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Aotearoa tennis at Wimbledon, White Ferns things, Flying Kiwis transfer buzz, top 10 Warriors youngsters, NRL Wahine & more
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Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: The Selumiela 'Leka' Halasima Debut (Rugby League)
Aotearoa Warriors Diary: Taking Stock of a Frantic 2024 New Zealand Warriors Season (Rugby League)
The Football Ferns Have Named Their Squad For The 2024 Olympics (Football)
The OlyWhites Have (Finally) Named Their Squad for the 2024 Olympics (Football)
Flying Kiwis – July 9 (Football)
How Have Those NZ Breakers Next Star Lads Been Tracking Since Their NBA Drafts? (Basketball)
Exploring Another New Low For The New Zealand Women's Cricket Team In ODI Series Sweep vs England (Cricket)
27fm Album Jukebox – July 2024 (Music)
27fm Weekly Playlist: July 12 (Music)
Scotty’s Word
Guess what? White Ferns lost again in England and they are now 0-6 on this tour, having already lost both series with two T20s to play. The latest defeat was slightly better the others on this tour but the lack of confidence is palpable, just as it has been ever since the defeat to West Indies at the start of the ODI World Cup in Aotearoa.
Perhaps the reality of White Ferns cricket under coach Ben Sawyer is now smacking folks in the face. I don't like saying that the White Ferns stink, but it is the reality and if that wasn't obvious enough in any of the previous deep dives, these notes below should tell the story...
Sophie Devine has not taken a wicket in 19 overs of this tour of England
Big ups Georgia Plimmer for the rare '0.5' batting average in this T20 series
Maddy Green averaging 8.6 in 8 innings of T20I batting this year
Jess Kerr averaging 146 in 21 overs of T20I bowling this year
Izzy Gaze averaging 5.3 (ODI) and 5 (T20I) in this tour of England
White Ferns T20 series stats vs England
Batting
Suzie Bates: 85 runs @ 28avg/129sr
Sophie Devine: 67 runs @ 33avg/122sr
Amelia Kerr: 42 runs @ 14avg/113sr
Brooke Halliday: 40 runs @ 13avg/91sr
Jess Kerr: 38 runs @ 19avg/136sr
Lea Tahuhu: 17 runs @ 17avg/113sr
Izzy Gaze: 10 runs @ 5avg/77sr
Maddy Green: 10 runs @ 5avg/91sr
Georgia Plimmer: 1 run @ 0.5avg/20sr
Bowling
Lea Tahuhu: 4w @ 13avg/8.8rpo
Hannah Rowe: 2w @ 11avg/7.6rpo
Fran Jonas: 2w @ 23avg/7.6rpo
Amelia Kerr: 2w @ 40avg/8.1rpo
Eden Carson: 1w @ 26avg/13rpo
Leigh Kasperek: 1w @ 36avg/7.2rpo
Sophie Devine: 7.2ov @ 9.6rpo
Jess Kerr: 5ov @ 9.2rpo
Brooke Halliday: 3ov @ 9rpo
Molly Penfold: 1ov @ 8rpo
Is Mikaela Greig on tour? I reckon Greig has 1st 11 talent and maturity, but she hasn’t played in England.
I keep challenging myself to embrace a White Ferns perspective, but that leaves me puzzled as well. White Ferns tell us that Molly Penfold is the best young seamer in Aotearoa, but she has only bowled 1 over in this T20I series. White Ferns told us that Kate Anderson was the next-up batter, but she was quickly shunned. White Ferns told us that Suzie Bates was developing her spin bowling, but she hasn't bowled in England.
Craig McMillan took over as batting coach prior to this series...
No batter is averaging 40+ in this tour of England, only two are averaging 30+ in either format. No batter has a T20 strike-rate over 140 in England and Jess Kerr is the only batter over 130sr.
Bowling? White Ferns have taken more than 5 wickets in just one of the six games played. White Ferns have taken 21 of a possible 60 wickets in this tour.
White Ferns are now 7-13 in T20s since the start of 2023 and 5-9 in ODIs.
Let's see what New Zealand Cricket reckons…
No game coverage there.
We did chat through some Blackcaps contract stuff in the Subscriber Pod yesterday. This includes the annual touch up on why these contracts mean little to fans and observations about NZC’s manufactured prestige of getting a contract. We also went deep into NZ Warriors finals hopes as well as White Ferns and footballing news - not Euros or Copa America fights, actual Aotearoa football news. Access the Subscriber Pod by upgrading to a paid monthly Substack subscription or by joining the Patreon whanau. Both are super cheap and go a long way, every little bit helps so please consider those options or a one off donation through Buy Me A Coffee.
No NZ Warriors footy this weekend in the NRL but there are NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg games against Eels in Sydney. After both teams suffered rather heavy defeats to Bulldogs last round in Sydney, this will be an intriguing trip across the ditch. NZW (5th) vs Eels (9th) in NSW Cup and NZW (13th) vs Eels (11th) in Jersey Flegg.
Makaia Tafua and Jacob Auloa are named in NSW Cup, continuing their 'U21 hookers playing lots of NSW Cup' thread. Tanner Stowers-Smith and Zyon Maiu'u are also back after missing a few weeks, meaning that this is a rare phase with them alongside Demitric Sifakula and Eddie Ieremia in the forward pack.
Both NZW teams are missing a centre so it will be interesting to see how they line up. Motu Pasikala is on the wing in NSW Cup and Sio Kali is at fullback for Flegg, but Kali could slip into the NSW Cup backline if someone like Ali Leiataua is not a late inclusion. Ezekiel Tavita was a funky addition to the U21s team on the wing as he was in the Broncos system while still in Auckland a few years ago, but opted to stay in Aotearoa with NZW earlier this year.
With Caleb Laiman named to start at hooker in U21s and Jeriko Filipi-Talisau on the bench, all four hookers in NSW Cup and Flegg for NZW this round are U21s. There is also Mikaele Ilaiu who is named on the bench and he looks like another massive, powerful forward who came through Rotorua Boys High School. This picture which includes SG Ball/Flegg centre Nganatatafu Vake suggests that these lads joined RBHS from Tonga.
Below is another crack at the 10 best NZW youngsters who are yet to debut in the NRL. This rules out the following lads who are young but have already played NRL (and are all pretty damn awesome): Taine Tuaupiki, Ali Leiataua, Demitric Sifakula, Jacob Laban, Zyon Maiu'u, Moala Graham-Taufa, Leka Halasima
Top 10 NZW Youngsters ... well I can list 20 so let's stretch it out to 20. Take the top-10 seriously, while 10-20 is more based on consistent selection and there isn't much between those selections aside from my intuition. All of these lads are U21 to the best of my knowledge as well.
1. Eddie Ieremia (middle/edge/centre)
2. Tanner Stowers-Smith (middle)
3. Makaia Tafua (hooker)
4. Luke Hanson (half - Aussie)
5. Kayliss Fatialofa (edge/centre/middle)
6. Motu Pasikala (wing/fullback)
7. Sio Kali (centre/wing/fullback)
8. Jacob Auloa (hooker)
9. Harry Durbin (middle)
10. Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea (middle)
11. Caleb Laiman (half/hooker)
12. Cassius Cowley (half)
13. Raphael Sio (wing)
14. Sialetili Faeamani (centre)
15. Augustino Filipo (edge)
16. Alvin Chong Nee (edge/centre)
17. Toby Crosby (middle)
18. Ieti Samuelu (middle)
19. Jesse Soric (half - Aussie)
20. Jeriko Filipi-Talisau (hooker)
Kiwi-NRL lads named for the Eels in NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg...
NSW Cup: Morgan Harper (Ngaruawahia), Wiremu Greig (Whangarei)
Jersey Flegg: Te Hurinui Twidle (Turangawaewae), Javahn Stevenson-Hala (Palmerston North)
There is no U21s footy in Queensland anymore, so here is a Kiwi-NRL U21s crew from Australian teams in the NSWRL Jersey Flegg.
Fullback: Te Hurinui Twidle (Eels - Turangawaewae)
Wings: Sosaia Latu (Knights - Mangere East), Te Umuariki Heremia-Tukere (Tigers - Turangawaewae)
Centres: Chris Vea'ila (Sharks - Waitemata), Oliver Lawry (Sea Eagles - Halswell)
Halves: Haami Loza (Knights - Mangere East), Cassius Tia (Bulldogs - Marist)
Middles: Felix Fa'atili (Sharks - Hornby), Salesi Ataata (Sharks - Otahuhu), Devante Mihinui (Sea Eagles - Glenora)
Edges: Elijah Leaumoana (Knights - SCC), Salesi Foketi (Roosters - Manurewa)
Hooker: Benaiah Ioelu (Roosters - Tangaroa College)
Bench: Braydon Seu-Easthope (Storm - Otahuhu) K-Ci Newton-Whare (Storm - Riccarton), Te Kaio Cranwell (Knights - Linwood), Jarome Falemoe (Knights - SCC)
Squad (too many lads for a team):
Fahmy Toilalo (Bulldogs - Otahuhu), Callum Donaldson (Bulldogs - West Coast), Siamani Leuluai (Raiders - Mid-Northern), Francis Manuleleua (Panthers - Papatoetoe), Javahn Stevenson-Hala (Eels - Palmerston North), Tamakaimoana Whareaorere (Knights - Te Puke)
With no U21 footy in Queensland, I'm keeping close tabs on any Kiwi-NRL youngster who creeps into Queensland Cup. I mentioned Kylem Vunipola and Nathaniel Tangimataiti a few weeks ago as they were named for Wynnum but they didn't end up playing. Palmerston North's Vunipola has had two games as 18th lad and Ellerslie's Tangimataiti hasn't got that far yet.
Henry Teutau (Marist) and Jeremiah Matautia (Otara) have played a bunch of games for Northern Pride and Mackay respectively, the two Cowboys feeder teams. John Fineanganofo (Auckland Grammar) has crept into the halves for Redcliffe, having been 18th lad in round 16, then starting in the halves for round 17 and named again in that role this week.
NRLWahine squads are sorted now and there was a late addition of Rosie Kelly joining Eels, who made her Black Ferns debut last year. Kelly was playing for Matatu in Super Rugby Aupiki and is the latest wahine to move from rugby union to NRLW. Here are the NRLWahine in each squad and players in bold have made the move to rugby league this season...
Cowboys
Harata Butler
Broncos
Annetta Nu'uausala, Brianna Clark, Gayle Broughton, Jasmine Fogavini, Lavinia Gould, Mele Hufanga, Stacey Waaka, Tafito Lafaele
Titans
Georgia Hale, Hailee-Jay Ormond-Maunsell, Matekino Gray, Ngatokotoru Arakua, Niall Williams-Guthrie, Sarina Masaga (Dev)
Knights
Abigail Roache, Fane Finau (2025), Grace Kukutai, Isabella Waterman, Laishon Albert-Jones, Nita Maynard, Shanice Parker
Roosters
Amber Hall, Mya Hill-Moana, Otesa Pule, Tiana Davison
Tigers
Amelia Huakau, Leianne Tufuga, Najvada George,
Eels
Noaria Kapua, Rosie Kelly
Sharks
Annessa Biddle, Brooke Anderson, Pia Tapsell
Dragons
Alexis Tauaneai, Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa, Leio Fotu-Moala, Raecene McGregor, Jessica Patea & Trinity Tauaneai (Dev)
Raiders
Amelia Pasikala, Apii Nicholls, Ash Quinlan, Felice Quinlan, Cheyelle Robins-Reti, Kerehitina Matua, Mackenzie Wiki, Madison Bartlett, Tatiana Finau
Plenty of NRLWahine right there without an NZ Warriors team, or Bulldogs who are investing heavily in young wahine from Aotearoa. The NSW Women's Premiership has also started and while there isn't a big NRLWahine crew because they are prepping for NRLW, there are a few funky ladies.
Players locked in for NRLW are in bold and the rest are mainly younger players who are on the rise. Sea Eagles have a connection to Auckland Rugby League for example and Bulldogs love Aotearoa. I can't google every name so I have definitely missed a few but we'll keep learning...
St George: Brooke Tauaneai
Knights: Isabella Waterman, Fane Finau
Sea Eagles: Aleksandra Tunufai, Alianna Tonu'u, Makayla Eli, Mia Holo, Jayjay Taylor,
Sharks: Keilamarita Pouri-Lane, Pia Tapsell
Wentworthville: Cassie Siataga, Sade Schaumkel
Illawara: Jessica Patea
Bulldogs: Paea Uilou
Musical jam...
Wildcard’s Notebook
Lulu Sun’s magnificent Wimbledon run came to an end the other day as she was beaten in three sets by Donna Vekic in the women’s singles quarters. Definitely ran out of steam in that final set, that’s the problem with having played three extra matches in qualifying just to get to that stage... although that ain’t gonna be a problem much longer with her women’s singles ranking set to skyrocket as a result of her quarter-final appearance.
But Aotearoa’s Wimbledon 2024 involvement did not stop there. Michael Venus and Erin Routliffe made sure of that, each separately making the semi-finals of their doubles tournaments as well as the semi-finals of the mixed doubles together.
Weird twist to that story: Erin Routliffe’s women’s doubles partner is Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada (Routliffe herself is very Canadian, though was born and partly raised in NZ and has represented the nation proudly for most of her pro career). Michael Venus’ men’s doubles partner Neal Skupski of the UK. Venus/Routliffe beat both of those respective partners in the mixed doubles event. Venus and Skupski were defeated in their men’s doubles semi-final this morning but the other two semi-finals are yet to come.
Venus won the 2017 French Open men’s doubles and made the final of the 2018 Wimbledon men’s doubles. He’s made mixed doubles finals in 2017 (US Open), 2019 (US Open), and 2023 (French Open) but has not won a grand slam title in that designation. Routliffe has had a much more recent rise but entered Wimbledon 2024 as the third-ranked women’s doubles player on the planet after winning the 2023 US Open with Dabrowski. The pair also made the semis of the Australian Open earlier this year. Excitingly, Routliffe and Sun will represent Aotearoa at the Olympics in a couple of weeks.
The Oceania Men’s U20 football champs are going on as we speak, with Aotearoa having won three games out of three to cruise through pool play. I’ll probably write a bit more about that on Monday, though suffice to say that Finn McKenlay has been a standout with his midfield efforts, really controlling the flow. It’s been good to get more of a look at Stipe Ukich, the Auckland City winger who was outstanding in the first game. Luka Coveny captained the side in the second game and, unlike his goal-scoring dad, he’s a tall, strong central defender who also looks decent enough on the ball. He recently signed a first-team deal with Western United so hopefully there’s an A-League debut coming for him next season.
While the blokes are doing that, there was also a women’s U20 match yesterday between NZ and Australia. First game at Porirua Park was streamed on FIFA+, second game will be behind closed doors. It’s a similar set to what they did ahead of the previous U20 World Cup two years ago and those games were actually the introduction of Milly Clegg... who by the way is still eligible for this side but isn’t in the squad because she’s obviously got bigger things to worry about. The Olympics, specifically.
The first game was a 1-1 draw. Kiara Bercelli snuck home the final touch on a Ruby Nathan cut-back in the first half, though they did concede a sloppy one in the second spell – with goalkeeper and defender both too passive on a ball in behind, allowing Tanaye Morris to tie things up. First forty-five was excellent from Leon Birnie’s side as they created chances, looked solid defensively, and hustled away with plenty of physicality. Second forty-five was much more in Australia’s favour as their greater depth shone through after the teams turned to their benches. Still a positive result. Good to see an NZ U20s side with so many players already having professional experience, and not just the A-League.
This was the starting line-up:
GK - Madeleine Iro
RB – Zoe McMeeken
CB – Ella Findlay
CB – Ella McMillan
LB – Suya Haering
CM – Daisy Brazendale
CM – Emma Pijnenburg
RW – Manaia Elliott (c)
CAM – Helena Errington
LW – Kiara Bercelli
FW – Ruby Nathan
Juliette Lucas, Zoe Benson, Jasmine Barney, Olivia Ingham, and Charlotte Mortlock all featured off the bench. That leaves Amber Bennett, Lara Colpi, Alexis Cook, Aimee Danieli, Charlotte Eagle, Marie Green, Ella McCann, Olivia Page, Phoebe Riley, and Rebekah Trewhitt also in the squad potentially to see some game time in the closed-door fixture. It’s a 26-player squad so pretty much everyone is in the mix, most of it staying consistent with the U19s who qualified through Oceania last year. Milly Clegg is the only one from outside this group who we can expect to sneak in for the World Cup itself (assuming she’s available)... unless there are some cheeky dual-nats we haven’t learned about yet.
Flying Kiwis Transfer Tracker
On the same day that Libby Cacace was denied the chance to represent his nation at another Olympics, he also found himself the subject of another transfer rumour. This time it was Sparta Prague (Czechia) who were hovering around him – according to Tutto Mercato. That was all they said, just that the reigning Czech champions were interested and nothing else, but this is a club that’s entering in the second round of UEFA Champions League qualifying in a couple of weeks so if they’re serious then things could happen quickly. Even if they’re not serious, we can still add them to the growing list of clubs linked with Cacace this offseason: Palermo, Salernitana, Union Berlin, VfL Bochum, Bologna, and Sparta Prague. Seems like a good bet that the reason Empoli kept him out of the Olympic squad is because they’re planning on selling him. These are way too many rumours for a player who’s not being shopped around. There are no open negotiations yet but that only seems like a matter of time.
Here’s a sneaky one... you know how Anna Leat just re-signed with Aston Villa? Well, on FIFA’s official squad documentation they’re also listing Canadian goalie Sabrina D’Angelo as an Aston Villa player – D’Angelo has spent the past 18 months at Arsenal as a back-up but a switch to Villa had been rumoured for a few months now, with the expectation that Daphne van Domselaar heads in the other direction. This does mean big competition for the starting spot at AVFC though it also strongly suggests that it’ll be D’Angelo not DVD who is applying that pressure and perhaps that works out better for Leaty, we shall see.
No surprises in the New Zealand squad list. The Football Ferns have Kate Taylor, Meikayla Moore, Jacqui Hand, Grace Jale, and Michaela Foster listed as free agents. The U23 Men don’t have any free agents with Sarpreet Singh still listed with Hansa Rostock but that’s a technicality as the club already confirmed that he’s been released via relegation clause.
Ben Old’s move to ASSE is all sorted and Finn Surman’s move to Portland Timbers is soon to follow, with Surman apparently already in Portland to do the necessaries. Barring any other unexpected transfers, that pretty much settles last season’s Wellington Phoenix squad with the only undecided bloke being Bozhidar Kraev, who has an offer on the table but is still mulling it over. The women’s squad is much more up in the air. They’ve announced a couple more deals lately with Carolina Vilão joining as an import keeper and Alyssa Whinham signing a two-year extension. However, Rylee Foster and Brianna Edwards have both confirmed their departures while Hope Breslin this morning signed with Brooklyn FC in the USL Super League, moving back to her home city and probably getting that ALW to USL-SL pay boost that folks keep talking about (apparently Morgan Aquino, the 22yo reigning ALW Goalkeeper of the Year from Perth Glory, has tripled her money by making a similar move).
Phoenix ALW players whose futures have not been determined yet: Isabel Cox (import), Michaela Foster & Annalie Longo (both currently Olympic alternates), Helena Errington (scholarship), and Michaela Robertson. Everyone else has either re-signed, was already under contract, or has told the club they’re gapping it.
Also of note: the FIFA squad lists include the four top-ranked coaching staff, which was always going to be a curious one regarding the Football Ferns. Michael Mayne is the interim head coach, leaving an assistant spot open. That spot has gone to Natalie Lawrence same as it did for the last tour. Lawrence is now the head coach of Lewes FC after their relegation to the English third tier (she was an assistant there after leaving the Wellington Phoenix). Keri Sarver is also there despite the American having stepped aside for the previous tour amidst whatever drama is happening with Jitka Klimkova. She was JK’s right-hand-woman, having been brought in after they worked together in the USA age grades. Goalkeeping coach Duncan Reed also remains. So... in the end it’s just all of Klimkova’s usual staff but without Klimkova. The blokes are as per with Darren Bazeley assisted by Tony Readings, Simon Elliott, and Paul Gothard.
Kate Sheppard Cup Semi-Finals
Dunedin City Royals vs Western Springs
Wellington Phoenix Reserves vs Auckland United
The way things have worked out here, we’ve got the 2018 winner (Dunedin City, sort of... one of their merger clubs, Dunedin Technical, won it back then and there’s still a decent chunk of the playing base around) against the 2023 winner/defending champs (Western Springs), as well as the 2022 winners (Auckland United) up against a competition debutant (Welly Nix Reserves). Would be quite a story if the Nix’s first ever trophy is won by the women’s reserve team... who compete in the Boy’s U15 league within Central Football. This is their first KSC run, with the National League otherwise being their only competition against women during the year. The WeeNix are stacked with NZ age-grade players though, including several in the current NZ U20 squad, and could give Auckland United their toughest test this year.
Chatham Cup Quarter-Finals
Hibiscus Coast vs Coastal Spirit
Wellington Olympic vs Manurewa
Napier City Rovers vs Birkenhead
Otago University vs Auckland City
We’ve got here a coastal clash in one game, where Coastal Spirit will probably rate their chances to turn their first quarter-final appearance into a first semi-final appearance against a team from outside the top tier. Wellington Olympic will be heavily favoured against Manurewa as they seek their first Chatham Cup title since 2009, although Rewa have delivered some sneaky upsets throughout this year. Napier City vs Birko is the match of the round by far. Two teams who have made big strides in 2024, both also having lifted the cup within the past six years. Aaand then we’ve got Auckland City lucking into another favourable draw. So far they’ve had three lower-tiered opponents plus Hamilton Wanderers who are last in the Northern League. Fair play though, still gotta win them all and they’ve done that so far.
Musical Jam contribution...