The Farm
Kiwis & Kiwi Ferns, dogs on NZ football pitches, Plunket Shield notes, Tauihi kiwi stat leaders, WNL Team of the Week, and more
Podcast
Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Youtube
Reading Menu
All Whites in the November WCQs: Squad Yarns & Preview (Football)
New Zealand Warriors Sign Tanah Boyd & Pacific Championship Wrinkles (Rugby League)
The Kiwi-NRL Juniors Who Helped Australian Teams Win In 2024 (Rugby League)
Observations From The 2024 New Zealand Cricket Resurgence (Cricket)
2023/24 Ford Trophy: Auckland Finish First Stanza Top Of The Table (Cricket)
New Zealand vs India Third Test Debrief (Cricket)
2024 Men’s National League – Week 6 (Football)
2024 Women’s National League – Week 6 (Football)
Flying Kiwis – November 6 (Football)
The Steven Adams NBA Comeback Tour With The Houston Rockets Has Commenced (Basketball)
A New Australian NBL Season Looms And Once Again It’s Chock-Full Of Kiwi Players (Basketball)
How Have Those NZ Breakers Next Star Lads Been Tracking Since Their NBA Drafts? (Basketball)
Scotty’s Word
A few months ago Casey McLean was playing Under 19 State of Origin for New South Wales.
Born and raised in Sydney, McLean turned down State of Origin to represent Aotearoa. The 18-year-old made his Kiwis debut in the win over Papua New Guinea and having McLean opting for Aotearoa over NSW/Australia is New Zealand's biggest win of the Pacific Championships.
In previewing the NZ Kiwis squad, I wrote this about the younger McLean brother...
Father Willie McLean is from Auckland and was named as the fullback for the Marist Saints Team of the Century (alongside Francis Meli, Jerome Ropati, David Fusitu'a, Motu Tony, Roy Asotasi, Sonny Bill Williams). Apparently the McLean whanau is related to the Chan whanau, reinforcing their links to Aotearoa as Alex Chan played for NZ Kiwis while son Joe played for NZ-A last year and is in the Storm squad.
McLean is primarily a centre but made his debut on the wing to cover Will Warbrick. While he will probably settle at centre for Kiwis, there is plenty of depth and his ability to play centre/wing will be a lovely asset to Kiwis. Having McLean in the Kiwis mix means that Deine Mariner's decision to represent Samoa doesn't matter and others like Ali Leiataua (Samoa) or Rocco Berry have to elevate to get an opportunity.
11 players have debuted for Kiwis since the 2022 World Cup - nine played junior footy in NZ…
Matthew Timoko: Otahuhu/Ellerslie
Griffin Neame: Suburbs Greymouth
Leo Thompson: Napier Marist
Fa'amanu Brown: Hornby/Halswell
Keano Kini: Northcote
Will Warbrick: Kawerau/Ngongotaha
Phoenix Crossland: Wellington/Sydney
Naufahu Whyte: Bay Roskill
Jordan Riki: Hornby
Casey McLean: Sydney
Erin Clark: Manurewa
Seven debuted this year, so all is well that ends well for Kiwis.
Kiwis had lots of razzle dazzle vs PNG, but Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad's mahi showed his understated all-round quality. I haven't seen Nicoll-Klokstad make these kind of plays before and while I don't think he should be a half for NZ Warriors, it was a nice reminder of what he is capable of...
The Kiwi Ferns loss to Australia was a bummer. After two strong performances including a win vs Australia last year, Kiwi Ferns lost both games this year with an overall tally of 4-38. Tyla King (16 tackles @ 66.6%) and Gayle Broughton (10 tackles @ 55.5%) were challenged defensively by Australia. With the footy they combined for no points or try assists in the two losses.
Kiwi Ferns never really troubled Australia with the footy and that's their biggest issue moving forward. Kiwi Ferns have also had 16 debutants since the 2022 World Cup so they deserve space to keep building...
Leianne Tufuga: Otara
Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa: Auckland/Sydney
Ash Quinlan: Taupo
Amelia Pasikala: Wairoa
Tyla Nathan-Wong: New Lynn
Najvada George: Melbourne
Jasmine Fogavini: Auckland/Sydney
Annessa Biddle: Otara
Brooke Anderson: Sydney
Cheylle Robins-Reti: Taranaki
Capri Paekau: Te Awamutu
Tiana Davison: Waitara
Alexis Tauaneai: Wainuiomata
Gayle Broughton: Hawera
Mackenize Wiki: Manurewa
Brooke Talataina: Auckland/Sydney
Blackcaps T20I stats vs Sri Lanka…
Batting
Will Young: 49 runs @ 96sr
Mitchell Santner: 35 runs @ 87.5sr
Zak Foulkes: 33 runs @ 150sr
Michael Bracewell: 27 runs @ 96.4sr
Josh Clarkson: 27 runs @ 87sr
Glenn Phillips: 17 runs @ 77.2sr
Ish Sodhi: 11 runs @ 78.5sr
Tim Robinson: 3 runs @ 42.8sr
Mitch Hay: 3 runs @ 42.8sr
Mark Chapman: 3 runs @ 25sr
Bowling
Glenn Phillips: 4w @ 4.6rpo
Zak Foulkes: 4w @ 6.1rpo
Lockie Ferguson: 3w @ 3.5rpo
Michael Bracewell: 3w @ 6.7rpo
Mitchell Santner: 2w @ 5.5rpo
Ish Sodhi: 6ov @ 7.1rpo
Jacob Duffy: 4ov @ 7.2rpo
Relevant Blackcaps in ODIs since start of 2023…
Batting
Will Young: 1,004 runs @ 45.6avg/87sr
Glenn Phillips: 578 runs @ 36.1avg/98sr
Henry Nicholls: 466 runs @ 35.8avg/77sr
Mitchell Santner: 298 runs @ 27avg/108sr
Michael Bracewell: 246 runs @ 41avg/128sr
Mark Chapman: 224 runs @ 18.6avg/115sr
Bowling
Mitchell Santner: 20w @ 38.5avg/5rpo
Lockie Ferguson: 18w @ 43avg/5.8rpo
Ish Sodhi: 15w @ 39avg/5.7rpo
Glenn Phillips: 9w @ 43avg/5.9rpo
Jacob Duffy: 7w @ 31avg/7rpo
Michael Bracewell: 5w @ 45avg/5rpo
Josh Clarkson: 3w @ 24avg/6rpo
Blackcaps playing Plunket Shield:
Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Matt Henry, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Blundell
Plunket Shield notes…
Auckland
Finn Allen opened the batting with a FC average of 20.5. Quinn Sunde (23yrs) didn't play Ford Trophy, now in Plunket Shield 1st 11. Bevon Jacobs (22yrs) has been a consistent 1st 11 player this season.
Northern Districts
Ben Pomare (24yrs) seems like ND's leading wicket-keeper behind Tim Seifert - who isn't playing. Sandeep Patel (26yrs) and Matt Fisher (25yrs) didn't play FT now playing PS.
Central Districts
Jack Boyle (28yrs) and Curtis Heaphy (21yrs) opening batting combo after strong start to FT. Angus Schaw (30yrs) didn't play FT, now playing PS.
Wellington
Gareth Severin (24yrs) had one FT game, back in PS 1st 11.
Canterbury
Jesse Frew (23yrs) on debut as wicket-keeper. From Darfield - same place as Zak Foulkes. Matt Boyle (21yrs) keeps his spot in a stacked batting line up.
Otago
Hunter Kindley (25yrs) on debut - got a first ball duck as opening batter. Zak Cumming (19yrs) on debut as a leggy.
White Ferns in WBBL...
Sophie Devine: 47 runs @ 11.7avg/94sr | 3w @ 26avg/7.1rpo
Amelia Kerr: 68 runs 2 68avg/117sr | 4w @ 14.7avg/8.4rpo
Musical jam...
Wildcard’s Notebook
Congratulations to the Breakers for doing the most Breakers thing possible by following up a couple of superb offensive performances with an absolute clunker. It’s not just that they lost by 19 points (83-64) to a Tasmania JackJumpers team that didn’t even look that great... it’s the way that they lost. 39.1% shooting from the field, 32% shooting from threes, only nine free throw attempts all game. 19 turnovers was clearly too many as well. Matt Mooney couldn’t continue his recent form while they didn’t get much at all from their bench.
Worst part of the game was a three-point third quarter. Yes, three points in the entire frame. Later that evening Chris Goulding scored 25 points all by himself in a single quarter while the Breakers only scored three points. How they could go from the sublime efforts of that win in Melbourne to whatever this was... go figure. Maybe it’s because Mitch McCarron returned from injury to jinx them. McCarron had an Offensive Rating of 80 prior to his injury, that was from roughly 69 minutes. After getting seven mins on his return to action that Off Rtg has dropped to 76.
The Niche Cache is funded by generous kiwis who love sport. Please consider joining the Patreon whanau or upgrading to a paid Substack salute where you can access our bonus weekly Subscriber podcast.
Tauihi Kiwi Stat Leaders After Round 7…
Points Per Game
Tahlia Tupaea (Northern Kahu) – 19.1 (4 overall)
McKenna Dale (Tauranga Whai) – 12.5 (14)
Esra McGoldrick (Mailand Pouakai) – 12.3 (15)
Penina Davidson (Northern Kahu) – 12.1 (16)
Sharne Robati (Mainland Pouakai) – 9.0 (23)
Rebounds Per Game
Penina Davidson (Northern Kahu) – 9.3 (5)
Esra McGoldrick (Mailand Pouakai) – 7.0 (11)
Stella Beck (Tokomanawa Queens) – 6.8 (12)
McKenna Dale (Tauranga Whai) – 5.6 (16)
Sharne Robati (Mainland Pouakai) – 5.4 (17)
Assists Per Game
Krystal Leger-Walker (Northern Kahu) – 4.9 (4)
Stella Beck (Tokomanawa Queens) – 3.5 (9)
Esra McGoldrick (Mailand Pouakai) – 2.8 (14)
Pahlyss Hokianga (Tauranga Whai) - 2.6 (15)
Penina Davidson (Northern Kahu) – 2.4 (18)
Minutes Per Game
Stella Beck (Tokomanawa Queens) – 36.1 (4)
Esra McGoldrick (Mailand Pouakai) – 32.2 (16)
Penina Davidson (Northern Kahu) – 31.3 (17)
Tahlia Tupaea (Northern Kahu) – 30.5 (18)
Zoe Richards (Southern Hoiho) – 29.3 (20)
Having combed through these stats and a few more, combined with the experience of watching a few of these games... I’m now pretty confident in saying that there are too many imports in this league. It was always the worry when they expanded things to five players – three from wherever, two from Aussie/Asia – with those spots all mandatory, but you’ve gotta let things play out and give it a chance. It’s had a chance and now I can safely say I would prefer to see more New Zealanders getting proper minutes in the New Zealand domestic basketball league.
Choose Your Own Adventure...
Option 1 – Annalie Longo’s dog Tiger, which ran onto the pitch during the latest Welly Nix ALW game and left with a cuddle...
Option 2 – The dog that took a poo at Madills Farm during a National League game between Eastern Suburbs and Auckland City in 2020...
Funny as it was to see a dog interrupt an A-League game, we’ve gotta keep that instance within the bounds of historical context because the NZ National League has been stacked with such events in recent years. It’s already happened once during the 2024 WNL. There was the pup that helped Southern United celebrate their 2021 South Central Series championship. Don’t forget the regional game earlier this year where a goal was disallowed because of a pair of canine intruders. That was at Madills Farm, as was this instance during a WNL match last year. They don’t call it a farm for nothing. That’s five National League examples from the past five years. The ALW one wasn’t about the A-League at all, it was about the grand tradition of dogs on football grounds in Aotearoa. This is footballing heritage.
An All Whites starting eleven featuring no players from the current squad...
Keen Sims | Dalton Wilkins, Isaac Hughes, George Stanger, Sam Sutton | Cam Howieson, Ryan Thomas | Marco Rojas, Andre De Jong, Lachlan Bayliss | Max Mata
Chuck in the likes of Nik Tzanev, Dane Ingham, Matt Dibley-Dias, Fin Roa Conchie, Jay Herdman, Oskar van Hattum, and Alex Greive and that team is looking alright, you know. All from players outside the top 25 (aka the current squad plus Ben Old who is injured).
I’m also very curious about what changes might occur with the Football Ferns whenever the hell they next get together. Surely Hannah Blake has earned herself a call-up, while Maggie Jenkins and Deven Jackson should be going close. The list of professional debuts from this year’s U20 World Cup squad has gotten longer with Milly Clegg (Racing Louisville) and Kiara Bercelli (Sampdoria) joining Suya Haering (Turbine Potsdam) and Lara Colpi (Thun) while Olivia Page (Sheffield United) has finally made a league debut. But we’ll park that idea for another day.
WNL Team of the Week #7
GK – Nikki Whyte (Eastern Suburbs) – She was making fingertip saves from long shots, smothering saves from close ones, sweeping outside her area, closing down runners in behind... flawless mahi.
RB – Ava Lewis (Western Springs) – At 16 years old Lewis has started every game this season and has been steadily improving every single week. Against Central, she had her statement performance adding two assists and a magnificent goal to her industrious fullbacking.
CB - Rebekah Trewhitt (Wellington Phoenix) – There was this one lunging block that she made in the first half that blew the mind. Not as much attacking funk this week from Trewhitt but she was strong and composed and very impressive in defence.
CB – Yukino Nishizono (Eastern Suburbs) – Two steps ahead at all times. Especially in the first half when Suburbs kept getting caught short-numbered at the back and Nishizono kept sweeping things up regardless. Such an immensely tidy player.
LB – Saskia Vosper (Auckland United) – Best of the lot in another routine Auckland United win, where they didn’t fully click yet their overwhelming quality was still too much. Vosper even got to mark her younger sister Ariana during the latter stages. Older sis still runs the roost.
CM – Saki Yoshida (Eastern Suburbs) – You know what she’s like. Defensively sound, smart with the ball. She’s been one of the most underrated players in NZ for a few years now and nothing’s changed.
CM – Georgia Keen (Southern United) – Lots of international players in the selection this week, including the entire midfield. Aussie import Keen was a tad fortunate with the goal she scored but the combative, assured work the rest of the way was all earned.
CM – Emma Starr (Waterside Karori) – Third goal of the season in the 1-1 draw with Welly Utd and she’s done it from midfield whilst also being one of the best passers in the competition. Every week she’s levels above the opposition. Too good.
FW – Sofia Garcia (Eastern Suburbs) – With a goal and assist against Canterbury Utd, this felt like Garcia’s most influential game of the season. Hasn’t been 100% fit and that’s hampered her a bit but Suburbs have won four in a row now, peaking at the right time.
FW – Britney Cunningham-Lee (Eastern Suburbs) – Possibly the most unstoppable player in the WNL this season. Two goals and an assist this week in a 3-1 win against a tricky Canterbury Utd team. She has six goals and five assists overall. As I say: unstoppable.
FW – Aimee Phillips (Western Springs) – She didn’t play for the Football Ferns out of charity, mate. AP’s constant movement and her directness were too much for Central’s young defence to handle, involved in countless attacking moments and leaving with a pair of goals to her name.
Musical Jam...