Full Moon Alignment
White Ferns Glistening, Warriors lose to Sharks, Wellington Phoenix & Auckland FC, Charlisse Leger-Walker, NZ National League, and more
Scotty’s Word
White Ferns won the third ODI vs South Africa, adding a 2-1 series win to their 4-1 T20I series win. I covered it in depth as part of a three day cricket writing bender over the Easter weekend...
2026 New Zealand A Tour Of Sri Lanka: One-Day Squad
2026 New Zealand Tour Of Bangladesh: ODI Series Preview
2026 South Africa Women’s Tour Of New Zealand: ODI Series Win For White Ferns
The ODI series made a few things clear about where White Ferns are at because recent retirements opened up space for more emerging players to get game time in this format. The new wave of White Ferns have the skills and physical attributes to help Aotearoa compete at the highest level.
One of my favourite things about the Melie Kerr era is how sharp White Ferns are in the field. Both Kerr sisters are excellent fielders, so are their best ODI batters right now in Maddy Green and Brooke Halliday. That’s an impressive example set by leaders of the team and Georgia Plimmer has been one of the best fielders for White Ferns since she entered the team.
Izzy Sharp, Nensi Patel, Flora Devonshire and Kayley Knight add to this. Sharp and Devonshire were the best out-fielders in Super Smash, Patel showed her class at point vs South Africa, and Knight can excel in her role - mainly fine leg because she’s the newest bowler.
These players also offer runs down the order. Sharp will move up the order as she gains experience but batting down the order as one of Aotearoa’s best young batters is a comfy spot for her. Patel and Devonshire are two of the best batters for their domestic teams as well as being two of their best spinners for each team. Knight has the potential to grow into an all-rounder and move up the order as well.
Consider how Patel and Devonshire are currently playing while Eden Carson and Fran Jonas are out of action. Patel and Devonshire are better batters than both of them, while Carson’s a good fielder and Jonas is usually one of the weaker fielders for White Ferns. With J-Kerr and Sharp batting ahead of them in the line up, White Ferns should be able to squeeze 50+ runs out of their lower order in most games.
Knight has been selected ahead of Molly Penfold and I think she is a better batter and fielder than Penfold. Penfold bowls fast though and White Ferns now have four seamers who can bowl around 115km/h, perhaps faster when there is a full moon or Matariki alignments.
Knight was bowling 115km/h into the wind in Wellington. Rosemary Mair and Bree Illing hit that mark consistently vs South Africa as well, while also being capable of getting awkward bounce. I’m curious about Penfold’s role moving forward but it’s a luxury to have her talent in the next up seamer position.
All of which entices me because the next Women’s Championship games against England early next month. White Ferns are first in this WC cycle thanks to a 5-1 record against Zimbabwe and South Africa. Four nations are yet to play though, including England.
There can’t be any doubts about the craft, skill and planning of a White Ferns group led by A-Kerr. That’s a good starting point to beat England. But White Ferns still need extra juice and they showed promising signs against South Africa with higher batting strike-rates, more players scoring quicker, elite fielding, multiple spin options who bat, and a variety of seamers I haven’t seen for White Ferns before.
I don’t know what role Suzie Bates will play though. Here’s her mahi since the start of 2025...
ODI: 126 runs @ 12.6avg/60sr | 4w @ 44.7avg/5.1rpo
T20I: 133 runs @ 19avg/115sr | 3w @ 40.6avg/7.5rpo
White Ferns don’t need Bates to win ODIs in England but it would be nice to have her experience and there’s always the chance she flips her form around. I now have White Ferns in the same zone as Blackcaps where I’m not fussed about who isn’t playing because the depth means that someone is hungry for an opportunity.
White Ferns depth is approaching Blackcaps depth where the talent is matched by variety. Variety of skills, styles, ages and experience. Add in the Melie Kerr Era glisten and the White Ferns beat has been rather exciting this season.
NZ-A lost their first one-dayer in Sri Lanka. Lots of details are explored beyond the wall for paid subscribers as well as some NZ Warriors deep cuts.
Bad loss for NZ Warriors vs Sharks. This is part of a wider theme for NZ Warriors as they have gone 1-4 in their last two weekend of footy and have a 3-13 record in U19/U17s this year. There is a losing tinge across the organisation which is easy to spot for the NRL team who have lost the plot in the last two games.
NZW did not respond to the Tigers loss, just as they didn’t respond after Tigers had a good phases in the first half of that game and after half time. That was repeated against Sharks where NZW didn’t respond to good Sharks footy in the first half, absorbed coach Andrew Webster’s half time message, and then kept stinking it up.
These are some bad signs of coaching. No response or resilience. Two games in a row where there has not been a dummy half for the play the ball resulting in a turnover. Short droppies with no chasers, let alone leapers, to win the ball back. Coughing up possession with errors after finally getting the ball back.
Much of that involves individuals being below their best - I’d never really thought to myself that Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was having a bad game before the Sharks loss. There are lots of details and a general confusion that does not reflect well on the coaches though, which is strange considering how good they were in the first three wins.
The loss was so bad that the injuries were good. Luke Metcalf’s injury will allow for a Tanah Boyd/Chanel Harris-Tavita halves combo and that combo did nothing wrong, plus I think Harris-Tavita is a better fit alongside Boyd as a more typical five-eighth.
Metcalf has lost his last four games by the way. He went 8-2 in his first 10 games last season and is 2-5 since then. Another weird coaching move here because Webster rushed an injury-prone player back with no NSW Cup footy, breaking up a winning team, losing twice, and then Metcalf suffered another injury.
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad had a few good moments vs Sharks but that was far from his best game, let alone his status-quo. His absence should open up the right centre spot for Ali Leiataua, who has won 13 NRL/NSW Cup games in a row with five wins in five games this season.
I find that it is very difficult to assess a centre’s defensive ability. Many others don’t seem to have that difficulty and believe that Leiataua’s a horrible defender, while I liked Nicoll-Klokstad at centre because of his defence yet he suffered the same result as every other right centre for NZW during the two Andys era.
The thing with Webster’s selections is that he shook up a winning team. That’s a recipe for bad juju and two losses later, injuries may provide an easy route back to winning combinations. The tricky thing right now is that there are lots of goofy pockets flowing from the coach down to the performance of individuals. After a hectic start to the season, I don’t think we can assume that Webster and the NRL group have answers.
Musical jam…
Nick’s Notebook
The Wellington Phoenix have finished second in the ALW. They slumped a little towards the finish line but pulled off a really solid 2-0 win away to Adelaide on Friday night (two goals from set pieces – with Brooke Nunn supplying the assist for Marisa van der Meer’s goal before scoring the other herself). That left Canberra United needing to win by 14+ goals to have any chance of getting into second ahead of them and naturally that did not happen. Melbourne City were already premiers, no sweat there. They beat the WahiNix twice and deserved the title. But the Nix were next best and should be confident heading into the finals... in about three weeks since there’s an international break followed by their elimination round bye.
Some club records set in year five of Phoenix ALW footy...
Highest finish of 2nd Place (previous best 8th in 2023-24)
First Finals berth
Highest Points Tally of 34pts (prev. 28pts in 2023-24)
Most Wins – 10 (prev. 9 in 2023-24)
Most Away Wins – 5 (prev. 2 multiple times)
Most Goals Scored – 38 (prev. 36 in 2023-24)
Fewest Goals Conceded – 17 (prev. 30 multiple times)
Most Clean Sheets – 7 (prev. 5 in 2023-24)
Note that the fabled 2023-24 which held almost all of those previous records was a 22 game regular season and this was only a 20 game regular season... although they’re guaranteed two more in the finals series now. Maybe three if all goes to plan. The great thing with how the finals worked out is that the three teams that the Nix could face in the semis are Canberra United, Brisbane Roar, and Adelaide United... and the Nix are undefeated against that trio – four wins and two draws.
Most Minutes Played
Ellie Walker – 1800 mins (ever-present)
Mackenzie Barry – 1755 mins
Marisa van der Meer – 1718 mins
Victoria Esson – 1710 mins
Brooke Nunn – 1701 mins
Most Goals + Assists
Brooke Nunn – 12 (6 goals, 6 assists)
Makala Woods – 10 (5 goals, 5 assists)
Pia Vlok – 9 (6 goals, 3 assists)
Manaia Elliott – 7 (3 goals, 4 assists)
Sabitra Bhandari – 5 (3 goals, 2 assists)
Charlisse Leger-Walker is an NCAA champion, here’s what she did as her UCLA team swept aside all challengers throughout March Madness...
W 96-43 vs California Baptist: 26 MIN | 8 PTS (3/4 FG, 2/3 3PT) | 5 REB | 6 AST | 1 STL
W 87-68 vs Oklahoma State: 27 MIN | 6 PTS (2/5 FG, 1/3 3PT) | 1 REB | 8 AST
W 80-56 vs Minnesota State: 30 MIN | 4 PTS (2/7 FG, 0/3 3PT) | 1 REB | 8 AST | 2 STL
W 70-58 vs Duke: 31 MIN | 5 PTS (2/3 FG, 0/1 3PT) | 3 REB | 6 AST | 2 STL
W 51-44 vs Texas: 29 MIN | 0 PTS (0/3 FG, 0/2 3PT) | 4 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL
W 79-51 vs South Carolina: 26 MIN | 10 PTS (4/12 FG, 2/5 3PT) | 4 REB | 2 AST
UCLA went 37-1 throughout the season, ending on a 31-game winning streak. Incredible dominance. In the semi-final, UCLA faced the only team to have beaten them all season... that was a Texas team that averaged 84 points per game through the season yet were held to 44 points against UCLA in the semi. In the final, UCLA faced a South Carolina team that’d averaged 87.6 points per game and held them to 51 points. As many varied scoring options as they have, in a squad with six seniors (including CLW), their defence was the thing that set them apart.
They’ve definitely benefited from the transfer portal opening up more player movement between schools and allowing a powerhouse team like UCLA (based in California with great facilities and equally great weather) to stock up on talent. Talent like, well, Charlisse Leger-Walker, for example. Their six seniors combined for all of their points in the last two games – only two of whom (Kiki Rice & Gabriela Jaquez) were at UCLA for their entire college careers. All of them could have left and gone pro before now. Respect where it’s due because this programme clearly built something special that players wanted to be part of... needless to say having CLW as your senior player is going to be a good thing for team culture.
Jack Salt was the first New Zealander to win an NCAA Division 1 championship back with University of Virginia in 2019. Charlisse Leger-Walker becomes the second (and the first woman). And would you believe it there’s a chance that Oscar Goodman becomes the third tomorrow when his Michigan team takes on Uni of Connecticut in the Men’s final at 12.50pm NZT. Salt was a valued depth player. CLW was a starter. Both were seniors when they won their championships. Goodman’s a redshirt freshman who is only going to play if there’s garbage time but damn what an environment to begin your college career within.
For our beautiful and talented Paid Subscibers…
Kiwis in ALW regular season stats
Flynn Cameron in NBL Finals
Auckland FC’s goalkeeper depth
All Whites backing up after international duty
Lots of domestic footy happening over this weekend and there’s something I had to get my head around. With the National League moving to a winter season next year, there are extra ramifications on what’s happening at the moment and not all of that has been officially announced yet but here’s what we’re working with...
Right now there are 12 clubs in the Northern League, 10 in the Central League, and 10 in the Southern League. The revamped National League for next season will run through the winter in concurrence with Northern/Central/Southern stuff and will involve 12 clubs. Four from the North, three from Central, and two from the South plus Auckland FC & Wellington Phoenix reserves teams and also the winner of a playoff series between the next best team from each region.
But it’s not based solely on this year’s outcomes. There’s a weighted system that takes into account the past five seasons. Not sure if that’s points tallies or table placings but the formula goes: 30% from 2026, 25% from 2025, 20% from 2024, 15% from 2023, and 10% from 2022. From that you can basically guarantee that Wellington Olympic and Auckland City have already qualified given their championship history across those years. The rest of it will take some working out, particularly in the Northern League.
The playoffs for the final qualifier will involved the next best team from each region, based on that formula, pitting them against each other in a trio of games (North vs Central; Central vs South; North vs South). It’s only three games, two each, but obviously if any team wins both then that’s them sorted. If teams end up level on points for top spot then it goes to goal difference, then to goals scored, then to fewest goals conceded, then to head to head results. Same tiebreakers as in the normal leagues. They’ll do a draw to determine who plays who in what order – every team gets one home game and one away game.
Which leaves the regional leagues, soon to become the second tier. They’ll all be shrunk slightly to accommodate the chunk of teams boosting it out of there with Northern League going from 12 to 10 teams, Central League from 10 to 9 teams, and Southern League from 10 to 9 teams. It’s up to the federations that run those competitions to determine how they’re going to do promotion and relegation (with NZF holding power of veto).
So let’s say that the Northern League representative wins the playoff, they’ll then be contributing six teams to the National League. But the Northern League itself will only shrink by two so that’ll probably going to be very good news for teams in the top half of the Championship… and there’s a good chance that means relegation reprieves too. For now it looks like they’re just gonna run the leagues as normal and then reassess later on, since the playoff aspect means the leagues don’t actually know how many teams they’ll lose yet.
Men’s National League Qualification Since 2022
4x - Wellington Olympic & Auckland City
3x - Birkenhead United, Christchurch United, Auckland United, Napier City Rovers, Cashmere Technical
2x - Miramar Rangers, Western Springs, Western Suburbs, Coastal Spirit, Eastern Suburbs
1x – Manurewa, Petone, Melville United
This year’s efforts only count for 30% of the overall so it’s highly unlikely, maybe even impossible, that a team outside that list gets in. Depending on what happens in the current season, we’re angling towards something that looks like this:
Auckland City, Birkenhead United, Auckland United, Western Springs
Wellington Olympic, Napier City Rovers, Miramar Rangers
Christchurch United, Cashmere Technical
Auckland FC Reserves, Wellington Phoenix Reserves
(Eastern Suburbs/Western Suburbs/Coastal Spirit)
As for the Women’s National League... as usual they’ve left that to be dragged along behind the example of the blokes but there will be a 10 team club-based format next year and since these things are usually consistent with each other we can guess that’ll mean four NRFL teams, three Central League teams, two South Island teams, plus the Wellington Phoenix Reserves (you’d assume there’s scope for an AFC Reserves team too... possibly at the expense of the third Central League club). That means no more Central Football, Canterbury United, or Southern United after this year.
Auckland United and Eastern Suburbs have qualified all four years that NRFL clubs have been allowed in. Western Springs have three, West Coast Rangers two, Ellerslie and Northern Rovers once each. There have been three years of Central club entries with Wellington United (3), Waterside Karori (2), and Petone (1) taking care of those berths.
This side gets a little friskier because Western Springs are awful at the moment so having them coast into the Nats on the back of past performances with an entirely different group of players would be a bit strange, especially if they end up last in the NRFL. Down South you can bet on Dunedin City Royals and Cashmere Technical as the two best teams (each representing a chunk of the Southern and Canterbury squads respectively, so that’s not even gonna be that different to what it already is). That’d give us something along these lines...
Auckland United, Eastern Suburbs, West Coast Rangers
Wellington United, Waterside Karori
Dunedin City Royals, Cashmere Technical
Wellington Phoenix Reserves
(2 of Western Springs/Ellerslie/Auckland FC/Petone/Otago Uni/Coastal Spirit)
NRFL have already said that 2027 will feature 10-team divisions in both the Premiership and Championship. That’ll require a reshuffle if at least three teams, possibly more, are moving up to the Nationals full-time. It’s only an 8-team Premiership at the moment so there could be up to six teams from the Championship moving upwards – imagine getting promoted after finishing third-to-last. That’s realignment for ya (and in another perspective it’s not promotion at all… since it’s going from second tier to second tier).
Musical Jam...
