Encapsulation
Warriors cold realities, Wellington Phoenix ALW squad, Kiwis in County Cricket, NRLW excellence, domestic footy roundup, Diamond League NZers & more
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New Zealand vs Afghanistan Test Preview (Cricket)
A New Australian NBL Season Looms And Once Again It’s Chock-Full Of Kiwi Players (Basketball)
Previewing Aotearoa at the 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup (Football)
Aotearoa at the 2024 Oceania U19 Men’s Championship (Football)
Auckland FC Signing Tracker & Squad Profiles (Football)
The Best New Zealand Warriors Youngsters You May Not Know About (Rugby League)
Balancing The Cold Reality Of The New Zealand Warriors 2024 NRL Season With Seeds Of Optimism (Rugby League)
Exploring New Zealand Warriors Halves Depth For 2025 And Beyond (Rugby League)
Recapping The Tall Ferns at the FIBA World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournaments (Basketball)
Scotty’s Word
This weekend encapsulated the 2024 New Zealand Warriors nicely. In the NRL, NZW lost to Bulldogs and it was rather sad as Bulldogs ground NZW down through the second half.
I always lean into the idea that teams earn the favour of referees by winning the flow of the game, dominating collisions, and executing their systems. NZW didn't do that against Bulldogs, haven't done that for most of this season… and if we're being completely honest: NZW haven't been consistently good enough since 1995 to earn that favour in a bigger picture sense.
NZW have had rough calls from NRL officials for a long time because NZW have also been fairly mediocre for most of their existence. This is aligned with the cold reality of Shaun Johnson because NZW have made NRL finals in just three seasons since Johnson's debut in 2011 and Johnson has now lost nine games in a row. Johnson's updated winning rate this season is 20% and, for whatever reason, NZW attack looks worse with Johnson at halfback.
All the ref stuff overshadows the melancholy of NZW footy this season. Bad vibes, bad body language, no resilience, clunky attack.
All the NZW stuff in NRL overshadows the uplifting NZW pipeline.
NZW had wins vs Bulldogs in NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg this weekend. NZW are fourth in NSW Cup as one of four teams with 14 wins and they rolled Bulldogs 42-10. This was another comprehensive performance from a young NSW Cup Warriors team (two tries for Jacob Laban and Moala Graham-Taufa) and yet it wasn't quite as impressive as the U21s who upset Bulldogs 32-16 on Saturday.
Noteworthy: the two freakiest outside back NZW prospects in Sio Kali and Motu Pasikala didn’t play this weekend.
Bulldogs are still second in Jersey Flegg after that result while NZW moved up to 11th. I went to watch this game and the Bulldogs were very 'energetic' after scoring three tries in the first 15 minutes, before conceding six tries. Energetic/super niggly and it was lovely to see NZW making sure that Bulldogs knew A) where they were playing and B) that they were getting rolled.
I wrote about some undercover NZW youngsters on Saturday and I continue to be impressed by the NZW pipeline. Every dude in the U21s is powerful and the speed that the NRL team lacks, is evident throughout NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg. Ratu Naborisi (Kelston Boys) has started a few games at fullback after climbing up from U19 SG Ball and he's as lively as Taine Tuaupiki for example.
Aside from every forward being a monster and Jacob Auloa continuing his classy mahi at hooker, NZW had two halves from Aotearoa playing against Bulldogs. Caleb Laiman is a Marist junior who had a stint in the Bulldogs system before returning to NZ and Maui Winitana-Patelesio joined him in the halves coming out of St Pat's Silverstream in Wellington.
There are also clear styles of middle forwards present in the NZW system.
Powerful with decent mobility: Tom Ale, Zyon Maiu'u, Tanner Stowers-Smith, Harry Durbin, Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea, Toby Crosby, Malachi Filipo, Paaua Papuni Abbott
Versatile middle/edge: Mitchell Barnett, Jackson Ford, Demitric Sifakula, Leka Halasima, Eddie Ieremia, Kayliss Fatialofa, Presley Seumanu-Tigafua
Small forward: Dylan Walker, Kalani Going, Etuate Fukofuka
The small forward group could be boosted by Erin Clark next season. Fukofuka started as a hooker for the SG Ball team last year and has now slipped into a small forward roll at the U21 level, having joined NZW from 1st 15 rugby at St Peter's College. Fukofuka was a halfback in 1st 15 and Going played midfield for Northland before joining NZW.
Clark is a pure rugby league player but his style sets the tone as noted on Friday. Regardless of whether they will add to the NRL depth or not, each team has a similar style of small forward and this provides insight into how NZW are building their system.
Bummer for Bunty Afoa who seems to be on the outer at Mt Smart and wasn't graced with the same celebration as others. Afoa hasn't kicked up a fuss despite coach Andrew Webster brushing him from the NRL rotation and he has stayed solid with the NSW Cup Warriors - who are winning far more frequently than the NRL team. I reckon Afoa is a better middle forward than Jazz Tevaga but he wasn't given the same opportunities.
I also reckon Demitric Sifakula was the best player for NZW vs Bulldogs. Unfortunately for Sifakula, NZW have lost all six of his NRL games stretching back to last season. There's a lovely trend in his NRL mahi this season though...
vs Dolphins: 12mins, 1 try, 2 tackle breaks, 5 runs - 50m @ 10m/run, 4 tackles @ 100%
vs Sea Eagles: 22mins, 1 tackle break, 4 runs - 39m @ 9.7m/run, 15 tackles @ 100%
vs Bulldogs: 32mins, 1 linebreak, 5 tackle breaks, 10 runs @ 118m @ 11.8m/run, 13 tackles @ 93%
Planting seeds: Sifakula, Mitchell Barnett and James Fisher-Harris is a delightfully rugged forward combo.
*As expected* Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has opted to play for Samoa.
Notable New Zealand Kiwis wins without Roger Tuivasa-Sheck...
2022 vs Tonga: 26-6
2022 vs Fiji: 24-18
2023 vs Samoa: 50-0
2023 vs Australia: 30-0
NZ Kiwis have combined for a 106-6 points tally in wins over Tonga, Samoa and Australia without Tuivasa-Sheck.
Tuivasa-Sheck is also a far less funky eligibility case than Deine Mariner (Samoa), Jack Howarth (Australia) and Kayal Iro (Cook Islands). These three could all play centre for NZ Kiwis this year so they all have decisions to make. Howarth is super Aussie but has embraced NZ Maori/NZ-A footy. Mariner opting for Samoa would be a bigger deal than Tuivasa-Sheck given his age. Iro was born/raised in Cook Islands but has whanau links to NZ Kiwis.
Howarth has been excellent at centre for Melbourne Storm ... how awesome are Melbourne Storm!? Their Kiwi-NRL presence is still fabulous this season and a fresh wrinkle I’ve been pondering is how Nelson Asofa-Solomona is the only Kiwi-NRL Stormer who was recruited directly from NZ via Upper Hutt/Wellington College.
Jahrome Hughes joined Storm from Cowboys. Will Warbrick joined Storm from NZ Sevens. Alec MacDonald was scouted while playing in Queensland. Howarth is from Mackay. Joe Chan is from Sydney and France with his father Alex Chan being a former Storm/NZ Kiwis player.
Caius Fa’atili is in the wider Storm mix from Christchurch, but joined Storm from Queensland where he was in the Broncos system. The three notable Kiwi-NRL juniors in Storm U21s are Brayden Seu-Easthope (Otahuhu), K-Ci Newton-Whare (Riccarton) and Josiah-Ekkehard Neli (Hornby) who all joined Storm from Queensland.
Remember all the buzz about Bulldogs linking up with Canterbury Rugby League? That’s helping Bulldogs for sure, but I just listed three lads from Christchurch who are with Storm. NZW had Tanner Stowers-Smith (Halswell) and Makaia Tafua (Linwood) in the NSW Cup win vs Bulldogs. Felix Fa’atili (Hornby) and Richie Tupuailei (Hornby RU) played Sharks U21s etc etc.
There is too much rugby league talent from the South Island for one organisation. Bulldogs also have Kiwi-NRL/NRLWahine juniors throughout their system who are not from CRL; this is the age of Aotearoa rugby league abundance.
Sharks are 5-0 in NRLW while Broncos, Knights and Titans had wins to go to 3-2.
Another crazy Annessa Biddle stat line vs Dragons:
16 runs - 191m @ 11.9m/run, 1 try assist, 6 tackle breaks, 14 tackles @ 100%
Biddle is first for Post Contact Metres with 460 and the next best is on 418.
Georgia Hale was awesome vs Roosters:
16 runs - 141m @ 9.4m/run, 2 tackle breaks, 1 offload, 39 tackles @ 91%
Hale is first for tackles on 249 @ 96.9% and the next best is on 186 tackles @ 91.6%. Hale is now averaging 126m/game - her second year over 100m and first over 120m.
Former Black Fern Tafito Lafaele is settling into her mahi with Broncos...
vs Tigers, 30mins, 1 try, 11 runs - 129m @ 11.7m/run, 7 tackle breaks, 15 tackles @ 83%
Broncos are 7-1 with Lafaele in the team and they are 3-0 with her playing this season.
Checking in with Black Ferns Sevens wahine Stacey Waaka and Tenika Willison who are both playing on the wing in NRLW (Broncos and Knights)...
Stacey Waaka: 3 games, 2 tries, 15 tackle breaks, 2 linebreaks, 139m/game, 100% tackling
Tenika Willison: 2 games, 1 try, 2 tackle breaks, 2 linebreaks, 119m/game, 75% tackling
Neil Wagner (Durham), Michael Rae (Warwickshire) and Fraser Sheat (Glamorgan) are playing County Championship cricket. Wagner took some wickets but seems to have got injured and didn't bowl in the second innings, while Rae snared some wickets with short stuff. Sheat is a funky addition to the Kiwi County Tour mix but he didn't take any wickets.
Neil Wagner: 18ov, 4w @ 3.7rpo
Michael Rae: 28 runs @ 127sr | 14ov @ 3.9rpo | 0 runs | 10ov, 3w @ 3.9rpo
Fraser Sheat: 18 runs @ 100sr | 22ov @ 3.5rpo | 10 runs @ 45sr | 2ov @ 3.5rpo
I overlooked the One-Day Cup action for Wagner and Rae prior to this round of County cricket...
Neil Wagner: 43 runs @ 14avg/98sr | 4w @ 33.2avg/5.3rpo
Michael Rae: 8 runs @ 4avg/114sr | 5w @ 20.8avg/4rpo
I have been pondering the best young women's cricketers ahead to this summer but keep coming back around to the door being open to anyone who wants to dominate with runs/wickets. There is a space behind the Mikaela Greig/Kate Anderson tier for players who can genuinely dominate HBJ Shield/Super Smash but it's tricky to pinpoint a couple young ladies from a big group of super talented emerging players. For example...
Who are the best young seamers? Northern Districts have Marama Downes, Kayley Knight and Skye Bowden with Lucy Boucher out injured. Emma Black, Molly Loe (Otago), Gabby Sullivan, Missy Banks (Canterbury), Bree Illing (Auckland), Natasha Coydre (Wellington) and many more can be thrown up as ones to watch out for.
Spinners? Take ya pick from: Xara Jetly, Kate Chandler (Wellington), Sarah Asmussen (Canterbury), Nensi Patel (ND), Ocean Bartlett, Flora Devonshire (CD), Rishika Jaswal (Auckland) and more.
Emerging batters who scored two 50+ scores in HBJ Shield or averaged 15+ with 100+ strike-rates in Super Smash...
HBJ Shield: Polly Inglis, Caitlin Blakely, Saachi Shahri, Kate Chandler
Super Smash: Prue Catton, Bella James, Caitlin Blakely, Jodie Dean
Musical jam...
Wildcard’s Notebook
Ran out of room in the newsletter on Friday while talking about the scholarship signings so here’s how the Wellington Phoenix Wahine squad is shaping up, with up to three more imports to come and at least four more local players...
Wellington Phoenix ALW Squad
GK – Carolina Vilão (I), Aimee Danieli (S)
DEF – Mackenzie Barry, Rebecca Lake, Zoe McMeeken, Tiana Jaber, Ella McMillan (S)
MID – Alyssa Whinham, Daisy Brazendale, Ela Jerez (S)
FWD – Olivia Fergusson (I), Emma Main, Manaia Elliott, Olivia Ingham, Ella McCann (S)
I = Import / S = Scholar
Curious to see what they do with those open local spots after they just gave schol deals to the top academy ladies. That suggests they’re probably leaning outside the club for those. Granted, Mickey Foster, Annalie Longo, and Michaela Robertson are all still unaccounted for from last year’s group and I’m expecting at least Foster to re-sign. Beyond that, well, there is a high number of Football Ferns currently without clubs. Some of them will and should have ambitions far beyond the A-League but here are some NZ free agents as of 26 August 2024...
Jacqui Hand, Ria Percival, Grace Jale, Paige Satchell, Daisy Cleverley, Meikayla Moore, Erin Nayler, Deven Jackson, Georgia Candy, Hannah Wilkinson, Olivia Chance
Not Kelli Brown though. She’s been released after only getting a few sporadic opportunities last season... a pity but things have worked out alright for her since. Browny just scored both goals as Macarthur Rams beat APIA Leichhardt 2-0 to clinch the NPL Premiership. Next they’ll head into the playoffs to try and make it three championships in a row, with Brown having top-scored for them in last year’s run. She scored 23 goals in 28 NPL games as Macarthur won the 2023 championship. She has scored 14 goals in 16 NPL games as Macarthur won the premiership in 2024 with the playoffs still to come.
Coincidentally, the Leichhardt team they beat contained Charlotte Lancaster and Mona Walker, both ex-Phoenix teammates of KB. Neither of them have been able to boost back into ALW activities since leaving the Nix but Kelli Brown has. She’s signed with Perth Glory for the upcoming season where she will be coached by... her Macarthur Rams coach Stephen Peters. A coach who has gotten 37 goals out of her in just 44 games (not including cup games where there’s been even more) at the level below. Kinda feels like this is the best case scenario for KB.
Initially, I had Jana Niedermayr on that list of free agents but it turns out she’s staying in Austria, having not only signed with Union Kleinmünchen in their top division but also starting both of their first two games this season. Scored an own goal in the latest of them though we’ll keep that hush-hush.
It’s also very possible that Deven Jackson will remain at Canberra United. Her contract was only for last season but she played most games and there’s never been any news of a release. Ruby Nathan is in the same situation and NZF classed her as a Canberra player for the U20s squad announcement. Canberra have a new coach and only just started announcing new signings this week so keep the eyes peeled for any good news there.
The Breakers have announced their coaching staff for NBL25, confirming the three fellas who’ll be assisting Coach Kop as they enter the post-Mody Maor era...
Head Coach: Petteri Koponen (Finland)
Associate Head Coach: Dan Sokolovsky (USA)
Assistant Coach: Mario Dugandzic (Croatia)
Assistant Coach: Laimonas Eglinskas (Lithuania)
So... that makes it three years in a row without a single New Zealander on the coaching staff. But then nobody’s going to be surprised by that any more.
Hanging out in the Olympic Games afterglow was a Diamond League meeting in Poland over the weekend, where a few kiwis stayed busy on the tour. Hamish Kerr didn’t come close to matching his Gold from Paris, only finishing ninth in the Men’s High Jump. Cleared his first two heights then bailed out with three misses at 2.22m (he cleared 2.36m in France) which left him ninth. Gianmarco Tamberi won that event, the Italian jumper who’d tied for Gold in 2021 but had a poor build-up to the 2024 Games with illness affecting his conditioning. The American fella that Kerr jumped off with didn’t compete in Poland.
Neither did Tom Walsh... though Jacko Gill did make the trip for the Men’s Shot Put and got himself a seventh place with 20.89m proving his best effort. More than a metre off the podium but only six centimetres behind fourth. And that was that for Poland, though Maddi Wesche did get a sixth place in the Women’s Shot Put in Switzerland late last week (they don’t do all the events at every Diamond League event, mixing them up around the destinations). Threw 18.66m for that one... way short of the 19.86m personal best that got her the Olympic silver medal. Bottom line: Kerr and Wesche peaked when it mattered most.
NZers to have competed in the Diamond League in 2024:
Geordie Beamish in the Men’s 1500m and 3000m Steeplechase – he’s in line to qualify for the final in the latter.
Hamish Kerr who had already qualified for the final prior to Silesia so his slippery outing there means nothing. Kerr had won three of the previous four DL meetings.
Tom Walsh and Jacko Gill in the Men’s Shot Put, who still have some work to do with two more Shot Put meetings prior to the final and both only sitting in middling positions on the overall qualification standings.
Zoe Hobbs who in the Women’s 100m sprint, who had a sixth-placed finish in Monaco a few months back, though probably won’t get near the final qualification.
Eliza McCartney who has been selective about what events she enters due to her injury management but did finish fifth in London and with Women’s Pole Vault at both remaining regular events she could make a dash at the final if she wanted. Olivia McTaggart and Imogen Ayris have also gotten some DL reps this year in the same event.
Maddison-Lee Wesche’s best Women’s Shot Put was a second place in China back in April... unfortunately there’s no more of this one to go so she’s missed the cut for the final by one point. If she’d been fifth instead of sixth in Lausanne then that would’ve done it. Oh well, an Olympic silver medal shall suffice.
Tori Peeters also narrowly missed the cut for the final in the Women’s Javelin. She’s had a seventh, sixth, and fifth in previous events but didn’t compete in Silesia and got overtaken.
There have been a few others in the open competitions or non-Olympic standards but that’s how things have tracked for those aiming for Diamond League finals.
Domestic Football Roundup
Let me tell ya, that Men’s Northern League went absolutely nuts this week. Starting with Manurewa snapping their long winless streak by toppling Auckland City 2-1 in an upset that could have caused huge ramifications to the title race leading into the final round. Except that it didn’t because every other team in the top four of the table dropped points too. That means that Auckland City’s defeat at War Memorial Park ended up clinching them the title anyway so shout out to Auckland City, they’ve had to battle through it at times this year but they always find a solution when it matters and have therefore won four Men’s Northern League championships in a row. This also means their Chatham Cup final against Wellington Olympic will not only be a replay of last year’s National League final but also a Northern League vs Central League champions meeting.
If Eastern Suburbs had beaten Hamilton Wanderers then they still would have had a chance at winning the ‘ship heading into next week (though they’d have needed City to also lose to Melville). Instead they were held to a 0-0 draw by Wanderers in a result that suited nobody... with results elsewhere conspiring to relegate Hamilton Wanderers. Looked like quite a young Suburbs side, with a number of their dudes having either signed or trialled with Auckland FC recently. Also, if Birkenhead had beaten Tauranga City then they’d equally have gotten back within two points of first. Instead they lost 3-2 on the road.
Wanderers may have gone down with a week to spare but there was better news for Melville United who scored twice in the first ten minutes (Jama Boss and Erik Panzer) against East Coast Bays and then held on for a 2-0 win that brings them back within one point of both ECB and also Manurewa (making Rewa’s win even more amazing). Wanderers are going down but ECB, Rewa, and Melville are heading for a Round 22 shake-up. One team goes down. One team has a playoff for survival (against the second placed Championship team). One team stays up no sweat. Next week’s relevant fixtures...
Bay Olympic vs Manurewa
East Coast Bays vs Birkenhead
Melville vs Auckland City
Elsewhere, West Coast Rangers confirmed their survival with a 2-2 draw against Western Springs, with the latter having already confirmed their top four status last week. Auckland United were therefore playing for pride as they beat Bay Olympic 3-2 with Oli Colloty scoring the winner in a man of the match performance. Considering the calibre of young talent in that AUFC squad, it’ll be interesting to see if any of them end up being loaned out for the National League (many of them have Welly Nix Academy connections to that interest could apply to Central League sides too). And that’s that. The final week will be all about the relegation battle, although Birko, Suburbs, and Springs will be shuffling for positions 2-4.
Plenty more where that came from, such as in the Men’s Central League where Island Bay held on to win 4-3 against Stop Out in a result that relegates Stop Out and lifts IBU up to eighth on the ladder. Paul Owaci scored two of their goals. Wellington Olympic had already won the title but they weren’t messing around with a 6-0 win against Petone in which Ben Mata scored three times (and only two of them were penalties).
Also winning big was Napier City Rovers. They pumped North Wellington 6-1 with Benjamin Stanley scoring a brace. They were 1-0 down but that soon changed... and even though Josh Rogerson did score a late equaliser for Miramar Rangers in a 1-1 draw away to Waterside Karori, that NCR victory means that the National League spots are all sorted with a week to go. Napier City Rovers join Wellington Olympic, Western Suburbs, and of course the Wellington Phoenix Reserves in the MNL. Shout out to Tomas Alvarado for Karori who scored their goal and also got sent off.
And we’ve had yet more twists and turns in the Men’s Southern League too. Can’t overlook FC Twenty11 claiming a 0-0 draw off Universities of Canterbury during the midweek because that’s their first point of the campaign. Snuck one over the line just in time, even though they didn’t literally sneak anything over the line in a goalless draw. Universities then responded by beating Nomads 2-1 thanks to a last-minute winner from Todd Vermeir.
A little more glamorously, Cashmere Technical won 3-0 against Ferrymead Bays with Garbhan Coughlan naturally bagging two more goals. That win ensured a trophy celebration because they cannot be caught at the top of the table. Cashy Tech regain the Southern League after two Christchurch United championships. Speaking of the Rams... Christchurch United only drew 1-1 away to Nelson Suburbs while Coastal Spirit beat Dunedin City Royals 5-0 (two goals for Alejandro Steinwascher, two for Kenshin Hayashi, and an own goal for good measure) and that combination of results has opened the door back up for Coastal to finish second and claim the other National League spot if they can win their final two matches. Chch Utd are still a point ahead but only have one more game remaining... and it’s against Cashmere Tech.
The Women’s South Island League continues to look like Dunedin City Royals’ to lose after they won 2-0 away to Otago Uni via a Shontelle Smith double and then won 5-0 away to Nelson Suburbs with Georgia Kennedy this time scoring twice. DCR may have been bounced in the Kate Sheppard Cup semis but they now only need a draw from next week’s match with Roslyn Wakari to clinch the SI title. Cashmere Technical aren’t mathematically out of it yet though, not after a 4-2 win against Coastal Spirit in which Margi Dias scored twice and Annalie Longo also got another goal. Otago University won 2-0 against Roslyn Wakari in the other match.
The Women’s Central League went to plan this week with Wellington United winning 2-0 against Palmerston North Marist and Waterside Karori winning 4-2 against Petone. Couple more goals for Nikki Furukawa in there. All is trending towards a title decider when Karori and Welly Utd meet in their rescheduled fixture probably the week after next. Also had Taradale winning 4-2 against Moturoa courtesy of a Megan Thomas hat-trick while Victoria Uni beat Seatoun 3-0 with Nicole Baird scoring twice. No upsets there.
Meanwhile the NRFL Premier Division is going to go down to the wire for those National League spots. Auckland United will probably claim the championship midweek in their penultimate fixture but their 1-0 win over Eastern Suburbs (Chelsea Elliott with the goal) was matched by West Coast Rangers beating Fencibles 5-2 (hatty for Shannon Henson) so it’s not official quite yet. Four point lead for AU with two games left. AU and WCR play each other on Tuesday night in a rescheduled game that will see the trophy engraved for United with anything other than a Rangers win.
Those results also happened to give Western Springs a huge opportunity: if they could win at home against last-placed Hamilton Wanderers then they would move up to third. Problem was... they didn’t. Rina Hirano scored on her 100th appearance for the club yet Maddison Ollington scored twice as Wanderers won 2-1. Ellerslie won 1-0 against Hibiscus Coast in the other match.
That means Wanderers still have a tiny chance of avoiding last place. It means only two points separate Eastern Suburbs, Western Springs, and Fencibles heading into the last week of fixtures and Suburbs have played an extra game with only two WNL spots to go around between them. It means Fencibles vs Western Springs on Wednesday night will be one of the biggest games of the year. It means plenty more goodness where this all came from.
Musical Jamness...