Loose Boots
Warriors vs Storm notes, Macey Fraser in NWSL, Tall Blacks squad, Flying Kiwis transfer tracker, emerging Blackcaps talent, Chatham/Kate Sheppard Cup & more
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Reading Menu
Anatomy Of New Zealand's 2024 T20 World Cup Shambles (Cricket)
White Ferns Tour Of England Preview (Cricket)
New Zealand's 10 Best Young Cricketers After The Summer Of 2023/24 (Cricket)
How Wellington Became 2023/24 Plunket Shield Champions (Cricket)
2023/24 Plunket Shield: Second Stanza Youngster Report (Cricket)
Reflecting On The Wellington Phoenix Women’s First Crop Of Import Players (Football)
Macey Fraser Signs With Utah Royals: A Unique Journey, A Record Fee & Wellington Phoenix Pathways (Football)
The Wellington Phoenix A-League Women’s 2023-24 Season In Review (Football)
What Comes Next For The Wellington Phoenix Blokes After Their Best Ever A-League Season? (Football)
The Rise and Rise and Rise of Alex Paulsen, From Wellington Phoenix to AFC Bournemouth (Football)
The Flying Kiwis 2024 Mid-Year Transfer Window Preview (Football)
Picking One Intriguing Player From Every NZ NBL Team (Basketball)
Previewing The Tall Blacks’ 2024 Olympic Qualifying Campaign (Basketball)
The Breakers Are No Longer Coached By Mody Maor (Basketball)
Scotty’s Word
Pesky loss for NZ Warriors vs Storm. Unfortunately for NZW and the Mt Smart faithful, this loss featured a bunch of senior players making poor errors as well as a clunky switch in how the halves play. This loss highlighted the weakness of NZW as their smaller, mobile forward pack was beaten up by Storm, specifically when it started raining and the Nelson Asofa-Solomona/Christian Welch duo entered the game.
A few Aussie teams have come to Mt Smart and won, especially when it's raining. Crappy Aotearoa conditions should help NZW but their style of forward pack, along with how they shift the footy, isn't as useful in the wet. Despite the niggly matchup with Storm, NZW found themselves with plenty of opportunities to break the hoodoo but the senior players fumbled those key moments.
Tohu Harris and Shaun Johnson had play-the-ball errors in the first half. In the second half, Marata Niukore's try was ruled out with Wayde Egan and Jazz Tevaga loitering in the defensive line (happens too much for NZW - decoy execution is just as important as catch/pass). Dylan Walker then rolled Shawn Blore onto his head to concede a penalty straight after the Niukore no try…
Te Maire Martin soon puts a kick out on the full, then Marcelo Montoya is sin-binned straight after. Shaun Johnson later kicks dead and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is sin-binned straight after. NZW had a whiff of a comeback late in the game and Mitchell Barnett offloads to the Storm.
Silly errors, bad errors, all sorts of errors from the leaders. This is especially juicy considering that the young/emerging players stepped up to win games in the weeks prior, which makes ya ponder.
One nugget stands out…
Johnson has a 27% win rate this season with three wins, seven losses and a draw. Johnson has played in all seven NZW losses this season. Keep in mind that kiwi media headlines are all about Johnson. When he isn’t playing it’s all about what happens when he comes back, and when he’s available he is treated like a saviour. Nothing about Johnson's mahi this season suggests he's that important but I'll chill out before suggesting he may be detrimental.
There was a different attacking structure with Johnson back in the team. Against Cowboys, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad played on the right with Chanel Harris-Tavita on the left with Martin steering the ship on both sides of the ruck. Martin stayed in that role vs Storm but Nicoll-Klokstad moved to the left and Johnson played wider than usual, on the right.
These are big changes to make week to week. Here are the stats for how the halves played in the last two games...
Cowboys
Te Maire Martin: 66 receipts, 10 runs, 16 kicks, 87.5% tackling
Chanel Harris-Tavita: 38 receipts, 5 runs, 9 kicks, 94.1% tackling
Storm
Te Maire Martin: 57 receipts, 12 runs, 8 kicks, 85% tackling
Shaun Johnson: 41 receipts, 8 runs, 9 kicks, 85% tackling
No major takeaways from that, just information for ya.
Here is another Tamaki Makaurau vs Aotearoa update. I have named lots of players in the 'squad' bit to add more lads into the mix, which would be cool if this concept was rolled out because all the Kiwi-NRL lads would come together and share experience/mana. This also shows which players would provide cover for injuries/suspensions as I'm assuming availability when selected the teams...
Tamaki Makaurau
Fullback: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
Wingers: Ronaldo Mulitalo, Deine Mariner
Centres: Matthew Timoko, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Halves: Shaun Johnson, Kieran Foran
Middles: Moses Leota, Jason Taumalolo, Naufahu Whyte
Edges: Isaiah Papali'i, Marata Niukore
Bench: Keano Kini, Erin Clark, Braden Hamlin-Uele, Josh Aloiai
Squad: Chanel Harris-Tavita, Connelly Leumuelu, Kenny Bromwich, Raymond Faitala-Mariner, Toafofoa Sipley, Jazz Tevaga, Kelma Tuilagi, Fetalaiga Pauga, Sitili Tupouniua, Ata Mariota, Josiah Karapani, Michael Chee Kam, Christian Tuipulotu, Bunty Afoa, Tom Ale
Aotearoa
Fullback: Taine Tuaupiki
Wingers: Jamayne Isaako, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
Centres: Rocco Berry, Joseph Manu
Halves: Jahrome Hughes, Dylan Brown
Middles: James Fisher-Harris, Joseph Tapine, Nelson Asofa-Solomona
Edges: Briton Nikora, Jordan Riki
Hooker: Jeremy Marshall-King
Bench: Kodi Nikorima, Leo Thompson, Griffin Neame, Xavier Willison
Squad: Te Maire Martin, Tohu Harris, Wiremu Greig, Will Warbrick, Daejarn Asi, Makahesi Makatoa, Fa'amanu Brown, Bailey Simonsson, Preston Riki
You may have seen a few domestic cricket yarns in the Reading Menu above. This is because I’m fairly chuffed with the young talent in the Blackcaps pipeline and I have observed how many folks live in the past with Blackcaps or don’t want to move forward. This escalated with the reaction to Neil Wagner’s retirement despite two young seamers hitting 140km/h entering the Test team, steady speculation about bringing Colin Munro into the T20 team, and lots of ‘golden era’ chat in recent days.
Aotearoa is flush with cricketing talent. From Rachin Ravindra gathering Blackcaps experience alongside Glenn Phillips, to hefty stable of funk seam talents (Ben Sears, Will O’Rourke, Ben Lister, Nathan Smith, Zak Foulkes, Matt Fisher, Kristian Clarke - Kyle Jamieson and Henry Shipley if they can get healthy) and a variety of quality batters such as Tim Robinson, Gareth Severin, Dale Phillips, Curtis Heaphy etc.
These youngsters aren’t just good kiwi cricketers, they have quirky skills and styles. All of which has been covered every summer in our domestic cricket yarns so there are no excuses for not knowing. Despite the ugh Blackcaps, now isn’t the time for negativity and like NZW; maybe the youngsters are just better?
Kiwi lads in T20 Blast...
Cameron Fletcher: 59 runs @ 29avg/128sr
Tom Bruce: 89 runs @ 145avg/107sr
Will Young: 56 runs @ 9avg/77sr
Ben Lister: 6w @ 31avg/8.1rpo
Nathan Smith: 103 runs @ 26avg/124sr | 6w @ 36avg/8.3rpo
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
There’s not a heap going on in the Flying Kiwis realms these days, at least not on the pitch. There is a transfer window that’s already shaping to be a massive one for kiwi footballers, plus the All Whites do kick off their Nations Cup campaign tomorrow afternoon. Libby Cacace will be suspended for that game because of his baffling red card against Tunisia last time the AWs were in action, while Tommy Smith won’t be available until game two. No dramas there. They face the Solomon Islands who lost 1-0 to hosts Vanuatu in their first game (NZ had a bye because New Caledonia were unable to attend due to newsworthy events).
But yeah not a heap of club games happening these days. However, what is happening at the club level is pretty fantastic. Check out Flying Kiwis tomorrow for yarns and highlights of Ollie Whyte and Gabi Rennie scoring goals. Also for the story of how Malia Steinmetz and FC Nordsjælland were able to clinch the Danish league title with a dramatic draw against Brøndby in the final game of the season. They’ll have a chance to make it a double next week when they finish their campaign against the same opponents in the Danish Cup final. Either way, we get to add to this list...
Flying Kiwis Trophy Winners (2023-24)
Malia Steinmetz (FC Nordsjælland) – Danish Kvindeliga
Marko Stamenic (Red Star Belgrade) – Serbian SuperLiga & Serbian Cup
Victoria Esson (Rangers) – Scottish Cup & League Cup
Callum McCowatt (Silkeborg) – Danish Cup
Matt Dibley-Dias (Fulham U21s) – Premier League Cup
Maya Hahn & Suya Haering (Turbine Potsdam) – German Bundesliga 2
Alex Greive (Dundee United) – Scottish Championship
Ria Percival (Crystal Palace) – English Championship
Dalton Wilkins (Sønderjyske) – Danish Division 1
Oscar Obel-Hall (Esbjerg fB) - Danish Division 2
Andre De Jong (Stellenbosch) – South African Knockout Cup
Erin Nayler (Bayern Munich) – German Bundesliga
Also, I had to take a pause from writing this email for a couple of hours to watch Macey Fraser’s starting debut in the NWSL. Her third appearance for Utah Royals but her first in the walk-on eleven. She played a full game as the Royals broke a 10-game winless streak (and 6-game losing streak) to beat fellow expansion side Bay FC 1-0 away from home. The Macey Fraser Effect got an instant application. That’s why they spent the big bucks on her.
Fraser was excellent. The physicality of the NWSL is going to take more getting used to – she did get shouldered to the turf by Racheal Kundananji at one stage – but that’s to be expected. Beyond that she’s running around with energy, she’s distributing the ball with a superb touch, and is getting involved in the attacking areas too. A couple of slick crosses in this one, including one that ended up leading to the free kick that they scored their very late winner from. A couple of shots off target from distance. She won five tackles. Completed her passes at 83%. Popped up all over the pitch.
She was one of Utah’s best players in this game and if she’s already hitting these levels after less than 150 minutes of action then there’s a lot more to look forward to. Here’s a screenshot of her tying her shoelaces after someone stepped on her heel while she was challenging for a header and she jumped clean out of her right boot...
We’ve had news on the Tall Blacks front. As had become inevitable, Hyrum Harris’ knee injury for Wellington Saints will keep him out of Olympic qualifying with Dan Fotu called up in his place as the closest thing to a like-for-like positional replacement in the wider squad. Taylor Britt’s form might have gotten him some consideration but they’d already picked their guard rotation so Fotu made the most sense (the other three players in the non-travelling bracket who could have been called up were: Sam Mennenga, Taine Murray & Sam Timmins).
They gave Harris all the time they could to recover but the lads are jetting off in a couple of days to Finland, where they’ll play warm-up games against Finland and Poland at the end of the month. Then at the start of July they’ll have the big test in Greece. Olympic qualifiers. We’ve got Croatia and Slovenia in our initial group, then if we win one of those games then we’ll progress to the semis to face either: Greece, Egypt, or Dominican Republic. Gotta win the whole tournament to get the one Paris 2024 spot that’s on the line.
Keep in mind that both Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) have said that they want to play these games. Doncic is still battling away in the NBA Finals (for at least one more game) with numerous injuries so it could be that his Dallas Mavericks team can talk him out of that. If they don’t, well, Ross McMains is on the coaching staff for the Boston Celtics getting day to day insights on Luka’s game and he’s been going to be on Pero Cameron’s bench for these qualifiers. That’s as good of a scout as we’re going to get.
Tall Blacks confirmed roster for Olympic Qualifying:
Flynn Cameron, Finn Delany, Dan Fotu, Ben Gold, Tyrell Harrison, Shea Ili, Izayah Le’Afa, Jordan Ngatai, Ethan Rusbatch, Reuben Te Rangi, Tom Vodanovich, Sam Waardenburg, Corey Webster & Yanni Wetzell.
Flying Kiwis Transfer Tracker
The weekend has brought plenty of news, beginning with the ladies in Denmark because while Malia Steinmetz was busy winning the Kvindeliga, Daisy Cleverley was playing her last game for HB Koge. Prior to HBK’s 1-0 win over Fortuna Hjorring (not quite enough to get them Champions League qualification), it had been announced that ten players would be leaving afterwards. Cleverley was one of them as her contract came to an end – with her coach suggesting that she and a few others would prefer to find gigs where they could get more regular game-time. Her teammate Claudia Bunge was not on that list, suggesting that CB’s got at least one more year on her deal (she’s been at the club one less year than Clev so that adds up).
The irony of that is Cleverley has been playing way more than Bunge lately. Bunge has not gotten a minute since March... though the impending departure of Georgia Eaton-Collins probably clears a path for Bunge to return to the starting eleven next season. Hopefully so. Ally Green is in a similar situation of having entirely lost her spot at AGF during the last couple months but she was also not amongst her club’s listed departures. Seems like she’ll be staying too.
Thus Daisy Cleverley will be joining the free agent crew... a collection of individuals that also includes Meikayla Moore after she was somewhat surprisingly released by Glasgow City after two seasons at the club. Moore was one of GC’s better players throughout what was admittedly a disappointing campaign (finishing a distant third in their unsuccessful title defence to miss Champions League qualification)... though it could also be the case that Moore chose to leave for personal reasons or for a better offer elsewhere. We shall see how it unfolds.
Some notable overseas free agents:
Daisy Cleverley, Meikayla Moore, Sarpreet Singh, Anna Leat, Nik Tzanev, Alex Greive, Ria Percival, and Jacqui Hand
That’s not including a hectic list of A-Leaguers either, which includes the likes of Hannah Wilkinson, Grace Jale, Kate Taylor, Grace Wisnewski, and Hannah Blake... all of whom could feasibly end up with overseas gigs. At least a couple of them surely will.
Additionally, Katie Bowen signed a 1+1 deal with Inter Milan a year ago. Given what a key player she was for them, it’d be a shock if they didn’t take up that option – though they may not actually announce it if they do. No news is good news on this account.
Domestic Football Roundup
It was a cup weekend across Aotearoa and in the Kate Sheppard Cup that meant turning sixteen teams into eight teams. We’re getting deep into the draw here, people. Last year’s champs, Western Springs, are lingering in the league but they charged on into the quarters of the KSC with a 5-0 win over Hibiscus Coast. Five different goal scorers and three of them were aged 17 or younger: Cleo Carmichael, Sienna Vercauteren, and Maia Lythe.
We’re still in the regional phases until next round so that meant local rivalries across the board. Eastern Suburbs hosted Auckland United in another NRFL Prem clash... AU walking away with a 4-0 victory there. Granted, two of those goals were scored inside the final ten minutes (including one from Ruby Nathan). It was Rene Wasi’s double (24’, 55’) that set this result on its course. Similarly, West Coast Rangers scored early through Shannon Henson (7’) against Ellerslie, then ended up winning 3-0 after Bree Johnson added a couple more. And big congrats to Franklin United whose 4-1 win over Northern Rovers makes them the only team outside the top tier of each regional league to have advanced to the final eight. Sarah Carpenter scored a double within that win. Interesting to see Britney Cunningham-Lee now playing for Franklin after a number of years with Ellerslie scoring bundles of goals.
In the Central region, the Wellington Phoenix Reserves picked a strong team for what ended up being a comfortable 4-0 win away against Petone. Ella McCann scored twice in the first half while Manaia Elliott scored twice in the second half. Aimee Danieli, Daisy Brazendale, Olivia Ingham, and Ella McMillan all started. Things were much closer as Palmerston North Marist faced Waterside Karori. PN Marist took the lead after ten minutes through Melissa McKenna and it wasn’t until late that a Nikki Furukawa brace turned things around for the Wharfies. Equaliser on 74’, winner on 80’ as Waterside Karori advanced with a 2-1 scoreline.
Otago University and Dunedin City Royals needed extra time after a goalless ninety. Otago Uni took the lead on 95’ but immediately conceded again and then ended up losing 2-1 thanks to a 118th minute winner from Katie Lewis. And that was a lot closer than the Cashmere Technical vs Nelson Suburbs game... which went into the books as a 7-0 win for Cashy Tech. Aimee Phillips scored twice, as did Annalie Longo. Yes, Annalie Longo is putting in the winter work back in Canterbury.
Over to the Chatham Cup, the moment of the round was surely when Manurewa scored in extra time to beat Auckland United on Friday night. Not only because of the 117th minute drama of it all... but also because it was their bloody goalkeeper that did the deed. Vadym Patkevych is a 20yo gloveman originally from Ukraine who is back after spending a year in the academy of Radnički 1923 over in Serbia. He is NZ-eligible because he was part of U17s identification camps a few years back. Here are some highlights if you’re curious. Anyway, Ben Wallace (77’) had scored to cancel out Eber Ramirez’s (46’) earlier goal to force extra time. It was windy and it was rainy. Three minutes until penalties. Normally spot kicks are the keeper’s time to shine but Patkevych was impatient so he punted the ball forward out of his hands and it bounced and hovered over the AU goalie’s head and dropped into the net. 2-1 to Manurewa.
There was also extra time required as Western Springs hosted Eastern Suburbs in an enticing fixture. Finn McKenlay was amongst the goals for Subs fresh from his call-up to the NZ U19s squad but Reid Drake ended up scoring the one that mattered most in the 109th minute of the match. Western Springs advanced with a 3-2 victory. Auckland City had a tougher time than expected in getting past Hamilton Wanderers with a 2-1 win. Liam Gillion scored early (15’) before Angus Kilkolly extended the lead (53’) but 15yo Luke Brooke-Smith pulled one back for Wanderers to make it frisky (63’). Brooke-Smith is also a national youth champion BMX rider. Meanwhile Cambridge FC made some history with a 2-1 upset win away to Bay Olympic which makes them the lowest-tiered club still in the hat. Taupo United were hanging in there but they lost 4-0 to Hibiscus Coast. Also, Melville United took a 3-1 victory off Tauranga City with Lucca Lim scoring twice. Those Melville fellas know how to turn it up for the cup.
A brace from Alexander Smith means that Onehunga Mangere remain in the mix after a 3-1 win away against Ellerslie. Central United might have had thoughts of an upset when tied scoreless at the break against Birkenhead but they ended up losing 4-0 so never mind. That means that three of the last eight Northern clubs are from outside the Northern League: Onehunga Mangere, Hibiscus Coast, and Cambridge.
Contrast that with all eight of the remaining Central Region sides being from the top division. The most fascinating tie was Wellington Olympic vs Western Suburbs... though it didn’t turn out that way. Wests left out most of their imports, by the look of it, while Olympic did that thing that they do where they’re overwhelming from minute one. Joel Coustrain got things going with a double as they went 4-0 up after only 31 minutes. Finished as a 5-0 victory for the Greeks. There was extra time drama between Petone and Stop Out. It was 1-1 at half-time, then Stop Out scored on 77’ to take the lead before Petone equalised on 83’ to take it to extras. Petone took the ascendency with a goal on 94’. Stop Out equalised from the penalty spot on 105’. 3-3 was the final score and Stop Out went on to claim it on penalties.
In other news, Miramar Rangers knocked Waterside Karori out via a 1-0 win with Martin Bueno scoring the only goal. And Napier City Rovers rode an 85th minute Liam Schofield goal to beat North Wellington 2-1 despite Jonny McNamara being sent off early in the second half.
Finally, down south the two top dawgs have already been eliminated so there’s room for everyone else. That includes Otago University whose 2-1 win away to Northern AFC puts them into the last sixteen in the nation despite not being a Southern League club. Tyler Muir scored on 84’ to give Northern some hope of a comeback then got sent off on 85’ to extinguish that hope. Coastal Spirit stayed alive with a 1-0 win over Nomads. No surprises that Alejandro Steinwascher got the goal. Ferrymead Bays sent FC Nelson out with a 3-1 win. And Roslyn Wakari were no match for Dunedin City Royals who won 6-0 in that tie. The draw for the next round of both cups takes place tomorrow afternoon.
New Earth Tongue album is out now so if you dig that gritty psych rock as much as I do then here’s a Musical Jam to whet the appetite and then some...