Going Places
Warriors in NSW Cup, Football Ferns vs Zambia, White Ferns worries, NBL regular season ends, domestic football roundup & more
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New Zealand's 10 Best Young Cricketers After The Summer Of 2023/24 (Cricket)
Anatomy Of New Zealand's 2024 T20 World Cup Shambles (Cricket)
White Ferns Tour Of England Preview (Cricket)
Exploring Another New Low For The New Zealand Women's Cricket Team In ODI Series Sweep vs England (Cricket)
Recapping The All Whites at the 2024 Oceania Nations Cup (Football)
The OlyWhites Have (Finally) Named Their Squad for the 2024 Olympics (Football)
The Football Ferns Have Named Their Squad For The 2024 Olympics (Football)
Aotearoa Warriors Diary: Taking Stock of a Frantic 2024 New Zealand Warriors Season (Rugby League)
27fm Weekly Playlist: July 12 (Music)
Scotty’s Word
White Ferns lost another T20 to England, taking them to 0-4 in this series and 0-7 in this tour of England. There isn't much else to say aside from somehow, White Ferns keep finding new lows and maybe that is the main point here; whatever is happening under coach Ben Sawyer isn't working and he should be under immense pressure to keep this role.
The issues go beyond whatever coaching Sawyer is doing though. Sophie Devine isn't inspiring her troops to step up, nor is she performing at a high enough level to help White Ferns compete. White Ferns have stunk with two different blokes as coach and the one constant has been Devine's captaincy, so we need to be open to the fact that maybe Devine as skipper is a concern as well.
Devine has not taken a wicket in seven games of this tour. She bowled 11.4ov @ 6rpo in the ODIs and 8.2ov @ 9.8rpo in the T20s, which is a pesky combo of conceding lots of runs and not taking wickets. Devine isn't alone here as Jess Kerr bowled 10.3ov @ 5.7rpo in the ODIs and 7ov @ 9.1rpo in the T20s without a wicket.
Amelia Kerr has been the busiest bowler in both formats and she wasn't effective in the ODIs (1w @ 102avg/6.3rpo) while being alright in the T20s so far (3w @ 34avg/8.3rpo). Three senior bowlers are struggling to find a groove so it’s tricky to expect younger bowlers to step up.
Curiously, Molly Penfold has bowled 1ov @ 8rpo in the T20s. Penfold rolled out the same number of overs as A-Kerr in the ODIs (16ov) for 1w @ 92avg/5.7rpo and despite T20Is being her better format (59.8avg/5.1rpo in ODIs vs 27.8avg/7.9rpo in T20Is), Penfold has only been deployed in the ODIs of this tour. That smells like the same treatment Kate Anderson got: celebrate her selection/contract, give her four games of her weaker format, later bo.
Mikaela Greig still hasn't played a game in England. I had to double check that she was in the squad for both formats and yup, she's there but not considered good enough to play for a losing team.
I'm expecting a win in the last T20 on Thursday morning. That's usually how White Ferns finish series and the veil of a win will be thrown over the most concerning Aotearoa sports team right now.
White Ferns T20 Series Stats vs England
Batting
Suzie Bates: 101 runs @ 25avg/116sr
Sophie Devine: 72 runs @ 24avg/118sr
Brooke Halliday: 43 runs @ 10avg/83sr
Amelia Kerr: 42 runs @ 10avg/108sr
Jess Kerr: 39 runs @ 13avg/126sr
Izzy Gaze: 35 runs @ 11avg/95sr
Maddy Green: 34 runs @ 11avg/94sr
Lea Tahuhu: 26 runs @ 26avg/104sr
Georgia Plimmer: 18 runs @ 6avg/69sr
Bowling
Lea Tahuhu: 5w @ 14avg/9.2rpo
Amelia Kerr: 3w @ 34avg/8.3rpo
Hannah Rowe: 2w @ 11avg/7.6rpo
Eden Carson: 2w @ 18avg/9.2rpo
Fran Jonas: 2w @ 31avg/7.7rpo
Leigh Kasperek: 1w @ 36avg/7.2rpo
Sophie Devine: 8.2ov @ 9.8rpo
Jess Kerr: 7ov @ 9.1rpo
Zak Foulkes is in the T20 Blast with Birmingham who are first in the North Group. Foulkes has played four games now and taken a wicket in each of them, also hitting a beautiful six in his first outing. Remember that Foulkes is averaging below 25 with the ball in each format below Blackcaps, which is led by his 18.9avg/7.4rpo in T20s.
Notable Kiwis in T20 Blast...
Zak Foulkes: 4w @ 25avg/9rpo
Jimmy Neesham: 129 runs @ 43avg/161sr
Nathan Smith: 144 runs @ 24avg/132sr | 8w @ 30avg/8.3rpo
NZW had a crazy 46-28 win over Eels in NSW Cup, scoring seven tries in the second half while Eels scored none. Nganatatafu Vake earned a promotion up to NSW Cup at centre, which means NZW had three U19 SG Ball lads in their back five with Motu Pasikala and Sio Kali also there.
The young forwards all assembled alongside matua Kalani Going vs Eels. Demitric Sifakula, Jacob Laban and Eddie Ieremia started with Tanner Stowers-Smith and Zyon Maiu'u coming off the bench. Makaia Tafua started at hooker and Caleb Laiman took a bench spot, which kept the U21 hooking rotation even though Jacob Auloa dipped down to U21 Jersey Flegg - who lost to Eels.
I'm still most curious about Luke Hanson. This starts with the hype about NZW signing Jett Cleary, even though they already have four young Aussie play-makers in their system and Hanson's the best of them, coming out of the same Panthers system as Cleary. Hanson played two seasons of U17s and U19s at Panthers, combining U19s and U21s for Panthers last year; his roots ran deep in the Panthers system.
Most notably, Hanson played up a grade last year and after starting in U21s for NZW this year, he has played 12 games of NSW Cup. 12 games, five tries, five forced droppies, seven try assists, eight linebreak assists with 80% tackling and 74m/game.
NZW development is on display as well with Hanson having less than 100 kicking metres in his first four games of NSW Cup, before eight consecutive games with 100+ kicking metres. Hanson's not very big but he has a crack; he's missed more than three tackles in a game just once and he has at least two tackle busts in 10 of his 12 games this season.
Don't expect Hanson to play NRL this year as NZW slow brew the youngsters in NSW Cup. Hanson will probably play out this season as the halfback for NSW Cup, hopefully getting finals experience along with the other youngsters.
Below is a draft for my Aotearoa Kiwis squad. I've tried to zone in on players who are available right now which means Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Jeremy Marshall-King and Isaiah Papali'i are not included. That works in Joseph Manu's favour as he is available right now but might not be around for end of year Tests before he departs for rugby union in Japan. If not selecting Manu, I'd roll with Deine Mariner at centre.
Mariner is playing at the moment and Rocco Berry isn't, plus I'd want to bring Mariner into Aotearoa Kiwis camp asap because he can chose between a few nations. Keano Kini gets the fullback spot with Nicoll-Klokstad out and Kieran Foran deserves to start in the halves, with Dylan Brown offering utility off the bench.
Fullback: Keano Kini
Wings: Jamayne Isaako, Ronaldo Mulitalo
Centres: Joseph Manu, Matthew Timoko
Halves: Jahrome Hughes, Kieran Foran
Middles: James Fisher-Harris, Joseph Tapine, Moses Leota
Edges: Briton Nikora, Marata Niukore
Hooker: Brandon Smith
Bench: Dylan Brown, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Leo Thompson, Griffin Neame
Squad: Erin Clark, Scott Sorenson, Xavier Willison, Naufahu Whyte, Jordan Riki, Will Warbrick, Deine Mariner, Rocco Berry
I'm also working on a 'New to NRLWahine' deep dive. Here are some basics...
Stacey Waaka: Broncos - NZ Sevens
Matekino Gray: Titans - Rotorua Girls High School
Sarina Masaga: Titans - DEV - Howick College/Howick
Grace Kukutai: Knights - Chiefs Manawa
Isabella Waterman: Knights - Hurricanes Poua - Sydenham RL
Fane Finau: Knights - 2025 - Otara
Rosie Kelly: Eels - Matatu - Hokitika - 2023 Black Ferns
Pia Tapsell: Sharks - Western Force - Takapuna Grammar
Maatuleio Fotu-Moala: Dragons - Otahuhu
Trinity Tauaneai: Dragons - DEV - Wainuiomata
Jessica Patea: Dragons - DEV - Wainuiomata
Musical jam...
Wildcard’s Notebook
The Football Ferns quietly went about a pre-Olympics friendly against Zambia on the weekend, drawing 1-1 thanks to a Katie Kitching penalty. Zambia are also bound for Paris, they were one of our pot-mates in the lowest-seeded part of the draw so this game wasn’t as rough as the actual event purports to be. Good to see the Ferns grind out a result, especially after conceding first. They had their chances to score a winner but we know what this team is like when it comes to finishing. Work in progress.
Michael Mayne picked a 4-4-2 shape same as we saw in the Japan series. Vic Esson in goal. CJ Bott, Katie Bowen, Rebekah Stott, Ali Riley across the backline. A few players were rested with injury precautions (though not A.Riley with her injury cloud), meaning no Macey Fraser, Indi Riley, or Grace Jale. Hence Kate Taylor started in midfield with Malia Steinmetz. Katie Kitching and Ally Green were the wingers. Good chance that only Steinmetz remains in the eleven for game one at the Olympics with all three of those unavailable players replacing them, although there were performances against Zambia that challenge that idea. Jacqui Hand and Milly Clegg were the strikers.
One thing that was clear from the outset was that this Ferns team was fired up and full of energy. Using the wings, getting crosses into the box, pressing the Zambian build-up to good effect. Bit sloppy with their own passing sometimes but we’re working with what we’ve got. Defensively they were excellent in that first half, while Clegg had a chance cleared off the line after running in behind and around the goalie. That was the only big chance of the first spell but Clegg had a similar one early second half, cutting it back into the middle where defensive numbers crowded it out. Then we conceded straight after. Open header from a free kick which probably should not have been a free kick. Once again, the Fernies struggling with the aerial stuff.
They didn’t lose their heads though. Hand went close with a heel flick after another Clegg run into the channels. Clegg charged down a keeper clearance but it deflected wide. Kitching showed some great work on the wing to create the move that led to the penalty, with Taylor’s second-phase shot hitting an arm. Kitching took the spottie and made no mistake with it (68 mins gone). Taylor hit the crossbar with a deflected long shot and Gabi Rennie nearly pounced in a Clegg flick-on. Then, with the last kick of the game, Kitching was open for a cut-back from the line which Steinmetz just couldn’t get enough contact on. All that time, Zambia was a threat on the break with substitute Anna Leat having to make two excellent saves in her twenty-minute cameo – Zambia left Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji on the bench to begin with, and they made a huge difference to their team’s capabilities once they joined the fun (as you’d expect from the two most expensive players on the planet). But Leaty was up to the task.
This was the 22nd time from the past 23 games that the Ferns have failed to score twice against a non-Oceania opponent. But unlike most of those other ones they created some good chances. Milly Clegg showed why she’s ready to be a first eleven player, though her lack of clinical edge also showed why that wasn’t the case up until now for the 18 year old. Not a lot of match practice for her either, to be fair: this was only her second game of 2024. Jacqui Hand was a bit quiet, though Katie Kitching had a strong performance switching between the two wings, while Malia Steinmetz was outstanding in midfield. Her passing’s gone to a new level after a season in Denmark too.
Solid enough preparation. Sometimes they were a bit too reliant on deep crossing but that eased up as they found more joy elsewhere, particularly with their movement up top. Pretty encouraging how they played – although the task will get way tougher against Canada, France, and Colombia. No arguments with the lack of Hannah Wilkinson on the basis of this, even if she would’ve been helpful to have on the bench. More than anything, it felt like Mayne got a tune out of the squad in a way that Klimkova has struggled to do on a consistent basis. Onwards we go.
We’re also moving onwards in the NBL, following a final week in which both the Canterbury Rams and Auckland Tuatara lost. The Rams saw their winning streak broken after 16 straight, getting dropped 93-91 by the Franklin Bulls. That was one night after the Tuatara had fallen 108-102 to the Hawke’s Bay Hawks. They still finished first and second respectively so no dramas. That win wasn’t enough for the Hawks to make the playoffs – they and Tauranga Whai finished equal-sixth with Nelson Giants with 8-12 records but the Giants had a much better points differential so they get that last spot in the postseason on the tiebreaker. This despite the Giants losing 106-90 to the Taranaki Airs in the last game of the regular season. They knew they were through.
The way it works is the Rams and Tuatara get a bye for the first round. On Wednesday night it’ll be the Taranaki Airs vs the Nelson Giants in a rematch of their round sixteen meeting. The winner of that game faces the Canterbury Rams down in Christchurch on Sunday. Meanwhile, on Friday night, the Wellington Saints host the Franklin Bulls and the winner of that game meets Auckland Tuatara the following Wednesday – apparently some venue availability issues meant Auckland couldn’t play on the weekend, so they’ll have 14 days between their last regular season game and their semi-final then only four days until the grand final after that should they make it. All these games are single-elimination.
2024 NBL Kiwi Stat Leaders
Minutes Per Game
Izayah Le’Afa (Wellington) – 35.5
Jordan Ngatai (Hawke’s Bay) – 34.9
Callum McRae (Southland) – 34.0
Corey Webster (Auckland) – 33.4
Reuben Te Rangi (Auckland) – 33.3
Points Per Game
Izayah Le’Afa (Wellington) – 22.8
Corey Webster (Auckland) – 20.7
Rob Loe (Auckland) – 20.2
Tom Vodanovich (Auckland) – 20.0
Keanu Rasmussen (Hawke’s Bay) – 18.7
Rebounds Per Game
Callum McRae (Southland) – 12.4
Rob Loe (Auckland) – 11.1
Sam Timmins (Franklin) – 9.6
Hyrum Harris (Wellington) – 8.7
James Moore (Manawatu) – 8.7
Assists Per Game
Corey Webster (Auckland) – 7.7
Taylor Britt (Canterbury) – 6.4
Izayah Le’Afa (Wellington) – 6.0
Hyrum Harris (Wellington) – 5.6
Callum McRae (Southland) – 4.6
Sneaking under the radar lately has been the Oceania Men’s U19s football championships where the Aotearoa team is safely through to the grand final. Safely but not entirely comfortably after only beating Fiji 1-0 in their semi-final, a 48th minute Ryan Watson goal the only thing to split the teams. The kiwis looked a bit tired in their fourth game of the tournament and a well-organised Fijian team largely neutralised them in a scoreless first half. The goal early in the second stanza was ultimately decisive but actually from that point onwards it was Fiji who had more of the better chances. Best of all was a handball penalty given just minutes after NZ had scored... though Alby Kelly-Heald stepped up big time to save it, chuck that on his audition tape to replace Alex Paulsen at the Welly Nix next season.
Very fortunate to get the job done in ninety minutes but a win is a win and with that we’ve qualified for the U20 World Cup next year. Two sides from Oceania make the cut so making the final is enough. We’ll face New Caledonia in the final, a team that we beat 3-0 in the first game. There has also been a 5-0 win against Samoa and a 10-0 win against Papua New Guinea during the group stage.
Here’s are the top lads for minutes played, with the final still to come...
Fergus Gillion – 315 mins
Alby Kelly-Heald – 270
Luka Coveny – 265
Ryan Watson – 264
Adama Coulibaly – 242
Codey Phoenix – 239
Stipe Ukich – 239
Keegan Kelly – 238
Finn McKenlay – 238
Daniel Makowem – 201
Gillion is the only player to start all four games. As for goals, Keegan Kelly has four while Ryan Watson has three. Several players have two. Nathan Walker and Lewis Partridge lead the way with three assists each, all of those coming in the 10-0 win over PNG (who’s high defensive line got shredded in the opening half-hour by kiwi pace and precision... it was 5-0 after 28 minutes before a more pragmatic tactical adjustment).
Also just gonna say that I’m now very high on Finn McKenlay’s potential. Saw a bit of him for Eastern Suburbs in the last National League but didn’t really get a read of him as a player. Here though he’s been all class as a defensive midfielder. Strong and combative but more than anything composed and reliable in possession. He makes good decisions. Both the Auckland FC dudes look excellent, actually. Adama Coulibaly has mostly played at right back but it’s so clear that he’s a natural footballer who can play anywhere. Only exception is Olier Middleton who hasn’t played a minute nor been listed on any of the teamsheets so presumably he’s pulled out injured or something. Bit surprised not to have seen more of Nix dudes Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues and Luke Supyk, however Auckland City’s Stipe Ukich has been superb out on the wing. Bigger than he looks. Quick and direct. Pretty clinical too and that’s not always common in young players, even really good ones.
Domestic Football Roundup
Back to the league action this week, where the Men’s Southern League continues to fascinate after Coastal Spirit won 2-0 away to Cashmere Technical. Alejandro Steinwascher got both goals, one in the 62nd minute and one in the 72nd minute. A fascinating result that does Christchurch United no favours despite their own 1-0 win against Universities of Canterbury... courtesy of an 88th minute goal from Zachary Bennett. No exaggeration to say that’s possibly the most important goal of the Rams season, keeping them within three points of Coastal, who themselves are only now one point behind Cashy Tech. Any two of those three could feasibly get the National League spots. Any one of those three could win the title. Huge areas from Coastal to have disrupted the duopoly of the past few years. Package this with their best ever Chatham Cup run and it’s been a spectacular 2024 for that club.
Elsewhere, Nomads won 2-0 against FC Twenty11, the latter moving their season record to 0-0-12 with a -64 goal difference. Ferrymead Bays rallied from a goal down to win 3-2 against Dunedin City Royals. And there was a bonkers game between Nelson Suburbs and Selwyn United where Subs were 2-0 up after seven minutes, then it was 3-2 after 28 minutes, then it was 4-4 at half-time... and somehow there were no more goals after that. 4-4 final score.
In the Women’s Southern League we finally had a week with all six teams participating. Cashmere Tech bounced back from their Kate Sheppard Cup exit in style by winning 10-1 against Nelson Suburbs. Emma Kench scored four goals (all in the first half) – she’s also a cricketing representative for Canterbury, having played 31 List A games and 11 Twenty20s for the province, albeit none since 2022. Coastal Spirit beat Otago Uni 2-0 thanks to a Melanie Cameron brace. A goal in each half, sweet as. And Dunedin City Royals kept up the momentum of knocking Tech out of the KSC by winning 3-0 away to Roslyn Wakari. All three goals in the last half hour. CT and DCR both have three wins from three.
Men’s Central League now. Wellington Olympic are first and Stop Out are last so the fact that the Greeks beat them 8-0 this week is no crazy unheard of feat. Hamish Watson and Isa Prins both scored doubles. Stefan Ashby got things started in the opening minute. What is crazy and unheard of is that these two teams also played last week in the Chatham Cup and guess what? Olympic won 8-0. Beat the same opponents 8-0 in consecutive weeks. That’s nothing if not consistent. But it wasn’t even the biggest win of the round because Miramar Rangers won 9-0 away to Petone, with Joshua Tollervey scoring a hatty (ex-WeeNix, started the year at Auckland United). With nine goals to count, that still leaves braces for Sam Mason-Smith, Andy Bevin, and Martin Bueno. Amir Mandalawi was sent off for Petone after 34 mins with the score already at 4-0.
Beyond that, a Bruno Penney two-for carried Western Suburbs to a healthy 4-2 win away against Waterside Karori. Island Bay won 4-1 at North Wellington to leapfrog them on the table, rising out of that second-to-last spot. Also Napier City Rovers left it late but found two goals in the last dozen minutes to beat the Wellington Phoenix Reserves 2-0. Looked like the WeeNix were unlucky with a disallowed offside goal earlier. Dublin Boon started between the sticks so that confirms his transfer after a year in the Roda JC academy (s’pose it’s possible he’s a short term acquisition while Alby Kelly-Heald and Eamonn McCarron are away with the U20s, time will tell).
To the Women’s Central League, Wellington United won 7-0 against Seatoun with Hope Gilchrist getting a couple of goals. Waterside Karori matched that victory with a 4-1 win of their own against Taradale. Emma Kruszona got them started within a minute of kickoff. Petone did what needed doing via two goals from Dani Ohlsson, beating Palmerston North Marist 3-1 despite conceding early. Then also Tessa Brownlie’s 84th minute goal was good enough for Victoria Uni to win 1-0 against Moturoa. Welly Utd and WKU are already well clear for those two National League spots.
There is a new leader of the Men’s Northern League... and that’s Auckland City after they scraped past East Coast Bays 1-0 courtesy of Regont Murati’s 74th minute goal. A win is a win – they’re down a few players after U20s call ups and Auckland FC signings. Seems they’ve scooped up Marco Lorenz in defence, a former Welly Nix dude who tried a couple of times to get a pro gig in Germany. Had been at Western Springs prior. Very good young defender to add to other ACFC midseason additions like Kailan Gould, Derek Tieku, and Jerson Lagos (the latter having just jumped over from Manurewa – though you’ll remember him best from his Melville United exploits). All four of those dudes were in the starting team for this match. Auckland City are changing before our eyes.
The reason they’ve gone top is that Eastern Suburbs beat previous leaders Birkenhead 2-1, with another ex-Melville lad, Josh Galletly, getting the winning goal. Looks like ex-Christchurch United defender Cameron Lindsay (who once upon a time played briefly for the Wellington Phoenix and has one cap for the All Whites from 2013) is now with Birko, a pretty useful addition of their own. Auckland United’s hopes of top four took a huge blow when they lost 2-0 to Western Springs. Melville’s hopes of avoiding relegation took a blow when they lost 2-1 at home to West Coast Rangers. Bay Olympic had a good 2-1 win on the road against Tauranga City. And we had carnage in the Hamilton Wanderers vs Manurewa AFC match with Aston Hurd scoring in the 85th minute to sneak a 3-3 draw for Wanderers, who are still last but every point counts.
Finally, the NRFL Women’s Premier Division, where Auckland United faced a sterner test than they’ve been used to lately, with Western Springs running them super close only for a 48th minute Charlotte Roche goal to give AUFC the 1-0 win. Great win also for West Coast Rangers who got a couple of goals from Bree Johnson on their way to a 4-2 victory away against Eastern Suburbs. Hamilton Wanderers and Ellerslie drew 1-1. Wanderers probably needed to win that to have a shot at dodging the drop. And lastly, Fencibles won 3-1 against Hibiscus Coast after being a goal down at the half.
A spectacularly catchy Musical Jam nominee...