The Changing Landscape
The Changing Landscape
Breakers Finals Mahi, Warriors NRL & NSW Cup, Oceania Champions League qualifiers, Zoe Hobbs sprinting, domestic cricket & more
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Reading Menu
Football Ferns vs Portugal/Argentina: Part One, Keeping Things In Context (Football)
Football Ferns vs Portugal/Argentina: Part Two, Into The Mangroves (Football)
All Whites vs China: Squad Yarns & Preview (Football)
The Breakers Were Wooden-Spooners, Now One Year Later They’re NBL Finals-Bound (Basketball)
The Legend Of Charlisse Leger-Walker Grows Ever Larger (Basketball)
2022/23 HBJ Shield: Maddy Green's Ascension, Amy Satterthwaite Bows Out and More (Cricket)
2022/23 Plunket Shield: Blackcaps Intrigue and Notes For All Teams (Cricket)
10 Funky Kiwi-NRL Youngsters For 2023 (Rugby League)
Scotty’s Word
The Breakers have forced a fifth NBL finals game against Sydney Kings. Having lost in Sydney on Friday night, Breakers had to bounce back quickly and they did just that in front of a monster home crowd in Auckland. Regardless of what happens in the last game on Wednesday in Sydney, the atmosphere for yesterday's win serves as a reminder of basketball's undercover status in Aotearoa.
Decent crowds have been a staple in the NZ NBL, especially in recent years as basketball's growth was amplified. This flows through cricket, football, and rugby league as well, highlighting the changing landscape of kiwi sport. The diversity in these crowds is also impressive with folks from all walks of life showing up to support and take part in kiwi sporting excellence.
Breakers basketball looks like a party. Senses are attacked, the hype-man/general manager runs around the court and instigates typically kiwi chants. Pink and sky blue flashes everywhere. Personally, I prefer the mellow vibes of sittin' sideways at a Test match but the Breakers vibe for NBL finals is as impressive as any other live sports event in Aotearoa.
Watching lots of Breakers means listening to Andrew Mulligan and Casey Frank. I have them level with Mark Richardson and Katey Martin, as my favourite kiwi commentary teams. Brook Ruscoe is a nice addition and the way these lads have integrated Aussie NBL guru Liam Santamaria into their flow for the finals has been slick.
So when Santamaria is chatting about that crowd being as loud as any other NBL crowd he's experienced: take note. Mulligan offered the same insight after Barry Brown Jr's breakaway dunk. The away trip to Sydney for this last game is niggly, but at least kiwi basketball has had a chance to flex over the sporting landscape after its pandemic adversity.
Some more observations...
Rob Loe played 23mins in the first two games and played 30mins in the next two games. This coincides with Tom Vodanovich playing less minutes and perhaps coach Mody Moar is enjoying Loe's size against in this match up against Sydney's big men. Loe has attempted a 3-pointer in all four finals games as well and while he's not consistently hitting them, Loe has a funky skillset for this series.
Izaya Le'afa came off the bench for the first two games before starting the next two games. This has come at the expense of Rayan Rupert, who is a longer defender but lacks the creativity of Le'afa. Even with Rupert's length, Le'afa is a rugged defender who can switch on to bigger blokes and do a serviceable job.
Le'afa is from Wellington and he's one of the most important local lads in this Breakers outfit. Tom Abercrombie is a Breakers legend from Auckland and while struggling to score yesterday, he had 6 steals in a game where Sydney had 15 turnovers.
NZ Warriors lost to Roosters in NRL and SG Ball this weekend, winning the NSW Cup game. As noted throughout these email newsletters, Roosters have some of the best Kiwi-NRL juniors in their system. The SG Ball team featured Cassius Tia (Marist), Benaiah Ioelu (Tangaroa College), Salesi Foketi (Manurewa) and Jayden Smith (Waiheke) who returned to Auckland for this game. Javahn Stevenson-Hala (PNBHS) also scored 2 tries in his return to Aotearoa.
Warriors SG Ball have lost two games in a row. In losing to Knights and Roosters, Warriors have lost to teams with at least four Kiwi-NRL juniors in their line up. Storm sometimes give that number a nudge, but it's funky that the two deepest Kiwi-NRL SG Ball teams have handed Warriors their only losses so far.
In NSW Cup, Ali Leiataua (Papatoetoe) and Zyon Maiu'u (Te Atatu) are building momentum. Jazz Tevaga played and along with Freddy Lussick, Ronald Volkman and Taine Tuaupiki they are the closest to NRL footy. Leiataua and Maiu'u have quickly impressed against men after their stints with Warriors-Redcliffe; they played their roles in an U21s team that made the Queensland final last year.
Leiataua scored 2 tries last week and had a try assist this week, with 14 runs - 150m @ 10.71m/run and 2 offloads. Viliami Vailea is ahead of him in the centre ranks but Warriors are flush with depth in the outside backs.
Maiu'u has started both games at prop...
vs Knights: 44min, 12 runs - 124m @ 10.33m/run, 19 tackles @ 86%
vs Roosters: 57mins, 13 runs - 129m @ 9.92m/run, 20 tackles @ 91%
An interesting comparison for Maiu'u is Naufahu Whyte (Bay Roskill) who started at lock for Roosters NRL in their win over Warriors. Maiu'u and Whyte are from Kelston Boys High School, both combined rugby league with 1st 15 union, both are growing as middle forwards in/around the NRL. Maiu'u was a loose forward in 1st 15 while Whyte played midfield.
Whyte vs Warriors: 40mins, 11 runs - 109m @ 9.9m/run, 2 tb, 18 tackles @ 94.7%
Whyte made his debut in 2021 and didn't play NRL last year, dabbling in Roosters U21s but spending most of the year in NSW Cup. Now he has played in both games to start this season and he must have made an impact over the summer as he's got 39mins in the loss vs Redcliffe as well.
In today’s Kiwi-NRL Spotlight video for the Patreon whanau, I chatted about Whyte and other young Kiwi-NRL forwards who have been graced with more opportunities in the first two games. Plus all the Warriors stuff and tomorrow is the Blackcaps show.
As for the Warriors, that was an impressive loss. Warriors lost Jackson Ford within 2 minutes and then conceded a try in the 4th minute as it became clear that this would be a tricky affair. Warriors couldn't find cohesion and gave Roosters plenty of opportunities which is far from ideal, yet Warriors didn't crumble. In their first two games under Andrew Webster, Warriors have set their competitive standard.
No Warriors forward dipped below 90% tackling efficiency. Tohu Harris made 60 tackles @ 98%, Mitchell Barnett made 55 tackles @ 96%, Wayde Egan made 45 tackles @ 94% and Marata Niukore made 40 tackles @ 100%. Tom Ale doesn't have a missed tackle in two games. Addin Fonua-Blake has made 58 tackles with just 1 missed tackle.
Roosters had a fabulous backline featuring Joseph Manu (Tokoroa) and Jaxson Paulo (Northcote), so giving them plenty of footy in good areas will usually result in a loss. Add some Sydney heat for extra fatigue, plus the Roosters needing to bounce back and it always felt like Roosters would find a way to win. No shame in that, Roosters have done this for a long time.
Warriors are playing with energy, intensity and vigour under coach Webster. Of the 15 teams who have played two games so far, 10 have conceded more points than Warriors. Roosters could only manage 20 points and if Warriors can restrict teams to this 20-point marker, they will defeat weaker teams. Knights are a weaker team, Roosters are a better team.
After two games, I'm confident that Warriors can crack finals footy. We'll see how this needs adjusting throughout the season.
No play in the third North vs South T20 game today after North won the first two games. Apart from Suzie Bates' 55 runs in the first game and Nensi Patel's 4 wickets in the second game, the mahi from Wellington's batters was intriguing. Rebecca Burns hit 49 runs along with Maddy Green's 59* in the first game and Georgia Plimmer hit 55 in the second game. Plimmer and Burns were the only players to hit a six across both games.
Green's ascension has been a funky thread through the summer and may be the most important White Ferns storyline right now. Green has delivered her best White Ferns mahi in both formats recently, had her best WBBL campaign and hit a fabulous century in the HBJ Shield final.
Burns and Plimmer are same, same but different. I view them as the best T20 batters outside the big-four (Bates, Devine, A-Kerr, Green). Plimmer doesn't have the runs to match her consistent selection while Burns doesn't have the selection to match her powerful stroke-play. Both have the Tawa style of punchy shots through the off-side and I reckon the best White Ferns T20 batting line up has both alongside the big-four.
When pondering the success of Wellington wahine, it's easy to highlight Sophie Devine and the Kerr sisters. Burns and Plimmer have been staples of this Super Smash dynasty as well though. Most players enjoyed a strike-rate bump this season as they spend more time training (cricket/strength) and with another winter looming, I'm curious how Burns and Plimmer develop as confident hitters.
Neil Wagner has a bulging disk and a torn hamstring?
Damn bro.
And he still tried to trundle in after?
Hopefully we see Wagner trundle in again soon. The fact that he is 37-years-old with these injuries is countered by the fact that he is Neil Wagner. Wagner was also in the midst of a sneaky wicket-taking streak…
Prior to this Test, Wagner had wickets in eight consecutive innings. This includes a Ford Trophy game and three Super Smash games, two of which were finals. Some people only see Wagner when he is bowling in Tests and yet this dude helped Northern win their second Super Smash championship in a row. The fact that Wagner had missed a few summers of Super Smash cricket and only plays Tests or Aotearoa could help his longevity.
Doug Bracewell has been called into the Test squad and Will Young returns to Plunket Shield cricket - both are Central Stags. Bracewell has 23w @ 20avg this season in PS, while Young has centuries in PS (35.71avg) and Ford Trophy (89.33avg) along with his Super Smash strike-rate of 165.
Here are my Blackcaps Test pace bowling rankings…
Tim Southee
Matt Henry
Kyle Jamieson
Neil Wagner
Blair Tickner
Doug Bracewell
Scott Kuggeleijn
Jacob Duffy
Lockie Ferguson
Henry Shipley
Less of my vibe and more reading through Blackcaps selections etc. Bracewell's injury probably gave Scott Kuggeleijn a chance against England, while Tickner has snapped up his chance to stay ahead of Bracewell. Tickner, Bracewell, and Kuggeleijn are competing for two spots in the second Test vs Sri Lanka. I hold on to hope that Lockie Ferguson can be a longform factor and I’m not sure how it pans out after Henry Shipley.
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
As the bro already mentioned, the Breakers produced their best performance of the postseason yesterday as they beat the Sydney Kings 80-70 to send the NBL Finals to a deciding game five.
Massive areas. They started with ferocious energy and were able to mould proceedings into the defensive duel that they wanted. Chuck in some timely, mostly efficient buckets (outside of some bang average three-point and free throw shooting) and that was the recipe for victory. This was what this Breakers team have been doing at their best and they were able to reproduce that in a must-win game. Whatever happens in game five, this has been a remarkable season.
Of course, the other thing that happened was the refs seemed to allow more wiggle room than in previous games. Which is funny because of how much whinging there’d been after their two defeats. Not from Mody Maor, ever the professional, nor from his players. But the owner/ceo has been cutting loose on twitter as well as dropping a few soundbites to the media. Pretty cringe... though perhaps it worked? Because the Breakers attempted 26 free throws to just 14 for Sydney in game four. They were called for 17 fouls compared to 20 for Sydney. First time in the series they’d been ahead in either count. Granted they did only shoot 57.7% from those FTs so it wasn’t as effective as it could’ve been.
Personally I’m of the belief that foul counts and such tend to reflect the nature of the contest far more often than they do unbalanced refereeing. So if the Breakers were being called for more of them then it’s probably because of their gritty style and the push from Sydney to set a tone down low. The Breakers have been a high-fouling team all season. It’s a consequence of how they play and was always a chance to get messy in the high focus of the playoffs. Tom Abercrombie’s response was that his team needed to adapt better to the realities of how the games were being called regardless of how they thought it should be. Well, they did that in game four with beautiful benefits.
Where this gets hilarious is with the aftermath of all that. Because Kings coach Chase Buford literally walked out of his press conference after being asked (by Stuff’s Marc Hinton) to clarify his complaints about the physicality of the game. He’d already whined that his team had been playing 5 against 8, implying the refs were on the Breakers’ side. This isn’t Buford’s first rodeo either coz earlier on in the season he’d complained that playing the Breakers was like playing the All Blacks.
Meanwhile Mody kept it classy throughout his own frustrations and in his own presser made the very valid point that there were two teams playing very hard out there, not just one. Game five is on Wednesday night and is going to be absolutely fizzing.
NBL Finals Leaders Thru Four Games...
Minutes Played
Jarrell Brantley – 128
Will McDowell-White – 120
Izayah Le’Afa – 108
Dejan Vasilevic - 107
Dererk Pardon – 106
Points Scored
Barry Brown Jr (NZB) - 70
Jarrell Brantley (NZB) – 69
Will McDowell-White (NZB) – 56
Justin Simon (SYD) - 49
Dejan Vasilevic (SYD) – 48
Total Rebounds
Will McDowell-White (NZB) – 24
Dererk Pardon (NZB) – 23
Justin Simon (SYD) – 23
Jarrell Brantley (NZB) – 22
Xavier Cooks (SYD) – 21
Assists
Will McDowell-White (NZB) – 20
Derrick Walton Jr (SYD) – 19
Barry Brown Jr (NZB) – 9
Dejan Vasiljevic (SYD) - 9
Shaun Bruce (SYD) – 8
Three Pointers Made
Jarrell Brantley (NZB) – 10/24
Dejan Vasiljevic (SYD) – 9/25
Barry Brown Jr (NZB) – 9/30
Angus Glover (SYD) - 8/13
Izayah Le’Afa (NZB – 7/14
I’m not really expecting it but if the Breakers win on Wednesday night, I reckon it’s there are legitimately three blokes in the running for Finals MVP: Will McDowell-White, Barry Brown Jr, and Jarrell Brantley. Would probably lean towards BBJ for his sheer consistency but a big game from either of the others in a decisive fifth game would easily swing that.
It’s also quite a conversation from Sydney’s perspective as regular season MVP Xavier Cooks hasn’t been much of a factor yet and their deep and balanced roster has thrust forward plenty of timely heroes through these four games already. It’s been a great finals series so far, gotta say it. Both teams have set record home crowds along the way.
Who wants to see Zoe Hobbs break the New Zealand record for the 100m sprint?
Sure you do...
Absolute lightning from Aotearoa’s fastest woman, who had already been threatening something special at the NZ championships a week earlier when she ran a national record 11.07 at Newtown Park in qualifying then blitzed an incredible 10.86 sec in the final although the wind assistance was such that it couldn’t count as an official time. However she busted the 11-second barrier for real at the Sydney Track Classic over the weekend with this incredible race. Destroyed all competition in the process.
That was a new NZ record. It was also an Oceania record and Event Record. In fact it’s the fastest time ever run on Australian soil and let’s not forget that Sydney once hosted an Olympic Games. Hobbs currently has the fastest time by anyone in 2023... although it’s out of season for the major European events so that’s not saying as much as it sounds like.
Hobbs is now the 133rd woman in history to run under 11 seconds. The previous NZ record, before Hobbs started beating it every week, was set by Michelle Seymour in 1993 and that was 11.32 seconds. Absolutely shattered it. Zoe Hobbs is now ranked 17th on the planet by World Athletics.
Here’s what the Oceania record books look like since all these shenanigans...
Oh and guess what? There’s an Olympic Games next year.
It was a wonderful and nail-biting weekend for the Wellington Phoenix as both the men and the women had squeaky 1-0 wins over Sydney FC. Which surely qualifies as the best result that the WahiNix have ever mustered, beating the top of the table team - admittedly catching them understrength but that needn’t diminish the achievement. It’s also makes up for a couple of close ones lately where they weren’t able to get points therefore putting them very much in the hunt to avoid the wooden spoon. Newcastle Jets are there within reach and the Nix still have to play them in their final four matches.
The women played superbly to get that win, really digging in over the latter stages especially when earlier on in the season they’d probably have let that slip in sweltering conditions. The men were definitely not at their best but they’ve never lost at Eden Park before, a streak that’s now up to ten games.
Speaking of streaks: Oskar Zawada has scored or assisted in each of his last ten games. He has 12 goals and an assist in his last 15 appearances overall. Never got more than one goal contribution in a match though, oddly. That’s his task for next week because tell ya what these two results may have been brilliant but the getting them could have taken years off our collective lives. Please, I beg of you both, score a second goal next time.
Great yarns there. Might write more about them during the week if time permits. But I did want to chuck up a couple of notes from the wider A-Leagues. Because it was a wicked few days for James McGarry, first signing a contract extension with Central Coast Mariners and then scoring a belter of a goal in the next match. Central Coast surely qualifies as favourite Aussie club (or least despised, if that suits better) with McGarry starting at left back and Storm Roux at right back most games. Not to mention NZ National League legend Brian Kaltack in central defence, although he was still out suspended this past week. Oh and that apparently wasn’t enough kiwi flavour for them because Zac Zoricich made his debut off the bench in their 4-1 win over Macarthur.
Meanwhile Grace Jale got another assist for Canberra United as they drew 1-1 with Western Sydney – who played Malia Steinmetz in central defence in that game, curiously. Jale’s been doing sneaky great work for the Green Machine throughout the season. That’s now two goals and six assists. The latter enough to have her tied for the league lead alongside Cortnee Vine of Sydney FC (Nix did their bit keeping her quiet on Saturday, chur chur). Alex Chidiac, Beattie Goad, Mackenzie Hawkesby, and Cyera Hintzen all have five.
The next best New Zealander is Michaela Foster with two... although we all know that her set piece deliveries have been instrumental in a few more goals than just two, they just weren’t all direct assists. The one against Sydney for example. Half cleared then Kate Taylor slammed it in on the left foot with a dropping volley. Deceptively difficult skill that, just quietly.
The first leg of the Oceania Champions League playoffs ended in a 1-1 draw between Wellington Olympic and Auckland City at Martin Luckie Park. Joel Stevens scored for Olympic after 37 minutes with a quick-trigger finish across the goalie after a super switch of play from Jack-Henry Sinclair to find him and the Greeks were looking good value at that stage, moving the ball quickly and limiting anything that City could muster back the other way. Stevens almost scored a stunner from just inside halfway early in the second half too.
However Auckland City’s superior match fitness, on the back of their Club World Cup exploits, really came to the forefront in the last half hour as the hosts visibly tired and their attacking threat pretty much dried up. Goalie Scott Basalaj had to make a couple of excellent stops in the latter portions although ACFC did bag a deserved equaliser with ten to play – an Emiliano Tade free kick nodded back across goal by Mike Den Heijer and Christian Gray was there to tap it home from close range. Definitely an early season game from both sides. Yet still a very competitive one and the draw sets up a tasty second leg at Kiwitea Street next Saturday (no away goals rule, remember).
These two teams could face each other five times this year. They did so three times in 2022. There was a Chatham Cup tie, a National League round robin meeting, and a National League grand final. Auckland City won all three but the to Natty Leaguers were great contests. Chuck in these two OCL qualifiers and there’s a massive budding rivalry developing between these two clubs – the undisputed best duo in the country. They’ve even got a trophy for it: The Mediterranean Cup. On account of the Croatian/Greek heritage, get it?
And it seems that Wellington Olympic have their sights set firmly on Auckland City as the team to emulate. Had Joel Stevens’ halfway shot gone in (he’s done it before, don’t worry about that) then this may have been different but the most shocking thing about the game was seeing the lineups. It had already been mentioned in the OFC website’s preview that Wellington Olympic had gone big with a trio of new attacking signings: Hamish Watson, Joel Stevens, and Ryan Feutz. Along with Ollie van Rijssel as a new wing-back (replacing Jonty Roubos who’s gone to Miramar Rangers).
That was already quite the splash. Then the team list emerges and Josh Rogerson (previously with Miramar) was starting in defence while Gavin Hoy had also returned to the club (last at North Wellington, best known for his Hawke’s Bay Utd efforts). Plus on the bench were Derek Tieku and Birhanu Taye. Tieku has been one of the best goal scorers in the country with Hamilton Wanderers these last few years. Taye’s also had a few strong NL seasons with Hawke’s Bay (and, like Hoy, popped up with Olympic during a couple previous winters). Oh yes, those Olympians are going for it all, mate.
Next step is to do to the Central League what Auckland City does to the Northern League. Which... they might well do. Their usual main rivals Miramar Rangers lost a lot of players during the course of last year and Olympic have just gobbled up three more of their best. Rangers have stocked up again for the new year, using new coach Kale Herbert’s Waikato connections to add the likes of Ryen Lawrence, Jamie Searle (both Melville), and Joe Harris (Hamilton Wanderers). But that’s a lot of ground to make up.
Meanwhile the Wellington Phoenix Reserves should be pretty stable but they’ll lose a chunk of players around the U20 World Cup. Western Suburbs could be a dark horse with their new Canadian connections via Ole Academy. Would imagine that Napier City Rovers and Waterside Karori are the next best challengers. Anyway, that kicks off in two more weeks. Here are the highlights from the OCL game...