‘Where All Whites are made’, goes the tagline. Once upon a time that would’ve been more insult than inspiration but in recent times it seems like they might just be onto something. Not in an ‘Anthony Hudson is a big fan of Moses Dyer and Clayton Lewis’ kinda way either.

The fact is that pretty soon we’ll be entering a period when the only locally based All Whites in the squads will be Wellington Phoenix blokes. However with more and more players finding professional contracts around the world it’s curious to see just how many got their start in NZ Premiership action. And then the All Whites come later, naturally.

Or if they didn’t get their start in the National League then at least they got a few months of footy in during the summer before heading to Europe to hit up the trial scene or jetting to America for the next college intake. Look, you don’t roll up to a Team Wellington vs Hamilton Wanderers game to see a quality of football that’ll rival what’s being replayed on the Premier League channel at that same moment, but you might roll up to take a peek at a couple players who, somewhere down Fate Avenue, might eventually turn out to have pretty massive careers in the game.

The new season of the ISPS Handa Premiership of Aotearoa (as if there are any others…) kicked off on the weekend as Team Wellington, the defending champs, hosted Auckland City, the Oceania champs, in the ‘Charity Cup’ – a symbolic league fixture played a week before the first round to make it a little easier for Auckland City to skip rounds while they’re off at the World Club Cup. Disappointingly it was not on television (or even live streamed – bro, get a periscope going, NZF! Or at least a Facebook Live).

Good win by the Wellies though. Kris Bright gave ACFC the lead but an own goal tied things up at the break before Scott Hillar and Joel Stevens scored late goals to win the thing. Just quietly it sounds like that backline consisting of Justin Gulley, Erik Panzer, Scot Hilliar and Taylor Schrijvers might frustrate more than a few teams this season (although they’ve been known to play three at the back too). Good fun and a good omen for the new season.

Speaking of that new season, here’s a very painstakingly compiled primer. Taking a peek at a few key players, the big signings and all that from every team. Which, you know, would be immensely easier were there some kind of centralised squad listing somewhere*, jeezus. So hopefully it’s all up to date and if it isn’t then just know we ain’t getting paid enough to do this. (Though you can help with that by throwing a few bucks behind the cause on Patreon, yay!).

*(Honestly, the VERY NEXT DAY after this piece is filed, this happens...)

Auckland City

Last Season: Snuck top place on goal difference but lost 2-1 to Team Welly in the final. Did win the OFC Champs League though, which is a decent consolation.

El Gaffer: Old mate Ramon Tribulietx still sitting on the throne.

Ooh Aah Superstar: Yeah, they’ve got a few. Albert Riera, Micah Lea’alafa, Emiliano Tade, Angel Berlanga, etc. No more Joao Moreira though, he’s gone. So has Clayton Lewis after going professional with Scunthorpe United in England’s League One.

The Big Signings: Kris Bright is the prodigal son here, even if Liam Graham’s got more to prove after his career in England came to a halt with two serious knee injuries. Dan Morgan’s jumped ship from Waitakere as well. Harry Edge was hanging out with West Brom recently.

Keep An Eye Out For: Gotta keep ‘em peeled on the trio signed out of the Ole Academy: Callum McCowatt, Dalton Wilkins and Owen Parker-Price (particularly OPP). Ole’s had fingerprints on a number of the best young players coming out of Aotearoa and ACFC have done well at identifying local standouts in the past too. Te Atawhai-Hudson Wihongi, returning from injury, and Cam Howieson are two such pedigreed locals who’ll play key roles for City.

Canterbury United

Last Season: Firmly mid-table in sixth place, winning six games, drawing six games and losing six games.

El Gaffer: Willy Gerdsen is a German fellow with kiwi citizenship who is coming into his third term in the gig.

Ooh Aah Superstar: Aaron Clapham, who if any player is getting picked out of this league for the All Whites then it should be him... or it should have been him two years ago. Not gonna happen now but he remains about the most critical player for any team in the NZP. Defenders Sean Liddicoat and Andreas Wilson are also top notch.

The Big Signings: Desperate for goals but unwilling to compete with the chequebooks of certain teams further north, the Dragons stumbled upon the signature of Japanese striker Futa Nakamura. Lots of pressure on him to succeed but he’s been banging them away in pre-season.

Keep An Eye Out For: This is a team that hasn’t made the semis for three straight years now and it’s gonna be tough to break that streak this time. Speaking of streaks, they didn’t have a single winning one in 16-17, never earning consecutive victories. Strong local flavour though so if they’re planning on getting back up towards the top four then that’ll be their secret.

Eastern Suburbs

Last Season: Spent most of the season in the top four but slipped to fifth as they lost two of their final three games, guts bro.

El Gaffer: Danny Hay will take over the reins once he gets back from the U17 World Cup. He should be back now, actually. Somebody go down to Billy Green and take a peek.

Ooh Aah Superstar: The Lilywhites did well last season and could do better this time, they’ve got some ability there. Moses Dyer can be an odd selection for the national team but at this level he’s a monster. Tim Payne has been there done that overseas, he’ll be influential too.

The Big Signings: Brock Messenger is a decent signing. He was a 2015 U20 World Cup rep and up until recently the former Canterbury United lad had been playing in Finland but he’s back now to do a bit of right-backing for Suburbs. Oh and Andre De Jong and Chris James ain’t shabby either. Tell you what, this is a very strong team.

Keep An Eye Out For: Well, they should’ve made the semis last season. Even led the ladder for a spell about a third of the way through. What they needed was a few more goals so best take note on whether they can find a striker who can get onto that golden boot list this time (best bets are Rossi Nkoy or Max Mata).

Hamilton Wanderers

Last Season: Ninth, so not as bad as Southern but worse than anyone else.

El Gaffer: Ricki Herbert! Talk about hype! It’s a bit convenient since he’s in charge of the footy at St Peters, Cambridge these days but whatever, that’s probably an advantage.

Ooh Aah Superstar: Umm, that’s not really their thing. At least not yet. Even with Herbert involved the lure of playing football in Hamilton hasn’t quite caught on. Instead they’ve focussed on a few locals, like Wanderers’ Northern League regulars such as Michael Built and Sam O’Regan.

The Big Signings: Dunno, see above. But the coolest incoming bloke is definitely Papua New Guinean striker Patrick Aisa. 23 years old and full of pace. He was an unused sub in the 2016 Nations Cup final when the All Whites beat PNG on penalties. He’ll be joined by compatriot Tommy Semmy, also 23, who did play in that game and even scored in the shootout.

Keep An Eye Out For: Whoever wins when they play Southern. This is a growing league and while Waikato’s finest are on the up, so is everyone else and it’s doubtful that Retro Ricki will turn them into playoff contenders straight away. Or maybe he will, who knows?

Hawke’s Bay United

Last Season: Fourth place and a semi-final spot but went down 1-0 to Auckland City in that playoff.

El Gaffer: Brett Angell, the Englishman who has had a bit of success in his time on the Bay but has had his moments too. Last season infamously copped a four-game suspension for some less than pleasant language and conduct.

Ooh Aah Superstar: Birhanu Taye has a great story, a refugee who came to New Zealand at age 13 and went on to spend time in the Sporting Braga youth team in Portugal before spells in Slovakia and Czech Republic. He played All Whites U20s in 2014 and spent the 2015-16 season with HBU now he’s back.

The Big Signings: HBU have had to make a make a few of them. The boss has said nice things about American midfielder Gavin Hoy, who’d been playing Central League in the winter, while Adam Thurston was in the Manchester United system as a young lad. The best one however has been Bill Robertson, who captained Team Welly to the title last season and decided to return back home to Napier for this one – he’ll also be assistant coach.

Keep An Eye Out For: An almost entirely new squad, with only a handful of players returning from last season and there’ll be one less if Sam Mason-Smith goes well in South Africa where he’s currently trialling for a pro deal. Gonna be a tricky task for Mr Angell but Hawke’s Bay always seems to be there or there abouts come semi-final time.

Southern United

Last Season: Dead last, losing 14 of their 18 games. Sorry to mention it.

El Gaffer: Irishman Paul O'Reilly, who also brought in six Irish players last season and five will be back again for 17-18. Unfortunately that won’t include back-flippin’ striker (just like Robbie Keane…) Eric Molloy who has joined Team Wellington instead.

Ooh Aah Superstar: Conor O’Keeffe represented them at the season launch so he gets the nod ahead of the rest of his Irish compatriots. Look, they’ve not got the sexiest squad… but massive shout outs to Southern for actually publicising the squad that they do have. Gotta get it out there to get it up there.

The Big Signings: With a name like Omar Guardiola, he’s gotta be good right? OG’s been dominating for Nelson Suburbs but had to wait for Southern to call to get his National League opportunities. Same with Nelly Sub teammate Kristian Gibson, who will play alongside him for SU.

Keep An Eye Out For: It took nine games to get their first win last time but when it came they whipped up a 3-1 win over Tasman, 4-0 over Hamilton then a 3-1 away in Canterbury. Then they lost their last seven games in a row. Whatever it was that clicked in December/January they’d better hope they can bottle it because it looks like another bugger of a mission ahead of them.

Tasman United

Last Season: Eight place… but they definitely got a lot more competitive as the season went on.

El Gaffer: Davor Tavich took over in the middle of last season and that pretty much coincided with their late improvements.

Ooh Aah Superstar: No kidding, it’s the great man himself Paul Ifill. Doesn’t have the legs he once had but he’s still Paul Ifill, ya know? Best import player the Phoenix ever had. Might not play much this season but he’ll also be an assistant coach. Shout out to former Blackburn youngster and one-cap All White midfielder Cam Lindsey as well, who is now the captain.

The Big Signings: Curiously they ended up with Tinashe Marowa back after the 20 year old was released by the Phoenix. He even played in the FFA Cup a few weeks back but he didn’t earn a pro contract so decided a return to Tasman was better than playing ressies for the Nix.

Keep An Eye Out For: Gotta see if a full season under Tavich really gets things going. They’ll need to tighten up at the back but they seemed to do that after DT took over so… sure, benefit of the doubt. Seems like they have a little more depth this time too, Cory Chettleburgh was another good pick-up coming in from Hawke’s Bay. Alex Risdale’s a fine player too. Ooh and Brian Kaltack’s a Vanuatu international.

Team Wellington

Last Season: CHAMPIONS! Knocked Waitakere out on penalties after that insane 6-6 draw in the semi then a Ben Harris double got them the trophy against ACFC in the grandie.

El Gaffer: That’d be Jose Figueira, whose reputation hasn’t quite caught up with his achievements yet but the gap is closing.

Ooh Aah Superstar: You have to enjoy a bit of Joel Stevens, seriously. Scott Basalaj is one of the very best goalkeepers in this competition (if not the best) and Justin Gulley will assume the captaincy roles this campaign. Top scorer Tom Jackson remains too.

The Big Signings: There are a couple interesting acquisitions, like Eric Molloy and Mario Ilic, but the three that’ve gotten the most thumbs up have been Louis Fenton, released by the Phoenix to get some games under his belt with hopes for an A-League return next season, Angus Kilkolly, who comes in from Hawke’s Bay and scored 30 goals in 17 games for Napier City Rovers in the winter, and esteemed blogger/footballer Erik Panzer who has come back home. Also Didi. Definitely Didi.

Keep An Eye Out For: They’ve won the last two championships and will be hoping to win some confederation honours this time too. Lots of player turnover, like Niko Kirwan and Ben Harris leaving to name but a couple (plus their captain Bill Robertson), but the dudes that’ve come in should more than make up for that. Sure looks like it based on that opening win, at least.

Waitakere United

Last Season: Third on the ladder, put six goals past the eventual champs in the semi only to miss four spotties outta six in the shootout.

El Gaffer: Chris Milicich has always been pretty handy here across his two spells as manager. Let’s just say he was unlucky to lose his NZ U20 gig in between too.

Ooh Aah Superstar: Jake Butler’s the skipper, he’s played about a thousand games for the club, he’s represented New Zealand before and he’s a proper football lad, right-oh.

The Big Signings: Nobody on the Liam Graham/Chris James/Kris Bright level of player. They ran through a bunch of folks in their preseason with “numerous trialists being given the opportunity to push for inclusion”… which sounds like a wait and see, to be honest.

Keep An Eye Out For: You shouldn’t score six goals in a game, let alone a semi-final, and still lose – not even on spotties. So there’s a bit to play for as far as the Waitaks go. The question is whether they’ve done enough to hold off the likes of Hawke’s Bay, Canterbury and, especially, Eastern Suburbs.

Wellington Phoenix

Last Season: Irrelevant because they’re not allowed to compete for the title… although a seventh place finish was rather respectable.

El Gaffer: Chris Greenacre’s taken over the Nix youth programme these days, which is a drop down from co-coaching the A-League side but a helluva boost for the kiddies looking to boost up into it.

Ooh Aah Superstar: Liam Wood made his senior debut for the Nix in the FFA Cup a couple months back and looked fantastic for such a young defender. Great composure and leadership, did the work at the back… yeah not bad. Unlucky not to go to the last U20 World Cup earlier in the year but his teammates Luke Johnson, Jack-Henry Sinclair, Sarpreet Singh, James McGarry and Logan Rogerson were all there. Sinclair’s trying to get a contract in South Africa right now and Rogerson and Singh will be around the first team most weeks but yeah.

The Big Signings: It’s a different situation for the Wee Nix. They don’t get to play in the semis if they make it as they’re seen as more of a development side. As such they don’t really make big signings either, they develop young dudes. But any time a chap drops down from the A-League side to play, that counts.

Keep An Eye Out For: The next generation of Phoenix players if they get lucky. Otherwise a fun experiment in the ‘You’ll Never Win With Kids’ conviction.

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