New Zealand Warriors had four wins in a row without James Fisher-Harris and now they welcome the hearty Northlander back into the team to play Dolphins.

New Zealand Warriors had their fourth NRL win in a row vs Dragons and after another NSW Cup win, the NRL and NSW Cup teams have a combined record of 15-3 this season.

The 2025 NRLW season is approaching and the return of New Zealand Warriors combined with the growth of women's rugby league in Aotearoa means there is an abundance of NRLWahine talent on offer this year.

As the NRL season winds towards winter, it is time to check in with the Aotearoa Kiwis mixer and map out New Zealand's rugby league top-tier talent.

New Zealand Warriors won their third niggly game in a row at Magic Round and on the same day they won the Harold Matthews Cup championship for the second season in a row.

After getting the job done vs Newcastle Knights in Christchurch, New Zealand Warriors begin their three game tour of Australia this Saturday against North Queensland Cowboys.

New Zealand Warriors returned to their second home in Christchurch and defeated Newcastle Knights 26-12. Here are all the details you need to know to boost your sporting yarns this weekend...

Xavier Willison has played 30+ minutes in all eight games for Brisbane Broncos this season under coach Michael Maguire but the last two weeks have offered the most intrigue with the Whatuwhata junior playing more minutes at edge forward.

The delightful win for New Zealand Warriors vs Brisbane Broncos featured important contributions from the young wave of NRL Warriors and it capped off a Saturday in which the Jersey Flegg Cup and NSW Cup teams won with lots of emerging talent on display.

New Zealand Women Warriors added another play-maker to their 2025 NRLW roster in Patricia Maliepo and still have a few spots available in their NRLWahine squad.

A young wave has already swept through Mt Smart to refresh the New Zealand Warriors NRL team in 2025 and after five rounds of NSW Cup footy, there is a clear group of emerging talent on rising towards the NRL.

New Plymouth's Mawene Hiroti is been patiently waiting for a decent opportunity at Cronulla Sharks and with an unfortunate injury lay off for Arorangi junior Kayal Iro, that opportunity has come at left centre this season.

Tyrone Thompson joined twin brother Leo as the starting props for Newcastle Knights in their loss to Wests Tigers which means there have been five Kiwi-NRL debuts in six rounds this season.

New Zealand Warriors play against Storm in Melbourne on Sunday while the NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup teams are playing in Auckland against their Newtown/Sharks on Saturday.

Sean Mullany came off the bench for Gold Coast Titans in their loss vs Dolphins to make his NRL debut and become the fourth Kiwi-NRL debutant in 2025 after five rounds of footy.

Moses Leo added himself to the Kiwi-NRL debut list with his late call up to the Melbourne Storm team who defeated Manly Sea Eagles.

New Zealand Warriors responded to their first up loss with three wins in a row and are now enjoying Aotearoa's rain in a bye round.

New Zealand Warriors have their first NRL game of the season in Australia on Sunday night when the play Wests Tigers in Sydney.

Mt Smart was rocking once again with New Zealand Warriors grabbing their second Friday night win in a row to start the 2025 NRL season.

New Zealand Warriors bounced back with a win vs Sea Eagles at Mt Smart and shuffle into another Friday night home game against Roosters.

Bayleigh Bentley-Hape made his NRL debut for South Sydney Rabbitohs in their win over St George Illawara Dragons, which makes the Moerewa junior the second Kiwi-NRL debutant in two rounds of footy this season.

New Zealand Warriors are back on home turf with a Friday night game vs Manly Sea Eagles and after a lacklustre performance in a distant land, they need to find some juice at the temple of Mt Smart.

Salesi Foketi is the first Kiwi-NRL debutant of the 2025 NRL season after coming off the bench for Sydney Roosters in their round one loss vs Brisbane Broncos.

For the second year in a row, New Zealand Warriors started their season with an underwhelming performance after spending the whole summer training harder and smarter than ever before.

New Zealand Warriors start their 2025 NRL season vs Canberra Raiders in a distant land and in the two seasons of the two Andys era, results in the first game have set the tone for how that season unfolds.

Despite losing a couple games in the 2024 Pacific Championships, Aotearoa Kiwis have built out a strong pool of players who have international rugby league experience and have more than enough depth to cover any eligibility quirks.

There are a few notable Kiwi-NRL selections to check in with as pre-season winds down such as Te Hurinui Twidle getting a crack in the halves for Parramatta Eels and former New Zealand Schools rugby union player Tevita Naufahu sticking around the Dolphins squad.

New Zealand Warriors have played two pre-season games with a 12-12 draw vs Cronulla Sharks and a 36-10 win vs Melbourne Storm, offering plenty of funky wrinkles to digest before the NRL season starts.

Plenty more NRL Pre-Season Challenge games are being played over the next few days and this means more Kiwi-NRL deep cuts like Elijah Salesa-Leaumoana, Esom Ioka, Nazareth Taua, Eddie Ieremia-Toeava and the return of Taniela Otukolo.

NRL Pre-Season Challenge starts this weekend along with trials for Broncos and Dolphins, as well as Under 19 footy in Queensland where there is an impressive group of youngsters from Aotearoa named in both the men's and women's teams for Burleigh.

Callum McCowatt might be in the form of his life right now. He’s had other spells in his career where he’s become unstoppable, quite a few of them actually, but surely none as significant as this current spell.

This is where we take a cheeky excursion to Tahiti where the OFC Champions League is taking place. Auckland United had their 55-game unbeaten streak snapped just prior to leaving but they’ve already started a new streak.

Well, they did it: London City Lionesses are champions of the Championship and will be playing WSL football next season. They needed to avoid defeat against Birmingham on the final day to achieve that target and that’s exactly what they did.

It wasn’t the most notable defeat of the weekend’s footy but woah Auckland City lost to the Auckland FC Reserves. Jonty Bidois scored the decisive goal with fifteen to go, right after Jerson Lagos had been sent off for City.

This was supposed to be the year that the Wellington Phoenix Women made the finals. Actually, last year was supposed to be the year until they missed out by five points. So this year was definitely supposed to be the year. Except they didn’t even get close.

Calgary Wild lost their inaugural game last week and it was Meikayla Moore who conceded the decisive penalty. This week the Mouse made amends.

Wellington Olympic’s quest for a fifth-consecutive Central League title is going swell. They’ve won five out of five and were as convincing as it gets with an 8-0 victory away against last-placed North Wellington on Saturday.

It was a bummer when Silkeborg missed out on the championship rounds but dropping into the bottom half does have its benefits. Like, for example, it makes it a little easier for Callum McCowatt to do this…

Busy times up North. They always are over Easter Weekend. Busy times often mean crazy times and that’s exactly what we got with a full slate of Northern League fixtures held on Good Friday and then a whole other set on Easter Monday.

This article was supposed to be a recap of the Football Ferns tour of Chinese Taipei... but in the end there was nothing to recap.

If you read last week’s edition, you’ll know all about Joe Bell’s borderline addiction to kiwifruit – he claims to eat 20-40 of them per week (with the skins on too!). Well, fresh produce imports must be booming in Norway because Joe Bell has clearly not been going hungry.

Saturday was a very busy day for Auckland City Football Club. At 3pm they hosted Western Springs at Kiwitea Street in Auckland and then at 7pm they faced Hekari United of Papua New Guinea at National Stadium in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

It’s hard to imagine how the last few weeks could have gone any better for Finn Surman. He may have had some reluctance about skipping out on the last All Whites tour but it’s proven to be the best thing for him.

It’s been the question on everyone’s lips lately (if not then it should have been): Is Anna Leat actually playing as an outfielder for Hibiscus Coast? The answer is yes.

Every week there are goals being scored by the talented assortment of kiwi footballers around the world. Every single week... but rarely does anyone score a goal as spectacular as the one Moses Dyer just scored for Galway United.

Last week we got the two Northern competitions (properly) underway and this week the rest of the country got its turn with the other four top tier comps all kicking off

Maggie Jenkins was one of the unluckier absentees when the squad for the Chinese Taipei trip was confirmed recently but that only seems to have motivated her because look what she did on the weekend.

And with that, the All Whites are going back to the FIFA World Cup. There was 1982, there was 2010, there will be 2026.

The Northern League actually began a week ago as Auckland City crammed in a couple quick fixtures to clear up space for their imminent trip to the Oceania Champions League. With a Club World Cup jaunt in June, it’s shaping to be a very busy year for Auckland City.

You’d be forgiven for having missed this one but the Football Ferns are off to Taiwan for a couple of games in early April. The first of those games is behind closed doors. The coaching staff is still on an interim basis for this one last tour. The squad is very similar to last time…

Macey Fraser didn’t join the Royals until after their 2024 campaign had already begun due to the overlap with her Wellington Phoenix season, very quickly made a positive impact for struggling team, and then promptly hurt her ankle

In 1982, it was China. In 2009, it was Bahrain. In 2025, it will (hopefully) be Fiji followed by either Tahiti or New Caledonia. Among the many consequences of FIFA expanding the World Cup from 32 teams to 48 teams is that there’s now room for an automatic entry from Oceania

Michael Boxall, aged 36, is laying down bars in interviews. There’s no stopping the bloke. It only took him two attempts to waltz into an MLS Team of the Week selection and now he’s done it twice in a row

Clearly, this season was one challenge too much for the Wellington Phoenix. In hindsight, there’s no reason to think a team that lost half of its starting line-up, and then struggled with injuries on top of that, should have any hope whatsoever of reclaiming a semi-finals berth

Empoli Football Club had failed to win any of their previous 11 Serie A matches, dropping into the relegation zone as a consequence, when they lined up for a Coppa Italia clash with heavyweights Juventus

After going seven months without any fixtures following the Paris Olympics, a two-match tour of Costa Rica felt very much like the start of a fresh chapter for the Football Ferns

It took a long time for Finn Surman to finally debut for Portland Timbers. He joined them midseason and they allowed him as much room as possible to settle into his surroundings before finally chucking him onto the pitch

For the third time out of three, Auckland FC emerged from the NZ Derby with three points... but this win was not like the others. This win was a dismantling

The latest step in the Auckland FC rollout occurred last week when the club confirmed its inaugural Men’s Reserves squad. This team will be a direct link to the local domestic scene, competing in the Northern and National Leagues of Aotearoa

Nottingham Forest would have expected to breeze past League One’s Exeter City in their FA Cup fourth round tie. If they’re smart they might have even spoken to new recruit Tyler Bindon beforehand, he could have given them a few tips

It’s pretty wild to think where we are now, compared to 15 months ago when the Memphis Grizzlies traded Steven Adams to Houston. Back then there were fears that Adams might be damaged goods with that ongoing knee injury.

It’s been a difficult experience trying to track Steven Adams this season, hasn’t it? A real lesson in the art of patience. At first he was in and out of the side, stuck on a minutes restriction and sitting out of every few games entirely.

The shadows have lifted, the dark clouds have cleared, and the New Zealand Breakers have been sold. News came through on 20 March that a local ownership group had bought out Matt Walsh and mates.

Let us talk about the New Zealand Breakers, who recently wrapped up their latest NBL campaign. It was a season that began with scepticism based on a roster full of project players and the rookie foreign head coach hired to whip them into shape.

It has been a mission of patience tracking the revival of Steven Adams and his NBA career. Finally recovered from his long term knee injury and looking resplendent in red for the Houston Rockets... progress has been slow

There were plenty of reasons to discount the New Zealand Breakers heading into NBL25. Yet they were 2-0 when they flew to the USA and then they returned and they kept winning.

The moment is near. Steven Adams is on the verge of making his NBA return after 21 long and boring months without his basketballing presence.

It may have snuck under the radar but the Tall Ferns were in Mexico last week playing some games. They had a Pre-Qualifying Tournament for the next FIBA World Cup. Very similar to the format they went through with Olympic Qualifiers earlier in the year...

Last season the Breakers gave fewer minutes to NZers than ever before (a record that they’re going to crush again in NBL25) and yet it was still the most prosperous season we’ve ever witnessed for kiwi players in that league.

These are glorious times for basketball in Aotearoa. Already established as the fastest growing sport in the country, we recently saw the New Zealand team finish fourth at the FIBA Men’s U17 World Championships, with Oscar Goodman crowned as part of the tournament’s All Star Five…

A record was broken last Thursday afternoon when, at the 2024 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards selected Alexandre Sarr with the second overall pick. Sarr just so happened to have spent the past season with the Perth Wildcats as part of the Australian NBL’s Next Star programme

As we traversed what was already shaping up to be a concerning offseason, the feeling was that the Breakers would be alright as long as Head Coach Mody Maor was around. But now he’s leaving.

A few months ago, the Tall Ferns set out to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. They did not make it. So can the Tall Blacks end the drought instead?

Gotta love a bit of Aotearoa’s National Basketball League. It’s a rapidly growing competition that regularly attracts most of the country’s best players whilst also attracting a decent level of import and still finding room to boost up the next generation

In a topsy-turvy, up-and-down season... the Breakers finished about where they should have: right in the middle. They made the play-ins but not the playoffs, winning one knockout game but losing the other

The Tall Ferns will not be going to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. A narrow defeat against Puerto Rico in their qualifying tournament made sure of that, as a very inexperienced and injury-ravaged Aotearoa side fell agonisingly short of their goal

The news came through at 12:41pm on Friday in the same way that all NBA news comes through: via a tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski.

It’s been a long time since Aotearoa last had a basketballing presence at the Olympics. You’ve got to go all the way back to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing for the last appearance.

It’s just not the same without Steven Adams. Even since he first got injured diving for a loose ball late in a game back in January, the NBA has been missing its heartbeat

There is a possibility, something we need to at least consider, that perhaps maybe potentially we might have given the New Zealand Breakers too much credit. When they turned everything around so suddenly last season it was natural to feel as though…

After several years of mediocrity, some pandemic-influenced and some not, the Breakers surged back into Australian National Basketball League prominence last season under the inspirational guidance of new head coach Mody Maor

There’s one thing you can never doubt about any Tall Blacks team: no matter who’s got that black singlet on, they’re going to bring the passion, the commitment, the mana that has become a prerequisite for this team

There hasn’t been a kiwi in the NFL since Paul Lasike’s short but memorable stint and as the 2023 season edges close to its kickoff there isn’t going to be one this year either. But there is a bloke who comes close.

The Tall Blacks always bring a certain level of mana with them no matter who’s reppin’ the jersey. There’s going to be passion and cohesion and defensive grit. Regardless. That’s just how this team operates

The Tall Ferns hit up this Asia Cup with a clear target in mind: a top four finish. Make the semi-finals of this tournament for the first ever time, see if they can’t win a medal while they’re at it, and most importantly stay in the hunt for Olympic qualification

It was a season like none other for Aotearoa’s finest basketballing export. For half of it he was an unstoppable rebounding machine even by his own high standards. Then he got injured.

The FIBA Women’s Asia Cup is taking place in Sydney, Australia next week and the Tall Ferns have a task ahead of them. Winning this thing may not be realistic but that’s fine, the real task is getting into the top four

New Zealanders are steadily infiltrating the Australian NBL and folks are slowly starting to notice… although those on this side of the Tasman Sea understand that this is not a new trend

The Memphis Grizzlies came to an inglorious conclusion as they were bounced in the first round by a seventh seed. Steven Adams didn’t play a single game after the month of January and that whole situation has been kept annoyingly murky

The New Zealand A cricket team will tour Bangladesh for three one-dayers and two four-dayers with a squad that reflects Aotearoa's impressive depth.

On the back of a summer in which a bunch of talented young women entered the White Ferns mix, we deliver the 10 best young women cricketers after the 2024/25 summer.

Another kiwi summer is in the scorebooks and that means it's time to roll through New Zealand’s 10 best young cricketers after the summer of 2024/25.

Northern Districts was the only team not to lose a game and every other team had at least three losses, they are deserving winners of the shield.

Since the glory of a T20 World Cup championship, New Zealand's White Ferns couldn't make a dent in Australia's dominance and also offered an enticing glimpse of the future during Sri Lanka's visit.

New Zealand cruised to a 4-1 T20I series vs Pakistan and now enter ODI mode as they continue to showcase Aotearoa's cricketing depth with even more youngsters getting an opportunity.

Northern Districts took a narrow lead at the top of the Plunket Shield table after their win over Wellington, while Canterbury had a big win over Central Districts to put themselves in the mix for the championship.

Wellington climbed to the top of the Plunket Shield ladder with their win over Canterbury in Rangiora, taking the top spot from Northern Districts who had a draw in Auckland.

A New Zealand cricket showcase is about to begin with Blackcaps playing five T20Is vs Pakistan as part of a double-header extravaganza with White Ferns.

The White Ferns had a 2-0 ODI series win vs Sri Lanka and now prepare for three T20Is against the tourists starting on Friday.

Plunket Shield cricket is back with Northern Districts and Wellington grabbing wins to snap up the top spots on the ladder. Plus Tom Bruce, Dane Cleaver, Josh Clarkson and Bevon Jacobs piled up the runs in a draw between Central Districts and Auckland.

New Zealand are in the Champions Trophy final and while it would be another glorious achievement to win the final vs India, the calm before the final provides a better zone to assess Blackcaps cricket.

Canterbury has gone back to back with Ford Trophy championships and have won three of the last five one-day competitions in Aotearoa after defeating Auckland in the final.

Otago has sparked up an Hallyburton Johnstone Shield dynasty after winning this season's final vs Auckland to make it three HBJ Shield championships in the last four seasons.

Joseph Parker was supposed to be fighting for a world title. His scheduled bout with Daniel Dubois would have put DD’s IBF heavyweight championship belt on the line, a chance for Parker to become a two-time champion

The summer of international cricket isn't over yet as New Zealand's White Ferns have an ODI and T20I series vs Sri Lanka coming up, with the T20I portion forming a double-header extravaganza alongside Blackcaps vs Pakistan.

Otago cruised through two wins over Central Districts and their nine wins with one loss in HBJ Shield this season puts them straight into the final as favourites.

Canterbury's win over Auckland sent them straight into the Ford Trophy final, leaving Auckland to play Central Districts in the elimination final on Friday.

A win for Canterbury and loss for Auckland saw Canterbury take the top spot in Ford Trophy, with both teams chillin' on six wins.

After taking an emerging squad to Sri Lanka late last year, Aotearoa's Blackcaps have won five of their last six ODIs with three consecutive wins in the ODI Tri-Series vs Pakistan and South Africa.

Auckland went back to back with Ford Trophy wins after defeating Northern Districts, while Central Districts stopped the Canterbury streak by winning in Rangiora and Otago grabbed a win against Wellington at the Basin Reserve.

Ford Trophy cricket is back with Canterbury and Auckland leading the competition as the only teams with five wins.

Wellington Blaze and Central Stags are Super Smash champions.

As Super Smash finals are played on Sunday, let's take a moment to digest the best of the rest which includes Blackcaps/White Ferns context and notable youngsters for both competitions

Wellington hosted two game days at the Basin Reserve to start the week with Blaze winning both their games vs Auckland and Canterbury, while Firebirds lost to those teams on the men's side.

As always there are lots of funky youngsters knocking around in Super Smash and 'The Best Youngsters, Part 2' is here to offer a few key thoughts about Matt Boyle, Auckland's young core, Amelia Kerr, Eden Carson and more.

Northern Districts were having none of Otago's road trip excellence with two wins for the Brave in Dunedin, then Central Districts held down it down in Napier with two wins over Canterbury.

The Champions Trophy is back and it comes at an intriguing time for New Zealand cricket as the Blackcaps have transitioned towards a younger, fresher group.

Otago Sparks and Volts are the hottest Super Smash teams right now, while Jess Kerr is the most dominant women's player and Michael Bracewell is whacking boundaries.

Otago brushed aside Central Districts in both games in Palmerston North and Northern Districts did the double against Auckland in Hamilton in the last two Super Smash game days.