Late Footwork
NZ Warriors & Kiwi-NRL, Trans-Tasman Throwdown basketball, NZers in A-Leagues, NZ-A cricket, Flying Kiwis football, and more
Scotty’s Word
NZ Warriors continue their three game tour of Australia on Saturday against Dragons. Here are some preview things...
Set Completion
Warriors: 1st - 82%
Dragons: 15th - 74%
Dragons have more dummy half running as a team but Wayde Egan is busier than Damien Cook...
Warriors: 7th - 79
Dragons: 2nd - 95
Wayde Egan: 75m/game, 4 offloads, 2 tries
Damien Cook: 59m/game, 1 offload
Lachlan Illias did most of the kicking for Dragons before being dropped and Dragons now have a Lyhkan King-Tongia/Kyle Flanagan halves combo. Flanagan did most of the kicking in the loss vs Tigers. While King-Tonga will probably kick more this round, NZW have better balance and kicking skills.
Dragons vs Tigers
Lyhkan King-Tongia: 3 kicks - 93m
Kyle Flanagan: 11 kick - 387m
Warriors vs Cowboys
Luke Metcalf: 8 kicks - 311m
Chanel Harris-Tavita: 12 kicks - 357m
Dragons have no forwards in the top-40 for post contact metres and only two in the top-50. NZW have Erin Clark, Jackson Ford and Mitchell Barnett in the top-30.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak returns on the wing and will offer more oomph in the first or second runs of a set.
Edward Kosi was hearty vs Cowboys as he carried an injury in the second half and with Taine Tuaupiki running into a settled defensive line, NZW struggled for metres. Tuaupiki should be more dynamic with Watene-Zelezniak running hard around the ruck and the different styles of runners could trouble Dragons. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has late footwork and sneaky power, Watene-Zelezniak runs it straight, Tuaupiki bounces around looking for gaps.
Here's Watene-Zelezniak's running mahi from last season compared to other wingers this season - not perfect because Adam Pompey has played in different positions but a useful gauge...
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak: 149m/game (2024)
Taine Tuaupiki: 124m/game
Adam Pompey: 119m/game
Edward Kosi: 132m/game
Threads Of Mana For New Zealand Warriors In NRL & Harold Matthews Cup
Autumn Exploration Of The 2025 Aotearoa Kiwis Mixer
Kiwi-NRL deep cuts...
Mal Meninga Cup grand final
Redcliffe: Patrick Kailahi (Hamilton Boys)
Burleigh: Antonio Verhoeven (Cobden Kohinoor), Disharne Tonihi (Shirley), Marley Igasan (Otumoetai)
Jirah Momoisea (St Paul's College) has crept into the Tigers system - named in the extended squad for Western Suburbs in NSW Cup.
Knights continue with Elijah Salesa-Leuamoana (Mangere East) and Francis Manuleleua (Papatoetoe) as their edge forwards in NSW Cup.
Knights also have Cullen Gray (Hikurangi) at fullback with Haami Loza (De La Salle College) and Ryder Williams (Marist) in the halves for Jersey Flegg Cup.
Bulldogs have promoted Kaawyn Patterson (Westlake Boys) from SG Ball Cup to Ron Massey Cup to play alongside Bronson Reuben (Kaiapoi).
Sosaia Alatini (Hornby) also moves up from SG Ball Cup to Jersey Flegg Cup to join Roy Tatupu (Mt Albert Grammar), Malachi Filipo (Mt Albert), Alekolasimi Jones (St Paul's College).
Siamani Leuluai (Mid-Northern) at centre for Raiders in Jersey Flegg Cup.
Dakota Kakoi (Linwood) and Javahn Stevenson-Hala (Palmerston North Boys) in the Eels Jersey Flegg Cup team.
Felix Fa'atili (Hornby), Richie Tupuailei (Hornby) and Ben Peni (Papatoetoe) named in the Sharks forward pack for Jersey Flegg Cup.
For paid subscribers and the Patreon whanau I zone in on the younger lads in the NZ Warriors pipeline with spotlights on Jason Salalilo and Joseph Ratcliffe. We have the Bonus Pod for the generous folk funding our mahi chatting through Tall Blacks/Ferns, NZ Warriors vs Dragons and NZ-A cricket. I also typed out a few more cricketing details for the NZ-A and County Championship stats below...
NZ-A vs Bangladesh A
Batting
Dale Phillips: 79 runs @ 39.5avg/127sr, 1 x 50
Dean Foxcroft: 72 runs @ 72avg/112sr, 1 x 50
Rhys Mariu: 42 runs @ 42avg/82sr
Mitch Hay: 42 runs @ 21avg/69sr
Josh Clarkson: 41 runs @ 20.5avg/73sr
Kristian Clarke: 39 runs @ 49avg/105sr
Nick Kelly: 14 runs @ 7avg/54sr
Adithya Ashok: 13 runs @ 13avg/144sr
Joe Carter: 13 runs @ 13avg/56sr
Zak Foulkes: 11 runs @ 11avg/58sr
Jayden Lennox: 10 runs @ 5avg/43sr
Bowling
Kristian Clarke: 15ov, 4w @ 25.2avg/6.7rpo
Dean Foxcroft: 6ov, 1w @ 26avg/4.3rpo
Adithya Asok: 8ov, 1w @ 45avg/5.6rpo
Zak Foulkes: 10ov, 1w @ 74avg/7.4rpo
Jayden Lennox: 18.2ov @ 4.4rpo
Josh Clarkson: 9ov @ 8.4rpo
Ben Lister: 5ov @ 8rpo
Muhammad Abbas: 3ov @ 7rpo
Dale Phillips: 3ov @ 7.6rpo
Kiwi County Tour
Suzie Bates
156 runs @ 39avg/84.3sr | 2w @ 15.5avg/10.3rpo
Ben Sears
30 runs @ 10avg/73sr | 7w @ 24.5avg/4.5rpo
Jacob Duffy
7 runs @ 1.7avg/20sr | 11w @ 32.6avg/4.2rpo
Brett Hampton
40 runs @ 13.3avg/69sr | 5w @ 46.4avg/4.2rpo
Logan van Beek
207 runs @ 34.5avg/53sr | 15w @ 29.2avg/3.4rpo
Blair Tickner
94 runs @ 31.3avg/47sr | 15w @ 32.6avg/3.6rpo
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
The Tall Blacks and the Tall Ferns both lost to Australia in their opening games of the Trans-Tasman Throwdown. But they also both showed plenty of spark. The women got within one point of the Aussies in the fourth quarter before Australia pulled away in the last six minutes. The lads led after the first and second quarters but Australia went on a run late in the third and gassed it to the win from there. Good signs though, especially with two very young squads involved.
The Tall Ferns went with a starting five of:
Ella Brow, Bailey Flavell, McKenna Dale, Esra McGoldrick, and Sharne Robati
Robati was the star of the first half, scoring 16 of NZ’s 30 points to that point. She then got limited to 19 points overall as Australia made some second-half adjustments but seeing her knock down a couple of triples and then score in the post as well was very enticing. Bringing that multi-level scoring to the show. Tegan Graham also had a really nice performance with 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals off the bench. She consistently found ways to remind everyone that she was there.
Ultimately, the Opals just had too much quality and depth for such an inexperienced Tall Ferns side to compete over 40 minutes but it was good to see them shoot 35% from deep against a team like that. Usually the outside shooting is the first thing that capitulates for the Ferns in their tougher outings but Robati, Dale, and Graham all made multiple threes. It was the 24 turnovers that spoiled them – lacking ball-handlers who are used to this level. Flavell and Pahlyss Hokianga got the most minutes in the guard positions and they’ve got a combined age of 35. Final score was 88-70, box score here.
As for the Tall Blacks, their starting five was:
Shea Ili, Kaia Isaac, Reuben Te Rangi, Walter Brown, and Tohi Smith-Milner
Great effort from them in the first half, especially defensively, with Ili and Te Rangi leading the way there of course. Te Rangi top-scored for NZ with 15 points so that’ll please the Breakers folks after they took a punt on him in free agency. Ili was very tightly guarded on attack, a sign of respect but what that meant was the TBs needed their younger/depth guys to nail some shots. And that didn’t happen.
Carlin Davison had a very tidy game showing off his athleticism and much-improved shooting with 11 points and 5 rebounds off the bench. But Kaia Isaac shot 1/11, Walter Brown shot 1/5, Taylor Britt shot 3/11, and Tohi Smith-Milner shot 3/10. As a team, they had shooting splits of 32% from the field and 21% from outside – although they did make 14/17 free throws. The Boomers had shot-makers throughout their squad, with Dejan Vasiljevic (23 points) and Elijah Pepper (15 points) both making five triples each. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s two best outside shooters in the original squad, Corey Webster and Flynn Cameron, were both out injured. Neither will play game two either, though Webster is a chance for game three in Hamilton. Final score was 80-68, box score here.
It was a double bummer for Walter Brown because earlier on the same day he was released by the Tasmania JackJumpers. It had been hinted by general manager Mika Vukona, in a radio interview a few weeks back, that was a possibility... Brown was supposed to go from development player to fully rostered this upcoming season but to be honest he probably hasn’t done enough to earn that – only playing less than fifty combined minutes across the last three seasons. What’s interesting about this development is that he’s been framed as: “Brown and the JackJumpers have mutually agreed to part ways to allow Brown to pursue other opportunities”. So there could be some rival NBL or overseas news on the horizon.
The Wellington Phoenix 2024-25 A-League Women’s Season In Review
Aotearoa Domestic Football Roundup – May 5
New Zealand Footballers Who’ve Won Trophies This Season
Vic Esson (Rangers) – Scottish League Cup champions
Marko Stamenic (Olympiacos) – Greek Super League champions
Oliver Colloty (Peterhead FC) – Scottish League Two champions
Grace Neville (London City Lionesses) – English Championship (second tier) champions
And over the next couple weeks there’ll be a few more opportunities to join them...
Vic Esson (Rangers) – Scottish Cup final and SWPL title race
Callum McCowatt (Silkeborg) – Danish Cup final
Marko Stamenic (Olympiacos) – Greek Cup final
Niko Kirwan (Calcio Padova) – Italian Serie C
Those are the main ones, anyway. Seems like this season it’s been a lot more about relegation battles than title hunting, following a couple of really glittering years. Malia Steinmetz’s team are into the Danish Cup final so she’d be on the list too if she weren’t injured. Also we’re in a good place with the A-Leagues. Three of the four teams left in the ALW have kiwi players (Claudia Bunge scored a match-winning double for Melbourne Victory in their first leg semi last week) and obviously Auckland FC are stacked with kiwis as they prepare for the finals hunt. Here are the relegation battlers from the wider Flying Kiwis stocks...
Avoided Relegation: Max Crocombe (Burton Albion)
Probably Avoiding Relegation: Dalton Wilkins (Sønderjyske), Ryan Thomas (PEC Zwolle), Matt Garbett (NAC Breda), Jana Niedermayr (Union Kleinmünchen), Lara Colpi (FC Thun Berner-Oberland), Ava Collins (Kolding)
Probably Getting Relegated: Ben Old (ASSE), Libby Cacace (Empoli), James McGarry (Kallithea), Kiara Bercelli (Sampdoria)
Already Relegated: Indi Riley (Crystal Palace), Maya Hahn & Suya Haering (Turbine Potsdam), Jacqui Hand & Olivia Page (Sheffield United)
The other thing to ponder is European qualification. Special mention to Andre De Jong and his Stellenbosch side after they made it to the semi-finals of the Confederation Cup in Africa (effectively their Europa League) and are now trying to get back there for next season. The North American leagues are working on a different timeline so it’s early days there. Jay Herdman (Cavalry) did get some Concacaf Champions Cup minutes (including a red card) a few months ago. Nothing currently relevant in Asia, especially not with Auckland FC ineligible for the Asian Champions League, or beyond.
But in Europe there is the massive deal of Chris Wood and Nottingham Forest trying to qualify for the Champions League. With three rounds to go, they’ve dropped to sixth following a few bad results. Even with an expanded fifth Premier League spot for UCL (and it’s all direct qualification to the league phase too) that’s got them into a tricky spot. However, Forest have two very winnable games (Leicester City & West Ham) followed by a shootout with Chelsea in the final round. Still very much in their hands. Even if they miss the top five, sixth place will get Europa League, as will seventh if Manchester City beat Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final. Assuming that EFL Cup winners Newcastle finish in the UCL or UEL spots, then there’ll also be a Conference League spot for the next highest league finisher. Forest are highly unlikely to finish any lower than seventh so they’ll be getting something for their troubles.
Remember Chris Wood might be joined by Tyler Bindon and Marko Stamenic next season at NFFC. Bindon is more likely, whereas Stamenic may need another year out on loan. If so, that might be to another English club... or it might be a mooted return to Crvena Zvezda which would mean Champions League qualifiers once again for Stammy.
Callum McCowatt’s Silkeborg will have Europa League qualifiers if they can beat FC Copenhagen to defend their Danish Cup title in a few weeks. If not, they’re still in contention for the Conference League via the Danish playoffs, supposing they can hold their current position over the remaining couple of rounds. Joe Bell and Viking FK have already earned Conference League qualifiers by virtue of their third place finish in Norway last year. And Zac Jones and Haverfordwest County are in the Welsh playoffs for a Conference League spot themselves. Again, transfers could add to the collection too - with fellas like Liberato Cacace and Matt Garbett likely to seek transfers which, at a best case scenario, could put them in the European mix.
On the women’s side, the main tournament for the Champions League is notoriously hard to get into these days but Vic Esson and Rangers will have a crack if they finish top two, while Katie Bowen and Inter Milan have already booked that opportunity with a second-placed effort in Italy. That’s assuming both re-sign with those clubs. Malia Steinmetz would have a chance at FC Nordsjaelland if she recovers from her ACL tear in record time. Other than that, it’s an outside bet but Kate Taylor and Dijon FCO are into the semis of the French competition. Make the final (by beating Lyon) and they’ll get automatic UCL entry. Win the third-place playoff and they’ll get a spot in the qualifiers. And there’s also the exciting addition of the Women’s Europa Cup – meaning that some of those who lose in UCL quals can drop into that competition like what happens with the blokes.
Musical Jam...
