Exquisite Instincts
Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne Victory, Kiwi-NRL excellence, Warriors depth, a Tall Blacks squad, NZ NBL, Country cricket & more
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Exploring The Wellington Phoenix’s Newfound Defensive Excellence (Football)
Macey Fraser Signs With Utah Royals: A Unique Journey, A Record Fee & Wellington Phoenix Pathways (Football)
The Wellington Phoenix A-League Women’s 2023-24 Season In Review (Football)
Picking One Intriguing Player From Every NZ NBL Team (Basketball)
Answering The Big Questions About Steven Adams Getting Traded To The Houston Rockets (Basketball)
Breaking Down The Blackcaps 2024 T20 World Cup Squad (Cricket)
2023/24 HBJ Shield: Five Best Youngsters (Cricket)
How Wellington Became 2023/24 Plunket Shield Champions (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
Righto - NZ Warriors footy kinda stinks right now. The good news is that positive effort and attitude is evident, which may or may not help them wiggle out of this mess. This stinky phase isn't much different from the last five seasons though which includes seasons at Mt Smart, during the pesky pandemic era, and under Andrew Webster. Here's how recent seasons look after round 10...
2018: 3rd | 7-3
2019: 10th | 4-6
2020: 13th | 3-7
2021: 10th | 4-6
2022: 11th | 4-6
2023: 11th | 5-5
2024: 14th | 3-6-1
NZW had a win over Roosters in NSW Cup and lost in Jersey Flegg. The most interesting NZW thing is still the young talent rising through the pipeline and Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea is the latest youngster to make his NSW Cup debut. Tuipulotu-Vea started in Under 19 SG Ball and joined Sio Kali, Jacob Auloa and Kayliss Fatialofa as SG Ball lads who played NSW Cup vs Roosters.
Zyon Maiu'u and Tanner Stowers-Smith are both 20-year-olds who played 40+ minutes at prop vs Roosters. Eddie Ieremia must be 20yrs as well and he got 80mins at edge forward this week, playing 60+ minutes in eight consecutive games. Makaia Tafua is probably 20yrs as well and he has made the most of his jump up from Under 21 Jersey Flegg to NSW Cup in a young hooking combo with Auloa.
Tafua played 55mins vs Roosters and the Linwood junior is showcasing the talent coming out of Canterbury along with Stowers-Smith. With Geronimo Doyle getting injured early, it looks like Ali Leiataua settled into a play-making role and he now has a couple winning efforts in NSW Cup games where he hasn't playing centre or wing. At least half of this NSW Cup that defeated Roosters would be younger than 23yrs and while the NRL team lose, these youngsters are beating teams with fringe NRL talent.
The Jersey Flegg team are more like the NRL team, although the Flegg team are producing the young talent who are contributing to NSW Cup wins. Think of the Flegg team as a trampoline that bounces players into reserve grade and while the constant shuffling of players makes it hard for the U21s to win games, the trampoline is working well at the moment.
Don't get bogged down by NZW stuff in the NRL as the the Kiwi-NRL flame is always lit...
Remember that the Aotearoa Kiwis win over Australia last year had just one player from NZW in Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. Sharks are the best team in the NRL right now (8-1) with Ronaldo Mulitalo and Briton Nikora playing like top-tier Aotearoa Kiwis. The quirky dummy half combo vs Australia of Kieran Foran and Fa'amanu Brown are a funky pocket; Foran's a leader for Titans and Brown is back in the NRL with Dragons.
That Kiwis win did not include Jeremy Marshall-King or Brandon Smith either. Jamayne Isaako is consistently awesome for Dolphins who are 6-3 alongside Marshall-King, as well as Connelly Lemuelu who has found a home as an edge forward with Dolphins. I'm going to put the Kiwi-NRL Spotlight on Lemuelu this week and the Tangaroa College junior has had a crazy journey...
#10 for TC 1st 15 then fullback for Keebra Park High School in league, now playing edge forward in NRL. Lemuelu has played every position except prop in NRL/Queensland Cup but he has played lock so he's had a stint as middle forward.
Leo Thompson and Griffin Neame are both 23-year-olds who made their Kiwis debuts last year. Thompson is from Napier and Neame's from Greymouth, both have played 50+ NRL games and they offer excellent basic mahi...
Leo Thompson: 106m/game - 95.86% tackling
Griffin Neame: 102m/game - 92.78% tackling
Matthew Timoko's Raiders had a bye this round but I've highlighted his nek-level development already this season; 158m/game last season leading into Kiwis debut then 172m/game this season.
The Broncos trio of Jordan Riki (Hornby), Deine Mariner (Marist) and Xavier Willison (Waicoa-Bay) has emerged as one of my favourite Kiwi-NRL clusters. None of played for Aotearoa Kiwis yet but Riki has been in the mix, while Willison has already represented Cook Islands. Mariner is eligible for a few nations and may opt for Samoa given the Kiwis wing depth. He is fast, yep, but Mariner's balance and footy instincts are exquisite.
Keano Kini returned to the Titans team for their win over Cowboys to play the whole game at fullback. Northcote junior Kini was initially listed on the bench and his ability to play as a utility could determine his game time this year. I'm always amazed at how tough Kini as he is a small fullback who thrives against bigger bodies.
Big win for Carlos Ulberg in the UFC…
Kiwi County Tour round up...
Nathan Smith: didn't bat then 1w @ 3.2rpo in 24 overs
Tom Bruce: 73 runs then 15 runs
Will Williams: 5 runs, 1w @ 2.4rpo
Will Young: 27 runs - dismissed by Williams
Fun fact: Young is playing alongside Dane Patterson who played for South Africa vs Blackcaps last summer.
Lydia Ko finished tied-35th at the Founders Cup. Here are some key bits...
Results: 1st, 2nd, T34, T4, T13, T18, T17, T35
Average Driving Distance: 251.9m - 105
Driving Accuracy: 70.74% - 101
Greens in Regulation: 69.35% - 43
Putts per GIR: 1.76 - 13
Putting Average: 28.84 - 7
Sand Saves: 50% - 22
Scoring Average: 70.23 - 6
Rounds Under Par: 25 - 2
Black Sticks Men had a 1-1 draw vs Pakistan and then a 3-2 win over Malaysia to finish the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. Japan won the final vs Pakistan and here are the final standings...
Japan: 4-0-1 | 13 points
Pakistan: 3-0-2 | 11 points
Malaysia: 3-2 | 9 points
NZ: 2-2-1 | 7 points
Korea: 1-4 | 3 points
Canada: 0-5 | 0 points
Aotearoa is the only team here who will play at the Olympics, meaning that the three teams who finished ahead of Black Sticks won't be in the Olympics. This is balanced by South Africa and Ireland being at the Olympics who are in a similar zone as the Japan/Pakistan/Malaysia/NZ group.
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
The Wellington Phoenix are ninety minutes (or maybe 120... or maybe 120 plus penalties) away from an A-League grand final after a sturdy 0-0 draw away to Melbourne Victory. Nothing fancy about it. Just the best defence in the ALM continuing on their merry way with another clean sheet. They did get blanked themselves in the process, only a couple of major chances amongst, but these things aren’t supposed to be easy. The Nix had a very inexperienced team. First year head coach. A squad which had 19 combined finals appearances outside of Kosta Barbarouses (who had 18 of his own). And thanks to the draw they’ll get to try and take care of business on home turf in front of what is trending towards a sellout crowd.
That next game will be the fifth time that these two sides have met this season. They also played in preseason, for what that’s worth. Four meetings with a 1-1 draw, another 1-1 draw, a 1-0 win for the Nix, and now a 0-0 draw. The Phoenix’s three goals vs MVC have been an own goal, a penalty, and another own goal (off a free kick). Two of those came in the 90+5th minute.
These are two extremely tight defensive units, two extremely well-coached teams. They’re also two sides that seem to mostly cancel each other out through familiar patterns. Check a few basic stats from these four matches to see what I’m saying...
The Phoenix have been out-shot by a margin of at least ten in each match... though have scored more goals than MVC have in these fixtures.
The possession numbers have mostly favoured the Victory but the Nix’s numbers still vary from 37% to 55%.
The clearances show the contrasting styles as Victory whip the ball into the penalty area as often as possible (which Surman and Wootton tend to deal with comprehensively) while up the other end the Phoenix don’t bother much with crosses unless they genuinely spot a goal-scoring opportunity.
And if you watched the game on Sunday you’ll not be surprised to see that the Victory committed more fouls in that one than in any of the others. That’s their identity. More red cards than anyone other team this season. That worked well for them in Melbourne but it could be a different story with more than 32k Nix fans putting pressure on the referee’s whistle.
According to the A-League’s own records, the Wellington Phoenix’s best ever attendance came in the 2010 finals win against Newcastle Jets (Paul Ifill scored that famous goal, you remember it). They had 32,792 on that day. When the Football Ferns played the Philippines during the World Cup, the crowd capped out at 32,357 in Sky Stadium which was considered a sellout. So that’s the range we’re dealing with here for Saturday night: around 32,000.
While I’m still gazing at the 2023-24 ALM Season Guidebook, here are a few more (updated) Wellington Phoenix records...
Most ALM Appearances for the Welly Nix
Andre Durante – 273
Vince Lia – 197
Manny Muscat – 192
Ben Sigmund – 181
Louis Fenton – 159
Alex Rufer – 146
Glen Moss – 140
Tony Lochhead – 131
Leo Bertos – 127
Roy Krishna & David Ball – 122
(Tim Payne is next of active players with 111 games)
Most ALM Goals for the Welly Nix
Roy Krishna – 51
Paul Ifill – 33
Shane Smeltz – 24
Jeremy Brockie & Tim Brown – 23
(Kosta Barbarouses is up to 21 so he could crack the top five this season... maybe... hopefully)
Most ALM Clean Sheets for the Welly Nix
Glen Moss – 26
Mark Paston – 17
Oli Sail – 16
Alex Paulsen - 12
Danny Vukovic – 6
(Yes, Alex Paulsen has 12 cleans sheets from only 32 career appearances)
We’ve got a new leader in the NBL: The Auckland Tuatara. An emphatic 38-point victory against Manawatu has taken them to an 8-2 record, clear of the rest of the challengers thanks to the fact that they’ve played two more games than most of them. But wins on the board are worth more than games in hand. Four teams currently have two defeats, with Canterbury, Wellington, and Franklin all on 6-2 records. Taranaki are up to 6-3 after a double gameweek in which they lost narrowly to Canterbury but bounced back with a powerful 24-point win against poor old winless Southland. It’s been hard yakka for the Sharks. 0-10 with a points differential of -261... meaning that their average defeat is by 26 points. Jeepers.
The Tuatara though. Manawatu are second to last and without a top notch big man since Tyrell Harrison returned to Aussie to fulfil his NBL1 contract. Not ideal against a team with Rob Loe... who naturally responded with 22 points on 9/13 shooting (without even attempting a three). Corey Webster made up for that by knocking down 4/7 from deep on his way to a season-high 29 points. His seventh scored of 20+, more than any other kiwi player. C-Web also had 13 assists and he shot 11/15 from the field and 3/3 from the free throw line.
Spectacular stuff which blew this game out and allowed the ‘Tara to get their bench dudes some extra minutes... one of those being Charlie Dalton who scored 16 points in 17 minutes (he’s back getting some work in during his USA college offseason). Tom Cooper got to stretch his legs too. 18 minutes without doing much on the scoresheet but logging a +23 while he was out there. You do love to see it.
The Tuatara once again haven’t gone down the same path as most by using their import spots on Americans. They signed the best imaginable starting five with Aussie Cam Gliddon alongside Webster, Loe, Tom Vodanovich, and Reuben Te Rangi. Then they filled out their bench with local prospects and a couple of cheap veterans to ensure they stayed under the cap. Gliddon is their only import... and they’re top of the table.
Rob Loe’s MVP 2023 Season:
31.3 MIN | 19.6 PTS | 11.1 REB | 4.2 AST | 1.9 BLK | 56.2 FG% | 39.7 3PT% | 72.6 FT%
Rob Loe’s Current 2024 Season:
32.8 MIN | 21.9 PTS | 12.1 REB | 4.3 AST | 1.3 BLK | 54.9 FG% | 37.3 3PT% | 71.1 FT%
The Tall Blacks have named an extended squad of 19 players for their Olympic qualifying tournament late next month. That includes 14 players in the travelling squad plus five non-travelling reserves who are the designated replacements in case of any injuries. It’s a very strong squad with almost all of the main blokes available. To tell the truth it might be a stronger squad than they one they took to the World Cup. Here we go...
Flynn Cameron
Finn Delany
Ben Gold
Hyrum Harris
Tyrell Harrison
Shea Ili
Izayah Le’Afa
Jordan Ngatai
Ethan Rusbatch
Reuben Te Rangi
Tom Vodanovich
Sam Waardenburg
Corey Webster
Yanni Wetzell
The five non-travelling reserves are: Taylor Britt, Dan Fotu, Sam Timmins, Taine Murray & Sam Mennenga. No Isaac Fotu, sadly, as his Japanese season seems to clash with this stuff. Also no Tai Webster who didn’t go to the World Cup either. However Corey Webster has returned to the mix as he seeks to take his 93 caps into triple figures at some stage. Ben Gold is the sneaky x-factor youngster, the only college player there amongst.
The Tall Blacks play Finland, Poland, Croatia, and Slovenia on their June tour, the first two being friendly games then the next two being the OQTs. Need to win one of those games to advance to the semis where they’ll face either Egypt, Greece, or Dominican Republic. Only the winner of the tournament progresses to Paris 2024.
Domestic Football Roundup
Alrighty, no Auckland City this week because they began their Oceania Champions League campaign instead. Didn’t begin it so well though, only drawing 2-2 against Rewa of Fiji. They were actually losing for a brief time there. The Navy Blues weren’t as comprehensive as usual last year either so not sure if this is the Oceania teams closing the gap or City just not quite being at the same level as in previous years. Potentially a bit of both.
The Men’s Northern League unfolded without them for another round, with Western Springs going back level with Auckland City (who are the only team to have beaten them so far) by winning 4-1 away to Melville. That, coincidentally, was the same scoreline that Hamilton Wanderers lost to Birkenhead United by. Both of the Hamilton clubs were at home too. These were tough fixtures against National League candidates but yeah that’s why Wanderers and Melville are the two bottom teams. Birko got a brace from Haris Zeb amongst their haul of goals, one of their more underrated transfer additions this year, and were 4-0 up after 48 minutes. Corban Piper did get sent off just before half-time though... a card that led to Zeb being subbed off at the break despite being on a hat-trick. Clearly Corbs owes Haris a beverage of some description.
In other Northern results, Kelvin Kalua scored an 86th minute winner for Eastern Suburbs away to West Coast Rangers on Friday night. Left it late under the lights. Tauranga City did similar the following day as Jonty Bidois bagged an 85th minute winner for his team to beat Manurewa 2-1, having been a goal down. Eber Ramirez scored the goal for Rewa... he’s got 8 and Bidois has 9 to both be top five in the Golden Boot ranks. Jake Mechell still leads the way with 11 in the Northerns. Also Auckland United got a much-needed win when they beat East Coast Bays 2-0.
To the Men’s Central League and Miramar Rangers slipped further down the table with a second-straight loss. Undefeated and first a fortnight ago. A losing streak and fifth now. They were dropped 3-0 by Wellington Olympic, conceding in the opening minute of the game. Not how you want to start a derby. Olympic are one of three teams with 18 points but are leading thanks to goal difference. Western Suburbs are up there too (having played an extra game) after a 5-1 win versus North Wellington. They were 1-0 down at half-time and then Miles Green got subbed on and he scored four times. That’s... quite an impact. Also Napier City Rovers are up top too following a 2-1 win against Petone. Oscar Faulds pocketed his 12th goal of the campaign therein.
The Wellington Phoenix Reserves played twice with a 2-1 win over Island Bay in the midweek followed by a 1-1 draw away to Stop Out. Alby Kelly-Heald and Fergus Gillion were the only guys around the current first team picture to be involved there. Clearly there was a more important place for other fringe lads to be: in Melbourne trying to help the first team prepare for that semi-final match. Daniel Makowem scored in both fixtures. Finally, Waterside Karori also got a 2-1 win vs Island Bay. Close but not quite on both counts for Island Bay who have lost seven out of eight matches.
Time to move down South where... there were no league games. They had round one Chatham Cup fixtures instead, as did many of the leagues below the two we’ve already mentioned. All of them progressed except for the ones who played other Southern League teams. Coastal Spirit beat FC Twenty11 3-0. Ferrymead Bays beat Selwyn United 3-0.
It was also a Kate Sheppard Cup week for those teams involved in the first round. Lots of big wins as is usually the case early on. Waterside Karori put 13 past Brooklyn Northern United (13-0). Renee Bacon with a hatty. Dunedin City Royals won 11-0 vs Thistle Invercargill with Abby Rankin getting three. However the most dramatic result by far was last year’s beaten finalists Wellington United getting dumped out already. They were drawn against the Wellington Phoenix Reserves who delivered a strong line-up that included Aimee Danieli, Manaia Elliott, Daisy Brazendale, Olivia Ingham, and Ella McMillan who all got varying degrees of A-League minute last season. And they won 3-0. Goals to McMillan (34’), Rebekah Trewhitt (54’), and Alyssha Eglinton (84’).
As for the Women’s NRFL Prem, not a single home team won this week. Auckland United remain first following a 2-0 victory against Hibiscus Coast. They’re being closely followed by West Coast Rangers who conceded in the second minute against Western Springs but roared back to win 4-1. But neither Fencibles nor Eastern Suburbs could take much advantage of Springs losing, keeping that top four race nice and funky. Fencies drew 1-1 against Ellerslie. The Lilywhites lost, rather shockingly, 1-0 to Hamilton Wanderers. Stella Neems with the only goal after 50 minutes. That was Wanderers’ first win of the season – so if you were betting on which of their senior teams would get the first dub, the women were the ones. Both still in last place though.
A tune, a tune...