Fizzing Dribbles
Fizzing Dribbles
Steven Adams' new contract, Kiwis/Ferns RL World Cup squads, Natty League Team of the Week, Lydia Ko & Anna Leat heroics... and plenty more
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2022 Parramatta Eels Kiwi-NRL Breakdown (Rugby League)
2022 Penrith Panthers Kiwi-NRL Breakdown (Rugby League)
2022 Men’s National League – Week One Review (Football)
Joseph Parker Got Knocked All The Way Out By Joe Joyce… Where Does He Go From Here? (Boxing)
2022 Domestic Cricket Contracts: Central Districts (Cricket)
2022 T20 World Cup: Blackcaps Preview (Cricket)
The Quotable Steven Adams: 2021-22 Edition (Basketball)
2022 Men’s National League - Season Preview (Football)
Scotty’s Word
Again, Lydia Ko doesn't win a tournament but she is an LPGA monster. Ko finished third at the Ascendent LPGA tournament in Texas and after a recent blip, Ko bounced back with two top-five finishes. I'll whip up a fresh Lydia Ko Mixtape to dive deeper into her dominance and LPGA stats aren't updated at the time of writing, so stay tuned for that.
Steven Adams signed a new deal with Memphis Grizzlies and while my comrade does the best Steven Adams coverage in the world, I've been pondering. There is a common thread between NBA and NRL salary caps as both will be increasing in the coming years, blowing player salaries far beyond lame Aotearoa headlines. Of course, NBA is transparent about the salary cap and any NRL salary cap yarn is nothing more than guesses.
Right now, $1 million per season is the tier for NRL franchise players. This will become $1.5mil quickly as the salary cap increases and within five years I expect $2mil to be the top-tier in NRL. Keep this mind as you scour the NRL market and while everyone loves counting other peoples cash, the best way to view sporting salary caps is through a percentage of the cap rather than 'Steven Adams signs $45mil deal' or 'Cameron Munster signs $4mil deal in NRL'.
For fans, all that matters is the salary cap hit.
This is crystal clear for Adams and Memphis Grizzlies as Adams' salary cap hit decreases over the next three/four years. Adams had the biggest salary cap hit on the Grizzlies roster last season and as the NBA salary cap increases, Adams' value decreases. This allows Grizzlies to invest in their young stars and given that Adams has already enjoyed his big contract, this is glorious team-first mahi from Adams.
According to Spotrac, here are some Grizzlies/Adams details...
2020/21: Grizzlies had no player over $15mil.
2021/22: $17, 073,171 - Adams was only player over $15mil.
2022/23: $17,926,829 - Adams has second highest Grizzlies contract.
2023/24: $12,115,385 - fourth highest.
2024/25: $13,084,615 - third highest.
Penrith Panthers are NRL champions again. The key note explored over the past week is how every level of their success (from U18s to NRL) features lads from Aotearoa. This is most obvious with Kiwis James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota and Scott Sorenson but yesterday's State Championship final also featured Preston Riki in the Panthers NSW Cup team who were too good for Norths Devils from Queensland.
Riki sits just outside the Panthers NRL squad and should spend the summer training in the wider NRL squad this summer. There may be an opportunity for Riki with Viliame Kikau moving to Bulldogs and given that Panthers recruited Riki from NZ Warriors to cook him in NSW Cup all season, expect strong development from the other Hokianga Panther.
Fresh after the Panthers NRL Grand Final victory, Aotearoa Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns World Cup squads have been announced. No dramas in the Kiwis squad with the following players dropping out from the wider squad: Braden Hamlin-Uele (Samoa), Corey Harawira-Naera, Shaun Johnson, Te Maire Martin, Ken Maumalo, Griffin Neame, Kodi Nikorima, Jordan Riki, Bailey Simonsson, Matthew Timoko.
The Kiwi Ferns squad threw up a bunch of new players who weren't on my radar which is exciting. Shanice Parker (Knights) has played rugby union for NSW Waratahs and cracked an Australian squad, while Brianna Clark was also born and raised in Australia and made the 2020 Queensland squad. Otesa Pule was awarded Roosters Rookie of the Year this season and played for Queensland Under 19s this year.
Mele Hufanga is especially intriguing as she was playing alongside Katelyn Vaha'akolo in Auckland's Farah Palmer Cup team, often playing union on Saturdays and league on Sundays this winter. Hufanga also played for Auckland Blues wahine earlier this year which led to her representing Tonga in mid-year Tests and this is another celebration of Aotearoa's cross-code exploits.
White Ferns continue to build in West Indies, winning the third T20I ... thanks to spinners and batting role-players. Aotearoa restricted Windies to 93/9. Fran Jonas took 3w @ 4rpo, Eden Carson took 2w @ 3.5rpo and Amelia Kerr chimed in with 1w @ 7rpo as Aotearoa's spinners accounted for 6 of 9 wickets.
Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and A-Kerr then accounted for 5 of 94 runs. Maddy Green led the run-chase with 49 runs, while Lauren Down (16 runs) and Georgia Plimmer (12) did enough to help out.
These two themes are deepening throughout this tour. Down and Green were joined by A-Kerr as the only White Fern batters to score 80+ runs in three ODIs, now Green and Down are joined by Bates and Devine in scoring 30+ runs through three T20Is. It doesn't take big knocks, just enough runs to ease pressure on the big-three and even knocks such as Plimmer’s swift scores help build confidence.
Three kiwi bowlers took 4+ wickets in the ODI series; Jonas, A-Kerr, Carson. Jonas and Carson have 3w each so far in the T20Is, with Jess Kerr and Hayley Jensen also snaring 3w each. A-Kerr only has 1w in 27ov, although she is Aotearoa's most economical bowler in this T20I series.
Two T20Is left on Thursday and Friday morning.
Why would Roger Tuivasa-Sheck leave rugby union under a whiff of adversity?
While I’m aware of how news headlines popped up annually about Tuivasa-Sheck moving to rugby union while he was with NZ Warriors, the recent stuff has been weird. Having followed Tuivasa-Sheck’s career closely, nothing about him or his mahi suggests that Tuivasa-Sheck would depart Aotearoa rugby just because things got hard.
Tuivasa-Sheck never said he would waltz into regular All Blacks game time, he just wanted to have a crack and try something different. While I’m sure an elite athlete such as Tuivasa-Sheck wants higher honours, he also seems happy and that is usually the most important thing. I believe Tuivasa-Sheck will make steady improvements and work his way through the immensely cluttered Aotearoa rugby pipeline.
Wildcard’s Notebook
Say would you look at this...
Don’t say I didn’t warn you that this might be coming. Steven Adams with a two-year extension on top of the upcoming final year of his contract. The Grizz didn’t announce numbers as per ‘team policy’ but Adrian Wojnarowski was happy to provide another bit of news to help bury the ongoing drama regarding (ex?) Celtics coach Ime Udoka (it’s a long story but basically ESPN is cooked when it comes to agents, which has a tendency to affect their news coverage). So he threw the numbers out there: two years and $25.2milly. Adams is earning about $18mill this year as well.
This potentially keeps him with the Memphis Grizzlies for three more years from now. Potentially... because this is a more tradeable deal than the one he was on before. But there’s no current inclination towards anything like that. They extended Steve-o because they think he’s a key part of this team moving forward into a possible title challenge. On and off the court.
The Grizzlies haven’t changed much from last season. Kyle Anderson has left for Minnesota as a free agent but they were able to re-sign Tyus ‘Stones’ Jones. They also gave Ja Morant a massive extension to keep him around in the long term. And they traded De’Anthony Melton for Danny Green and rookie David Roddy. Green, it should be noted, is recovering from an ACL tear and probably won’t play until close to the playoffs... if at all this season. But he’s a multiple championship winner who wants to embrace a mentorship role within this team. So that’s all cool.
Otherwise the idea is that they’re already on the right track so no need to get frisky with it. Ja Morant is an MVP candidate. Guys like Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr, Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman, and Zaire Williams can reasonably be expected to take further steps in their developments. Dillon Brooks is still around and should be better with a healthy offseason – he had a shocker in the playoffs with his shooting, mad inconsistent as a scorer, but is a hugely important wing defender and with a fit Ja Morant he won’t have to do so much shooting anyway.
Plus there are a few enticing first and second year players who will challenge for the rotation, especially with Melton (who was kinda unplayable during the playoffs) out of the picture. And of course there’s Steven Adams.
Here’s how their contract situations sit in terms of length...
2026-27: Ja Morant, John Konchar
2025-26: Jaren Jackson Jr, Jake LaRavia (RFA), Kennedy Chandler
2024-25: Steven Adams, Zaire Williams (RFA), Santi Aldama (RFA)
2023-24: Tyus Jones, Desmond Bane (RFA), Xavier Tillman
2022-23: Dillon Brooks, Danny Green, Brandon Clarke (RFA), David Roddy, Killian Tillie
RFA = Restricted Free Agent
That’s the majority of their core on board for at least the next two years, most of them for longer. The Memphis Grizzlies had their first taste of a playoff run last season now the plan is to go all the way. Winning a championship isn’t something you can simply plan for and then watch it happen. It takes an inconceivable amount of luck as well – injuries are one of the biggest factors in that – so the best you can do is build a team that’s good enough and hope that things break right for you. Stay in contention for as long as possible and one year maybe things might all align. The Grizzlies reckon they’ve got that team in place to do that and Steven Adams is a big part of it. That was already true but now the money is on the table to prove it.
Anna Leat did something extremely cool on debut for Aston Villa, saving four penalties in a shootout against Manchester United...
Shout out to Anna’s mum Jackie for chucking that extended footage up on YouTube. Yeah, that’s the good stuff. Also pretty funny that the commentator there keeps calling her “Lay-At”.
This was a Conti Cup group stage game which is effectively the League Cup of the English women’s scene (yes, they have a group stage). The Conti Cup is often a chance to play a few of the reserves and it was this competition that Leat got her first games for West Ham last season, just as it was this competition that she made her debut for Aston Villa.
In that group stage, when there’s a draw both teams get a point each as is standard but then they also have a penalty shootout to determine who gets a second bonus point. Villa and Man Utd drew 1-1. Villa then won the shootout 4-3 thanks to Leat’s outstanding efforts... who you may recall was also pretty decent in a penalty shootout during the U17 World Cup a few years back. Not only saved one in the win against Japan but she even scored a spotty too that day.
Men’s National League – Team of the Week #1
(The plan was to do the Women’s TOW on Monday and the Men on Friday’s email but the way that the fixtures worked I ended up watching the five men’s games first so it’ll be the other way around this week – there’s no concrete schedule here, just trying to hype up kiwi domestic footy however possible)
GK – Conor Tracey (Auckland City) – Really wanted to pick Max Tommy as well but it’s not like I can just fit him into another position. Had to go with one of the other so went with the goalie whose team actually won. Tracey was kinda the only reason (also the offside flag tbf) that Auckland City weren’t trailing at HT against Wellington Olympic. A couple of those diving saves in particular were pure magic. Being the ACFC goalie doesn’t always mean having to make too many stops but it did on Saturday and Tracey was more than up to the task.
RB – Everton O’Leary (Birkenhead Utd) – Set up one goal and was a menace up that right wing throughout for a young and exciting Birko team. EOL’s fresh from the Oceania U19s Champs and didn’t miss a beat slotting into National League footy a few days before he even turns 18. Wing-backs who can dribble are the real deal.
CB – Andrew Storer (Cashmere Technical) – Yeah he scored a goal. The first one of the season, a perfect top shelf header to set Cashy Tech on their way to a 4-0 win over Miramar. But that’s not enough. He also bossed things at the back with his physicality and steady presence in a team that was missing Tom Schwarz through injury. No dramas for Storer.
CB – Kaeden Atkins (Napier City Rovers) – Wasn’t sure whether to go with Atkins (partly on behalf the entire NCR back three, shout outs Jim Hoyle and Fergus Neil too) or either Dino Botica or Andrew Cromb from Birkenhead who were also great. Went with Atkins because otherwise NCR would’ve been left out and that wouldn’t be fair at all. Atkins earned it. That was a hard-fought clean sheet against the WeeNix, regularly stretched at the back, but somehow they got it done. Atkins has looked a very handy prospect these last few years and now seems ready to go Next Level.
LB – Kurtis Mogg (Auckland United) – Superb from Mogg, who spent last season with the Welly Nix in Oz but has aged out of the academy team without a pro contract. He played like a seasoned pro against Melville. That right mix of aggression and composure. Auckland Utd have kept six clean sheets in a row in all comps and Mogg settling into that defence around the same time cannot be a coincidence.
MF – Aaron Scott (Melville United) – Had to pick someone from Melville after an inspiring quantity of team workrate and passion in their opener... even though it was spoiled by conceding a freaky own goal in stoppage time. So might as well pick the 36yo club legend who epitomises all that team spirit. Dictated things in midfield, doing a job out of his normal position, then finished in the back three where he had it on lock. This dude was playing National League way back in 2007, mate. Still got it.
MF – Cam Howieson (Auckland City) – Cam Howieson is always reliably excellent. Especially in the second half for ACFC when they had to turn things around to find a way to win and he was one of the key fellas in all that. Played a gorgeous dummy in the build up to the first goal. Almost scored one himself later on. Such a classy operator. (Apologies to Sam Burfoot who you can say many of the same things about. Also Tor Davenport-Petersen might’ve gotten this nod had he not scored an own goal).
MF – Will Mendoza (Auckland United) – Hadn’t seen much of this guy at all before and he was so impressive. 18 year old Kiwi/Filipino, he’s a wee fella but loves the ball at his feet and can pick a mean pass. Heavily involved in so much of United’s best work linking up with a bunch of attackers who are mostly all around the same age.
FW – Lyle Matthysen (Cashmere Technical) – It’s an easy pick when a guy scores one goal and sets up three more. A beauty of a cross, a run that drew a penalty, and a perfectly timed killer through ball. As well as his own strike cutting inside and smacking home at the near post. Every time he touched the ball there was danger. Not only Team of the Week but Player of the Week as well.
FW – Eddie Wilkinson (Christchurch United) – Plenty of striker candidates, hence this was the last position picked. Garbhan Coughlan was typically fantastic for Tech and could easily have gotten the nod. The way that guys like Jesse Randall and Jack-Henry Sinclair played for Olympic was scintillating, especially in that first half, just didn’t quite get the rewards. In the end I went with Wilkinson on the back of a banger of a goal and a relentless ability to create his own shooting opportunities which kept Chch a constant threat away to Birko, with some fizzing dribbles in there too.
FW – Ben Old (Wellington Phoenix) – Dropping down from the A-League squad for some preseason minutes, Old was a head above anyone else on the field. He played fast, he moved faster, he dodged tackles like they were coming in slow motion. All that was missing was someone to put one of his creations in the back of the net... but you couldn’t watch him in that game and not think he was the best dude out there.