Shadowy Cheesecutters
Shadowy Cheesecutters
Rugby League World Cup, U17 Women's Footy World Cup, Kiwis in WBBL, Auckland x Plunket Shield & Men's NL Team of the Week
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The All Whites Need A New Coach After Danny Hay vs NZ Football Reached Its Inevitable Conclusion (Football)
2022 Rugby League World Cup: Three Key Trends About Aotearoa Kiwis Footy (Rugby League)
2022 Rugby League World Cup: Aotearoa Kiwis Squad (Rugby League)
2022 Rugby League World Cup: Kiwi-NRL Samoa Breakdown (Rugby League)
2022 Rugby League World Cup: Kiwi-NRL Tonga Breakdown (Rugby League)
Football Ferns vs Japan: They Lost, But Let’s Keep It Realistic (Football)
Flying Kiwis – October 12 (Football)
The Memphis Grizzlies Extended Steven Adams' Contact, Now To Go Win Some Championships (Basketball)
2022 Men’s National League – Week Two Review (Football)
2022 Domestic Cricket Contracts: Northern Districts (Cricket)
2022 Domestic Cricket Contracts: Central Districts (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
Home advantage has been a frequent note during the pandemic as NZ Warriors had none of it, then a little bit of it. Wellington Phoenix are set to play back to back games in Wellington to start their A-League season, both of which are Sunday afternoon prime-time bangers. NZ Breakers started their NBL season in Auckland last week with a win and now I'm pondering how home advantage is a factor for international rugby league.
Tonga has played five of their six Tests since the 2017 RLWC in Aotearoa. Aside from playing Tests in Tonga, Tonga playing in Aotearoa is ideal and all the momentum built up by Tonga features games in Aotearoa. The RLWC in England will see Tonga flip between extremes; a sea of red vs the odd Tongan fan.
The RLWC starts with England vs Samoa at St. James' Park in Newcastle. Samoa are favourites and that ignores the fact that England are playing in a football stadium in front of their home fans who haven't seen Test rugby league in yonks. St James' Park has a capacity of 50,000-ish and even if that mark isn't reached for this RLWC game, there will be at least 20,000 English rugby league fans frothing for footy.
Being based in Australia was a blatant disadvantage for Warriors, Breakers, and Phoenix. Now these ideas will be put into action for the RLWC as Samoa and Tonga will try to live up to expectations in England. World Cups are fun because talent isn’t always the key factor in winning. Focus, discipline, depth, chemistry, and mana become more important when away on tour for a month. It may be as simple as the team who drinks the least beer, wins this RLWC.
Aotearoa and Australia are on tour as well. Australia won the 2013 RLWC in England but they were experienced and well versed in tour life. Australia don’t have that same experience now and haven’t played a Test since 2019. Aotearoa is talented, but they have also been the busiest rugby league nation since 2017 and many of this current squad previously toured England in 2018. Aotearoa ticks the most 'World Cup vibe’ boxes as well as being supremely talented.
Australia face Fiji in their opening game (Sunday, after England vs Samoa) and Siua Wong may line up for Fiji. Wong has featured a few times in these newsletters as an example of Sydney Roosters resources - moved from Auckland (Mt Albert Grammar) to Sydney where he has been housed, placed in school and developed by Roosters.
Wong played SG Ball (U19), Jersey Flegg (U21) and NSW Cup this season - now he is in Fiji's squad for the RLWC (also Tonga/NZ eligible). Wong has emerged as one of the best Kiwi-NRL prospects this year and despite starting the season in SG Ball, Wong played an NRL trial, plus 80 minutes in all 10 of his NSW Cup games as an edge forward. I'll be tracking his RLWC mahi closely.
First Women's Big Bash League game was Sydney Sixers defeating Brisbane Heat.
Amelia Kerr: 19 runs @ 127sr | 4ov @ 7.25rpo.
Jess Kerr: 2w @ 4.25rpo.
Suzie Bates: 4 runs @ 44sr.
Bates was on the winning side and while Jess Kerr dismissed two of the world's best cricketers in Alyssa Healy and Ash Gardner. Sydney also has Ellyse Perry who took 2w and scored 55 runs @ 115sr to set up their victory. Bates will play her role in this Sixers team which will hopefully feature plenty of runs alongside Healy at the top of the order.
Friday night's game is Sydney Thunder vs Hayley Jensen/Hobart. Bates will be in action again on Saturday against her former team Adelaide, as well as the Kerr sisters playing against Melbourne Stars. Bates will play on Sunday against Stars, then Sophie Devine and Maddy Green start their campaign with Perth vs Thunder.
One more domestic cricket contract yarn to whip up ahead of Plunket Shield starting on Tuesday. Auckland won Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy last summer. Fabulous success that wasn't solely due to Glenn Phillips, Martin Guptill and Mark Chapman but they were emphatic…
Plunket Shield
Glenn Phillips: 358 runs @ 59.66avg/75sr
Martin Guptill: 296 runs @ 49.33avg/130sr
Mark Chapman: 256 runs @ 36.57avg/62sr
Ford Trophy
Glenn Phillips: 378 runs @ 42avg/111sr
Martin Guptill: 367 runs @ 52.42avg/103sr
Mark Chapman: 465 runs @ 51.66avg/94sr
Rob O'Donnell was also a run-scoring monster last season. O'Donnell had 539 runs @ 67.37avg in PS and 283 runs @ 40.42avg in FT, which resulted in O'Donnell touring India with Aotearoa 'A' recently. O'Donnell averaged 16 in the four-dayers and 9.33 in the one-dayers, leading me to ponder how O'Donnell settles back into the Aotearoa summer grind.
Rob's younger brother Will and Adithya Ashok are funky Auckland youngsters. Will O'Donnell scored 335 runs @ 41.87avg in PS and didn't play FT, while only playing two games of Super Smash. O'Donnell has a First-Class average of 44.47 after 11 games and he has flashed FT dominance despite not playing last season.
The younger O'Donnell brother usually makes way for the likes of Guptill, Phillips and Chapman. When he does play, he scores score plenty of runs and I'm curious how he performs across all formats this summer.
If you hadn't already, note down Ashok's name and tap in with the best young spinner in Aotearoa. There are similarities between Ashok and Ish Sodhi as they are both kiwi-Indian leggies from Auckland who impacted domestic cricket early in their careers. In his first dose of domestic cricket, Ashok was a key bowler in Auckland's Super Smash team with 14w @ 17.14avg in 10 games.
Will Somerville (six games) and Louis Delport (four games) combined to play 10 SS games as Auckland's veteran spinners. Ashok took 11w @ 39avg in FT, Somerville took 11w @ 35avg and Delport played a supporting role in the one-day format with 4w @ 34avg. Ashok didn't play a PS game though as Somerville and Delport handled all that mahi.
Ashok showed his potential in his first summer of SS cricket and he must now back that up, while also growing into a regular PS presence for Auckland. Somerville and Delport are both safer PS spin options but Ashok may demand selection after grinding through the off-season.
Domestic Cricket Contract List Breakdowns…
Wildcard’s Notebook
You know there’s an U17 Women’s World Cup going on right now, aye? It’s a bit buried amidst an incredibly busy time in kiwi sports but it’s happening. Hosted by India, where Aotearoa’s best young female footballers played their first game of the tournament against Chile a couple days ago.
Leon Birnie lined his team up in what looked like a 4-3-3. Aimee Feinberg-Danieli in goal. Captain Manaia Elliott at right back with Suya Haering on the left and in the middle were Marie Green and Ella McMillan. Helena Errington and Charlotte Mortlock in midfield with Ella McCann a little higher. Then Ruby Nathan and Kiara Bercelli on either side of Milly Clegg up front.
It was a side with an unusual amount of attacking talent for an Aotearoa youth side (although getting less unusual with each passing tournament, both for the women and the men). But the balance through the middle and the limited preparation as a group seemed to hamper them early on. From the outset you could see that this was a team capable of scoring goals... but they dug themselves into a hole by not being able to avoid conceding them first.
A dozen minutes in, a cross from the left evaded two NZ defenders who seemed to have a play at it and was just kept in on the by-line by Constanza Oliver. She pulled it back low to Ambar Figueroa who was unmarked six yards out despite three defenders in the vicinity... and that was 1-0. A little bit off the pace, not being decisive enough in the area and probably expecting that ball to drift out for a goal kick. That’s all it takes at this level.
The Junior Ferns then set about trying to get up the other end with Bercelli and Nathan having some decent touches and Clegg seeking out shooting opportunities on sight. But on 20’ a long ball over the top caught keeper Feinberg-Danieli in two minds about coming off her line. Had she been more aggressive she could have hacked it to safety. Instead she took down Oliver for a penalty kick (and a yellow card... and a kick in the neck/shoulder that required some physio treatment afterwards). Tali Rover scored from the spot.
2-0 is a huge deficit in these kinds of tournaments so the Ferns knew they had to get a goal back quickly. And they almost did a couple of times. Milly Clegg had one shot brilliantly touched wide by the keeper. There was another which fell her way in space after a super run by Bercelli but she couldn’t get her bearings in time to beat that goalie again (fair play, the Chile keeper Catalina Alvarado was flawless in this match). Bercelli and Errington had also good attempts. The sight of Milly Clegg frustratingly pulling at her hair was a common one.
Chile had more possession and were the better passing team. They also, like good Chilean footballers, threw their whole bodies into challenges which made it tough to progress. The Junior Ferns tended to revert to longer passes trying to hit runners up top which wasn’t a terrible strategy by any means, there was definite potential there whenever they could get beyond the Chile midfield. But it’s hard to control a game that way - especially when you’ve already got the pressure of being two goals down.
But six minutes into the second half the goal did come. Corner kick from Errington not dealt with by Chile and Clegg pounced at the back post. Good finish. Even better awareness/positioning. Clegg has now scored in an U20 World Cup and an U17 World Cup (as well as the NZ National League in between) within the space of only a few months. Game on once again.
Alas, ten minutes later Chile fullback Anais Cifuentes scored what’ll probably be one of the goals of the tournament with a thunderous strike from distance and at 3-1 down in the heat and humidity of India (especially the humidity given the game ended amidst a rather heavy downpour) it was too much to overcome. Multiple players went down with cramps – including Clegg and Errington who are probably the two star players in this team.
It was those two early goals that wrecked them. Both preventable. Both not reflective of what this team is capable of. Chile were the better team, playing positive attacking footy, can’t argue with that, but despite the disparity in possession the shot stats were pretty similar. This Junior Ferns team created chances.
Hopefully they can do the same against Nigeria at midnight tonight... because they almost certainly need to win that game now to have any hope of making the knockouts. Germany beat Nigeria 2-1 in the other game after coming from a goal down. The third group game is midnight on the Monday/Tuesday changeover against the Germans.
NZ vs Chile: Feinberg-Danielli | Elliott, McMillan, Green, Haering | Errington (Colpi 73’), Mortlock, McCann (Cook 62’) | Nathan (Ingham 62’), Clegg (Smith 83’), Bercelli (Page 73’)
Yellow Cards: Feinberg-Danieli 20’, Errington 44’
Goal: Clegg 52’
Remember when Martin Guptill was the all-time leading T20I run scorer? Seems like so long ago now but before he (maybe) lost his place to Finn Allen in the Blackcaps top order and following on from a tour of the West Indies in which Guppy scored 16 (17), 20 (11), and 15 (13), this was the state of the standings...
Martin Guptill – 3497 runs
Rohit Sharma – 3487 runs
Virat Kohli – 3308 runs
That was on 16 August. The Blackcaps then played a couple ODI series (WI & AUS) before having some time off ahead of a T20 tri-series in which Guptill didn’t play at all until the fourth game. In between Guptill T20I appearances, India had played five games at the Asia Cup as well as 3-game T20 series against both Australia and South Africa. Hence as Guptill walked out to bat against Bangladesh the standings now looked like this...
Rohit Sharma - 3737 runs
Virat Kohli - 3712 runs
Martin Guptill - 3497 runs
A solid little cameo of 34 (27) gave Guptill a cheeky boost over the 3500 run mark which was nice. Seems pretty unlikely he gets another shot at #1 though given his age (36yo) and the fact that he no longer seems to be a first eleven Blackcaps T20 player.
Guptill only has two single figure scores in his last 24 innings. He’s averaging 31.79 with a strike-rate of 135.3 in that span so dropping him is pretty harsh, even if his 2022 numbers are dragging that down (10 innings, 232 runs, 23.20 average, 122.8 strike-rate, 0 fifties). But to be honest it’s less about Guptill struggling than it is about Devon Conway and Finn Allen thriving. But there’s a game this arvo and a World Cup on the horizon so don’t wanna make any selection assumptions.
Here’s something that made me laugh...
Men’s National League – Team of the Week #2
GK – Conor Tracey (Auckland City) – Refusing to give anyone else a chance, Tracey had another excellent game for ACFC as they saw off a very tough Cashmere Tech challenge for a 2-0 clean sheet win. Including saving a penalty off Garbhan Coughlan, which not too many keepers have done. Tracey’s in superb form.
RB – Jordan Spain (Christchurch Utd) – Scored a goal pushing up from the back and by rights should’ve had a pair of assists and an easy man of the match award as part of a victory. But the penalty he earned was missed. Another extremely good chance he set up went begging. And Chch Utd could only draw with Napier City. But Spain was fantastic and that unrewarded mahi hasn’t gone astray in this email newsletter at least.
CB – Kaeden Atkins (Napier City Rovers) – It was him or Riley Grover for this spot, opposing young defenders, but Atkins had more work to do as NCR held on for a draw away to Christchurch United. Atkins got a TOW nod last week too (one of three recurrences along with the two Auckland City fellas). The bravery of all those Rovers defenders, Atkins especially, was on full display in that game. It was block after block after block hence NCR remain undefeated.
CB – Dino Botica (Birkenhead) – Respect to any man who goes toe to toe and chest to chest with Hamish Watson over ninety minutes. Botica wasn’t the only one as the entire Birko back three muscled up with maximum ability but Botica was the main man in the approach and you’d better believe that’s getting recognised. Unlucky to miss out on TOW selection last week too. Great start from Dino.
LB – Justin Gulley (Wellington Olympic) – Cheating a little by putting him at left back but that’s fine. Gulls was suspended for the AK City game first up then came back in and was flawless against Melville. Didn’t have a heap of defensive work to do in a dominant display but part of that is because of how well he reads the game and that also meant plenty of JG on the ball triggering transition attacks. Including an assist to his name. Just wonder if his presence might’ve been the different against Auckland City.
CM – Dan McKay (WeeNix) – Amidst a brilliant first half from the Phoenix Reserves, boosting out to a 2-0 lead against Auckland United (which faded into a 2-2 draw), it was Dan McKay instigating things. Taking on the more defensive role in the midfield duo he largely shut down the serious midfield threats of AUFC and his distribution was top class too, evidenced by the stunning assist he got for Riley Bidois’ goal, a 30 metre drop shot of a through ball. So good.
CM – Luke Jorgensen (Birkenhead) – Jumped into the Birko midfield this week and gave them some proper punch. It was a physical game and Jorgo had no dramas with that. He also helped them spring out on the counter attack many a-time and chipped in with the go-ahead goal in their 4-2 win. Crucial areas.
CM – Cam Howieson (Auckland City) – Every game Cam Howieson plays at least a couple of passes that make your jaw drop all the way to the floor. The win against Cashy Tech was no different as he set up both his team’s goals. This is what he does.
FW – Jack-Henry Sinclair (Wellington Olympic) – No team operated at a higher level in week two than Welly Olympic in their 4-0 belting of Melville away. Superb attacking performance, those flowing transitions, so quick to go from defence to attack with pace all over the place. It was unstoppable. Sinclair got a goal and an assist and was running onto everything.
FW – Gianni Bouzoukis (Wellington Olympic) – Unstoppable means unstoppable so might as well lean into it with an all-Olympic forward line. Apologies to the likes of Dane Schnell and Nic Zambrano who were the next ones up. But Bouzoukis scored a double and is now top of the golden boot ranks (early days, of course). A fine number nine display, dropping deep to link up but also making sure he was in the right place lurking to poach a few G’s as well.
FW – Kailan Gould (Wellington Olympic) – Only problem with picking all these Olympians in the front three is that there still isn’t room for Jesse Randall who had a couple of assists too. Ah well, maybe next week. Kailan Gould scored a banger to get his team underway. Constantly picking up the ball and then bursting past his marker. Bit of that bulldog strength to go with it all. It’s too easy to critique Melville for shipping four to these guys but Olympic gave Auckland City problems in week one and the way they played at Gower Park they’d have put four (or more) past most teams in this league.