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Super Smash cricket, Flying Kiwis Transfer Tracker, Kiwi-NRL Top-30 contracts, Auckland FC women's team, Steven Adams, Wellington Phoenix Academy grads & more
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2024/25 Super Smash Scout: Otago Sparks & Volts Love A Road Trip (Cricket)
2024/25 Super Smash Scout: Katene Clarke & Rob O'Donnell Find Form, Bevon Jacobs Trucks Along (Cricket)
2024/25 Super Smash Scout: All Things Auckland, Central Districts, Wellington, Canterbury (Cricket)
Is This The Season That The Wellington Phoenix Finally Make The A-League Women’s Finals? (Football)
Flying Kiwis – January 14 (Football)
An Optimistic Perspective About The New Zealand Warriors Future Without Tohu Harris (Rugby League)
2025 New Zealand Women Warriors Signings Tracker: Third Wave (Rugby League)
2024 Pacific Championship Debrief For New Zealand Kiwis & Kiwi Ferns (Rugby League)
Scotty’s Word
Will O'Rourke is looming as a key bowler for Blackcaps at the Champions Trophy. ODIs are his worst format so far but List-A is his best format below internationals. O'Rourke has played all of his ODIs in New Zealand but all of his T20Is in Pakistan...
Wickets in NZ this summer: 1, 4, 1, 1, 3, 1, 3, 1, 0, 0, 3, 0
Test: 24.8avg/3.7rpo
ODI: 31.62avg/5.6rpo
T20I: 21.25avg/7rpo
FC: 26.08avg/3.3rpo
LA: 22.33avg/4.8rpo
T20: 24.71avg/7.9rpo
Bowling in general will be an intriguing factor for Blackcaps at Champions Trophy. Of the current ODI group, there are four batters in the top-50 for the highest averages of all time as well as Rachin Ravindra being 17th for the highest strike-rates (with an average of 41). Matt Henry is the bowler with a decent ranking and it's his strike-rate, so Blackcaps don't have a highly ranked bowling average or economy rate.
Best Batting Averages
Daryl Mitchell: 50.53avg - 10th
Kane Williamson: 48.64avg- 15th
Will Young: 46.25avg- 33rd
Devon Conway: 44.5avg - 43rd
Best Batting Strike-Rates
Rachi Ravindra: 109.5sr - 17th
Mark Chapman: 105.14sr - 27th
Daryl Mitchell: 97.94sr - 54th
Best Bowling Strike-Rates
Matt Henry: 29.51 - 28th
Katene Clarke and Joe Carter went crazy for Northern Districts in their win over Otago yesterday. Otago lost both games in Dunedin, meaning their three game road trip of wins flipped once they returned home. Clarke hit 106 runs @ 163sr and Carter hit 83 runs @ 169sr, while these Otago batters gave the run-chase a nudge...
Llew Johnson: 25 runs @ 131sr
Leo Carter: 54 runs @ 154sr
Max Chu: 44 runs @ 163sr
Luke Georgeson: 28 runs @ 311sr
Clarke dropped out of the ND Plunket Shield team and had a highest score of 29 in the Ford Trophy this summer. His 90 runs vs Auckland was his first major score in a while and he followed it up with another banger, taking him to 26avg/141sr in T20 batting. Heading into the Central Districts vs Canterbury game day on Friday, Clarke is one of three batters with 200+ runs along with Jack Boyle and Tom Bruce; 25-year-old Clarke is the youngest of these three.
While Clarke couldn't keep his Plunket Shield spot due to a lack of runs (46 runs @ 9avg last summer), Carter seems to have missed Plunket Shield because of injury. Carter has played 10 games in just over a year with five games this season, all of which are T20s with NZ 11 vs Sri Lanka and then Super Smash. Clarke has maintained his production despite the sporadic appearances...
Joe Carter's scores in last 10 games
February 2024: 56, 19
March 2024: 124, 58, 2, 54, 25
December 2024: 23
January 2025: 66, 1, 5, 83
Joe Carter Career
FC: 35.66avg/49sr
LA: 38.77avg/79sr
T20: 23avg/117sr
Rob O'Donnell only added 10* @ 250sr to the ND tally but this takes him to 121 runs @ 60.5avg/189sr in Super Smash this season. It also takes gives O'Donnell a T20 batting average of 37.18 which is 45th for the best T20 batting averages all time, third for current kiwis behind Devon Conway and Dean Foxcroft.
Highest T20 Batting Averages For Current Kiwis
Devon Conway: 41.78avg/128.9sr - 15th
Dean Foxcroft: 40.17avg/126.3sr - 20th
Rob O'Donnell: 37.18avg/130.8sr - 45th
Rob O'Donnell Career
FC: 35avg/51sr
LA: 35.32avg/75sr
T20: 37.18avg/131sr
Super Smash stats...
Wider Blackcaps Mix
Tim Robinson: 151 runs @ 50avg/152sr
Bevon Jacobs: 147 runs @ 49avg/151sr
Dean Foxcroft: 124 runs @ 41avg/125sr | 7w @ 13avg/5.9rpo
Josh Clarkson: 79 runs @ 26avg/127sr
Michael Bracewell: 61 runs @ 197sr
Tom Latham: 60 runs @ 30avg/120sr
Henry Shipley: 54 runs @ 18avg/150sr | 7w @ 13avg/7rpo
Will Young: 50 runs @ 135sr
Adithya Ashok: 4w @ 39avg/11.1rpo
Ben Sears: 3w @ 27avg/10.1rpo
Kyle Jamieson: 3w @ 32avg/6.1rpo
Best Emerging Batters
Jack Boyle: 266 runs @ 53avg/139sr
Katene Clarke: 218 runs @ 54avg/158sr
Max Chu: 190 runs @ 38avg/158sr
Dale Phillips: 159 runs @ 26avg/171sr
Matt Boyle: 137 runs @ 45avg/157sr
Llew Jonson: 116 runs @ 23avg/138sr
Curtis Heaphy: 89 runs @ 14avg/98sr
Muhammad Abbas: 86 runs @ 43avg/136sr
Jock McKenzie: 85 runs @ 28avg/120sr
Jamal Todd: 83 runs @ 16avg/515sr
Best Emerging Bowlers
Jock McKenzie: 9w @ 13avg/8.5rpo
Ben Lockrose: 8w @ 24avg/7.4rpo
Kristian Clarke: 6w @ 27avg/10.8rpo
Rohit Gulati: 4w @ 14avg/7rpo
Mason Clarke: 4w @ 26avg/8.2rpo
Will Clark: 3w @ 25avg/10.7rpo
Luke Georgeson: 3w @ 36avg/8.4rpo
Matt Fisher: 3w @ 50avg/10.1rpo
Toby Findlay: 2w @ 30avg/6.7rpo
Wider White Ferns Mix
Jess Kerr: 198 runs @ 99avg/129sr | 9w @ 8avg/5rpo
Kate Anderson: 163 runs @ 54avg/112sr
Lauren Down: 151 runs @ 75avg/106sr
Amelia Kerr: 149 runs @ 74avg/109sr | 6w @ 12avg/4.7rpo
Maddy Green: 136 runs @ 27avg/102sr
Polly Inglis: 119 runs @ 29avg/99sr
Brooke Halliday: 115 runs @ 23avg/115sr | 2w @ 46avg/6.4rpo
Suzie Bates: 112 runs @ 18avg/98sr
Bella Jame: 65 runs @ 10avg/93sr
Izzy Gaze: 57 runs @ 11avg/83sr
Eden Carson: 16w @ 10avg/5.7rpo
Fran Jonas: 8w @ 17avg/6.4rpo
Hayley Jensen: 8w @ 17avg/5.5rpo
Leigh Kasperek: 7w @ 8avg/5.4rpo
Rosemary Mair: 7w @ 13avg/4.8rpo
Hannah Rowe: 7w @ 17avg/7.rpo
Molly Penfold: 4w @ 34avg/8rpo
Best Emerging Women
Olivia Gain: 146 runs @ 29avg/91sr
Caitlin Blakely: 145 runs @ 29avg/95sr
Ocean Bartlett: 8w @ 15avg/6.3rpo
Emma Black: 8w @ 18avg/5.4rpo
Missy Banks: 7w @ 16avg/7.1rpo | 20 runs @ 133sr
NRL.com has updated their top-30 and development contract lists. Forget the contract stuff, this just helps map out where Kiwi-NRL lads are sitting in their respective systems and clarify the murky waters of summer moves. The funkiest clarification is Marist junior Ryder Williams being in the Titans top-30 after spending last summer training with the NRL squad as a 17-year-old.
Williams is a half and Titans have plenty of halves options, probably too many so I'll be tracking his mahi next season closely. Williams played in the halves for Tweed Under 19s and they won the Mal Meninga Cup last year. Hopefully he slots into Queensland Cup early this year.
Dolphins
Development: Aublix Tawha (Turangawaewae), Elijah Rasmussen (Westlake Boys), Tevita Naufahu (St Kents)
Titans
Top-30: Ryder Williams (Marist)
Development: Tukimihia Simpkins (Rotorua Boys)
Knights
Top-30: Franics Manuleleua (Papatoetoe)
Development: Tyrone Thompson (Maraenui)
Sea Eagles
Development: D'Jazirhae Pua'avase (Manurewa)
Rabbitohs
Development: Nazareth Taua (Marist)
Roosters
Top-30: Salesi Foketi (Manurewa)
Development: Benaiah Ioelu (Howick/Mt Albert)
Bulldogs
Development: Sosaia Alatini (Hornby)
Tigers
Development: Reuben Porter (Te Atatu)
Sharks
Top-30: Chris Vea'ila (Waitemata)
NZ Warriors have eight players in their development list, although Jett Cleary is listed as a train/trial contract this year before moving up to a development contract next year. Keep in mind that Luke Hanson was also a young half from Panthers who moved to NZ Warriors and he is ranked ahead of Cleary; in terms of contract and that he will probably be a starting half in NSW Cup while Cleary begins in U21s.
NZ Warriors Development List
Outside backs: Sio Kali (Pt Chevalier), Patrick Moimoi (De La Salle)
Halves: Luke Hanson, Jett Cleary
Forwards: Kalani Going (Mid-Northern), Tanner Stowers-Smith (Halswell)
Versatile: Eddie Ieremia-Toeava (Otahuhu), Kayliss Fatialofa (Otara)
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
Last season, the Wellington Phoenix gave 38% of their total minutes to academy graduate players. Then Alex Paulsen, Ben Old, and Finn Surman all left... yet somehow they’re still at 30% this season. Alby Kelly-Heald became the third academy debutant of the campaign with his encouraging clean sheet effort against Sydney FC midweek. This follows Nathan Walker and Jayden Smith, both in week one (note that Corban Piper and Luke Brooke-Smith were signed from outside the club and went straight to the first team so they’re not academy lads). Lachlan Candy and Xuan Loke have each made the bench so they’d appear to be next in line.
Giancarlo Italiano oversaw a club record seven academy debutants last season: Lukas Kelly-Heald, Fin Roa Conchie, Fergus Gillion, Isaac Hughes, Matt Sheridan, Luke Supyk, and Gabe Sloane-Rodrigues. All of them except Gillion have made matchday squads this term and only GSR and Gillion have failed to get minutes yet.
Recent-ish Wellington Phoenix ALM Academy Debutants – Where Are They Now?
2018-19
Ben Waine – Based in England with Plymouth Argyle for the last couple years, currently getting sporadic minutes on loan at Mansfield Town but is a regular All Whites selection.
Callan Elliot – Left for Xanthi in Greece but never played. Returned to the Nix. Left for Motherwell in Scotland but never played. Now at Auckland FC.
Gianni Stensness – Went to the Olympics and U20 World Cup with NZ but then switched allegiances back to Australia. Is a teammate of Joe Bell’s at Viking FK in Norway but recently suffered a second serious knee injury – he’s now had ACL repairs on both knees. Was playing great at centre-back before the latest setback.
2019-20
Sam Sutton – Still at the Nix and is a first eleven player when fit. Usually at left-back but more recently has been tried further forward a couple of times. In and out of All Whites squads but sporadic injuries have probably kept him from following the overseas paths of some of these other grads.
2020-21
Ben Old – Huge season last year with the Nix leading to a big move to Ligue 1 side AS Saint-Etienne where he was immediately starting games in the top tier of French football... until an injury which he’s still trying to recover from. Regular All Whites selection when fit.
2021-22
Finn Surman – One of the three big dog grads to get exciting moves during the last offseason, with Surman joining Portland Timbers in MLS where he had to wait patiently for his turn but finally debuted in the last game of the regular season then got bench minutes in their lone playoff game. Could be in contention for a starting spot in 2025 based on how they’ve been handling him. Regular All Whites pick, competing for centre-back starts.
Alex Paulsen – Served his apprenticeship behind Oli Sail then, when he got a chance to be the number one at the Nix, he immediately won ALM Goalie of the Year and got a huge money move to Bournemouth in the English Premier League... who promptly loaned him back to sister club Auckland FC. Currently contending with Max Crocombe for All Whites number one duties.
Oskar van Hattum – Didn’t get the minutes this season that he’d have wanted so he recently negotiated an early release and made the switch to Sligo Rovers in Ireland. Has been capped by the All Whites.
Jackson Manuel – Made six appearances in the A-League including one start but never got signed to a full contract and aged out of the U20s. Now at Western Springs (alongside brother Riley) where he was fantastic in central midfield during a strong National League campaign.
Riley Bidois – Went to play a bit of Aussie state league after leaving the Phoenix and then signed with Loudon United in the American USL Championship where he got two goals and two assists in 21 appearances in 2024. Will be returning there this year. No All Whites stuff but he did go to the Olympics last year. His younger brother, Jonty, is on the books of Auckland FC.
George Ott – Only got two sub appearances for the Nix back in 2021-22. Has spent the last couple years playing in NPL Victoria where he’s proving himself to be a pretty reliable goal-scoring striker.
2022-23
N/A
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Steven Adams in his last eight NBA games...
vs Miami: 5 offensive rebounds in 12:29 min
vs Dallas: 1 offensive rebound in 7:23 min
vs Boston: 4 offensive rebounds in 6:51 min
vs LA Lakers: 7 offensive rebounds in 16:34 min
vs Washington: 2 offensive rebounds in 11:25 min
vs Memphis: 4 offensive rebounds in 12:26 min
vs Memphis: 6 offensive rebounds in 13:03 min
vs Denver: 2 offensive rebounds in 7:07 min
The Houston Rockets are 6-2 in these games, by the way, and have outscored opponents by 19 points with Steven Adams on the court. Add it all together and Steven Adams has 31 offensive rebounds across the last 20 days of the NBA despite only averaging a shade over ten minutes per game. Let’s put this in a different perspective...
Most Offensive Rebounds Since December 29
Walker Kessler (Utah) – 41 in 242 minutes
Rudy Gobert (Minnesota) – 41 in 315 minutes
Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento) – 40 in 301 minutes
Josh Hart (New York) – 37 in 404 minutes
Steven Adams (Houston) – 31 in 87 minutes
Jakob Poetl (Toronto) – 31 in 318 minutes
Jarrett Allen (Cleveland) – 30 in 224 minutes
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Golden State) – 30 in 241 minutes
Jalen Duran (Detroit) – 29 in 202 minutes
Nikola Jokic (Denver) – 29 in 253 minutes
While we’re on the topic of kiwi big men...
Sam Mennenga Prior To The Tacko Fall Addition:
22.5 MIN | 12.5 PTS | 10.2 FGA | 50% FG | 5.3 REB | 1.0 AST
Sam Mennenga In The 11 Games After Tacko Fall:
22.4 mins | 9.9 PTS | 8.0 FGA | 46% FG | 5.5 REB | 0.8 AST
Sam Mennenga’s Last Three Games:
vs Illawarra - 25 MIN | 24 PTS | 9/12 FG (75%) | 4 REB | 2 AST
vs Melbourne – 25 MIN | 18 PTS | 7/14 FG (50%) | 5 REB | 0 AST
vs Tasmania – 26 MIN | 29 PTS | 13/15 FG (87%) | 9 REB | 1 AST
No player seemed to suffer more with the addition of Tacko Fall than Sam Mennenga... logical given that he was the starting centre who has had to make way so that the Breakers could reshape their entire tactical approach to suit the newbie that the owner, in his wisdom, decided was a necessary addition. A reminder that they were 7-3 before Fall and have gone 2-12 ever since, making it one of the worst mid-season roster shuffles I have ever witnessed. Possibly the worst, in my experience.
The stats there don’t fully tell the picture because Fall was eased in during his first couple games, which included Mennenga scored 25 against Perth then 17 against Melbourne Utd, thus inflating the figures (and there’s still a 2.6 point drop). But these last three games have provided a different vision, especially last night’s surprise victory against Tasmania on Parker Jackson-Cartwright’s return. Mennenga was a man on a mission scoring a new career-high 29 points, also the highest scoring game by a kiwi this season. He made 13/15 buckets including 3/4 from three-point attempts, which had been one of his main areas to improve. Mennenga had shot 19/59 at 32.2% prior to these last three games, where he’s suddenly hit 7/11 at 63.6%. Mennenga’s also shown great leadership throughout a tough season despite his relative inexperience. Stoked to see him finding his best form down the stretch.
Fun fact about the Breakers this season: On three different occasions, players have scored 40+ in a game against NZB this season. Bryce Cotton broke records with his 59 points for Perth. Cotton also scored 41 against the Breakers two weeks ago while last weekend saw Chris Goulding drop 42 on them. This has been a crazy season for high-scoring like that but of the nine scores of 40+ in NBL25, only one team has had it happen three times to them.
Flying Kiwis Transfer Tracker
Following Anna Leat’s departure from Aston Villa, and the natural speculation around Auckland FC that’s ensued, we’ve already had written confirmation of AFC’s intents. Director of Football Terry McFlynn had a yarn with the NZ Herald in which he said exactly that: “She’s on the list of players that we’re wanting to engage with as we start off the programme”.
The Herald also reckons Katie Bowen, Claudia Bunge, and Jacqui Hand are on that list, with McFlynn claiming that the club have had lots of interest from junior and senior Ferns and that the plan is to sign as many NZ internationals as possible. It was even hinted that current Wellington Phoenix players have reached out (the obvious candidate being Auckland native Grace Jale, who only has a one-year deal with Wellington).
AFC should be trying to sign the strongest team possible, that’s their purpose. But from an NZ football perspective, we’ve gotta keep in mind the stature of the A-League because this is not where we want our best players to be peaking if the Football Ferns are going to progress. Katie Bowen’s on track to possibly be playing Champions League with Inter Milan next season so you’d hope an ALW return is not in her immediate plans. It’s already a bit concerning that Anna Leat seems to be angling this way – though the big difference is that Leat wasn’t playing for Villa, whereas Bowen is a first eleven player at Internazionale. Plus Leat is young enough that she can always go back to Europe/America in a year or two. Bunge is at Melbourne Victory having returned from a stint in Denmark that kinda flamed out, so that one’s fair enough for an Auckland native. Jacqui Hand is also an Aucklander and that one could go either way. Her English second tier club Sheffield United is a level above the ALW but not so far that it wouldn’t make sense if the fit is there.
This is all speculation – AFC don’t even have a coach yet (though they’re down to their last three candidates, apparently). Seems pretty obvious that they’ll follow the pattern they did when putting the men’s team together, with a couple of established kiwi internationals, a few others with experience in this league (including an Aussie or two), a good crop of imports, a handful of standouts from the National League (focussing mostly on Auckland clubs), and a few premier local youngsters for the scholarships. That’s the way to do it. Anna Leat could be their Paulsen, Bunge their Pijnaker, and Hand their Rogerson. Chloe Knott as Howieson. Saskia Vosper as De Vries. Plenty of Gillion parallel options available. Quite a few kiwi women have been playing well in the Aussie state leagues too which is a worthy scouting avenue.
Moving on to other topics, Jay Herdman has predictably re-signed with Cavalry FC in the Canadian Premier League. Same league that Moses Dyer was scoring and assisting heaps of goals prior to his move to Ireland... but Dyer never won the thing whereas Herdman lifted the trophy last year while on loan. He’s since been released by the Vancouver Whitecaps system, unable to earn an MLS contract (which was heavily forecasted as soon as they loaned him out), and with Concacaf Champions Cup on the cards at a club where he’s already earned a starting gig... it would have been a simple decision to hang around. Herdman’s got big ambitions but he’s young, no need to rush. The CPL isn’t anything special but it has proved to be a bit of a stepping stone. Kwasi Poku joined RWD Molenbeek (Belgium) last August for a pretty hefty fee. Similar with Matteo de Brienne, a former Whitecaps junior who this month signed with GAIS where he’ll be a teammate of Kees Sims. MLS clubs go digging in this bargain bit too, on occasion. Herdman’s in a good spot from which to launch his career.
Speaking of Kees Sims, we’ve got some lovely news from Sweden because Sims just agreed to a contract extension with GAIS that’ll keep him in town until 2028. Sims joined the club a year ago and still had two more years on his original deal so this is a big vote of confidence in a young goalkeeper, who spent 2024 as the second-choice for the Swedish top division club after signing from the third-tier. He made eight Allsvenskan appearances as a 21 year old and served as Alex Paulsen’s main backup during the Olympics. Easy to look at this move and hype up the depth of goalies that Aotearoa has at the moment... but this isn’t a depth situation. Kees Sims is playing at the best level of any of our current All Whites options (including Max Crocombe and Alex Paulsen). Surely he’s nudging close to a call-up for the March qualifiers – especially if they’re plotting with a potential 2026 World Cup squad in mind.
George Stanger is a bloke that’s been out of sight for a lot of kiwi fans but those of you who read Flying Kiwis will know he’s been in brilliant form this year with Ayr United in the Scottish second tier where they’re competing for possible promotion. Took him a few years and a couple clubs to find his feet after leaving Hamilton Academical yet he’s impressed at every step as he’s risen back up the divisions. Now, suddenly, there’s chat of him joining an English League One side this month. Most likely candidates appear to be Lincoln City or possibly Exeter City. We shall see. If Tyler Bindon leaves Reading (nothing new to report there) then we’ll still maintain our quota of NZ centre-backs in that division in that case... plus if Stanger does well then that’d surely open his All Whites possibilities. Stanger’s got six months left on his Ayr United contract so while it’d be a blow for them to lose him, they might want to cash a cheque while they still can.
Musical Jam...