El Niche Cache
September 11, 2020
Reading Menu
Kiwi-NRL Encyclopedia: Round Tekau Ma Waru (NRL)
Flying Kiwis – September 8 (Football)
Billy Donovan and the OKC Thunder Have Consciously Uncoupled (NBA)
Monday Morning Dummy Half: SBW And The Aotearoa Roosters (NRL)
The Wildcard’s 2020 NFL Quarterback Rankings (NFL)
The Brooklyn Nets Needed A New Head Coach So Sean Marks Called Up An Old Mate (Basketball)
White Ferns In Australia: The Squad (Cricket)
Aotearoa's Black Sticks Women Were Actually Kinda Good In 2020 FIH Pro League (Hockey)
27fm Weekly Niche Cache Playlist: September 7 (Music)
The Niche Cast Podcast
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Scotty’s Word
Whipped up a wee Aotearoa Kiwis depth thing.
A huge factor is sussing Kiwis depth is getting a gauge of who realistically wants to represent Aotearoa and who is clearly leaning towards another nation. My funkiest eligibility situation is Panthers half Jarome Luai, who is having a great season alongside Nathan Cleary and is a former Junior Kiwis captain. Luai has previously represented Samoa and that presents a possible Luai/Mason Lino halves combo for Samoa, plus Luai was born and raised in Sydney.
A young Tongan like Roosters forward Sitili Tupouniua (Marist Saints) is likely to stick with Tonga having debuted for the tokos last year. Same vibe for Bulldogs forward Ofahiki Ogden (Mangere East) and that’s a nod to Tonga’s ever-growing depth.
I’m trying not to blast Corey Anderson’s cricket decline too much in the Caribbean Premier League updates, however it’s still a fascinating kiwi sports yarn.
I check in on Anderson’s T20 work over the past few years as this was quite clearly Anderson’s priority while he’s battled injuries. Everything except his 2018 Blast campaign in England is fairly mediocre and to some extent this offers an insight into the T20 franchise world as Anderson’s getting gigs kinda based on reputation and not efficiency.
2017 IPL - 11 games, 142 runs @ 20.28avg/115.44sr
2018 IPL - 3 games, 17 runs @ 5.66avg/77.27
2018 T20 Blast - 15inns, 514 runs @ 42.83avg/169.07sr
2018 Super Smash - 9inns, 157 runs @ 19.62avg/124.60sr
2019 Super Smash - 7inns, 129 runs @ 21.50avg/120.56sr
2020 CPL - 7inns, 53 runs @ 7.57avg/86.88sr
Right now, Anderson be considered a top-tier Aotearoa T20 batsman. Anderson barely bowls these days, so he’s not an all-rounder and I thoroughly believe that if Anderson hasn’t already been washed over by the younger wave of kiwi cricketers, this summer will see even more young lads emerge.
All Whites vs England!?
It’s one thing to celebrate kiwi sports, football in this instance through the lens of kiwis making an impact around the world with various club teams. Same thing in the NRL where I can document the growing presence of players from Aotearoa, but what really hammers home the kiwi sporting excellence in rugby league is the work of Aotearoa Kiwis. For the All Whites (and Kiwis), they need to play games first and foremost, so this All White fixture vs England is a beacon of hope that kiwi football can start to express this excellence that has been simmering for a number of years now.
I’m not footballin’ expert, although I did enlighten the Wildcard to a golden generation of kiwi football a few years back. I am certain this is the best crop of kiwi footballers (men and women) that we’ve ever come across and they need a platform - they need games! Now, the All Whites have a game and next comes the impressive performances to start commanding respect.
Lydia Ko had a nice start to the ANA Inspiration, -3 after the first round in California which has Ko tied-5th.
Weird stat: Ko’s average driving distance jumped from 245.47m (2019) to 254.33m (2020) and in that ANA Inspiration first round, Ko’s average driving distance was 265m.
Can’t go wrong with some Ma’a Nonu chat.
The mana of Nonu and those 2011/2015 All Blacks is kinda bonkers. Plenty of crazy notes from the interview; how laid back professional rugby for Toulon was, Nonu’s father playing for Oriental-Rongotai with the Savea brothers father, then Nonu playing with the Savea brothers father and then Nonu playing with the Savea brothers.
Here’s some more James Haskell/Nonu content and the James Haskell Youtube rabbit hole is always a laugh…
And more to spark your adventures…
Wildcard’s Notebook
It doesn’t make a lot of sense to think about it but the new NFL season starts today. Kansas City Chiefs against the Houston Texans, actually a pretty amazing game to be honest. My NFL picks will be up soon after this email goes out but just in case I’m late on them I’ve got the Chiefs winning that one by six points. I’ve also done my quarterback rankings too (check the links at the top of the page) – lists are dumb but they’re also fun, argue away but don’t take it too seriously... so I’m like nine thousand words deep on NFL chat this week which is pretty hectic.
The NFL weekly predictions were the first thing I ever wrote for The Niche Cache and I’m still at them several years later. Dunno what the pageviews will look like but I write them for me as much as anyone, I enjoy it. In the last couple years I’ve really reeled back on a lot of foreign sports writing, for example I used to do heaps on the English Premier League but finding good Premier League writing isn’t too hard to do so I channelled that energy into going all in on kiwi football instead with the Premmy Files and ramping up Flying Kiwis and all sorts. Serving an audience that otherwise doesn’t get that kinda chat. I still write the odd NBA thing from a wider perspective but usually I stick to the two kiwi blokes involved: Steven Adams at the OKC Thunder and Sean Marks as GM of the Brooklyn Nets. Both of whom got write-ups this week due to coaching yarns.
The NFL doesn’t have that. For a while there we had Paul Lasike with his Chicago Bears stint, playing a handful of games in 2016 getting four proper touches of the ball – three rushes for 8 yards and a catch for three yards – playing as a fullback (a position that’s not really that popular anymore). But he spent most of his time on the practice squad waiting for the day they finally cut him altogether, not much of a lifestyle to be honest, before he went back to rugby and hilariously I only just found out he now plays at Harlequins and has represented the USA at international level a heap of times including at the last World Cup.
There are a few other New Zealanders who have played NFL. Riki Ellison is probably the most famous. The Christchurch native, who went to high school in the States and moved up the grades that way, became the first NZer to play NFL when he debuted in 1983. He was a fifth round draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers which meant the linebacker got in on the golden era of Jerry Rice and Joe Montana, winning Super Bowls in 1984 and 1988. He spent six years with the Niners then played three more with the Raiders. 124 games all up, plus 12 more in the playoffs. Ellison had one career interception, seven fumbles recovered, and 5.0 sacks. His son Rhett Ellison was also a tight end for several years with the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants, retiring earlier this year due to worries about concussion. Rhett spent most of his life in America so doesn’t really count as a kiwi NFLer... though he’s another bloke with Māori heritage to have played in the league.
As is David Dixon who was a standout rugby player in Pukekohe growing up, even going on tour in Australia with the NZ Secondary Schools team. But his pathway to the NFL was a coincidental one... an American scout spotted him at the movies one day in Auckland and straight up asked him if he wanted to play gridiron. He played a bit on the North Shore to get the hang of it and did enough that he earned a trip to the USA and fast forward a few steps later he was at Arizona State University. Dixon was drafted as an offensive lineman by the New England Patriots in the ninth round of the 1992 draft but was released and signed by the Minnesota Vikings for their practice squad. They released him too and he ended up on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad... where technically he won a ring in January 1994 though apparently he never actually got a physical one. The next year he was back with the Minnesota Vikings and he’d play with them for the next decade – playing 152 games.
Aaaand... I think that’s about it. Stephen Paea and Johan Asiata were both born in New Zealand though only ever spent a small amount of time in the country before going to America. It’s one of those things where there should really be more of a presence. When Jarryd Hayne first went over there people talked about that move like it was gonna break down the door and open up Australia and New Zealand as NFL talent hubs but Jarryd Hayne didn’t quite make it work, neither did Valentine Holmes. And the influx of rugby league and union players from Down Under into the NFL never really happened. At least not yet.
When I think about it now, of course it didn’t work. American Football has such a specific culture to it and Hayne in particular always struggled to get a handle on the complicated playbooks. He also kinda let his ego run riot coming from being a superstar in the NRL which isn’t really the way to do it. If I was an NFL scout, I’d be wanting to get these dudes way younger and getting them into college systems first so they can learn the game at their own pace when they’ve got time on their side. It’s a complicated process.
Even the physical side of it is vastly different because of the nature of the sports. In the NRL you’ve gotta be able to run, tackle, pass, catch, etc. In the NFL you might only need to master one of those skills... but you’d better bloody well master it coz being a jack of all trades will get you nowhere in that sport. It’s the specialist athletes who’d fit best, the ones who maybe don’t have the well-rounded ability to cut it in league or union but whose singular strength can be honed in an NFL environment. It’s still only a matter of time before the NFL has its own Steven Adams but the pathways have to make sense.
Hey, here’s Phoebe Bridgers doing her thing...
Also today is Troy Kingi day as his new record is released. Absolutely fizzing to listen to that one...
Peace.