No Egos
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's return & Warriors growth, U20 Men's Footy World Cup speccies, Walter Brown/NBL, Aussie NBL free agency & RIP Tuatara baseball
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2022/23 FIH Pro League: Previewing A Curious Anzac Weekend Of Black Sticks Hockey (Hockey)
The Breakers Struck The Ideal NBL Next Star Balance With Rayan Rupert (Basketball)
Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: The Warrior Tom Ale (Rugby League)
Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Leo Thompson Settles In Knights Forward Pack (Rugby League)
Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Matthew Timoko Keeps Getting Better (Rugby League)
Flying Kiwis – April 18 (Football)
Hail To The Chief, Giancarlo Italiano Will Be The Next Wellington Phoenix Blokes Manager (Football)
2023 Blackcaps ODI Tracker: 1st in World Cup Super League After Series Win Vs Sri Lanka (Cricket)
2022/23 Ford Trophy: The Josh Clarkson Takeover And More Notes From The Final (Cricket)
2022/23 Plunket Shield: Central Districts Are Champions (Cricket)
How Northern Brave Won Back To Back Super Smash Championships (Cricket)
How Canterbury Magicians Sent Amy Satterthwaite Out As A Champion (Cricket)
2022/23 HBJ Shield: Maddy Green's Ascension, Amy Satterthwaite Bows Out and More (Cricket)
2023 T20 World Cup White Ferns Debrief (Cricket)
27fm Weekly Playlist: April 17 (Music)
Scotty’s Word
Before receiving the Roger Tuivasa-Sheck news last night, I was listening to Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad on The Captain's Run with Denan Kemp and Cameron Smith. I enjoyed how Nicoll-Klokstad spoke and his thoughts on NZ Warriors footy, even noting that he sounded a lot like Tuivasa-Sheck. Funnily enough, NZRL dropped their first Find Your Front podcast and Nicoll-Klokstad was the guest.
The news of Tuivasa-Sheck's return to Warriors is obviously fabulous. With Nicoll-Klokstad playing so well at fullback this season, I know I wasn't alone in immediately pondering how Tuivasa-Sheck would fit into a future Warriors backline. This flurry of Nicoll-Klokstad content, as well as everything that we know about Tuivasa-Sheck, should ease any niggly concerns though as these blokes are lovely. No egos. Team-first and willing leaders.
(Stay present, but Tuivasa-Sheck can play every backline position. Nicoll-Klokstad can as well. My preference right now is Tuivasa-Sheck at centre, with scope to cover fullback and even halves. Maybe even scope to roam around)
Warriors have made a habit of keeping their business quiet until it's time to announce something officially. The two Andys (Webster and McFadden) have had an impressive start to their tenure with Warriors and a sneaky thing to keep in mind with the Tuivasa-Sheck signing is how it coincides with immense Warriors growth.
Warriors want to add two more junior teams (Under 16 and U21) to their U18 and NSW Cup pathways. A return to NRLW is a certainty as well.
Five of the seven backs named to face Storm on Tuesday are from Aotearoa (Nicoll-Klokstad, Martin, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Adam Pompey, Edward Kosi and Shaun Johnson). Six with Te Maire Martin in the halves. If Tonga’s Viliami Vailea (moved from Tonga into Aorere College 1st 15) is starting alongside that's a backline full of players who have risen through Aotearoa footy ranks.
Add Tohu Harris and Marata Niukore as forward pack leaders, along with the likes of Jazz Tevaga, Bunty Afoa and Tom Ale. A Warriors team full of Kiwi-NRL lads isn't far away and Tuivasa-Sheck will be part of that. Here’s what that could look like with the current roster…
Fullback: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (City Newton)
Wings: Edward Kosi (Mangere East), Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (Ngaruawahia)
Centres: Adam Pompey (Wesley College), Viliami Vailea (Aorere College)
Halves: Te Maire Martin (Turangawaewae), Shaun Johnson (Hibiscus Coast)
Middles: Tohu Harris (Tamatea), Bunty Afoa (Pt Chev), Jazz Tevaga (Papakura)
Edges: Marata Niukore (Mangere East), Demitric Sifakula (Otahuhu)
Hooker: Paul Roache (MAGS)
Bench: Taine Tuaupiki (Taharoa), Tom Ale (Mt Albert), Zyon Maiu’u (Te Atatu), Leka Halasima (Southern Cross)
Grand final in Queensland's Under 18 Mal Meninga Cup features Redcliffe...
Redcliffe: John Fineanganofo (Auckland Grammar), Elijah Rasmussen (Westlake Boys), Patrick Kailahi (Hamilton Boys/Hukanui).
Semi-finals in NSW SG Ball...
Knights: Jarome Falemoe (Southern Cross), Elijah Leaumoana (Southern Cross), Jayden Harris (Kohukohu/Westlake Boys), Tamakaimoana Whareaorere (Te Puke/Rotorua Boys, Bailey Carmichael (Rotorua Boys).
Raiders: Siamani Leuluai (Manaia/Northland)
Eels: Te Hurinui Twidle (Turangawaewae)
First round of Queensland U21 Hastings Deering Colts footy. Here are the Kiwi-NRL lads named...
Wynnum: Sefa Roache-Faimalo (Marist), Cassius Cowley (Tokoroa), Nathaniel Tangimataiti (Ellerslie), Tolomanila Watts (Marist)
Ipswich: Corey Cassidy-Natano (Waitemata)
Townsville: Henry Teutau (Marist), Jeremiah Matautia (Otara)
Brisbane: Tea-Rain Woodman-Tuhoro (Whangarei Boys), Brayden Seu-Easthope (Otahuhu), Samuela Vakadula (New Plymouth Boys)
Western: Hopoate Finau (Otago Boys)
Souths Logan: Lawrence Ualesi (Kings College)
Roosters signed Amber Hall and Niall Williams has been signed by Titans in NRLW. Here's an updated NRLW signings tracker...
Broncos: Annetta Nu'uausala, Gayle Broughton, Mele Hufanga
Titans: Niall Williams, Hailee-Jay Ormond-Maunsell
Raiders: Madison Bartlett, Mackenzie Wiki
Dragons: Raecene McGregor, Page McGregor, Cortez Te Pou, Alexis Tauaneai, Roxy Murdoch-Masila
Roosters: Otesa Pule, Amber Hall
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
Ridiculous NBL game last night, with the Canterbury Rams topping the Hawke’s Bay Rams 110-103 in triple overtime. The Hawks had a couple of possessions at the end of quarters/OT periods which they weren’t able to strike a winner with and in the end, as both teams tallied up the personal fouls, the Rams had the legs to see it through. Probably because they had the deeper bench – HBH had Jordan Ngatai and Hyrum Harris each playing 50+ minutes (the game itself lasted 55 so they nearly played the whole thing).
When a game goes to triple overtime, the stats are going to look nuts. Derone Ruakawa scored a very efficient 32 points off the bench for the Hawks thanks in large part to a perfect 12/12 from the free throw line. Harris chipped in with 23p/12r/2a in another exhilarating effort from the most exciting kiwi player in the competition – notice that it was mentioned on comms that there’ll be some good news coming for him in Aussie NBL free agency. Harris is a free agent after two years with Adelaide, the second of which saw his minutes drop despite a boost in performance. If he finds the right gig then he could be in line for a real breakthrough at that level.
But that wasn’t quite enough to do the business for the Hawks, as the Rams took it even deeper... despite Taylor Britt only playing 15 mins due to foul trouble. Their imports all struggled with their shot, scoring fewer points than they had field goal attempts (always seems to be a tidy indicator) – although Tevin Brown did offer up 9 rebounds and 5 assists to find an influence elsewhere. Meanwhile Tai Wynyard was a beast once more with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
However the real star was 19 year old Walter Brown.
Fresh off a season as a development player with Tasmania JackJumpers, where he’s under contract for another DP campaign, Brown was incredible in this game. In fact he got better as it dragged on longer - when others were tiring, he found more bounce. Young bro ended with 20 points (6/10 FG) with a couple of three pointers to go with 17 rebounds (including six banger offensive boards). Chuck in 3 assists and 2 blocks and you had an insane impact from a bloke who only finished up at St Bedes College two years ago.
Walter Brown was shortlisted for Young Player of the Year last season so it’s not like this came completely out of the blue... but this was undoubtedly his best game yet in this competition. After foul trouble in week one vs Taranaki, then a quiet game in an upset loss to Manawatu (in which the focus was mostly on getting Wynyard inside), this was the one that showed why Brown has already earned a Tall Blacks debut (against Saudi Arabia in February). Yet another versatile and exciting kiwi basketballer on the rise, what do ya know?
Walter Brown by NZ NBL season (per game)...
2021 – 8.1 MIN | 1.4 PTS (54.5 FG%. 33.3 3P%) | 1.3 REB (0.3 OFF) | 0.6 AST | 0.3 BLK
2022 – 23.4 MIN | 7.2 PTS (43.8 FG%, 40.5 3P%) | 3.3 REB (1.4 OFF) | 1.2 AST | 0.4 BLK
2023 – 29.8 MIN | 11.3 PTS (56.5 FG%, 44.4 3P%) | 6.3 REB (2.0 OFF) | 2.0 AST | 1.3 BLK
Clearly the 2023 numbers are affected by the small sample size of three games but it’ll be worth keeping an eye on where he evens out on some of those stats. If the Rams find the balance with their imports then they’re going to be a pretty bloody good team this year. They play against on Saturday though so good luck backing up after that marathon effort.
Sticking with basketball, there’s been a lovely development in NBL free agency: both the Webster Bros will be returning to Perth Wildcats on two-year contracts. They were there last year but it was a bit of a mixed bag. Corey took some time to get going though once he got it churning he was excellent. Tai came in mid-season but was hampered by injuries. It wasn’t a clear bet that either would be retained as free agency got going with each of them having mutual options in their contracts. Rumour was that Corey would probably stay but that Tai’s option was going to be declined. Instead they’ve both been retained and on the same contract: two years, with the second year being a team option.
Great news. The Webster Bros have been superb together for the Tall Blacks on many occasions and will try to add to that when the World Cup comes around in August. The fit wasn’t an automatic one in Perth but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be, not after already having dipped a few toes in the water last season. Bryce Cotton and fresh signing Keanu Pinder alongside. It’ll require some give and take from all parties. That’s for the coach to figure out. We’re just stoked to have another team re-upping on a prominent kiwi presence in their squad.
Contracted NZers for NBL24, as it stands...
NZ Breakers – Izaya Le’Afa, Tom Vodanovich, Dan Fotu, Alex McNaught (DP)
Perth Wildcats – Corey Webster, Tai Webster, Jack Andrew (DP)
Melbourne United – Shea Ili, Flynn Cameron
Cairns Taipans – Sam Waardenburg, Sam Mennenga
SEM Phoenix – Reuben Te Rangi, Anzac Rissetto (DP)
Brisbane Bullets – Tyrell Harrison
Tasmania JackJumpers – Walter Brown (DP)
Already at fifteen with eleven of those being full senior deals. Gotta think the Breakers have a couple more coming (Tom Abercrombie for starters, perhaps Rob Loe too). Hyrum Harris seems likely for a return somewhere or another. Other remaining free agents from last season: Tohi Smith-Milner, Sam Timmins, and injury replacements Jayden Bezzant and Isaac Davidson. Surely a team’s gotta take a pop on Tai Wynyard soon... and you never know what might happen with overseas guys like Finn Delany or Yanni Wetzell. Not to mention an abundance of youngsters ready for the next step.
Big bummer news today that the Auckland Tuatara baseball team’s been put into liquidation. The basketball team is unaffected but there will be no more kiwi presence in the Aussie ABL, this after the Tuatara had made the playoffs last season and seemed to be gathering some tasty momentum.
But the finances were never good – having to shut down for two years during the covid pandemic then when they were revived last campaign they got slammed by the wettest summer in recent Aotearoa history costing them several home fixtures and the gate money that comes with those. The insurance company then didn’t pay out as quickly as they’d have liked for that lost revenue and the creditors came knocking on the door.
It genuinely felt like there was a window there for baseball to catch on in this country but the timing just wasn’t right. The pandemic wrecked plenty of established sports franchises so trying to start without that base was, in hindsight that nobody could have predicted, not really gonna happen. A great pity.
Pour one out for the Auckland Tuatara baseball experiment.
The Men’s U20 Football World Cup is taking place in one month and it’s now got a formal host. They had one already, but Indonesia were stripped of hosting rights at the end of March due to protests over the participation of Israel who’ve qualified for the first time ever – in fact the first time they’ve made it to any FIFA tournament since the 1970 World Cup.
Indonesia were supposed to host the previous one in 2021 which got canned for covid, so the hosting rights passed on until the next one. Now Argentina will get to handle that instead which is especially wild because Argentina had failed to qualify through the normal South American pathways, so they not only replace Indonesia as hosts but they take their spot in the tournament too. Indonesia no longer even get to compete, as they didn’t make it out of their U20 Asia Cup group and therefore had nothing to fall back upon without the hosting rights. Savage stuff.
More importantly, New Zealand will be there as Oceania champs. In fact there are two spots for OFC now so Fiji are also going to be there as runners-up. The draw takes place overnight at 2am NZT so we’ll see how that goes. Somehow Aotearoa have boosted their way into the second seeding pot – the seeding being based on performances at previous U20 World Cups and given there’s a lot of fluctuation between qualifiers to these things from tournament to tournament plus that the kiwis have actually made the knockouts of each of the last three events... yeah mate, sweet as.
Pot 1: Argentina (hosts), Uruguay, USA, France, Senegal, Italy
Pot 2: England, Korea Republic, New Zealand, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia
Pot 3: Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Japan, Iraq, Honduras, Fiji
Pot 4: Guatemala, Dominican Republic, The Gambia, Israel, Slovakia, Tunisia
What we haven’t got yet is a squad. We had the U19 OFC Championships last year for qualifying. They also played an U20s friendly tournament in Indonesia back in February, back when Indonesia thought they were preparing for the main event.
There the kiwis lost 3-1 to Guatemala in their first game, although that can be excused by the very short notice they had in taking up a spot at that tourney as well as the travel limitations meaning the squad wasn’t all there at the time. They then beat Indonesia 2-1 and Fiji 3-0 in the other two games. All along the way there have been U20s ID camps as well although those don’t get publicised. Anyone born on or after 1 January 2003 (but no younger than 31 December 2007) is eligible.
That squad should be named soon but in the meantime here are the two travelling groups we’ve had so far...
U19 OFC Champs (September 2022) – Sebastian Barton-Ginger, Charlie Beale, Oliver Colloty, Fin Conchie, Kian Donkers, Theo Ettema, Oliver Fay, Henry Gray, Jay Herdman, Isaac Hughes, Jackson Jarvie, Noah Karunaratne, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Joseph Knowles, Marco Lorenz, Oscar Mason, Jackson Manuel, Dan McKay, Everton O’Leary, Aaryan Raj, Adam Supyk, Wilson Souphanthavong, Finn Surman (Plus non-travelling reserves: Regan Diver, Joshua Rudland & Chase Taylor)
U20 Indonesia Quad Series (February 2023) – Charlie Beale, Ty Cobb, Oliver Colloty, Fin Conchie, Kian Donkers, Roman Engle, Theo Ettema, Matt Foord, Josh Galletly, Henry Gray, Jay Herdman, Isaac Hughes, Jackson Jarvie, Alby Kelly-Heald, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Marco Lorenz, Dan McKay, Oliver Middleton, Oscar Obell-Hall, Everton O’Leary, William Pierce, Aaryan Raj, Adam Supyk
U20s Eligible Players in U22 Squad vs China (March 2023) – Fin Conchie, Jay Herdman, Isaac Hughes, Noah Karunaratne, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Finn Linder, Dan McKay, Kees Sims, Adam Supyk
Those are the players we’ve been told by coaches/selectors are in the mix for the U20 World Cup. There are bound to be more within the wider catchment too. It’s a bit tricky to speculate because there was no U17 World Cup for the previous cycle due to covid.
Speaking of, most of the current U17s that won the Oceania Champs earlier this year are eligible for this squad. Of them only Matt Foord (goalie from Christchurch Utd) has made any of the squads listed above. Marley Leuluai, Adam Watson, and Luke Supyk (younger bro of Adam) would be the best bets although their time will probably come next cycle. Maaaybe Leuluai sneaks in given his high pedigree but defence is one area that’s pretty well sorted by the existing set.
In terms of overseas talent, the one to watch out for is Matt Dibley-Dias as the Fulham Academy. A midfielder with the ability to score goals, he’s been raised in England and is also eligible for Brazil and Portugal but does have some very firm kiwi roots from his mother’s side and, let’s be honest, one of those four nations is a lot easier to crack than the other three.
The Oceania stuff was mostly domestic dudes although a couple have since moved overseas (Donkers & Fay). The Indonesia stuff included a few Aussie-based eligibility cases (Engle & Cobb), while also adding in Obel-Hall (Christchurch native who’s been in the youth system at Esbjerg in Denmark for a couple years) and Finn Linder (Canadian with dual-heritage, Vancouver Whitecaps II teammate of Jay Herdman) popped up for the China games, starting the second of them as a right-sided centre-back.