Freshness Bucket
Warriors NRL & NRLW reaction, CJ Bott to Wellington Phoenix, Blackcaps in Zimbabwe, Flying Kiwis transfers, NZ U16s footy, and more
Scotty’s Word
Fantastic win for NZ Warriors women in tricky conditions vs Cowboys. All of NRLW Magic Round was played under water and the wahine battled through 48% possession to win 12-6. Coach Ronald Griffiths is always fun to listen to and in the post game presser he laid out how NZW had fun training in the rain for their captain's run, followed by a dip in the sea as stormy rain ravaged Australia's east coast.
NZWW are now 2-3 and 10th on the ladder, but four teams ahead of them share the 2-3 record. That includes Bulldogs who are the highest ranked 2-3 team and play against NZWW on Saturday night before NZW vs Bulldogs in the NRL - two super duper important games.
You may have heard about Ivana Lauitiiti making her debut. Cool story and she was awesome in her first game coming fresh out of local footy in Auckland...
23mins, 1 try, 11 runs - 106m @ 9.6m/run, 7 tackle breaks, 9 tackles @ 90%
NZWW also had Tyra Wetere making her debut and I had her listed as a half/fullback but she debuted on the wing. Wetere joined 21-year-old Payton Takimoana as the two wingers and both are from Bay of Plenty rugby union. Takimoana is the leading try-scorer for NZWW on six, tied for second in NRLW and she's rips in without the footy too…
Ashlee Matapo was the youngest in the team at 18yrs and she has already played four games. This win wasn't just about a young player stepping up in her debut, NZWW won with another debutant and other youngsters getting the job done over the ditch.
Payton Takimoana: 21yrs | Mt Maunganui
Ashlee Matapo: 18yrs | Northcote
Ivana Lauitiiti: 19yrs | Otahuhu
Tyra Wetere: 19yrs | Rangataua
Matapo was awesome as well with 25mins, 6 runs - 61 @ 10.1m/run, 24 tackles @ 100%.
Matapo has made 59 tackles @ 100% in her first NRLW season at 18-years-old.
NZWW got back to their dummy half antics with eight dummy half runners and five who had at least two scoots. There was also a tweak to the kicking mahi with Emily Curtain taking more kicks (10 - 304m) than Patricia Maliepo (7 - 138m). It was Curtain's first game with 150+ kick metres and Maliepo's first game playing all 70mins with less than 150 kick metres (she had 126 kick metres in 57mins last game).
Two veterans who led the way...
Apii Nicholls: 14 runs - 154m @ 11m/run, 4 tackle breaks, 4 tackles @ 80%
Harata Butler: 39mins, 11 runs - 134m @ 12.1m/run, 4 tackle breaks, 12 tackles @ 80%
Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Best Emerging Players For Samoa & Tonga
Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Eddie Ieremia-Toeava Debut For NZ Warriors
Another home loss for the Warriors blokes. They/we got to feel the opposite of their win vs Knights so shout out to the footy gods for that as Dolphins scored a late winner. Aside from the iffy record at Mt Smart, the main takeaway was how NZW looked tired. Dolphins weren't at their best but they had better and more consistent line speed as well as finishing with more energy.
When Leka Halasima scored that try vs Knights, all the NZW players were moving faster than their opposition. This flipped to Dolphins moving faster on that final play and shifting the footy with zip to the space for Jamayne Isaako to score.
NZW also decided to run the footy twice on the last play deep in Dolphins territory as they tried to keep the two point lead. Dolphins started just off their try-line and made it past the 50m line in both instances, so that plan didn't work at all. NZW had the intention of winning the game with their defence but they lost most of the tackles after turning the ball over and I put that in the fitness/freshness bucket for both teams.
I don't mind the strategy, it only felt wonky because of the outcome. There is nothing wrong with trying to score another try either, or getting a forced drop out - backing your skills not to kick dead or do something to concede a seven-tackle restart. Even with Dolphins doing a short droppie, NZW could have still got the footy - or at least more time would have been run off the clock.
NZW were also missing lots of experience and the fact that they almost won without so many senior players is informative about how good the squad is.
There is no clear home advantage for NZW at Mt Smart where they are 4-4 and 1-3 in their last four home games. Keep this in mind because it's a lazy assumption to suggest NZW are better at home yet this will get louder as the top-four battle heats up. The Bulldogs game will teach us about their away mahi… they are 6-3 in away games this season.
Four Mt Smart losses is funky because it's not connected to a player, aside from Mitchell Barnett (remember him?). Luke Metcalf played in two of them, same with James Fisher-Harris. NZW lost with Wayde Egan and Chanel Harris-Tavita playing three of these four games.
NZW haven't only lost to good teams either. The four Mt Smart losses have come against teams currently ranked all across the ladder: Raiders (1st), Panthers (5th), Titans (16th), Dolphins (11th)
Shout out to Aublix Tawha who continues to impress with Dolphins. The Turangawaewae junior played a season and thus career high 62mins in his first NRL game on Aotearoa soil. That was boosted by Herbie Farnworth's injury and Tawha spent most of the game at right centre, making the second most tackles for Dolphins with 45. Not bad for someone who was a centre as a junior and played for Waikato at fullback in the NZRL National Premiership.
For paid subscribers I have an updated on Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's amazing season - his best year of NRL footy. There are also some NZW NSW Cup notes and NZ Kiwis forward pack update with Xavier Willison out injured.
New Zealand T20 Tri-Series In Zimbabwe Debrief
New Zealand Test Tour Of Zimbabwe Notebook After First Test
Blackcaps have brought Zak Foulkes (for Nathan Smith) and Ben Lister into the Test squad for the second Test vs Zimbabwe. This clarifies a few things for me...
Nathan Smith and Foulkes share the emerging seam bowling all-rounder duties. Smith plays more Test and ODIs, Foulkes plays more T20s for Aotearoa but they overlap as well. This is my favourite zone of Blackcaps depth because the tier below is awesome as well...
Auckland: Jock McKenzie - 23yrs
Northern Districts: Kristian Clarke - 24yrs
Central Districts: Will Clark -23yrs
Canterbury: Cameron Paul - 20yrs
Otago: Luke Georgeson - 26yrs
Foulkes came through Canterbury and Smith came through Wellington, as did Georgeson who has since moved down to Otago. Wellington have an awesome spinning all-rounder on the rise in Jesse Tashkoff (24yrs).
Jacob Duffy was selected in the Test squad as the next best seamer/the most deserving of a Test debut. Matt Fisher was selected because of his x-factor and Aotearoa is building a stash of hectic seamers - no plain ol' mediums around here. Kyle Jamieson and Will O'Rourke have dominated Test cricket while Ben Sears laid solid foundations. Now Fisher adds slippery pace to the equation.
Ben Lister is the next up lefty. Trent Boult and Neil Wagner departed so there was a lefty hole in the depth chart and Lister has already been effective in T20Is, along with building an excellent First-Class record (25.6avg/2.7rpo). Other notable lefties in the domestic ranks are Matt Gibson (Auckland), Ray Toole (CD), Ed Nuttall (Canterbury), Andrew Hazeldine (Otago) and 20-year-old Thomas O'Connor who made his debut for Otago last season.
All relevant stats are listed for paid subscribers and the Patreon whanau. I have also got Blackcaps stats for Tests outside Aotearoa and some Amelia Kerr basics for the generous folks funding our mahi.
One thing that stood out in my Zimbabwe Test series notebook was significant improvements from Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner. Same story but way funkier given how awesome Kane Williamson already was...
Tests
Before 2020: 51.4avg/52sr
Since start of 2020: 64.3avg/52sr
ODI
Before 2020: 47.9avg/82sr
Since start of 2020: 58avg/81sr
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
CJ Bott is the latest huge signing to find her way to the Wellington Phoenix ahead of the new ALW season. Can’t argue with the ambition here from a team that’s tended to hedge such things in the past. Bev Priestman has made it very clear that she intends to see a more experienced, more aggressive, more desperate WahiNix team under her leadership... and there’s not a kiwi player out there who better embodies combative footy than CJ Bott.
For the past few years, she’s been among the very best tacklers in the English WSL and that makes her world class in that area. The attacking stuff isn’t of the same level. Bott progresses the ball well, including some classy one-twos and through balls up the line, but crossing isn’t a strength and she never registered a goal or an assist in 58 WSL appearances.
That was in the WSL which is arguably the strongest competition on the planet. The ALW is not the same beast... and for that reason I have a sneaky suspicion that we could even see CJ Bott used as a defensive midfielder in the same way that Kate Taylor was once translated there for this team. It’d be the same switch that Ria Percival made at a similar stage of her career: right back to midfield enforcer.
Priestman alluded to CJB’s versatility in the announcement and that’s interesting because versatility is not an obvious trait for someone who has almost exclusively played RB (with a little LB) in recent years. That feels like a clue. As does the fact that they’ve already signed a wide right defender in Lucia Leon... someone who leans much more towards the attacking end of the spectrum for that position. And they’re also short on midfielders. Tessel Middag and Daisy Brazendale are the only naturals in that position so far... although I also think we’ll see a lot more Grace Jale at CM after she impressed there late last season (we know that Priestman was attending games at that stage).
For the Wellington Phoenix, this probably ranks as their most significant signing to date. One of the two or three top Football Ferns right now and she’s signed a two-year contract. For the Ferns, it’s less ideal to see a star player returning from a much stronger league… but there were some hints:
CJB is from Wellington and probably fancied a return home after eight years spent playing in Germany, Sweden, Norway, and England – an instinct that was no doubt amplified after she recently got engaged.
Leicester City were in relegation battles every year and that kept things unsettled throughout with lots of player and coaching movement.
This move will guarantee her good minutes (injuries permitting – and she is a player who collects a lot of niggles) throughout the current World Cup cycle, something that she emphasised in her announcement.
Bott hasn’t been involved in any Ferns tours this year, partly due to injury and partly due to some odd selection shenanigans that should be in the rearview now. She’s now on record with her desire to push through to that next World Cup.
Wellington Phoenix 2025-26 Women’s Squad
Goalkeepers: Victoria Esson, Aimee Danieli (Schol)
Defenders: CJ Bott, Lara Wall, Ellie Walker (Imp), Tiana Jaber, Mackenzie Barry, Lucia Leon (Imp), Ella McMillan (Schol)
Midfielders: Alyssa Whinham, Daisy Brazendale, Tessel Middag (Imp)
Forwards: Sabitra Bhandari (Imp), Grace Jale, Emma Main, Manaia Elliott, Olivia Ingham, Ela Jerez (Schol), Ella McCann (Schol)
Additions: Lucia Leon, Ellie Walker, Tessel Middag, Victoria Esson, Sabitra Bhandari, CJ Bott
Departures: Annalie Longo, Carolina Vilao, Maya McCutcheon, Mebae Tanaka, Olivia Fergusson, Alivia Kelly, Zoe McMeeken, Amelia Abbott
That’s only 15 fully contracted players. Last season they had 16 players who fit that bill, plus five scholars and an amateur contract third-choice goalie. Lara Wall has deservedly moved up to a full contract so they might want to add another scholar. They’re also going to want a deeper squad given how Priestman has spoken of wanting a strong bench that can impact games. One import spot remains and they’ll definitely use that. Sounds like three more signings to follow, one in each of the lines.
Bev Priestman: “Probably another defender to bring in, probably another midfielder, and a forward. Basically across the board. But I think what you’ll see is an overall theme of the players that we’ve signed is they’re players who can play in multiple positions. I do feel with matchday squads being smaller than what I’m used to, and I think to get the best out of that we want to have players that can play in multiple positions. I want to be really front-footed with subs and I think we’ll have a strong bench and really be able to use the subs.”
And if you want a deeper look at how the team might shape up tactically under BP, well you’re going to have to jump beyond the paywall. Much gratitude for all of those who support what we do financially. It all helps way more than you’d even realise.
No basketball on the agenda today but let it be known that the Tall Blacks begin their Asia Cup quest tomorrow evening at 8pm against Iraq. All of NZ’s games will be live on TVNZ+ and sometimes they end up on YouTube too (FIBA’s account), though they geo-blocked them midway through the U19 World Cup so don’t count on it. Anyway, here are some recent basketball yarns to keep you busy…
Recapping the Junior Tall Blacks at the FIBA U19 World Cup
Recapping the Tall Ferns at the 2025 Asia Cup
Previewing The Tall Blacks at the 2025 Asia Cup
The Oceania Women’s U16 Championships got underway over the weekend with New Zealand beating Tonga 4-0 in their first game. Isla Robson of Auckland United scored three goals while Mia Humphrey (Melville) got the other. The team was captained by Amelia Hitchcock from Eastern Suburbs. For once, the broadcast graphic was actually very accurate so here’s how the team lined up...
Three of the four overseas based players started: Cate Atkinson (Northern Tigers in Australia), Lania Fili (Nepean in Australia), and Nienke Lemmens (AZ Alkmaar in Netherlands). There’s also Aleesha Gray (FSA State in Australia) who was an unused substitute so can probably expect some game time next match.
Can’t read too much into games at this age level nor games in Oceania… but Amelia Hitchcock and Lania Fili looked really good. Hitchcock as a classy midfield operator with a sweet left boot, Fili as a speedy forward with some trickiness who played both right-wing and striker in this game. Madison Sharkey had a tidy game as an aggressive defender. And obviously Isla Robson gets a shout for continually getting into goal-scoring positions from wide on the left. Good start to the tourney… but still a ways to go to match last year’s U16s who won the Oceania champs scoring 26 goals and conceding zero.
Leading Active Blackcaps Test Run Scorers
Kane Williamson – 9276 (1st overall)
Tom Latham – 5834 (5)
Henry Nicholls – 3011 (11)
Tom Blundell – 2140 (29)
Daryl Mitchell – 2139 (30)
Devon Conway – 1928 (34)
Will Young – 1104 (51)
Mitchell Santner – 1085 (52)
Rachin Ravindra – 1059 (53)
Glenn Phillips – 728 (76)
Flying Kiwis Transfer Tracker
Well, you’ve already had the CJ Bott yarn. You may also be interested to know that Ruby Nathan popped up off the bench for Eastern Suburbs this weekend, although that’s normal behaviour for her (and many others) during the A-League offseason. Some go to Aussie, some come back home. Rebecca Lake, Lara Wall, and Annalie Longo are all playing for Cashmere Technical at the moment. Anna Leat is with Eastern Suburbs. Marisa van der Meer’s at Western Springs. Amelia Abbott at Waterside Karori. You get the idea.
Grace Neville has signed with Ipswich Town following her (harsh) release from London City Lionesses. This keeps her in WSL2 rather than the top flight that LCL had just been promoted to but it should mean that she gets a lot more game time in a division that she knows very well.
Tommy Smith has also found his next club: Braintree Town. I’ll go deeper on this in Flying Kiwis in a few days but the short version is that Braintree Town, like another of his former clubs Colchester, has strong links with Ipswich Town. Many Ipswich players are sent on developmental loans to those two other Essex clubs, including Smithy going to Colchester back in the day (before returning permanently many years later). Another example is young kiwi keeper Henry Gray who won Young Player of the Year for Braintree Town after his half-season loan last term. Smith will be a veteran presence trying to rise Braintree Town up the English National League ladder (fifth tier) after they sturdily avoided relegation at the first attempt last term. Gray’s saves had a lot to do with that. Now they’ll be relying on Smithy’s leadership for the next steps.
Libby Cacace made his first appearance in Wrexham colours during a 3-1 friendly defeat against FC Groningen (Netherlands). Coincidentally, that’s the club that Oskar Zawada has moved to... although he didn’t play in this match. Actually, there were two matches played back to back in order to give ninety minutes to as many folks as possible. Cacace played the second of those games, see him in here wearing the #2 jersey at left wing-back. James McClean was in that position for the earlier 1-0 loss. The teams were a mix so neither was a first or second eleven. Cacace’s a bit behind in his preparation hence he may not start in game one of the Championship next week but pretty confident he’ll be the top choice left wing-back before long. However, he didn’t stay the Wrexham record transfer for long. Lewis O’Brien’s move from Nottm Forest last week has already trumped what they paid for Cacace.
And would you believe it we’ve finally had a Matt Garbett rumour... and it’s not what you’d expect. For some reason, fans of Persis Solo in Indonesia are getting all excited over a possible Garbett signing, though whether you believe them is up to you. Unless the dude’s got some heavy gambling debts that we don’t know about, that move would make no sense. Most likely the yarn stems from the fact that Garbs is currently in Bali doing some sorta fitness camp thing. Beyond that, who knows? Same deal with Marko Stamenic and Alex Paulsen as they surely near their latest loan outs. Still plenty to look forward to in the final month of the European transfer window.
Musical Jam...
... with an honourable mention to the last 45 seconds of this video where Billy Strings plays the theme from Lord of the Rings whilst on tour in Auckland a few weeks ago...