Still Rolling
Blackcaps ODI form, Ford Trophy & HBJ Shield, Football Ferns/All Whites experience, Kiwi-NRL juniors, NBL semis, Liberato Cacace & more
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Auckland FC Have Unveiled Their Very First Men's Reserves Squad (Football)
Observations From The Third Auckland FC vs Wellington Phoenix Derby (Football)
Flying Kiwis – February 25 (Football)
2024/25 Ford Trophy: Canterbury Lead Finals Charge (Cricket)
White Ferns Start 2025 With A Fresh & Funky Squad To Host Sri Lanka (Cricket)
Where To Now For Joseph Parker After A Crushing Win Against Martin Bakole? (Boxing)
Early Exploration Of The 2025 Aotearoa Kiwis Mixer (Rugby League)
New Zealand Warriors Pre-Season Notebook Ahead The 2025 NRL Season (Rugby League)
New Zealand Warriors Start The 2025 NRL Season vs Canberra Raiders (Rugby League)
Scotty’s Word
We have decided to revamp the newsletter and make the most of Substack with more yarns for the paid subscribers. Starting Monday the newsletter will look slightly different and half of each dispatch will be beyond the paywall. We will each offer a few key points for each sport in the free section and then have more paragraphs, plus a few bigger tales to tell for the paid subscribers. For example on Monday I will have some NZ Warriors, Blackcaps, Ford Trophy and HBJ Shield notes in the free section, then more in the paid section.
Our newsletter will be sent out every Monday and Thursday evening. The Thursday dispatch will include our weekly Bonus Pod in the paid section. Most of our work is done for free and there will always be free insights offered by The Niche Cache but we need to try something new. Full newsletters will be copied into Patreon for the whanau there and, along with Buy Me A Coffee, these platforms are the best way to support our mahi.
In our Bonus Pod on Thursday we discussed the variety of Blackcaps contributions in ODIs this year. Blackcaps have played eight ODIs and eight different lads have a 50+ score with these eight lads all scoring 150+ runs this year. Five have a century and seven have passed 50 runs twice. I don't view the opening batter situation as a conundrum because Devon Conway is the only batter in this group with only one 50+ score and a strike-rate below 88 (76sr).
Conway's only batted in four ODIs this year but Mark Chapman has two 50+ scores and a strike-rate of 101.7 in just three ODIs. Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson have scored 230+ runs in five innings. The main thing with Conway is his strike-rate and how he looks when he bats, still fiddling around off stump without much confidence. Well, the main thing is actually that Conway's not in terrible form but Aotearoa has depth with other lads oozing confidence.
My favourite opening combo is Will Young and Ravindra. Further context on Conway's 76sr this year is provided by Ravindra who is grooving along at 114.9sr and in 26 ODI innings he has a career strike-rate of 109.6. Everything else is settled if Daryl Mitchell is available. The main form issue heading into the Champions Trophy was Tom Latham, who currently has three 50+ scores including a century which is the most for Blackcaps batters this year.
Four bowlers have taken 10+ wickets. Two seamers in Matt Henry and Will O'Rourke, two spinners in Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell. Henry is the only bowler averaging below 20 (16.8) this year but Bracewell isn't far behind on 21avg. Bracewell is also the most economical bowler with 3.9rpo - the only Blackcaps bowler below 4rpo.
Including Nathan Smith and Jacob Duffy, Aotearoa has six bowlers with 5+ wickets. Smith is the only player in this group who is over 6rpo (6.4rpo), meaning that Blackcaps have five bowlers with 5+ wickets conceding less than 6rpo.
17 players have been used (including Mitch Hay who played one game). 11 have either two 50+ scores or 10+ wickets.
The Ford Trophy elimination final is being played today between Auckland and Central Districts. Teams have been named...
Auckland are still rolling with Jock McKenzie batting three. Bevon Jacobs is listed to bat five. Simon Keene and Adithya Ashok are back in the mix, playing their first games since the end of Super Smash a month ago. Lachlan Stackpole keeps his spot as a powerful lefty batter who hasn't flexed just yet. Ben Lister is always a player to watch out for as he is a skillful lefty seamer who (like all emerging talent) has a funky skillset/style of bowling.
CD have a super settled team. Curtis Heaphy (433 runs) lost his spot as the leading run-scorer which stopped the young batters leading each competition for runs, but Dale Phillips (457 runs) is the current leader for Ford Trophy runs and he's still an emerging talent. Heaphy is 24 runs behind Phillips and has a chance to take the top spot today, perhaps another chance on Sunday.
Brad Schmulian is also in the 400+ runs group on 415 runs, so he could fire up. Cam Fletcher has 396 runs and Tom Bruce has 393 runs as others in the mix.
Josh Clarkson is stringing games together. Blair Tickner returns after last playing on February 10th. This bumps young seamer Toby Findlay out of CD's 1st 11 and up against Lister, CD have their own lefty in Ray Toole. Angus Schaw is 12th lad, after a very impressive Super Smash campaign for the champions.
Canterbury are straight into the final and here are their season stats…
Cole McConchie: 339 runs @ 42.3avg/90sr | 1w @ 105avg/6.5rpo
Matt Boyle: 287 runs @ 35.8avg/99sr
Chad Bowes: 283 runs @ 94.3avg/150sr
Rhys Mariu: 272 runs @ 30.2avg/83sr
Scott Janett: 159 runs @ 31.8avg/93sr
Zak Foulkes: 144 runs @ 28.8avg/81sr | 13w @ 28.3avg/5.4rpo
Mitch Hay: 145 runs @ 16.1avg/82sr
Michael Rippon: 131 runs @ 21.8avg/62sr | 8w @ 23.2avg/5.6rpo
Angus McKenzie: 66 runs @ 13.2avg/71sr | 8w @ 26.2avg/4.1rpo
Henry Nicholls: 45 runs @ 11.2avg/60sr
Fraser Sheat: 8w @ 25.1avg/4.3rpo
Ish Sodhi: 5w @ 39.4avg/6.1rpo
Sean Davey: 4w @ 19.5avg/3.6rpo
Henry Shipley: 12 runs @ 240sr | 3w @ 14.3avg/6.1rpo
Michael Rae: 3w @ 66avg/5.6rpo
NZ 11 had a win vs Sri Lanka yesterday and are playing again today. Here's how the first game went
Sri Lanka: 244 runs in 49.4ov
Jess Simmons: 8.4ov, 1w @ 4.7rpo
Claudia Green: 6ov, 1w @ 7.3rpo
Nensi Patel: 10ov, 1w @ 3.9rpo
Flora Devonshire: 4ov @ 9rpo
Jess Watkin: 10ov, 3w @ 3.1rpo
Ocean Bartlett: 10ov, 2w @ 4.9rpo
Kate Anderson: 1ov @ 3rpo
NZ 11: 284/6 in 48.5ov
Kate Anderson: 10 runs off 12 balls
Georgia Plimmer: 73 runs off 93 balls
Jess Watkin: 63 runs off 41 balls
Brooke Halliday: 76 runs off 92 balls
Emma McLeod: 14 runs off 23 balls
Izzy Sharp: 16 runs off 23 balls
Flora Devonshire: 9* off 7 balls
Eve Wolland: 4* off 3 balls
HBJ Shield final is Otago vs Auckland on Saturday. Here are the season stats...
Otago
Felicity Robertson: 345 runs @ 43.1avg/71sr | 5w @ 26.2avg/4.2rpo
Bella James: 332 runs @ 47.4avg/81sr |
Polly Inglis: 254 runs @ 36.2avg/96sr
Suzie Bates: 245 runs @ 245avg/89sr
Caitlin Blakely: 192 runs @ 24avg/74sr
Olivia Gain: 132 runs @ 18.8avg/74sr
Hayley Jensen: 98 runs @ 24.5avg/86sr | 15w @ 13.4avg/2.5rpo
Saffron Wilson: 77 runs @ 15.4avg/52sr
Anna Browning: 75 runs @ 25avg/76sr | 13w @ 14.4avg/4.2rpo
Eden Carson: 61 runs @ 30.5avg/88sr | 20w @ 15.8avg/3.5rpo
Chloe Deerness: 8w @ 17.6avg/4.4rpo
Emma Black: 8w @ 32avg/3.6rpo
Louisa Kotkamp: 6w @ 15.8avg/4.3rpo
Auckland
Maddy Green: 572 runs @ 63.5avg/86sr | 1w @ 103avg/5.7rpo
Saachi Shahri: 367 runs @ 52.4avg/73sr
Lauren Down: 280 runs @ 31.1avg/80sr
Izzy Gaze: 257 runs @ 28.5avg/87sr
Josie Penfold: 117 runs @ 19.5avg/66sr | 6w @ 52.8avg/5.4rpo
Bella Armstrong: 109 runs @ 18.1avg/75sr | 1w @ 46avg/5.7rpo
Prue Catton: 80 runs @ 11.4avg/57sr | 1w @ 48avg/5.3rpo
Brooke Halliday: 58 runs @ 29avg/78sr | 1w @ 73avg/6rpo
Amie Hucker: 53 runs @ 10.6avg/58sr | 15w @ 27.2avg/4.4rpo
Bree Illing: 19w @ 21.1avg/4.5rpo
Molly Penfold: 11w @ 17.9avg/4.6rpo
Fran Jonas: 10w @ 34.1avg/4.4rpo
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There are so many young men and women from Aotearoa playing in U19 SG Ball and Tarsha Gale Cup that I'm struggling to keep up. Here's a rough guide for the Aussie teams named this week but I need to keep learning so this isn't as comprehensive as I would like
SG Ball Cup
Knights: Sosaia Latu (Mangere East), Haami Loza (De La Salle College), Xavier Lynch (Halswell), Ezekiel Faga-Ieti (Hornby)
Roosters: EJ Mahu-Delamere (Aorere College), Jackson Stewart (Hornby), Phillip Lavakeiaho (Wesley College), Kanaan Magele (De La Salle College)
Rabbitohs: Caelis Samuel (Mangere East), Kaerangi Mathews (Tauranga)
Sharks: Dallas Blackburn-Kingi (Manukura), Hudsyn Frost (Otahuhu), Hemi Blackburn-Kingi (Manukura), Elijah Paea (Otara), Tipene Thompson (Turangi), Karlos Hati-Ross (Papatoetoe)
Bulldogs: Genesis Ah Kam Sherlock (Linwood), Bronson Reuben (Kaiapoi), Kaawyn Patterson (Westlake Boys), Sosaia Alatini (Hornby), Albert Balchin (Papatoetoe)
Sea Eagles: Ezekiel Paulo (Papanui)
Panthers: Josiah Vaha'akolo-Fifita (Otahuhu)
Tarsha Gale Cup
Sharks: Alianna Tonu'u (Otara)
Panthers: Kahlanie Hebden-Salase (Onerahi), Kyra-Lee Westland (Hornby), Malena Lavea (Richmond), Danica Talitonu (Manukura)
Bulldogs: Simina Lokotui (Mangere East), Tia'ane Tavita Fesolai (Te Atatu), Shaquaylah Mahakitau-Monschau (Waitakere College), Tusitina Fale (Otahuhu), Shafenior Lui (Mangere East), Lahnayah Daniel (Waitakere College), Maeya Talamaivao (Mt Albert), Milahn Ieremia (Marist), Lupelota Opeti-Finau (Mangere East), Miria Faulkner-Luke (Hibiscus Coast)
St George: Gezreyal Maiu'u (Mt Albert Grammar)
Illawara: Billie Va'a (Wainuiomata), Seriah Palepale (Mangere East), Trinity Tauaneai (Wainuiomata)
Knights: Jayda Maniapoto (Freyberg), Fane Finau (Otara)
Musical Jam...
Wildcard’s Notebook
The Aussie NBL semis tipped off last night with Melbourne United grabbing a commanding victory at home in game one (of three) against Perth Wildcats. 105-93 was the final score. This series is stacked with kiwis, each team has three of them. But old mate Chris Goulding was the only man anyone noticed in this particular game, scoring 41 points including 10 three-pointers. Reminiscent of when he torched the Breakers earlier in the season.
With Goulding doing all the damage, the NZers for Melbourne only had to chip in. Shea Ili got 31 big minutes, only scoring 3 points from 1/5 shooting but he did get 8 assists which is way above his season average of 4.8 per game. Melbourne United were +15 with Shili on the court, a plus/minus mark beaten only by Goulding himself in this game. Beyond him, Rob Loe played 20 minutes with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a positive overall impact. Flynn Cameron got eight minutes, a little more than forecast based on recent games, with the rotation tightening in the playoffs. He scored 2 points and made his only field goal attempt. They were +7 with Cameron out there so hopefully that bodes well for more minutes next game.
But the Perth Wildcats stuff kinda sucked. Tai Webster only played 11 minutes off the bench, making both of his shot attempts for 4 points but with a couple of turnovers. Dontae Russo-Nance wasn’t expected to feature, being a deveopment player and all, and he didn’t. However, Hyrum Harris only got about 40 seconds at the end. The starters got torched but the kiwis on the bench were barely used. Again, hopefully that works out in their favour next time, leading to a few changes in the rotation.
NZers in the A-League Men Ranked By xG+xA per 90 Mins
Max Mata (Auckland FC) – 0.90
Logan Rogerson (Auckland FC) – 0.43
Kosta Barbarouses (Wellington Phoenix) – 0.41
Jesse Randall (Auckland FC) – 0.32
Liam Gillion (Auckland FC) – 0.29
Francis De Vries (Auckland FC) – 0.26
Nathan Walker (Wellington Phoenix) – 0.24
Corban Piper (Wellington Phoenix) – 0.19
Lachlan Bayliss (Newcastle Jets) – 0.16
Cam Howieson (Auckland FC) – 0.15
Empoli Football Club have failed to win any of their previous 11 Serie A matches, dropping into the relegation zone as a result. They haven’t even scored a goal in the previous three (which they’ve lost by a combined 10-0 scoreline). At the start of February, they also lost 4-1 to Juventus… but yesterday they met Juve again in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, held them to a 1-1 draw, and knocked them out on penalties. Liberato Cacace took the third of those spotties and smashed it down the middle. Keeper got a big hand to it but couldn’t keep it out. By that point, Dusan Vlahovic had already ballooned one over the top while Kenan Yildiz later missed for Empoli to take the 4-2 shootout triumph.
Not sure how they managed that but it capped a terrible week for Juventus who were also eliminated from the Champions League by PSV and are probably too far adrift in fourth to mount a title challenge in the league. As for Empoli, they desperately needed the confidence boost and with that they advance to the semis of the cup, where they’ll face Bologna (the other semi is Inter vs AC Milan), for the first time in the club’s history.
Seems like there’s something about kiwi footballers and cup competitions lately. Chris Wood’s Nottingham Forest will face Ipswich Town on the weekend for a spot in the last eight of the FA Cup – with Liverpool and Arsenal already eliminated they’re actually the highest-ranked team left in the draw. Concurrent to Cacace balling out for Empoli, Marko Stamenic made his return from injury with twenty minutes off the bench for Olympiacos in a 6-0 first-leg semi-final Greek Cup win against AEK Athens.
Stamenic, of course, has won league and cup doubles in consecutive seasons in different countries and it looks like he’ll probably make that three outta three. He did it with FC Copenhagen in Denmark, then Crzena Zvezda in Serbia, and now Olympiacos in Greece are ninety minutes from a cup final and sit outright first in the Super League. Callum McCowatt had a great run with Silkeborg as they caused a shock in lifting the Danish Cup last season. Victoria Esson won both the Scottish and SWPL Cups last season with Rangers (and is on track to repeat, having already qualified for the League Cup final again). Malia Steinmetz was a Danish Cup winner with Nordsjælland last season. Andre De Jong won the Knockout Cup in South Africa with Stellenbosch. These kiwi footballers are winning things.
By the way, this was a rare instance of Libby Cacace playing as a wing-back for Empoli. They usually prefer Giuseppe Pezzella in that spot but a combination of a long injury list and their admiration for Cacace means they always find a spot for him in the eleven regardless of it’s as a wide defender, as a central defender, or as an attacking winger. If they do get relegated, there’s a very high chance he’d be sold and remain a top flight player, whether in Italy or beyond.
Football Ferns Who’ve Played Since January 2024, Tiered By Caps
0-9 caps: Emma Pijnenburg, Kelli Brown, Manaia Elliott, Maya Hahn, Bri Edwards, Macey Fraser, Ruby Nathan, Hanah Blake
10-19 caps: Katie Kitching, Milly Clegg, Grace Neville, Ally Green, Ava Collins
20-49 caps: Mickey Foster, Mackenzie Barry, Indi Riley, Kate Taylor, Jacqui Hand, Gabi Rennie, Claudia Bunge, Grace Jale, Liz Anton, Malia Steinmetz, Vic Esson, Anna Leat, Paige Satchell, Daisy Cleverley*
50-100 caps: CJ Bott, Meikayla Moore
100+ caps: Rebekah Stott, Katie Bowen, Betsy Hassett, Hannah Wilkinson*, Ali Riley, Annalie Longo
The two asterisks are players who’ve since retired, while Ali Riley (injury) and Betsy Hassett (maternity) haven’t been available for a wee while. Plus Bott, Bowen, and Stott were left out of the most recent squad. 18 players have debuted since the beginning of 2022 and 14 of them were on the Costa Rica tour, including four who debuted during that tour.
The start of a new cycle puts this stuff into focus but in reality there’s been a steady influx of younger players into this team going back several years, as you can see by all the names in that middle tier – many of whom still have reputations as youngsters or newer players but who’ve actually gained quite a lot of international experience. This is even more true of the All Whites, bearing in mind that they play fewer games than the Ferns.
All Whites Who’ve Played Since January 2024, Tiered By Caps
0-9 caps: Alex Paulsen, Finn Surman, Sam Sutton, Liam Gillion, Jesse Randall, Oskar Van Hattum, Fin Roa Conchie, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Francis De Vries
10-19 caps: Tyler Bindon, Ben Old, Alex Greive, Max Mata, Sarpreet Singh, Max Crocombe, Logan Rogerson, Alex Rufer, Dane Ingham, Storm Roux
20-49 caps: Liberato Cacace, Ben Waine, Matthew Garbett, Marko Stamenic, Nando Pijnaker, Callum McCowatt, Elijah Just, Joe Bell, Tim Payne, Bill Tuiloma, Cam Howieson
50-100 caps: Chris Wood, Michael Boxall, Tommy Smith, Kosta Barbarouses
Musical Jam...