.
FW – Adam Hewson (Napier City Rovers) – The victory eluded them, the draw eluded them too... but can’t blame Hewson whose left wing-back role was responsible for a large portion of his team’s best moments and if the blokes on the end of his crosses had been a little more potent (which is unusual for guys like Faulds and Annear, to be fair) then Rovers might well be planning for a grand final spot.
FW – Monty Patterson (Birkenhead United) – He’s always been a baller but his hold-up play has gotten so good. Of course he’d be the bloke to score both goals in a comeback win that could have gigantic ramifications for Birko, putting them one more good result away from a grand final.
Musical Jam...