The Glovemen
The Glovemen
A new Wellington Phoenix goalie, golden Warriors junior depth, Football Ferns squad cuts, Jordan Riki, Blackcaps in County Cricket & domestic footy roundups
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Aotearoa Warriors Diary: Winning Footy Notebook vs Raiders (Rugby League)
All Whites vs Sweden/Qatar: Squad Yarns & Preview (Football)
Forecasting a Football Ferns FIFA World Cup Squad (Football)
Flying Kiwis – June 7 (Football)
The Breakers Struck The Ideal NBL Next Star Balance With Rayan Rupert (Basketball)
Forecasting The Blackcaps 2023 ODI World Cup Squad (Cricket)
27fm Weekly Playlist: June 12 (Music)
Scotty’s Word
NZ Warriors defeated Raiders in Canberra on Friday night and here is another Winning Footy Notebook. Ali Leiataua was solid in his debut at centre and along with Demitric Sifakula, there are now two examples of young Warriors looking comfortable with NRL physicality in their debuts. Sifakula went a step further by giving Nathan Cleary's chin a nudge with a cheeky punch and their aggression pops out when watching them in NRL.
Two local juniors have made their debuts this season and Taine Tuaupiki has also made his debut. For a smaller bloke, Tuaupiki had no issues with NRL physicality and he is averaging 153m/game in NSW Cup with at least six tackle busts in each of his last four appearances for NSW Cup Warriors. These notes serve as indicators of a nifty Warriors pipeline that is developing talent for NRL footy and there are plenty of others waiting for their opportunities.
Sifakula was on a development contract earlier this year but was upgraded to a top-30 slot prior to the season. This allowed Sifakula to play in the first half of the season and he earned that upgrade through his summer mahi. Leiataua made his debut while on a development contract and development players can step up to NRL from outside the top-30 after round 11 (NRL stuff is a bit murky but this still seems in place).
Warriors also have Zyon Maiu'u and Jacob Laban on development contracts. Valingi Kepu is in the top-30 but is likely to miss all season due to injury. Maiu'u and Laban share the physicality/aggression thread of Sifakula and Leiataua. Maiu'u is a middle forward who sits behind Tom Ale and Sifakula in the 'limited minutes off the bench' spot, while Laban is an edge forward who could get his NRL opportunity through the middle.
Ideally, neither need to make their debuts this year. Dylan Walker, Jazz Tevaga and Sifakula weren't in the team that defeated Raiders for example. It would take lots of injuries/suspensions for Maiu'u to be called upon but him and Laban can enter next season with a full campaign of NSW Cup behind them.
Selumiela 'Leka' Halasima is right there with Maiu'u and Laban in the forwards depth chart. Halasima grabbed a three-year contract last month but we don't know if that includes a development spot. If so, Halasima could command a debut but given he is still at Southern Cross Campus in Mangere, he will probably be stashed away in NSW Cup.
Isaiah Vagana and Kalani Going could play their way into development spots as well. Vagana is usually starting at prop alongside Maiu'u and Going has earned extended NRL bench selection already this season. Going is slightly older and more mature, which could make him better suited to an NRL opportunity this year, especially given his versatility.
There is always noise about Warriors signing another prop. Maiu'u is probably that guy though and Warriors have plenty of hungry youngsters in line, who are also cheaper than an established NRL player. Tanner Stowers-Smith (Halswell) has jumped up from SG Ball to NSW Cup and when not playing NSW Cup, he plays against men for Pt Chevalier alongside fellow middle forward Harry Durbin (Pikiao) and edge forward Presley Seumanu (SPC 1st 15).
This opens us up to SG Ball lads now playing against men in Fox Premiership. Ben Peni (Otahuhu) is another middle forward playing FP which gives Warriors three SG Ball middles (Peni, Durbin, Stowers-Smith) now playing against men. Eddie Ieremia is usually playing edge forward for Howick. Kayliss Fatialofa is usually playing centre for Howick in FP and played edge forward for SG Ball.
Add in Etuate Fukofuka who has already played SG Ball, FP and NSW Cup at hooker this year as well as Makaia Tafua (Linwood) who played SG Ball and is now a bench hooker for Otahuhu. That's most of the SG Ball forward pack now playing against men and this is bolstered by three play-makers moving from SG Ball to FP; Sefanaia Cowley-Lupo (Bay Roskill), William Piliu (Mt Albert) and Phranklyn Mano-Le-Mamea (Howick).
Playing against men is a useful development tool, but next season most of these lads will shift from SG Ball (U19) to Jersey Flegg (U21). When they are too good for Flegg they will jump up to NSW Cup.
Warriors are flush with outside back depth. Leiataua skipped past Viliami Vailea and Brayden Wiliame to make his debut. Edward Kosi is out of action at the moment. Moala Graham-Taufa can play wing and centre, who along with his twin Lani (now playing FP for Marist) climbed up the Roosters junior system. Sanele Aukusitino is a powerful winger from St Pat's Silverstream in Wellington who spent time with Raiders and Sea Eagles.
Graham-Taufa and Aukusitino have NRL quality. Setu Tu is in the mix as well after returning to Auckland from a stint with Redcliffe. Patrick Moimoi was also highlighted by Warriors as a pathway signings after he played centre for SG Ball, while wingers Raphael Sio and Sio Kali are SG Ball wingers with high upsides.
Here is a depth chart breakdown of NZ Warriors players who are from NZ and have not played NRL...
Outside backs: Moala Graham-Taufa, Setu Tu, Sanele Aukusitino, Kayliss Fatialofa, Patrick Moimoi, Sio Kali, Raphael Sio
Play-makers: Eiden Ackland, Sefaina Cowley-Lupo, William Piliu, Phranklyn Mano-Le-Mamea
Hookers: Paul Roache, Etuate Fukofukoa, Makaia Tafua
Middles: Zyon Maiu'u, Selumiela Halasima, Isaiah Vagana, Tanner Stowers-Smith, Harry Durbin, Ben Peni
Edges: Kalani Going, Jacob Laban, Eddie Ieremia, Presley Seumanu
Lovely win for Storm last night over Sharks and Nelson Asofa-Solomona got 63 minutes at edge forward - the funkiest version of NAS. Eliesa Katoa was injured early and Asofa-Solomona came off the bench to plug a hole at right edge, something coach Craig Bellamy has done in previous seasons. Asofa-Solomona had 15 runs - 170m @ 11.33m/run, the most tackle busts of all Storm players with 12 and a cheeky dummy half run.
Jordan Riki has climbed up to a starting edge forward spot for Aotearoa Kiwis with his recent form while others like Briton Nikora, Isaiah Papali'i and Kenny Bromwich are battling with their respective teams. Measuring Riki's performances for Broncos is tricky as his stats are never bonkers, but his intensity every game for three consecutive seasons is immense.
Riki has shut down his offloading, while his three linebreaks so far this season has him on track for a career-best tally (best is four in 2021). When Broncos were missing their State of Origin players against Warriors and Sharks, Riki had his first two games of 100+ metres and he made a combined 80 tackles with one missed tackle. Settling back into his regular output against Knights, Riki had 80m and 40 tackles with two misses.
Five tries is a career-best mark for Riki this season and he is in his third season playing 15+ games, with at least 70mins in every game this season. The Hornby junior's consistency is notable at 23-years-old and all of this is aligned with Riki's pedigree as a youngster coming out of Christchurch.
Roosters are struggling and Joseph Manu's move to halves isn't working very well. Roosters are last for points and tries scored which is evident in Manu's season. Manu has scored one try in 10 games after scoring at least eight tries in each of the five seasons prior. Manu also has just one linebreak after six seasons of at least seven linebreaks and he has one try assist after at least five try assists in each of the five seasons prior.
Two seasons of 140+ metres per game has dropped down to 125m. In the halves Manu is averaging 40.22 kicking metres per game which is his first season over 20 kicking metres per game. Manu also has a career-high three forced drop-outs this season. Manu's form is aligned with Roosters and I'm curious to see how Manu and Roosters work through this.
Kiwi County Tour cricket returned last night. The most notable bits of action from Sunday night was Henry Shipley scoring 41 runs (71.9sr) down the order for Sussex and his Canterbury homie Will Williams snaring 3w @ 0.93rpo for Lancashire. Tom Latham is in the Surrey team playing against Kent, coming up against kiwi seamer Matt Quinn and Aussie Wes Agar.
Will Williams, Daryl Mitchell - Lancashire
Matt Henry - Somerset
Tom Latham - Surrey
Matt Quinn - Kent
Henry Shipley - Sussex
Ajaz Patel - Durham
Musical jam…
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Wildcard’s Notebook
The Wellington Phoenix hombres signed a new goalkeeper the other day: Australian Jack Duncan, previously of the Newcastle Jets. Duncan is 30 years old and has played 104 A-League games. He’s also had brief stints in Denmark (Randers) and Saudi Arabia (Al-Qadsiah) though most of his senior footy has come in his years with the Jets. He did have one more year on his contract but they’ve given him an early release.
This does not seem to be a signing that’s gone down swimmingly with the Welly Nix community. Last thing most Phoenix fans recall of Jack Duncan was him having a nightmare at Sky Stadium, fumbling a cross at the feet of Callan Elliot who gratefully slotted in his first ALM goal. In that game he was also a rare goalie to have been beaten by a Phoenix penalty kick as Oskar Zawada scored from 12 yards soon afterwards. Ended up as a 2-1 win for Wellington, highlights here.
Hence it’s funky when Jack Duncan said this in the press release...
“I’m known for shot stopping and being quite quick around the goal. I also like to dominate the box and come for crosses, and sweep in behind the backline. Hopefully I can bring all of those attributes to the Phoenix and keep some clean sheets.”
But then we’re talking about one instance there across a long season and overall Jack Duncan did alright. Actually he compares pretty nicely to what Oli Sail’s been up to these last three years. Fewer games but a similar clean sheet rate and despite playing for a worse team he allowed fewer goals on average and had a better save percentage last term.
Jack Duncan
20-21: 16 GM | 1.19 GA/90 | 41 SAVES | 69.5 SAVE% | 4 CS
21-22: 20 GM | 1.75 GA/90 | 57 SAVES | 63.3 SAVE% | 4 CS
22-23: 16 GM | 1.56 GA/90 | 67 SAVES | 74.7 SAVE% | 3 CS
Oli Sail
20-21: 20 GM | 1.20 GA/90 | 87 SAVES | 79.1 SAVE% | 6 CS
21-22: 23 GM | 1.75 GA/90 | 93 SAVES | 72.1 SAVE% | 5 CS
22-23: 26 GM | 1.73 GA/90 | 100 SAVES | 70.0 SAVE% | 5 CS
But that’s not the main point here. The main point is that this signing is underwhelming for a reason: Alex Paulsen. Giancarlo Italiano said weeks ago that his plan was to bring in an experienced goalie to balance with Paulsen but not someone who would be an undoubted number one. He wants a goalkeeping duel between the two. Paulsen is the best GK prospect the club has ever brought through (and there have been a few goodies in there) yet Chiefy doesn’t want to promise him anything yet. He’s a young goalie who needs motivation so the plan is to have two similarly matched glovemen, one up-and-coming and one established, to duke it out over preseason.
Look at it from this point of view: If Alex Paulsen is ready, he’s going to be the Nix’s week one starter. If not then he’s still going to get those chances over the course of the season.
Sneaky development ahead of the World Cup here with Aussie international Angie Beard officially switching her allegiances towards the Philippines and being named in their 29-player preliminary WWC squad. Beard has played three times for the Matildas but all were friendlies so she wasn’t irreversibly tied to them. This also isn’t out of the blue at all because she’s trained with the Philippines team a few times already and has been open about this being something she was seriously pondering. She’s eligible for the Filipinas through her mother.
The Philippines are in the same group as the Football Ferns. They are the best bet for that first ever Fernies World Cup victory although Alen Stajcic (another Aussie connection) has gotten them humming since he took over – part of that being down to the dual-nationals they’ve been able to commit. Beard most recently played for Western United, however she did have a stint in Europe playing for Fortuna Hjørring in Denmark. Funny thing about that is one of her teammates there was another Australian international named Indiah-Paige Riley... who of course has since switched from Australia back to her birth nation of Aotearoa.
Ally Green also went the same way as Indi Riley, although she never played a senior international game for Australia. Deborah-Anne De la Harpe did the same thing earlier this year when she debuted for Ireland having been an Aussie rep at all the various age levels. Born and raised in Oz albeit from an Irish family.
Realistically though, none of those four were making the cut for a Matildas squad unless there were injuries and they certainly weren’t going to have the same chances for minutes with Australia as they will with their alternates.
On that topic, the Football Ferns have cut their squad down to 33 players for the last few weeks of training camp prior to naming the 23 players who’ll be representing at the World Cup. Not all of those 33 players are with the team yet. Some have only just finished their club seasons and will be down shortly. A couple others won’t be able to get there until after the squad is named (but we can already safely assume that Ali Riley, Erin Nayler, and Jacqui Hand will be in the final group). Here are the 31 players still in contention...
Goalkeepers: Brianna Edwards, Victoria Esson, Anna Leat, Erin Nayler
Defenders: Liz Anton, Mackenzie Barry, CJ Bott, Katie Bowen, Claudia Bunge, Michaela Foster, Ally Green, Meikayla Moore, Grace Neville, Ali Riley, Rebekah Stott, Kate Taylor, Ashleigh Ward
Midfielders: Olivia Chance, Daisy Cleverley, Betsy Hassett, Annalie Longo, Ria Percival, Malia Steinmetz, Grace Wisnewski
Forwards: Milly Clegg, Ava Collins, Jacqui Hand, Grace Jale, Gabi Rennie, Indiah-Paige Riley, Emma Rolston, Paige Satchell, Hannah Wilkinson
Eight other players had been involved in training up until this point. Lily Alfeld was there but never sufficiently recovered from her injuries to be considered. Chloe Knott as well, though she isn’t actually eligible yet. Knott, by the way, has signed on with Auckland United to bridge the gap to the next Wellington Phoenix season. Scored a belter of a goal the other day. Also missing the cut were: Alyssa Whinham, Deven Jackson, Hannah Blake, Murphy Sheaff, Maggie Jenkins, and Aniela Jensen.
No real surprises there. Blake is the unluckiest as her form in the ALW with Perth Glory was honestly at least as good as a couple more established Ferns forwards... but that more established bit matters. And with ten more players to be cut, chances are the valid comparisons won’t be going to the World Cup either. All those cuts are young players whose turn will come next time if they keep on going – Deven Jackson is slightly older (she and Blake have finished uni in the States whereas the others, bar Whinham, are still going) but she’s playing amateur with Eastern Suburbs.
As for the remaining cuts, one goalie will definitely miss out and that’ll be Bri Edwards. Then nine more from the rest. The fitness of Longo will be a factor. Percival, Chance, and Hassett are/have been injured too though should be fine for when it matters. A couple fullbacks will drop off, as will at least two midfielders. Then come the tough decisions about forwards and central defenders, working out the balance of what’s required in a World Cup squad. This is what I came up with a month ago when I wrote my squad prediction...
Righto, time for the weekly domestic footy wrap...
There’s been a real power shift in South Auckland football this year, with Manurewa AFC’s hot form after promotion coinciding with Manukau United, who’ve been in the top division for a few years now, finding themselves deep in a relegation battle. Manurewa strolled to a 4-0 win away against West Coast Rangers this weekend with Monty Patterson scoring a hat-trick. Patterson started off the season with plenty of goals but has been limited by injury since. Here he started, scored a bundle, then was able to put his feet up for the last twenty. Sweet as.
Meanwhile Manukau Utd had to travel to Tauranga for the second time in a week and this time they did actually get to play their scheduled Chatham Cup tie... and lost 6-0 to Tauranga City. Jonty Bidois scored three for Tauranga - he’s the brother of former Phoenix striker Riley Bidois who is now playing for Dandenong City in the Aussie state leagues. All three of Jonty’s goals came between the 26-31 minutes.
Manukau have a midweek game against Auckland City coming up (an OCL postponement) on Wednesday night. They’ve just been bundled out of the cup by a team in a lower division (granted Tauranga are definitely in the hunt for promotion). Their coach last season left for Bay Olympic and took several players, mostly the young dudes.
Then to make matters worse, midfielder Boon Ozawa came off the bench for Manurewa over the weekend so obviously he’s left too – quite a number of ex-Manukau players are in that Rewa side, an which exodus began when former Manukau player Rhys Ruka was coaching Rewa. Even after he’s left, there are enough ex-MUFC guys still there to form a recruitment magnet for others. It’s a pity because there’s more than enough talent in South Auckland for the two top tier clubs to have to bicker over the same players. However this example does show what a killer high player turnover can be (per the bro Carlin on twitter, only 7/29 MUFC players used this term were with the club last year and some of them have since left too). Manukau aren’t one of the heavy spenders in the league and don’t have as extensive youth system bulking things up like others (which is also expensive to do properly). But this is also just how football works over time, with the ebbs and flows of clubs. So it goes.
Anyway, Eastern Suburbs and Auckland City both had wins to keep up their full-steam battle. Subs won 2-0 against Western Springs with a pair of defenders getting the goals, each with a minute to go in a half: Kelvin Kalua on 44’ and Aaryan Raj on 89’. Kalua has been capped by the All Whites. Raj was at the U20 World Cup recently. Auckland City had to do it the hard way but a Ryan De Vries goal after an hour gave them a 1-0 win away to Bay Olympic. Nice to see 18yo goalkeeper Joe Wallis keeping a clean sheet in a rare opportunity to start for ACFC (boosting their U20s minutes, no doubt). This was his third game for ACFC after playing 19 times for Western Springs last season.
In the other Northern League games, Melville drew 1-1 with Takapuna. Impressed by how Melville keep refreshing their youth stocks even after blokes like Josh Galletly, Oliver Colloty, and Ryen Lawrence have left. Also Auckland United beat Hamilton Wanderers 4-0 with three of those scorers (Xavier Green, Yousif Al-Kalisy & Sione Fa’apoi) being new signing since the 2022 National League. Josh Redfearn scored the other as he’s been doing all year. Redfearn (22yo) is up to third on the Golden Boot ladder with 8 goals, being Derek Tieku (14) and Monty Patterson (9).
In the Central League, the Wellington Phoenix reserves returned to action with a 3-1 win away to Waterside Karori. Five of their starters plus another sub were part of the U20 World Cup squad. One of them was Dan McKay who celebrated his return from Argentina with a goal and a red card (Karori also got a red earlier on). Alex Paulsen played for the WeeNix... staying busy through his offseason.
Wellington Olympic took on Miramar Rangers in that derby fixture and pumped them 7-0 on their own turf. Gianni Bouzoukis scored four and Hamish Watson scored three. Just a disgusting amount of firepower right there. Watto is tied for the Golden Boot with Petone’s Matt Brazier, who scored again this week in a 2-0 win over Whanganui. Both Watson and Brazier have 11 goals. Olympic are comfortably out in first place while Petone are making a genuine run for the third NL qualifying spot. They’re behind Napier City Rovers on goal difference as it stands though with a game in hand. NCR won 4-1 vs Stop Out. Western Suburbs are also roaring along after a 2-0 win over North Wellington with goals to Josh Rogerson and Kairo Coore.
Down South a couple of fixtures got postponed due to ice on the Dunedin Airport runway yet there were no lack of goals in the games that did happen. Cashmere Tech beat FC Twenty11 6-1, Nelson Suburbs beat Selwyn 7-1, and Ferrymead Bays won 3-1 away at Coastal Spirit. The latter of those sees Bays nudge ahead of Spirit on goal difference though the others went as expected. Aidan Barbour-Ryan scored three for Cashmere... the 25yo played mostly off the bench behind Kian Donkers last Natty League so cool to see him stepping up now that Donkers has gone overseas. Better mention a Connor Gillespie hatty for Nelson Subs too. Lots of hat-tricks this weekend.
Exciting times with the first round of the new Women’s South Island Championship. Only two games took place as the closures at Dunedin Airport caused postponements here too. Nelson Suburbs and Universities of Canterbury drew 2-2 in the first ever fixture in this competition. Amelia Abbott scored both for Nelson, however UC levelled up in the 80th minute to share the points. Abbott was part of the U17 World Cup bronze medalist team a few years back and is currently in between seasons with Texas University. She’s also been capped at senior level, debuting against Canada in that post-pandemic tour where travel restrictions meant a lot of the regulars couldn’t partake. In the other game, Cashmere Tech won 2-0 away to Dunedin City with Charlotte Roche and Nicola Dominikovich scoring. Lots of National League players in that match.
As for the NRFL Women’s Prem... there were wins to nil across the board. Western Springs rested some of their top players (that might be a gentle way to describe it given the issues at that club lately) but no dramas because Lara Colpi celebrated her selection in the NZ U19s squad with four goals in a 6-0 win over Northern Rovers. Auckland United were held scoreless for 70 minutes against Hibiscus Coast then won 4-0 anyway with Rene Wasi scoring a couple. Ellerslie also left it late as a Britney Cunningham-Lee double (78’ and 83’) took then past Hamilton Wanderers 2-0. then also Eastern Suburbs edged West Coast Rangers 1-0 to remain in first place, albeit within catching distance for both AUFC and WS.
And since the other regions all got mentions, a quick glance at the Women’s Central League shows that Petone are in need of congratulations after holding Wellington United to a 1-1 draw – the first dropped points of the campaign for the Diamonds. These two teams formed the bulk of the last Capital WNL squad so makes sense it’d be a close one. Waterside Karori won 2-0 vs Victoria Uni to go equal on points with Welly Utd. There were also wins for Taradale 5-2 over Seatoun and Palmerston North Marist 6-0 away to North Wellington.