Lucrative Upgrades
NRLWahine Week One, Warriors Bits & Bobs, FIBA U19 World Cup, Blackcaps, Wellington Phoenix, Houston Rockets, and plenty more
Scotty’s Word
NRLWahine debuts in round one…
Jaydika Tafua: Sharks - Papanui
Martha Mataele: Eels - Marist Albion RU
Simina Lokotui: Bulldogs - Mangere East
Moana Courtenay: Bulldogs - North Shore RU
Shaquaylah Mahakitau-Monschau: Bulldogs - Waitakere College/St Peter's Cambridge
Shaniece Monschau: Bulldogs - Mt Albert
Kerri Johnson: Broncos - Kaikohe RU
Terina Te Tamaki: Tigers - Hamilton
Pia Tapsell: Dragons - East Coast Bays RU
Trinity Tauaneai: Dragons - Wainuiomata
Michaela Brake: Warriors - Clifton RU
Tysha Ikenasio: Warriors - Richmond
Payton Takimoana: Warriors - Mt Maunganui
Patricia Maliepo: Warriors - Marist RU
Shakira Baker: Warriors - Eketehuna RU
Kaiyah Atai: Warriors - Richmond
Lydia Turua-Quedley: Warriors - Richmond
Maarire Puketapu: Warriors - Te Aroha
Ashlee Matapo: Warriors - Ponsonby RU
NRLWahine Bits and bobs...
Alexis Tauaneai moving from middle forward to edge with Bulldogs.
Trinity Tauaneai to debut for Dragons at 18-years-old. Younger sister Paige is starting edge forward in NSW Women's Premiership.
Bulldogs enter NRLW with eight players from NZ in the top-1, Warriors return to NRLW with 14 players from NZ.
Tenika Willison settling at centre with Knights.
Rosie Kelly moving from centre to halves with Cowboys. Kiwi Ferns coach Ricky Henry is Cowboys coach so this is a double whammy boost to Kiwi Ferns halves depth.
Halves selected: Ash Quinlan, Shaquaylah Mahakitau-Monschau, Gayle Broughton, Raecene McGregor, Rosie Kelly, Patricia Maliepo.
Cheyelle Robins-Reti is selected at fullback for Raiders, filling the hole left by Apii Nicholls. All five outside backs for Raiders are from Aotearoa.
Wingers selected: Martha Mataele, Kerri Johnson, Terina Te Tamaki, Madison Bartlett, Isabella Waterman, Michaela Brake, Payton Takimoana.
Centres selected: Annessa Biddle, Simina Lokotui, Moana Courtenay, Shanice Parker, Tenika Willison, Mele Hufanga, Leianne Tufuga, Mackenzie Wiki, Abigail Roache, Tysha Ikenasio.
All The NRLWahine Named In 2025 NRLW Round Tahi
Warriors wahine start in Sydney on Sunday at 1:50pm vs Roosters. I'm hopeful of an upset win but Roosters are defending champs and have lots of high quality Aussie talent, so this will be an interesting gauge of where NZWW are at as well as how women's rugby league in NZ stacks up to Australia.
Having Michaela Brake on the wing gives NZWW speed and we are seeing once again the value of speed as the blokes have returned to being slow in recent weeks.
Emily Curtain is starting halfback. I've previewed this in the lead up to round tahi and she has cult-hero Aussie potential.
Patricia Maliepo is the only spine player who hasn't played rugby league. Apii Nicholls is fulback, Curtain in the halves and Capri Paekau at hooker - all three have played NRLW. Lydia Turua-Quedley is the bench utility and she is a Cook Islands international.
Harata Butler is the forward pack leader and that's amplified by the absence of Mya Hill-Moana. Butler should shine in this role.
Tyra Wetere is part of the extended squad and she is a 19-year-old who is part of the halves depth. Turua-Quedley is probably the next in line behind Curtain/Maliepo but Wetere's presence on the extended bench suggests she is in the mix as an exciting play-maker.
Temple Kalepo is named to make his NRL debut for Cowboys vs Storm on Saturday night as a hooker coming off the bench. The Ellerslie junior started with NZW and had a stint with Recliffe-Warriors before joining Knights. Kalepo moved up to North Queensland ahead of last summer as part of the Cowboys mix and has been playing for Makcay Cutters in Queensland Cup.
Kalepo is mainly a hooker but he has started a couple games as a middle forward this season and has a similar style to Taniela Otukolo, who is covering both positions for Bulldogs in NSW Cup. He played 1st 15 for Kings College as a winger/midfielder and also featured for Tonga A vs NZ-A in 2023 so there's a decent chance he adds to Tonga's depth.
One more Kiwi-NRL deep cut: Sangstar Figota is named at centre for Dolphins in NRLQ.
Figota is a Marist junior who was initially recruited by Roosters but shifted to Dolphins earlier this year. He was already at Wavell State High School in Brisbane so he was close to Dolphins and is playing U20s while still at school.
Below are all the NZW bits and bobs I posted online yesterday for those of you wise enough not to be scrolling the social medias. I offer a few blurbs about the major NZW matters and also roll through some NSW Cup/U21 things for the generous folks funding our mahi in the Patreon whanau or with paid Substack subs.
NZ Warriors bits and bobs...
Luke Metcalf has not played more than 15 NRL and NSW Cup games combined in a year (NSW Cup | NRL)...
2018: 1 | -
2019: 2 | -
2020: 1 | -
2021: 9 | 6 (15)
2022: 13 | 1 (14)
2023: 1 | 12 (13)
2024: 2 | 7 (9)
2025: - | 15
Chanel Harris-Tavita has played 15+ NRL games in 3 consecutive seasons. 5 tries, 13 try assists, 221.4 kick metres/game this season are all career-highs for Harris-Tavita.
Metcalf has played 41 NRL games at 26yrs and Tanah Boyd has played 69 games at 24yrs.
Metcalf has 66.6% kicking conversion in NRL this year, Boyd has 80.5% kicking conversion in NSW Cup.
Boyd has won all of his 13 NSW Cup games this season...
1 try, 13 try assists, 68m/game, 300.5 kick metres/game, 87.8% tackling
NZ Warriors halves map from last weekend...
NRL starters: Luke Metcalf, Chanel Harris-Tavita
NRL squad: Te Maire Martin (bench), Tanah Boyd (18th)
NSW Cup: Jett Cleary (U21), Luke Hanson (U21)
Jersey Flegg Cup: Jack Thompson (U19), Maui Winitana-Patelesio (U19)
NZW are 9-9 during State of Origin period in 2 Andys era - no clear advantage.
NRL Warriors after round 17 in 2 Andys era...
2023: 5th | 9-6
2024: 13th | 7-8-1
2025: 4th | 10-5
NSW Cup Warriors after round 17 in 2 Andys era...
2023: 6th | 8-7-1
2024: 3rd | 10-5-1
2025: 1st | 15-1
Te Maire Martin minutes coming off the bench this season: 23, 19, 7, 20, 16, 33, 41, 51
Leka Halasima has started 8 games at edge forward and come off the bench in 7 games. 4 of his 6 tries were scored in games coming off the bench. He has a tackle break in every game this year and his tackling efficiency has increased from 84.7% last year to 93.2% this year.
Demitric Vaimauga has played 30+ minutes in 3 consecutive games vs Sharks, Panthers, Broncos - first time that's happened this season. Tackling has increased with each NRL season: 90.9%, 93.1%, 96.3%.
Jacob Laban played 30+ minutes for the first time this season vs Sharks and has stayed above 50mins in last 3 games: 50mins, 71mins, 58mins.
Rocco Berry's tackling efficiency is trending down in 5 NRL seasons: 92.4%, 90.4%, 90.5%, 91.3%, 85.2%.
NSW Cup Warriors are 15-1. Only team with more than 12 wins after 26-4 win vs Sea Eagles.
Taine Tuaupiki vs Sea Eagles: 27 runs - 257m @ 9.5m/run, 2 linebreak assists, 1 try assist, 13 tackle breaks, 4 offloads, 2 kicks, 3 tackles @ 75%.
Samuel Healey in NSW Cup...
2023: 12 games, 5 tries, 4 try assists, 9 offloads, 58m/game, 94.9% tackling
2024: 26 games, 8 tries, 4 try assists, 22 offloads, 56m/game, 94.2% tackling
2025: 11 games, 2 tries, 3 try assists, 19 offloads, 92m/game, 96.3% tackling
U21s who played in NSW Cup win vs Sea Eagles: Sio Kali, Luke Hanson, Jett Cleary, Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea, Kayliss Fatialofa, Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, Jason Salalilo, Harry Durbin, Makaia Tafua.
Eddie Ieremia-Toeava has played 80mins in 11 of 13 NSW Cup games this year - 70+ mins in every game. 42 games of NSW Cup all up.
Kayliss Fatialofa has played 80mins in 13 of 16 games this year. 24 games all up.
Makaia Tafua has played 24 games of NSW Cup while still eligible for U21s.
Jason Salalilo vs Sea Eagles: 36mins, 12 runs - 145m @ 12m/run, 3 tackle breaks, 26 tackles @ 96%
Salalilo minutes this season: 15, 35, 32,40, 36, 36, 24, 28, 38, 33, 36
Luke Hanson has played 30 games of NSW Cup while still eligible for U21s...
2024: 18 games, 5 tries, 11 try assists, 4 offloads, 66m/game, 90.4% tackling
2025: 12 games, 6 tries, 13 try assists, 5 offloads, 77m/game, 97.2% tackling
Sio Kali basics...
2023: 4 games of U19s
2024: 3 games of U19s, 4 games of U21s, 7 games of NSW Cup
2025: 1 game of U21s, 3 games of NSW Cup
Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea has been starting prop in his two games of NSW Cup this season: 29mins and 44mins. Also played 13 games of U21s this year.
Beyond the paywall I have listed the batting stats for some Blackcaps bowlers. Here’s some other Blackcaps stuff that is probably more useful for your cricketing yarns…
Tom Latham vs Henry Nicholls in County Championship
Latham: 485 runs @ 53.8avg/46.6sr, 1 x 100, 4 x 50
Nicholls: 176 runs @ 16avg/41sr
Tim Robinson scores for Northamptonshire: 43, 17, 55
Mitchell Santner round up
IPL: 40 runs @ 20avg/121.2sr | 10w @ 31.3avg/7.9rpo
T20 Blast: 29 runs @ 14.5avg/111.5sr | 13w @ 11.3avg/6.9rpo
T20I bowling since start of 2024: 15w @ 28.2avg/7.2rpo
2024 Test bowling: 27w @ 19.9avg/3rpo
2025 ODI bowling: 18w @ 25.5avg/4.5rpo
Finn Allen round up
T20I since start of 2024: 505 runs @ 31.5avg/177.8sr - 1st
2024/25 BBL: 181 runs @ 18.1avg/184.5sr - 3rd for Perth
MLC: 328 runs @ 46.8av/227.7sr - 1st in MLC
PSL: 213 runs @ 23.6avg/171.7sr
Blackcaps with 100+ T20I runs and 150+ strike-rates...
Finn Allen: 1,285 runs @ 163.2sr
Craig McMillan: 187 runs @ 159.8sr
Colin Munro: 1,724 runs @ 156.4sr
Jimmy Neesham: 955 runs @ 152.3sr
Aaron Redmond: 126 runs @ 150sr
Funky Movers From The First Round Of 2025/26 Domestic Cricket Contracts
Breaking Down The Blackcaps T20I Squad For Tri-Series In Zimbabwe
The Basics For Players Entering The 2025/26 Domestic Cricket Contract Tier (First Round)
First NZ-A vs England A women's T20 starts tonight. Here are some things I'm curious about...
Izzy Sharp scored 29 runs @ 9.6avg/59sr in the one-dayers. Had her best Super Smash season with her first 50+ T20 score last summer and scored 25 runs @ 104.1sr with two not-outs in three T20Is vs Sri Lanka.
Emma McLeod scored 77 runs @ 25.6avg/69sr in the one-dayers. T20 is her weaker format as she seems to take her time in building innings and she hasn’t done much in Super Smash (13avg/67sr).
Which batting spinner steps up to command future selection? Jess Watkin, Nensi Patel and Flora Devonshire are the main players in this mix. Here's how they went in the one-dayers...
Watkin: 61 runs @ 20.3avg/87sr | 23ov, 3w @ 38avg/4.9rpo
Patel: 10 runs @ 5avg/33sr | 13.ov, 1w @ 69avg/5rpo
Devonshire: 59 runs @ 19.6avg/125sr | 13ov, 1w @ 82avg/6.3rpo
Georgia Plimmer's T20 batting improvement...
Super Smash averages by season: 2avg, 12avg, 16.3avg, 46.7avg
T20I batting by year...
2022: 7.2avg/85sr
2023: 15.7avg/84sr
2024: 18.8avg/104.8sr
2025: 19.4avg/108.9sr
Musical jam...
Wildcard’s Notebook
The FIBA U19 World Cup continues and New Zealand is into the quarter-finals. They lost to Serbia in their last group stage game, slipping up defensively in the fourth quarter and getting caught in foul trouble. They had a few phases during the round of sixteen game against China where the same trip-ups were evident. Especially the whistles (refs are usually pretty strict in these types of tournaments). But the depth and class of the kiwi side saw them through to a 99-86 victory, holding off several surges by the Chinese along the way. They were only one point up late in the fourth with China missing two attempts to take the lead... then Jackson Ball hit a three with 2:01 remaining followed by an and-one from Tama Isaac and a big dunk from Carter Hopoi and next thing NZ had ended on a 12-0 run.
Tama Isaac struggled to score inside throughout the game, often charging into traffic against the stretchy Chinese paint protectors... but he was brilliant in other ways knocking down three triples and dishing up eight assists. He top scored with 18 points though that only made him one of six kiwis to score in double digits in this game. Hayden Jones (16), Carter Hopoi (13), Jackson Ball (12), Lachlan Crate (12), and Julius Halaifonua (10) also got amongst that party. Nobody has scored 20+ for NZ at this tournament yet. Such a well-balanced side.
Halaifonua was limited to 11 mins due to foul trouble. He’s fouled out in consecutive games and hasn’t really been able to put his stamp on the tournament yet. Nor Oscar Goodman who has also had a lot of foul trouble. Those are two powerful dudes who play very hard and haven’t been given much wiggle room with the whistles. But that’s not been an issue because Carter Hopoi has been awesome off the bench throughout. Hopoi was +22 in his 24 mins. Dude supplies some righteous dunks too. That’s one of the funkiest traits of this squad along with Jackson Ball’s spin move and Troy Plumtree’s bulldozing drives.
The Junior Tall Blacks resumed their rebounding superiority in this game by outboarding China by 50 to 28 overall. Still too many turnovers though that comes with the territory of how they play. This is the first time that New Zealand has ever made it to the quarters of an U19 World Cup. We’ll face hosts Switzerland in the next round at 6am on Saturday. This after Switzerland won 86-79 in overtime against France, having been down as many as 15 points and never leading during regulation time. All things considered, that’s a decent match-up for a quarter-final (it’ll be either USA or Canada in the final four for whoever advances).
Houston Rockets NBA Offseason...
Signed Steven Adams to a three year extension on team friendly terms
Extended head coach Ime Udoka with a lucrative multi-year upgraded contract
Traded for Kevin Durant whilst only giving up one first round pick plus Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green (plus some worthless second round picks)
Declined Fred VanVleet’s contract option and instead signed him to a two-year extension on less annual money
Agreed a hefty five-year rookie extension with Jabari Smith Jr
Signed Dorian Finney-Smith on a four-year deal for a similar yearly salary as what Steve-o’s on
Picked up Clint Capela in free agency to be their third big behind Alpy Sengun and Steven Adams
New contracts for bench/depth options Aaron Holiday, Jeff Green, and Jae’Sean Tate
This is a team that won 52 games last season and were very competitive in the playoffs, even though were unlucky to catch a seventh-seeded Golden State Warriors team that was much better than their overall record thanks to midseason trades. The Rockets were already primed to be one of the contenders in the West and then they go and get all that done. It’s been a 10/10 offseason so far. Remarkable stuff. And that Steven Adams extension was especially emblematic of the work that general manager Rafael Stone has been up to.
The Capela signing is very sneaky because that guy could easily have gotten backup duties elsewhere, possibly more money too. Clearly he rates a return to the Rockets where he began his NBA career. He’ll also no doubt get many opportunities throughout the season when Adams is rested or (godforbid) injured. Seems little doubt that Houston will waive Jock Landale same as they waived Jack McVeigh so another aspect of this offseason is that they re-signed their kiwi and dumped both of their Australians.
But the Capela move could suggest something else too: What’s if he is going to be the backup? What’s if the plan is to move Sengun to power forward more often to allow the team to start with the double big line-up? At the very least, there are matchups where that makes a lot of sense. Doubt it becomes the main event but Coach Udoka did use it once from the start last season and it’s already been reported that finding more ways to utilise that dominant set-up is one of the main priorities within Udoka’s vision.
Another priority, as he made clear after the series defeat to the Warriors, is getting more veteran experience into the house. Well, they’ve re-signed Adams (31) and FVV (31) while adding Durant (36), Capela (31), and DFS (32) from outside so that all seems to tick the box.
Houston Rockets Projected Depth Chart
PG - Fred VanVleet | Reed Sheppard | Aaron Holiday
SG - Amen Thompson | Tari Eason | Cam Whitmore
SF - Kevin Durant | Jae’Sean Tate
PF - Jabari Smith | Dorian Finney-Smith | Jeff Green
C - Alperen Sengun | Steven Adams | Clint Capela
Even that’s misleading because this is such a versatile roster. They can play small with Jabari Smith at the five. They can play big with Sengun at the four. Durant can play anywhere from 1-4. Thompson plays both guard positions. DFS can play 2-4. Hypothetically, imagine a line-up of: Thompson, Durant, Smith, Sengun, Adams... that’s four guys standing at 6’11 with a 6’7 PG.
They’re trying to trade Cam Whitmore so he might not last and most likely they want another ball-handling guard to take the pressure off second-year Reed Sheppard. Bottom line: you can say this about several teams at this stage of the season but there’s no doubt that squad could win an NBA championship. This should be the most fun team that Adams has been part of since the last time he shared the floor with Kevin Durant.
Also... Tyrell Harrison has been confirmed for NBA Summer League with the Denver Nuggets. He left his Puerto Rican club early following some NBA interest of the sort and now here we go. So that’s Tyrell Harrison (Denver Nuggets), Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (Toronto Raptors), and Sam Mennenga (Los Angeles Lakers) all on board for Summer League. The first time in history that there have been three New Zealanders involved in the same year. Rejoice.
As Expected, Steven Adams Has Re-Signed With The Houston Rockets
Previewing The Junior Tall Blacks at the U19 FIBA World Cup
Notes From Shaun Gill’s Wellington Phoenix Q&A Video…
The transfer wishlist is for a centre-back, number ten, and striker. Effectively replacing Wootton, Geraldes, and Barbarouses directly. Thing is, they only have two open visa spots so one of those will need to be a local, probably an experienced Aussie. Don’t really think there’ll be a New Zealander of that level available. There are plenty of domestic players worthy of the rise but those guys should be signed alongside an established Aussie option.
There will be 25-man squads for the exhibition against Wrexham which means 14 players on the bench. That’ll likely include a healthy mix of academy players with first teamers probably maxed out at 45 mins each. There’s also an U20 World Cup later in the year for those academy players to aim towards so they’ll be fizzed up to show what they can do.
There is the possibility of new signings getting done before Wrexham but probably not any visas due to the extra formalities required in those cases... Gill also confirmed that they’ve had a couple of local triallists involved recently, especially at left-back seeking a Sam Sutton replacement.
There are lots of scholarship contracts already in place plus depth in the academy so youth is not a priority with any offseason additions... Gill says that post-season analysis has indicated they need more players in between the young/old dynamic that they had last time with lots of U23s and several over 30s but not much in between. They didn’t need a review to figure that out though – they coulda just asked me, I’ve been saying it all year.
There was tacit confirmation here that the OFC Pro League remains an ongoing possibility for the Wellington Phoenix and that they’re likely to have an age restriction on whatever team gets in there (if/when). I’m pretty sceptical about how that competition will work so I’m just letting things unfold without comment.
Alby Kelly-Heald is on track with his recovery from shoulder surgery and still hoping to be back for the U20 World Cup in September/October.
Aotearoa Domestic Football Roundup – 30 June
Flying Kiwis Transfer Window
Alrighty, lots to get through here. Let’s begin with Elijah Just who has not been signed permanently by Austrian second tier club SKN St Pölten. They had a buy-now option in his loan deal but they couldn’t afford it after withdrawn foreign investment left them in the lurch. Plus Just didn’t really want to stay, according to local media, as his strong performances there proved he belongs at a higher level – not to mention that he’s playing to try and early first eleven status at a World Cup. Just has one more year on his contract with AC Horsens in Denmark who’ll probably look to sell him. Or loan him if they can’t find a buyer.
Sounds like Matt Dibley-Dias is set for another loan, this time with Chesterfield in League Two. Last year he went to Northampton Town in League One but barely played due to a combination of injuries and a coach who didn’t think he was ready for the physicality. League Two won’t be much less physical but it will be a little slower which will help because MDD turns 22 in October and so far almost all of his professional football has come with Fulham’s various academy teams. He’s got a contract with the Cottagers that runs until 2027 so that part of it is safe... but he needs to start progressing properly into senior football before he gets left behind. MDD has logged 90 combined minutes across three senior appearances in his career. Tyler Bindon is 15 months younger and has played over 100 senior games. Dibs remains a hugely talented prospect but don’t go thinking he’s anywhere near All Whites selection right now. Not in this era.
Oscar Obel-Hall has been hanging on the fringes in Denmark since he moved over as a teenager. First with Esbjerg coming through their academy system, then more recently with Middelfart in the third tier. But the 21yo fell out of favour as they went on and earned promotion and now OOH has unsurprisingly become a free agent. He hasn’t really had a chance to break through in senior football yet so it’ll be interesting to see where he ends up. Similar deal for Kian Donkers who’s been in academy teams for NEC Nijmegen and VVV-Venlo these past two years but was announced as a new signing for Birkenhead United this week.
Niko Kirwan’s release by Calcio Padova has been confirmed by the club. We knew that was coming. But Sarpreet Singh’s situation is still murky. UD Leiria returned to preseason this week, however local media seems a bit annoyed at their secrecy with only limited news about re-signings and friendlies so far. Singh has a two-year option on his contract which they’ll probably take up... if they don’t then he’ll be unattached. UDL has a new coach this season which could be a factor.
A funky one covered in yesterday’s Flying Kiwis was Helena Errington popping up with Sporting Club Jacksonville over in the USL Super League. Her team is an expansion team for the second season of that competition and she’s one of four foreign players on the roster – although two of them went through USA universities so that makes her (and Central Coast’s Jade Pinnock) even more unique. Grace Wisnewski just played a season in that comp and she struggled for minutes playing for the last-placed team before being released along with about a dozen other players in an end-of-season cleanout. That shows how frivolous these opportunities can be playing footy in the United States. Between college, semi-pro, and the MLS/NWSL we’ve had many cases through the years of kiwi players being underrated and underused. Having said that, there have also been a few who got overrated and overused. Not always a lot of rhyme or reason there but Errington’s been one of our very best age grade players over the past few years so fingers crossed she dazzles them.
Mickey Foster has re-signed with Durham for another year in the English second tier. This is a great season to be around the WSL2 as future expansion to the top division means there’ll be two automatic promotion spots plus third place gets a playoff – instead of just one automatic spot. Huge opportunity. Foster’s re-signing always seemed likely after she settled in brilliantly as a holding midfielder last year. The key is whether Hannah Blake joins her... which it seems like she might since she wasn’t one of the players farewelled as free agents recently. Durham are doing a slow rollout of their re-signings though, so it could be a few days before they let us know.
Also, the Wellington Phoenix announced a few more departures yesterday and along with the injured Chico Geraldes and Stefan Colakovski (we hardly knew ye), young keeper Dublin Boon was also released. He’s too old to play U20s next year and they’ll probably promote someone like Eamonn McCarron or Matt Foord from the academy to be GK3 next season instead. Boon spent a year in the Roda JC academy before his year with the Phoenix so he might head back overseas or he might pop up in the NZ National League.
Musical Jam (we talked about Voom on the podcast on Tuesday and ever since then I can’t stop listening to this song it’s just so good - and a tremendous video too)...