Praise & Glory
Football Ferns beat Norway, Blackcaps depth, NRWL emergence, FIFA WWC yarns, Flying Kiwis notes, Sam Timmins to Sydney Kings & more
Podcast
Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Youtube
Reading Menu
Football Ferns at the 2023 FIFA World Cup: Sweet Delectable Victory vs Norway (Football)
Aotearoa Warriors Diary: Fighting Off Raiders Revenge (Rugby League)
2023 NRLWahine: First Round Teams & Notes (Rugby League)
The Football Ferns Have Named Their Squad For The 2023 FIFA World Cup (Football)
Football Ferns vs Vietnam: That Winning Feeling Rediscovered (Football)
Football Ferns at the 2023 FIFA World Cup: Squad Profiles (Football)
Football Ferns at the 2023 FIFA World Cup: Scouting The Group Stage Opponents (Football)
Recapping Tall Ferns Exploits at the 2023 Asia Cup (Basketball)
White Ferns Stumble In ODI Series Loss vs Sri Lanka (Cricket)
Same Old White Ferns In T20I Series Win vs Sri Lanka (Cricket)
Winter Notes & Nuggs For Each Domestic Cricket Team (Cricket)
Kiwi County Tour: Matt Henry & Ish Sodhi Are T20 Blast Champions (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
These are beautiful sport times. After a weekend that saw All Blacks and NZ Warriors play at Mt Smart on back to back nights, Thursday the 20th of July started in horrible fashion for Aucklanders and kiwis. It then ended in glory, Football Ferns glory as Aotearoa basked in the glow of wahine leading us forward.
Like many, I've watched the goal from Hannah Wilkinson over and over again. It doesn't stop. The beauty of the goal. Spotting a different reaction each time of watching it back. A goal from the gods of Aotearoa. Papatuanuku and Ranginui are the gods of Aotearoa, so praise them.
Apparently Norway is really good? The strange thing about the Football Ferns is that they dominated the whole game. I am claiming manifestation of this win as I stated that Aotearoa would win this game in the Thursday podcast, although I went with the 'defend well, absorb pressure, snare a goal and hold on' storyline. Instead, the Ferns were all class in dictating how they game was played.
Ferns set their two strikers narrow to block of the easy exit route to the holding midfielder. Wilkinson was always willing to rush the Norway goalkeeper. As soon as Norway moved the footy, Ferns sent multiple defenders to put pressure on. Malia Steinmetz and Ria Percival consistently won possession in midfield pockets. Central defenders Rebekah Stott and Katie Bowen timed interceptions perfectly. Wide defenders CJ Bott and Ali Riley were monsters, imposing themselves on Norway's wingers. That's just without the footy. Claudia Bunge came on for Stott and nothing changed. Paige Satchell came on up front and nothing changed.
With the footy, Ferns were so slick. They found the easy exits, often rolling into midfield pockets with ease and bursting forward. They skillfully dealt with pressure. Betsy Hassett picked her passes with ease and the ball stayed stuck to Indiah-Paige Riley's feet. This was a clinic. At no stage in this game did I think that Norway's players are world-class.
Steinmetz is my favourite player. She won contests with ease, didn't stop moving, and always shuffled the footy along to someone in a better position. Percival has done this for years, Steinmetz elevated for the biggest footy moment in Aotearoa as a 24-year-old kiwi-Samoan who is only a few years along from playing local footy.
That's a takeaway that flows into NRLW. Steinmetz and others are contributing to Football Ferns with close links to domestic footy in Aotearoa. There are players in this Football Ferns squad still based in Aotearoa, there are others who have only recently shifted into the Flying Kiwis realm. Alexis Tauaneai was playing for Wellington Pride while also eligible to win the NZRL U18 Girls Player of the Year in 2022, now she is starting lock for Dragons NRLW less than a year later.
Abigail Roache, Laishon Albert-Jones (Knights), Mele Hufanga (Broncos), Capri Paekau (Eels), Annessa Biddle (Sharks), Mackenzie Wiki and Kerehitina Matua (Raiders) were playing local footy in Aotearoa last year. Now they are starting NRLW players. Tall Ferns recently had a fabulous Asia Cup campaign. Most of those ladies are currently playing Tauihi basketball.
Aotearoa's systems are good enough. Sure, we all want improvements and greater efficiency. Deploy gratitude though. Wahine and blokes are able to rise through Aotearoa's systems with strong foundations to perform for the national team, as well as enjoying professional opportunities.
Umm about Tauaneai, she has had a whirlwind year...
2022 Wellington Pride - Wainuiomata
2022 NZRL U18 Girls Player of the Year
2023 Tarsha Gale Cup Player of the Year (NSW U18)
2023 NSW Under 19s
2023 National Championship Team of the Tournament / Tahnee Morris Medal (Player of the Tournament)
2023 NSW Women's Premiership Grand Final - starting prop
Two random thoughts that stem from the Football Ferns experience...
That's what the opening game of the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup between White Ferns and West Indies could have been. Instead, White Ferns were shook.
This week Hockey NZ announced that Black Sticks Women would not compete in the next FIH Pro League. That decision was already made for the men who were relegated because they barely won a game. We have documented the demise of Aotearoa hockey, headlined by neither team winning a Commonwealth Games medal last year. Hockey used to be in a similar pocket to football and basketball in the kiwi sport realm, that is no longer the case.
If Black Sticks can grab Olympic qualification in the Oceania Cup, that would be a lovely boost. Given the trajectory of Black Sticks hockey though, defeating Australia seems unlikely.
Support The Niche Cache
Priority: Subscribe on Youtube
Join the Patreon whanau or jam a paid Substack subscription for an extra podcast each week.
Make a sporadic donation through Buy Me A Coffee.
Tell a friend.
Another massive Blackcaps squad was announced for more meaningless T20I cricket. Dean Foxcroft and Adithya Ashok were promoted to the Blackcaps mixer, that's nice. These lads roughly sit in the 28-30 ranking zone of Blackcaps cricketers and I'm not sure what analysis to offer apart from laying out the depth chart...
Not in the T20I squads
Kane Williamson, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel (7)
1st 11ish types
Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Ish Sodhi, Devon Conway, Will Young, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, Kyle Jamieson, Finn Allen (11)
Depth
Chad Bowes, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver, Cole McConchie, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Henry Shipley (9)
Emerging
Adithya Ashok, Dean Foxcroft (2)
Before whipping up Blackcaps hype about Ashok and Foxcroft, be aware that they are literally ranked 28-30 in the depth chart.
Which takes us to the last crop of domestic cricket contracts. One player was added to each team's list for this summer...
Northern: Peter Bocock
Auckland: Yahya Zeb
Central: Curtis Heaphy
Wellington: Jesse Tashkoff
Canterbury: Rhys Mariu
Otago: Ollie White
Bocock has played plenty of cricket for Northern. They have a super settled group with good vibes flowing both ways. Solid players stay with Northern, Northern keep solid players around. Ollie White came up through the Northern system via Kaipara and moved south to study at Otago University, now getting a contract with Otago. Yahya Zeb is a fast bowler, while Curtis Heaphy, Jesse Tashkoff and Rhys Marius have already played Plunket Shield.
Mariu gets a Canterbury contract after scoring 405 runs @ 57.8avg in four Plunket Shield games last season. Mariu had scores of 68 and 78* in his Plunket Shield debut. With so many seamers in Canterbury's squad, Mariu could sneak into their 1st 11 to start the summer. Along with Mitch Hay, Will O'Rourke and Zak Foulkes, Canterbury have an incredible cluster of youngsters to learn about.
Blackcaps will host South Africa for Tests this summer. Hold up.
The jist in quotes...
This gets interesting given that Major League Cricket is going down in USA right now. All six SA20 teams were bought by IPL franchises and this also applies to MLC as those teams are essentially IPL teams disguised as Americana. Correct - India is trying to take over the cricketing world through ownership of T20 leagues.
CSA went all in on SA20 and selling it to India. This included the guarantee that SA20 had first rights to CSA players. Now CSA are in a pickle and given NZC's comment through Boock, they overlooked the international schedule that was locked in. NZC are also at the mercy of India as they can’t shuffle games around because they leave an IPL window open. At least NZC haven’t sold their souls to India.
South Africa will probably send a weakened squad to Aotearoa for these World Test Championship fixtures. Hopefully that's an easier series for Blackcaps.
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
How about those Football Ferns, aye? Give them a full strength squad and an actual extended training camp and they’re pretty good after all. Just quietly, I’ve been writing article length versions of that previous sentence for months amidst the wider freak outs about their results although I can’t exactly say I told you so because I never thought they had that performance in them. I was banking on a solid win against Philippines and maybe a sneaky point against Switzerland. Beating Norway was beyond my scope of imagination... even at half-time of that match I was fully expecting Norway to switch things up and allow their class to shine through.
Instead they got wrecked by a Football Ferns team that didn’t have nearly the same level of supreme talent yet were more organised, more aggressive, more confident, more cohesive, better tactically, and were still able to hang on for the victory even after they missed a late penalty. It was probably the best game of football that this team has ever played and to do so in front of a record home crowd... magnifique.
This shout was made by one of our Twitter followers yesterday but if anyone actually gets the Opta goal diagram tattooed, let us know lol...
Five players, six touches, 11 seconds. From goal kick to goal. There’s not a football team on the planet that wouldn’t be proud of scoring one like that.
Great cross in there from Jacqui Hand too, who continues to prove herself as one of the team’s best creative threats despite being young to the international stage. Indi Riley had another barnstormer and she was the one who slipped that ball through to Hand – didn’t really see much from her in line with the hopes we had when she first switched allegiances back to her motherland until a breakout performance against Vietnam and this was even better considering both the opposition but also the defensive mahi that she got amongst (nobody won more tackles in this match, not even CJ Bott).
The other player who comfortably had the game of their life... was Malia Steinmetz. She and Ria Percival in the midfield, mate. The worry is that the distribution might not be amazing from those two very combative options. But there were no dramas there whatsoever. The Ferns were all on the same page and Steinmetz in particular just kept winning the ball, looking up, seeing a teammate where she expected one, and passing the ball to them. Over and over again.
Not to say the midfield duo was flawless, completing a combined 48/77 passes at 62%... but that’s skewed by Percival going long with a few crosses/through balls. Plus it looks like Xavi & Iniesta compared to the midfield trio of Norway...
Ingrid Engen – 26/48 passing at 54%
Frida Maanum – 14/23 passing at 61%
Gruo Reiten – 13/25 passing at 52%
That was the secret sauce in this victory dish because in shutting off the midfield areas, the kiwis cut the service to Norway’s front three who therefore didn’t have nearly as many chances as they should have. It began with the way that Wilkinson and Hand dropping and covered the initial passing lanes. Then with how Steinmetz and Percival made everything scrappy for them with their constant challenges. It forced Norway to play long way more than they should have which allowed Stott/Bunge and Bowen to step up and win those balls.
It also exposed a notorious trend of Norway playing folks out of position. Ingrid Engen was often the deepest midfielder dropping in to collect. She’s normally more of an attacking midfielder, at least certainly not a CDM. Guro Reiten plays a lot on the wing for Chelsea. They have such a good team but it’s imbalanced towards attacking players and in trying to fit everyone in they often end up in poor positions. The Ferns exposed that by turning up with the exact opposite: a completely cohesive performance.
Elsewhere in the FIFA Women’s World Cup so far, I thought Aussie looked pretty stale against Ireland in only winning 1-0 (thanks to a Steph Catley penalty). But I also thought that the Irish low block (with a back five) was kinda brilliant and we have seen this trend with the Matildas where they struggle against deep-lying teams and come into their own against better sides who hold more possession and give them space to attack on the counter. Ironically that suggests they may have more success in the knockouts than they will in the group stage. They got through that first game with a win and they did so without Sam Kerr so nothing to panic about there. By the way, that Katie McCabe vs Hayley Raso match-up... that was like a UFC scrap. Jeepers.
Spain were easily the best team over the first two days. The way they laid the beat down on poor Costa Rica was like a cat playing with its food. They only won 3-0 but the stats tell a far more dominant story. Spain had 45 total shots with an xG of 4.7... compared to one shot and 0.1 xG for Costa Rica. It was 80% possession in favour of the Spanish, 22 corners to 1, 57 crosses to 4, 560 completed passes to 78. Spain hit the woodwork multiple times and also missed a penalty... they also had a very Spanish intention to seemingly only want to score perfect goals rather than scrappy goals which left plenty more on the table. But the way they played was simply gorgeous with multiple runners going at once and some silky intricate passing. Aitana Bonmati was immaculate... and this with Alexis Putellas only featuring off the bench.
Weird that every game has had a penalty kick so far. Weirder still that 3/5 have been missed. Christine Sinclair missed one for Canada in a 0-0 draw with Nigeria, the all-time leading international goal scorer failing to add to the tally there (great save from Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie). The Ferns lost 3-0 to Nigeria in April so for them to draw with the Olympic champs makes that result look slightly better. Nigeria struggled early in both halves but also got stronger the longer they held the Canadians out. They earned that point for sure... I’m not really seeing this Canadian team as contenders.
In the other game in NZ’s group, Switzerland won 2-0 against the Philippines. Got what we expected from the Filipinas with a passionate and committed but limited performance and it’s probably to our benefit that we get them second after they got that initial burst of spirit out of the way with. Switzerland are pretty good and while I didn’t expect the Ferns to beat Norway I did tease in my preview the possibility of the Swiss turning them over. We’ll see how that goes. Switzerland won this match with plenty of room to spare... but only getting the two goals should be a boost to the Football Ferns as far as goal difference goes.
And now a list of things that have happened in the last 48 hours of kiwi football outside of the Women’s World Cup...
Zac Jones did it again. It was his heroics in goal, particularly in a penalty shootout, that earned Haverfordwest County their place in Europa Conference League qualifying. He played brilliantly in the first leg to help his team return from North Macedonia with only a 1-0 deficit against Shkëndija. Then in the second leg he kept a clean sheet through 120 minutes including extra time (after an 89th minute goal from Lee Jenkins tied things up on aggregate)... and the penalty shootout glory recommenced. Jones made three saves as Hwlffordd took it 3-2 on spotties. Incredible scenes. Expect a highlight vid combining these two legs once I’ve burned through the necessary Footy Ferns writings.
Logan Rogerson and Ollie Whyte both started in FC Haka’s own ECL qualifying second leg. Unfortunately they lost 1-0 in that away tie to dip out 3-2 on aggregate against Crusaders of Northern Ireland. Would’ve predicted it to go the other way around as far as these two clubs with kiwi players went but that’s football for you. Whyte didn’t play the first leg so this was a European debut for him. He becomes the seventh NZer to feature in Europe’s newest continental competition. Ryan De Vries, Max Mata, Nando Pijnaker, Joe Bell, Logan Rogerson, Zac Jones, and Ollie Whyte. All in qualifying rounds.
Those two are gonna have some company in Finland as Nikko Boxall has signed on with Inter Turku for the rest of the 2023 season. Boxall had recently rejoined Auckland City after a brief stint with Wellington Phoenix. Now he returns to the nation where he’s already played 112 Veikaugsliiga matches for VPS, KuPS, and SJK. Coincidentally, he could make his debut against SJK if he’s good to go this weekend. He’s already over there and the rego’s been sorted so there’s a very good chance he does. Inter Turku drew 2-2 with FC Haka a couple of weeks ago with Logan Rogerson setting up one of the goals. They won’t meet again unless Inter drop into the bottom half for the relegation rounds – they’re right on the cut-off as things stand. Boxall is linking up with his old SJK coach Ramiro Muñoz with this deal and it sounds like there is scope to extend it into next year if things go well.
Mere hours after Victoria Esson kept the most important clean sheet in NZ football history it was announced by Rangers FC that she’s signed a one-year extension to keep her at the Scottish club. Rangers had already re-signed fellow goalie Jenna Fife so expect the job-share duties to continue, had wondered if that fact coupled with Rangers missing out of Champions League qualifiers and the spotlight opportunity of the World Cup might’ve led Esson to test the waters elsewhere but she seems happy and settled at Rangers so fair enough. Rangers have a new manager now so the goalkeeping dynamic could yet change.
Also definitely don’t sleep on this one: Matt Dibley-Dias has been included in Fulham’s travelling squad for their preseason tour of the USA. That’s likely to mean first team minutes, albeit unofficial ones. MDD is one of 29 players in the squad so it’s a large group to be sure but Marco Silva seems like a bloke willing to offer that academy pathway to his team, as evidenced by a couple of matchday squad cameos for Dibs late last season (an opportunity which may have contributed to him opting against playing for NZ at the U20 World Cup – still hopeful for that commitment down the line). Regardless, this is another milestone in his burgeoning career.
Moving on to some basketball, lovely news that Sam Timmins has signed with the Sydney Kings for the next NBL season. Timmins has signed a one-year deal off the back of a very strong NZ term with the Otago Nuggets, particularly on the defensive end. Timmins has been with the Breakers for the last couple years, initially as a development player and then as a fully contracted lad. But he only played 126 total minutes in the first season there and just 35 last time around.
The Breakers have changed up their big man rotation completely. Dererk Pardon won’t be back and Rob Loe has retired, in come Mangok Mathiang and Dane Pineau who are both locals (Australian locals though). Timmins was allowed to walk weeks ago... which to be honest made sense because they clearly didn’t have a role for him. But now he’s gone from the beaten finalists to the champions, signed as the final local player for the Sydney Kings roster. That’s a great move for the 26yo who clearly has so much more to offer at this level than he’s been able to show for NZB so far.
With news also that Tohi Smith-Milner is being lined up by Adelaide that would take us up to 20 contracted kiwis for NBL24. Three years ago we had 20 NZers take the court in a single season which is the current record. If all the current blokes manage to get minutes then we’ll tie that... but we’re not here for equalisers. Still plenty of time for further additions. A couple of teams still have roster spots open. Most teams have development player gigs available. There are plenty of other Aotearoa players well worthy of a peek – Carlin Davison, Callum McRae, Derone Raukawa, Kruz Perrott-Hunt, Taane Samuel, all just off the top of the head... not to mention the door left open for Tom Vodanovich to return after his Philippines stint ends.
We’re looking at record numbers and you know what? The Breakers only have a quarter of them. Five players, one of them a DP. That’s after the addition of Finn Delany. That’s the same tally as the Perth Wildcats have alone. As it stands, as long as the TSM deal goes through, the only team without a New Zealander are the Illawarra Hawks – who sadly have finished their roster... but maybe an injury replacement can pop by down the line.
NZ Breakers – Tom Abercrombie, Finn Delany, Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa, Dan Fotu, Alex McNaught (DP)
Perth Wildcats – Corey Webster, Tai Webster, Hyrum Harris, Jack Andrew (DP), Dontae Russo-Nance (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)
Sydney Kings – Sam Timmins
Adelaide 36ers – Tohi Smith-Milner