The Premmy Files – Men’s Premiership, Week 3

RSXDCFTVGBHNJMK.JPG

Alrighty, a bit of Wellington Phoenix versus Eastern Suburbs to start, you reckon? Yeah why not. The WeeNix strolled out onto that Fraser Park turf having made just the one change to the team that started in the 4-1 win over Waitakere a week ago. That was Henry Hamilton coming back into the midfield with Ben Old dropping to the bench. Slightly bonkers given how well Oldie played in that game, scoring a double, but turns out he had his year 13 chemistry exam the day before. The perils of a young squad, aye?

Eastern Suburbs also have a few youngsters of course... with this being a match-up between the two teams with the biggest Ole Academy representation. Hoani Edwards made a few switches from the impressive 3-1 win over the Cantabs. Alec Solomons got his first start of the campaign alongside Christian Gray to make it three unique CB pairings in three games for ES, while Robi Sabo held his spot at left-back and Kelvin Kalua dropped to the bench (again, despite an impressive goal-scoring performance last game). Dan Edwards also came into the midfield at the expense of Campbell Strong for a bit more attacking push while Kingsley Sinclair got the start in the front three.

A year ago there was an U17 World Cup happening in Brazil. This was the squad that Aotearoa sent to that tournament...

With both the Phoenix Academy and Ole Academy both very present here it makes sense that there are a fair few crossover names. Alex Paulsen, Kris Naicker, Adam Hillis, Henry Hamilton & Oskar van Hattum all starting for the WeeNix while Harry Bark & Ben Old were on the bench. Eastern Suburbs had Sean Bright starting and Campbell Strong on the bench while both teams had more players who were a part of wider squads in that cycle but didn’t make the final crew (eg. Jaylen Rodwell, Robi Sabo). Big potential for that group to look pretty amazing in a few years’ time - hopefully the world is healthy enough for this lot to get their U20s cycle in too. Jesse Randall has also been starring for Hawke’s Bay this season, while Nathan Lobo’s looked good at wing-back for Waitakere so these two teams aren’t hogging them all either.

The artificial pitch was a mess of painted lines and there was always the danger of a foul ball floating over the fence from the softball next door (come to think of it, they were probably more in danger of a wild shot landing on the pitcher’s plate than the other way around)... but that didn’t stop Eastern Suburbs from picking up exactly where they left off a week ago with some silky passing moves, getting their midfield involved going forward, and would ya believe it they were in front inside four minutes when Stephen Hoyle volleyed in low. It felt like the WeeNix hadn’t even touched the ball at that stage but they had actually taken the kickoff and began with an 18-pass move that ended with Kris Naicker being unable to catch up with a ball down the line. Wasn’t to be a lot more where that came from though. Sharp finish by Hoyle, who thus bagged his first of the season.

The game continued on in that pattern. Adam Thurston was rightfully involved a heap coming in off that left wing and the inclusion of Dan Edwards was looking smart too with all the energy he brought. Things were decidedly one-sided. Hoyle nearly set up a second with a shot that almost deflected in off Kurtis Mogg. Alex Paulsen made a good save to deny Edwards, who soon after headed over after some beautiful work from Reid Drake, Thurston & an overlapping Robi Sabo. WeeNix right back Kris Naicker was having fits at what Thurston and Sabo were asking him to deal with down that side. And it got worse for Naicker because when the second goal finally went in (32nd min) it was his shanked clearance that allowed Thurston to get on the ball, shape himself for the shot, and ripple the net.

Thurston was man of the match last week (in the eyes of The Premmy Files) and he was fast putting up a case this week as well. A slick lil backheel put Sabo in behind but his cross was headed over by Sinclair. Suburbs absolutely dominating and while it was only 2-0 when the relief of the half-time whistle resounded across Logan Park... you’d hardly have argued if it’d been four or five.

Something had to change. A shake-up in the WeeNix’s chemistry you could say. Well, Paul Temple did have a fella on deck who knows a thing or two about chemistry. Ben Old came on to replace Naicker at HT and slotted into that right back role but with more of a licence to attack and try peg Sabo back with Adam Hillis playing more defensively from midfield to allow him that freedom. And to be fair it seemed to be working. Old’s ability on the ball was at least helping the home side advance the ball and for the first few minutes of the second half it felt like they might be able to spark something. This has been a second half team after all. But then Suburbs did what Suburbs do and plucked out another glorious phase of football with Hoyle feeding Thurston as he sped by him on the break and AT made it three. His second of the day and third of the season.

The WeeNix kept at it and Old linked with Luis Toomey who linked with Riley Bidois but his shot was saved. Bidois then had a volley over the top while Tommy Raimbault showed some quick feet on the edge of the area but it came to nothing. Meanwhile Paulsen had to be on his toes to stop an Adam Thomas shot before he then made an incredible save to deny Gray, pretty much a silly mid-on catch. For sure the WeeNix’s plan had worked down the right as Old was a heavy part of what they did with the ball while Sabo was nowhere near as involved as he had been earlier. Yet like plugging one leak in the raft-boat only for another to burst through, Adam Thomas was now causing grief down the other side with his overlapping runs. Dan Edwards then had a shot deflected wide (has anyone had less luck in front of goal this season than him?) and Paulsen – yet again – was on his game to keep Hoyle from adding another following some clever work from Sean Bright.

But Paulsen’s finest moment was yet to come. Reid Drake put a great ball in for Thurston with about quarter of an hour left and Kurtis Mogg slid in to try and stop him, only to take him out instead. Instant penalty and Mogg was perhaps a tad lucky to escape with a yellow card (it was an honest attempt, in fairness). Thurston therefore stepped up to complete his hat-trick, when this happened...

Screen Shot 11-29-20 at 08.56 AM.JPG

Saved it. Not the best penalty you’ll ever see but good reward for a keeper in Paulsen who has been pretty fantastic throughout this campaign already and even with a 3-0 deficit he was looking like one of the best players on the park. Uuuuuntil he scuffed a Campbell Strong shot soon after and fumbled it into his own net. Strong with the cheeky goal off the bench to cap the scoring, Paulsen with an embarrassing moment on an otherwise excellent day for him. Nothing much to it... a comprehensive 4-0 win for Suburbs who were supreme in this one. Some of their passing and movement is a sight to behold, Adam Thurston was outstanding yet again while Hoyle, R.Drake, Thomas, Sabo... safe to say there were a lot of strong performers here. Suburbs were unlucky to lose to ACFC in week one. They’ve then utterly bossed their following two games. This is a team that might just go a long way in this competition.

The degree to which the WeeNix were cut open was something we hadn’t seen from them yet - only one goal conceded in each of their first two games. They might have gotten things wrong with the balance of the team, possibly could’ve used another body in midfield/defence instead of the attacking quartet... but that’s what the WeeNix do: they stick to their own game and sometimes it works wonders (last week) and sometimes it does not (this week). They’re an academy team trying to develop players as well as winning games and sticking to the process is a large part of that. Next week it could go the other way, who knows?

Waitakere and Team Wellington next, partaking in the playing of the football at Seddon Fields. Another artificial turf (yawn). There was some horrid news for the visitors in the midweek with Jack-Henry Sinclair confirmed to miss an extended amount of time with that injury he picked up last week. He was the TeeDubs’ top scorer and best player last season playing as a right wing-back, one of the top players in the league these days and it’s a bloody shame for this to have to happen...

It was Jake Williams who came on to replace JHS last week but now it seems as if we’re in for a return of the Justin Gulley wing-back days as Gullz slotted out wide having missed last game with injury. That meant no need to change the back three of Schrijvers/Mata/Midgley and likewise Wan Gatkek held his spot in midfield after a strong starting debut vs Hawke’s Bay. Joao Moreira was rewarded for his winner in that game by starting ahead of Sam Mason-Smith. And that week three trend of teams not picking, for whatever reason, top performers from last week continued: Scott Basalaj was rested on the bench with “a bit of a tight quad” to give Keegan Smith a game in goal, while Andy Bevin was nowhere to be seen with Nati Hailemariam starting instead.

As for the home side, they had a point to prove after hitting two extremes in their opening two games and Paul Hobson made three changes to the team that lost to the WeeNix. Neither Dino Botica nor Angus Kilkolly were in the squad so Luke Searle made his first appearance of the season and Alex Connor-McClean his first start. Leon van den Hoven also got a starting debut with Gerard Garriga Gibert only on the bench... another example of a top performer rotated out. GGG has arguably been the Waitak’s best player behind Alex Greive.

‘Twas an energetic start from both teams with bodies hurled all over the show... but very little to show for it. Two well organised defences mostly shutting things down once they got past a certain point. A couple sneaky Moreira touches almost led to decent happenings and Watto did put a shot narrowly wide on twenty mins, while Luke Searle had the best chance for the Waitaks in those early stages with a header from a corner kick that McKeown fairly comfortably headed off the line. A brilliant ball over the top from Ben Mata (after he’d stepped in to win a challenge in his own area) then put Moreira through but a heavy touch allowed Nick Draper to smother him. Mata actually went down hurt after that but he was all good.

The problem was that space in the attacking thirds was of a minimum, especially for the Waitaks whose style is built around being able to pick out those little pockets. Alex Grieve gave Keegan Smith his first save to make half an hour in with a low shot that was pushed wide... then moments later a Justin Gulley delivery took some coping with from Draper. In fact Gulley started to get more and more involved in the forward stuff around that point. Once overlapping with a cut-back that didn’t quite pick out a buddy. Then with another cross that Moreira didn’t quite get the contact he wanted on. But TW did appear to have found an outlet.

Sure enough Gulley was heavily involved as the TeeDubs then made the breakthrough. Working with Moreira to get in behind again, then dummying and chopping back to create room to pick out a return pass and the Portuguese striker spun on the ball and stroked it inside the near post. A pretty goal to have TW up 1-0 at the half.

Although it perhaps could have been 2-0 because they did have a decent shout for a penalty after this collision between Searle and Moreira. Weird looking incident. Moreira jumped to volley as Searle dove in for the header and took out his legs in mid-air.

Almost like it was such an unusual event that the ref had no framework for a decision. Strange.

Into the second half now and it didn’t take long before the Waitaks were level. 48 minutes and Sam Burfoot curled a deep free kick into the area where Luke Searle rose up and popped a strong header right where it needed to go. Simple as that. Team Welly then went and almost immediately retook the lead as Justin Gulleys cross was put over the top by Rory KcKeown at the far post... then Alex Grieve demanded a smart save outta Smithy coming back the other way. All of a sudden this bad boy was opening up.

Team Wellington retook the lead after 59 minutes. A ball in behind held up on the trampoline bounce of the turf and Joao Moreira was onto it like a beast to its prey. Searle slid in to try and stop him and the penalty was awarded. Up stepped Hamish Watson and his mullet and he sent Draper the wrong way to make it 2-1... which is unfamiliar territory because normally the TeeDubs wait until the 89th minute to take the lead. Appropriate that it was a penalty though because this game was getting chippy. Two teams that weren’t gonna let a loose touch go unchallenged and there was a lot that got called up and a lot that didn’t.

Team Welly went to their bench to bring on Owen Barnett for his Prem debut. You couldn’t miss him with the ginger hair and you also couldn’t ignore him with some smooth skills hovering around the left side of the attack. The kind of cameo that leaves you wanting to see more of the fella in action. Meanwhile Alex Palezevic also came on for some midfield stability while Paul Hobson used up his full allotment with a 75th minute triple sub bringing on Gerard Garriga Gibert, Josh Redfearn, and Zac Zorocich to try and make the difference.

Now for those of you, like myself, who dig a creative set piece formation...

Screen Shot 11-30-20 at 09.58 AM.JPG

This so nearly worked too. Barnett peels off to get a shot in space to the left of the choo-choo train line and that shot drifts across the face of the goal to where Schrijvers (second carriage on the train) should really have tapped it in but couldn’t get his feet around it. Pretty sure he was offside but still.

This game would have been all over after 88 minutes if Sam Mason-Smith had been able to score after going through from a Sammy Khan giveaway. Waitakere had left men forward chasing the game and Khan got trapped by SMS and Watto but SMS didn’t quite have the pace to take it all the way so he held up to shoot from outside the box, still with only the keeper to beat, and dragged it wide. Instead Waitakere were able to keep on gassing for that equaliser and, bloody hell, second minute of stoppage time they got it. Long throw from the left by Searle, some scrambly stuff as the ball hit the deck amongst a crowd of challengers, and then up popped Josh Redfearn flying through all the bodies to strike past an unsighted Keegan Smith and tie this game up right at the end.

Right at the end but not quite at the end, because Team Welly still had time to get into the penalty area again and they were adamant they should have had a penalty when Barnett tried to turn under pressure from Leon van den Hoven. The ball then suuuuurely hit LVDH’s hand as he rolled but no dice yet again from Referinho. One of those picture tells a thousand words moments...

Screen Shot 11-30-20 at 10.24 AM.JPG

So a 2-2 draw, one which keeps Team Welly undefeated though they’ll feel like they should have won. Not only because of the late goal they conceded but also the two major penalty shouts. This was probably the best they’ve played too... getting some excellent performances out of the likes of Taylor Schrijvers, Justin Gulley, and especially Joao Moreira who surely has to be starting for them with Hamish Watson moving forward. Moreira was superb, pulling out the tricks as well as providing Team Welly with a bit of cutting edge. There’s the worry (particularly without JHS now) that they can become a tad too predictable sometimes but JM tends to ensure that ain’t the case.

Good point for Waitakere. They needed a response after last weeks’ heavy defeat and they got it. Sam Burfoot had another strong game with his set pieces often looking like their best pathway to goals. Reggie Murati had a good one on the right too, particularly in the first half. He’s a big fella with plenty of energy. Got some opportunities late last season but is really hammering home his starter status this time around.

Moving on to the Sunday slate and the earlier game was a trip past the always immaculate Kiwitea Street as Auckland City sought to rebound from their loss to Hamilton Wanderers by dealing a beat down to Hawke’s Bay, who themselves had lost both games but last week it was only an 89th minute banger that cost them a point against Team Wellington. Two teams quite desperate for the points, two teams not quite firing on all cylinders.

For Auckland City Mario Bilen came back into the starters after getting injured in the first game (still no sign of Angel Berlanga this season, by the way). Andrew Blake also got a first start after looking good off the bench, Jordan Vale swapping for him, and yet again Maro Bonsu-Maro got the start up top with Emiliano Tade still out having aggravated a calf muscle at training. Logan Rogerson should be back next week but wasn’t risked here so Albert Riera had to play as the more attacking of the midfield trio though Mohamed Awad was healthy enough for a spot on the bench as he awaits his ACFC debut. And for Hawke’s Bay a much improved performance last out meant there was no reason to change anything... other than Karan Mandair being out which allowed Ahmed Othman to finally crack the starting eleven for HBU after being the first man off the bench in both opening games. Mandair was a huge loss though, he’d been really sharp in the midfield so far.

HBU’s teenaged keeper Scott Morris got his gloves dirty early as Cam Howieson threaded one wide to Andrew Blake who picked out Albert Riera in the box but his shot was straight at Mozz. Blake was right in amongst it early on, getting forward and instigating a lot of ACFC’s better moments in those beginning stages. Including a shot of his own that Morris was able to get hands on, same deal for a firm punt from Howieson that was more or less straight at him. Bonsu-Maro also whacked one wide... can’t say that Auckland City didn’t come out firing with the disappointments of Porritt Stadium still very much in the back of the ol’ collective consciousness. Even the rain wasn’t gonna slow them down.

But they did get slowed down. The Bay were able to weather the storm and as the literal weather began to clear up they found their tempo, figuring out how they were gonna disrupt this City side with some great energy in the midfield exploiting a pretty obvious imbalance in the City team. Despite Riera effectively playing as an attacking mid, he was still dropping deeper into those more familiar areas and that left a considerable gap between MBM and Dylan Manickum up front and everybody else. One which those two players, both blessed with pace and skill, weren’t really suited to. If you’ve got a chunky bloke to hold the ball up in those situations and allow time for teammates to get up in support then all goods but MBM in particular is a runner and this wasn’t happening. It was starting to feel like the earlier they got Mo Awad on the better. This after they’d already made one early sub, Tom Doyle coming on after Mario Bilen lasted only 20 minutes before he had to be replaced hurt. Really sucks for Mario, he’s started two games this season and only played a total of 33 minutes. Gone off injured both times.

Suddenly it got worse for ACFC. Jesse Randall was able to drop in to pick up the ball and then run directly at the Navy Blues defence. Adam Mitchell tried to jockey him but Randall is lightning. He leant one way then shook him back the other way to shift the ball onto his left and in a flash he’d placed it past Cam Brown for the opening goal. The second week in a row that Auckland City had gone 1-0 down in the first half. The second week in a row that Jesse Randall had given HBU a 1-0 lead over one of the big dogs.

Howieson worked a chest-and-volley that was again straight at Scott Morris. City’s finishing has been lacking in all three games and for all the saves that Mozz had to make, not too many involved him stretching his muscles uncomfortably. That was the way it was going. Lots of those HBU blokes really turning it up, Bill Robertson and Jimmy Hoyle in defence were absolutely smothering and Cory Vickers, Sam Pickering, and especially Ahmed Othman were doing exactly what they needed to do matching up against the most talented midfield in the comp. Naturally Jesse Randall with the moment of magic to have them up at the half too.

Sure enough, Mo Awad was introduced into the action in the 57th minute at the expense of Riera. City had been controlling all the possession but just weren’t doing enough with it, lacking some sort of cutting edge. Awad’s clever creativity was exactly what they needed when even the stuff that was working earlier in the game, like Andy Blake on the overlap, wasn’t working any longer. Several times that ball was played before Blake had even started to run... don’t usually see City so disjointed as that.

Anyway, Mario Ilich put a free kick over the top. Tom Doyle had a shot saved. Manickum seemed like he was gonna spark something with a dose of dancing shoes but after beating a couple players he squared to nobody. And in the middle of all that it looked like Bill Robertson mighta handballed one getting in the way of a Howieson shot but nah the ref wasn’t up for it. The closest City players were adamant that should have been a penalty.

Ah but with quarter of an hour left they did get a penalty and it was a soft one. Ilich whipped a beauty of a switch to Alfie Rogers who did the give-and-go routine with Howieson and Jackson Woods (a former ACFC youth teamer) gave him a bit of a nudge as he stepped in. The HBU defence were furious. Scott Morris dove the right way but Cam Howieson’s shot was unstoppably placed.

A draw wasn’t much fun for ACFC so they kept on plugging away. Bonsu-Maro lifted a tricky one over the bar from in close. Tom Doyle headed over. Yousif Ali came on and he and Awad definitely added a touch of something extra. But time was tick tick ticking away. Ninety minutes were up and still it Hawke’s Bay were well poised for a tasty point... right up until the second minute of injury time when Dylan Manickum drifted across the perimeter and then picked out the bottom corner. MBM had sorta blocked the defender from getting a foot on it and both of them had blocked Morris’ vision of the shot. Nonetheless... a massively dramatic late winner for Auckland City, without which they’d have been lingering outside the top four after three weeks. You know what else? 270 minutes into the competition and that was the first goal scored from open play for ACFC. Incredible.

Hard to argue the Navy Blues didn’t deserve it but that only makes it more devastating for Hawke’s Bay. Last week they were 1-0 up away to Team Wellington with a little over twenty minutes remaining and went on to lose 2-1 to a last minute strike. This week they were 1-0 up away to Auckland City with a little over quarter of an hour remaining and went on to lose 2-1 to an injury time strike. It’s enough to make you wanna curl up in a ball and cry on the floor of the shower... but strip away the emotions and it was another really promising performance from them lads. Maybe needed a little more of an outlet in terms of easing the pressure but the way they’ve dug in for both those games has to be a platform for the rest of their season. It’s only been three weeks after all.

Aaaaand finally we hitch-hike our way down to Christchurch’s English Park where Canterbury United were out in search of their first point of the season while Hamilton Wanderers were seeking to keep it one hundy. Wanderers named the same team as last week other than Xavier Pratt returning from injury to take his place in midfield while Canterbury likewise kept things stable with the exception of Ben Stroud being out injured so Andrew Storer came in as a direct swap.

The Dragons began like a team that looks like they trust what they’ve been working on... which is what you wanna see after a couple defeats. However Kale Herbert spoke to the telly cameras before the game about Wanderers having “patience out of possession” last week and you could see that same patience on show in this one. The Tron Wands didn’t try to force things, just waited for the game to come to them and they did so with a very specific plan to get Tommy Semmy one on one with the ball out on the left as often as possible. Derek Tieku struck the first shot in anger as he spun on the volley but it went wide. Would’ve been a stunner had it gone top corner, shows the overflowing confidence that dude is working with. Then Josh Signey had a shot tipped wide before they eventually managed to make one count. Of course it came from Tommy Semmy getting the ball out wide. He took it round his marker on the outside and slipped it across where of course Derek Tieku was lurking for the tap in. So simple yet so effective. That’s been the Wanderers’ Way this season.

But right before the half-time whistle we were level again. Canterbury are still looking for answers in the attacking third and set pieces always help. Especially with a delivery of the quality of Luke Tongue’s and the size and strength of Tom Schwarz on the end of it. Schwarzy out-leaping Tino Contratti to make it 1-1 with his head. El Capitan leading by example when they needed him to.

Cantabs assistant coach Dan Terris spoke at half-time about getting Yuya Taguchi more involved and the wingbacks higher up the park. He wasn’t wrong... but sometimes that’s easier said than done. A sharp corner kick by Mark Jones was headed onto the top of his own crossbar by Storer before Tieku blazed one across goal and then in the 52nd minute a reckless giveaway by Tongue allowed Semmy to stroll through on goal and the big fella wasn’t missing from there. His second of the season and thoroughly deserved as he continues to both create for others and score for himself. What a joy to have Tommy Semmy back to his best.

That was the kind of shoot yourself in the foot error that the Dragons can’t be having... but they were soon level again thanks to a silly challenge from Brock Messenger hauling down Lyle Matthysen. The foul was initially outside the box but contact continued into it and that’s how the rule works. Penalty to the Cantabs and Garbhan Coughlan gobbled up the chance to get his season’s tally started. You could see an immediate boost in his game with that monkey off his back... in tribute to the late great Diego Maradona it was like he’d inhaled a line of blow and was ready to go again. Sean Liddicoat then dazzled with a mazy run into the box but he ran out of options to square it to and the move fizzed out... but this was a good spell from Canterbury and some positive subs from Lee Padmore (Ihaia Delaney & George King with Seth Clark coming on later) showed they weren’t just gonna settle for one point if they could help it.

There was a concerning moment for the Tron Wands when Josh Signey collided with Luke Tongue on a 50/50 ball in midfield and needed to be replaced. The fluid functionality of that HW midfield has been one of the keys to their success and they can’t really afford too many injuries with largely untested depth. Although Jordan Lamb was one of those depth players. 21 year old local forward with bundles of trickery and so was Owen Comber, a 19 year old midfielder a year removed from Sacred Heart College. It was those two who combined – Comber with a sneaky pass and Lamb with the finish – for the goal that put Hamilton back in front in the 79th minute. S’pose there’s nothing to worry about after all.

Canterbury Utd had already responded twice to going behind and now they had to do so a third time. When Matt Oliver tipped a Cory Mitchell shot over the top it was all the evidence we needed of how quickly these games can change... but there simply wasn’t enough time left. Wanderers held on for a 3-2 win that keeps them perfect and boosts them two points clear at the very top of the table. Another strong performance from Semmy and Tieku, while the midfielders (Pratt, Signey, Whitworth) all battled well and there was a slick showing from Contratti at the back. They conceded their first couple goals of the campaign but they just keep on scoring them so it didn’t matter. Such a fun team to watch. They are where they deserve to be.

En-Oaz2VQAMKnYi.jpg

As for the home side? Individual errors are gonna kill you against good teams, when you’re working as hard as they are to try and score goals it’s so deflating to then hand them away for free like attic-junk in the final hours of a garage sale. Clearly we’re yet to see the best of their creative players. Guys like Taguchi, Clark, Delany, Matthysen, and even Coughlan. Probably gotta start keeping more possession of the footy to bring those lads into the mix more effectively. It’s all a process. They’ve lost three straight but they’re getting closer each week.

By the way, loved seeing the Diego Maradona tributes from the kiwi footy community. Each of these games had a minute’s silence before kickoff in honour of the great man, goes to show what a transcendent talent he was that the entirety of global football has been so affected by his passing.

Okaaaaay, got some tidy fixtures next week, mate. Don’t even doubt it. All four of them on Sunday beginning with Hamilton Wanderers hosting the Wellington Phoenix as they strive to go four from four. Crossing over with that one we’ve got a clash of the two point-less teams (literally speaking, mind the dash in that statement) as Hawke’s Bay United and Canterbury United clash... one thing’s for sure is they won’t both be point-less afterwards. Then Eastern Suburbs play Waitakere United in a game that could have some serious top four ramifications down the line and at the same time as that one there’s the old classic Team Wellington versus Auckland City arm-wrestle which is never not one of the most enticing match-ups of the entire season. And here’s a rare occurrence where they meet with neither of them occupying top spot. What do ya know, aye?

If you appreciate the Premmy Files yarns, help us out on Patreon so we can get paid for ‘em

Also whack an ad to support the wider revolution and sign up to our email newsletter

Keep cool but care