2025 Men’s National League – Week 6


Wellington Olympic vs Western Suburbs

Wellington Olympic entered this round at the top of the table where they’ve been for much of this National League and yet it didn’t actually seem like they’d even played that well. Certainly not to the levels we saw from them in the Chatham Cup final. But after a shocking first twenty minutes, the rest of the match against Birko last week was about as close as they’ve gotten to hitting their capabilities so they were unchanged as Western Suburbs dropped by Wakefield Park on Saturday arvo. Wests just had their bye and before that they also beat Birkenhead, with the only change from them being the return of Sebastian Sanchez in midfield.

The thing about these regional derbies is that there are no secrets. Welly Olympic came out full of confidence seeking to play fast and stretch things out but Wests have seen it all before and they knew you’ve gotta hang deep against these guys if you don’t want to have to get stuck in footraces all day. Deep and also wide because Olympic will pepper those long diagonals all day if you let them. Wests weren’t letting them... hence why the first major chance of the day fell to their own Jonathan Robinson with a stinger from distance. But Olympic were soon at the races too. Tor Davenport-Petersen gave it a nudge for WO trying to emulate his banger from last week, that took a deflection wide. And being a derby, of course there was some extra feeling – some heavy tackles and some accusations of exaggerated contact.

The towering defenders were bossing most things... but Isa Prins was still able to skip past a few challenges. He had a penalty claim turned down and then set up Jack-Henry Sinclair for a shot that he dug under and scooped high. Sebastian Barton-Ginger went insanely close for Wests when he grabbed a loose one at the back post and created room to shoot, blasting off the inside of the far post. We’re talking about end to end chances at the end of the first half... but still there was nothing to split them. Not yet anyway.

Not willing to let it drift, WO threw on Adam Supyk and Gianni Bouzoukis less than ten mins into the second spell. Meanwhile the ref had to tell the captains to chill things out after a little more niggle. JHS had the ball in the net, nodding down from a Will Vincent cross, but the flag was up long before he could launch into a backflip. On came Jonny Reynolds against the club he started the year with. Prins rolled one to the back post that Sinclair couldn’t quiet catch up with. Then, finally, the breakthrough arrived when Isa Prins pushed the ball forward looking for Gianni Bouzoukis, a defender stuck a leg out to break it up, the ball deflected directly to Bouzoukis anyway as he peeled right... and GB didn’t hesitate to slide it past the keeper for the lead. Believe it or not, that snapped a 12-game goal drought for Bouz... and also ensured that the 150th Wellington Olympic match on the Wakefield Park turf would not end in a 0-0 draw (just as none of the other 149 have ended in a 0-0 draw).

Fast-forward thirty minutes and that proved to be the winner. Only the one goal between these two close rivals who’d gone to extra time when they met in the Chatham Cup. Wests tried to get the ball into the area towards the end but they never really created anything meaningful in the second half and the Greeks should really have iced it with a second goal along the way. A few times they were guilty of getting too cute with their extra passes. Other times it was the lack of accuracy in their shooting. Luke Stoupe had a bright cameo off the bench and Bouzoukis was involved in a lot. Ultimately they got away without a second goal because Ben Mata and the lads held it down at the back for Olympic’s first clean sheet since of this National League.

Don’t worry about anything else that followed, this result confirmed another week of Wellington Olympic sitting atop the standings. The Greeks do have their bye next week so that could change if Western Springs win again but with five wins from six this lot are absolutely on track for another final. They had Davenport-Petersen patrolling the midfield... he’s been outstanding lately and if your definition of MVP is the best player on the best team then, well, that might be your bloke. No kidding. Isa Prins was also too much to contain. And getting Bouzoukis back in the goals is massive considering they’ve lost Hamish Watson for the season (and potentially next year too, having suffered a bad knee injury the other week – kia kaha to Watto). Western Suburbs defended quite well but they just couldn’t get Kaelin Nguyen and Seb Barton-Ginger involved often enough, even though SBG in particular did look capable when the ball came his way. So far they’ve gone loss, win, loss, win, loss... which at least bodes well for the visit of Auckland FC next week.

Wellington Olympic 1-0 Western Suburbs

63’ | 1-0 | WO | Bouzoukis


Christchurch United vs Auckland City

This pair should reasonably have been considered title challengers when the Nats kicked off, despite neither having had a particularly great regional league season. The parity around this competition meant that they were both within three points of second place as this game kicked off so technically they are both still title challengers... but the vibes have been peculiar. Neither have been any less inconsistent than they were throughout the rest of 2025 and between OFC Pro League stuff and FIFA Club World Cup stuff there’s a feeling that perhaps each have had bigger fish to fry.

Christchurch United haven’t been helped by the continual weakening of their squad with first Travis Graham and now Jago Godden departing the scene (plus Eddie Wilkinson getting injured during the winter). South African native Graham retired and returned home with his family – he was going to leave after the Southern League but stuck around for the first couple weeks so that he could say ka kite to the home fans. Now Godden, a local midfielder who’s become a crucial presence for the Rams in the last couple years, is leaving “to explore opportunities overseas” with this match against Auckland City his farewell. The Rams did have Joel Stevens back on the bench, they missed him during the 0-0 draw with Coastal last week. The only change to their eleven was Jackson Cole in for Bray Whitecliffe as Ryan Edwards swapped around his young strikers. Auckland City made two changes with Jerson Lagos and Gerard Garriga back in the eleven plus without Nikko Boxall around they reverted to a 4-3-3 shape instead of the back three of the last few rounds.

Not wanting to leave with a whimper, Jago Godden was a man on a mission, trying to get all the touches he could and barging through the midfield. Most of the game seemed to happen in the ACFC half to begin with... then some slick passing dragged things the other way and nek minnit Dylan Manickum’s strike was being tipped around the post by a diving Steven van Dijk. The beast was awoken, aye? Yeah nah maybe not...

Easy as you like, long ball straight up the middle from Ben Stroud and then some miscommunication between Nathan Garrow and Adam Mitchell allowed Jackson Cole to come swooping through and tap into an empty net. It was an instance of defending almost as weak as the club’s cybersecurity. That spurred the Rams on and Josh Tollervey soon had Garrow scrambling to turn an effort over the bar. Riley Grover smashed a half-volley into Garrow’s grasp. That was all good mahi... even better was how well they were getting numbers back and in shape to withstand City’s spells of pressure. Not just withstand them but transform them into counters of their own, such as the one where Noah Karunaratne went on the drive and it ended with Godden’s hard shot pushed around the post by Garrow. From the corner kick, Van Rijssel dropped it right on Ben Stroud at the far post and it seemed to bobble in off his hip, how about that? Wham, bam, up the Rams.

That was no bloody good for Auckland City so on came Ryan De Vries at half-time, who’d helped them battle back for a draw against AFC last match. Initially it seemed like frustration was rising as CUFC’s physical approach continued to repel the Aucklanders... but then David Yoo popped a brilliant header top bins off a Jerson Lagos cross and the whole complexion changed.

RDV glanced a header that had a few fans gasping before it bobbled wide of the target. SVD made a good save from a Murati tester. The Rams threw on Joel Steven and Shogo Osawa to try and pull the tug-of-war rope back in their direction... and that’s what happened. Stevens gave them a ball-carrier to advance the ball further and that led to a couple of half-chances, easing the pressure. Easing it but not eliminating it. Because a shot from Lagos was parried out by Van Dijk after 82 minutes and Gerard Garriga gobbled that up for 2-2. Another late equaliser from ACFC, aye? And they still had time to chase a winner, with Angus Kilkolly not far away as he drilled a shot past the post. SVD made a diving stop against a snapper from Yoo. Frisky business from the home side.

Auckland City scored an 88th minute equaliser last week and an 82nd minute equaliser this week. They always find a way. But draws aren’t going to allow them to defend their title and we’re going to have to see a much more fluent version of this team the rest of the way. Seven goals in five games isn’t nearly enough. It’s not a coincidence that Jerson Lagos was involved in both goals, with David Yoo scoring the first of those – those are the two guys in the ACFC regular rotation capable (and willing) of going off-script and creating things outside the usual patterns of play. For Christchurch United, mixed feelings must have prevailed as a good effort was spoiled by the late concession but they are now third on the ladder so they’re hanging in there (although Wellington Olympic and Western Springs are starting to pull away from the chasing pack). Jago Godden had a barnstormer in his farewell game. Ben Stroud kept up his great form even adding a goal and an assist to his usual defensive prowess. Ollie van Rijssel was really good on the left edge too. It’s now four games without a win for Christchurch United but this was a fine performance from them.

Christchurch United 2-2 Auckland City

13’ | 1-0 | CU | Cole (Stroud)

37’ | 2-0 | CU | Stroud (Van Rijssel)

56’ | 2-1 | AC | Yoo (Lagos)

82’ | 2-2 | AC | Garriga (Lagos)


Miramar Rangers vs Western Springs

This game pitted second versus third when the round began, even though these have been two tricky teams to get a handle on. Not in terms of style, that’s been clear and consistent throughout. But Miramar Rangers were third despite only having beaten the two A-League reserve teams while Western Springs were second after grinding out some great results from a bunch of very close games. Do that often enough and it becomes a trait of success and not a bubble that’s bound to burst... but we needed a little more evidence before reaching that tipping point. Two changes for Miramar with one Fenton (Louis) going out and another Fenton (Tim) coming in. Matt Oliver also got a crack in goal. Western Springs were unchanged for the third game in a row meaning 18yo goalkeeper Emmett Connolly continues to hold down his spot.

You know what always sparks a game up? An early goal. Western Springs got one at David Farrington Park before the fans on the sidelines had even had time to blow on their pies. Everybody loves a long throw these days and the NZ National League has some excellent practitioners. Like Reid Drake, for example, who hurled one over within the opening minute which Aidan Carey flicked on at the near post and then Theo Ettema accidentally glanced into the net for an own goal. That’s only the second goal that Springs have scored inside the opening thirty minutes of a game, wasting no time at all in getting started.

Rangers tried to lift the tempo with Jordan Lamb looking very confident after last week’s heroics. He was taking blokes on. Miramar’s backline and midfield were doing a good job of playing through the lines. And above all they were uncompromising, laying into challenges like the one Nicolas Bobadilla got booked for after he threw his whole body, shoulder first, into blocking Wan Gatkek like an NFL linebacker might. Made for fun exciting footy with Springs applying their counter-press. High quality from both sides with the promise of further goals... a promise fulfilled by Owen Smith when his diving header onto a Conor Butler first-time cross brought the home side back level after 18 mins.

Two significant things happened midway through the half and both involved Wan Gatkek. First was when he slalomed past a few challenges and then curled a left shot towards goal leading to a genuinely tremendous Matt Oliver one-handed save. The other was when Bobadilla left something on Gatkek in a late challenge and earned himself a second yellow and an early shower. Funny thing was, Rangers didn’t even seem fazed by the ten-men thing at first. They went up the other end and tried to claim a handball penalty (the ref had a long talk with his assistants and then decided against it). S’pose Rangers are the type of team that create a lot through individuals with Martin Bueno’s lone striker work and the skill they’ve got out wide so they can still make things happen despite a red card. It was only in the last few minutes of the first stanza that the Swans decided to slow things down and starve their hosts of possession, with Caspar McGavin going close to scoring except he couldn’t quite reach Ry McLeod’s low driven cross (bit of a trademark of McLeod’s, those low driven crosses).

But the second half brought the clamps. Western Springs went through their slick motions, setting up a siege upon the Rangers formation. They weren’t getting through the walls but they kept chipping away, chipping away, until finally an ill-advised pass to Brad Whitworth under pressure in midfield produced a rare instance where Whitworth couldn’t retain the ball and Daniel Normann sent it forwards to Caspar McGavin running through. The teenaged striker scored his third of the season (to go with the bundle of important goals he scored during the Northern League).

Bueno did drop a difficult header onto the roof of the net from a corner but otherwise Miramar couldn’t seem to get it going chasing the game with ten men. They looked tired against a side that’s very good at squeezing the ball back. Kinda baffling how Springs can have so much energy when they hardly ever rotate (the only sub they made in this game was Ben Wallace on after 87 mins) – those lads must hit some mad beep test numbers. Ah but in stoppage time there finally emerged that one clean chance that Miramar were battling for when they won a corner and up went Butler... powerful header... too close to Connolly who parried it over with cat-like reflexes. The whole ground thought that was going in, instead Miramar Rangers fell to a 2-1 defeat at home.

And Western Springs won by a 2-1 scoreline for the third week on the trot. Seems they might just be really good at grinding these things out. In the last four rounds we’ve seen a 90+5th minute equaliser vs Auckland FC, goals on 65’ and 74’ to beat Christchurch United, a 79th min winner against Auckland United, and a 67th min winner against Miramar Rangers (they also conceded a stoppage time winner to Wellington Olympic before that). Springs are a side where the individuals don’t stand out so much as the team-wide effort though the midfield tandem of Gatkek and Normann were really good here and the youngsters at each end, goalie Emmett Connolly and striker Caspar McGavin, were the main reason why this was a 2-1 win and not a 2-1 loss. Miramar Rangers will feel they could’ve had that were it not for the red card but the bookings were deserved. They never found enough ways to get Martin Bueno involved and both goals conceded felt like lapses. They’ve got a good one in Owen Smith though. He’s having a great campaign... pretty sure this was the first game in which he hasn’t been yellow carded.

Miramar Rangers 1-2 Western Springs

1’ | 0-1 | WS | Own Goal (Carey)

18’ | 1-1 | MR | Smith (Butler)

28’ | RED CARD | MR | Bobadilla

67’ | 1-2 | WS | McGavin (Normann)


Auckland United vs Coastal Spirit

Now for a diversion at the bottom of the table between the two most disappointing sides thus far. Auckland United have struggled without the injured Emiliano Tade, rolling through line-ups in search of a combination that works. Coastal Spirit had an 8-0 loss to Wests in week two having been stumped trying to translate Southern League form into National League form without sufficient reinforcements. Three weeks into the season, Auckland United and Coastal Spirit were the only teams yet to win a game. Five weeks deep and Auckland United still hadn’t gotten that first dub.

Coastal did take four points from the last two rounds though so they kept the same eleven that had held consecutive clean sheets in those ones. Auckland United recalled Abdallah Khaled and Lucca Lim to the eleven whilst also giving young Shaan Anand his first MNL start, following a few handy bench cameos. Anand was heavily involved in a pretty bright from AUFC, seeking to take on his fullback. United were getting ball into the area. Matt Bergin had to make a few interventions. Decent intent coming from a winless team... and that was clear in both directions because when Coastal seemed to part the seas on attack, Yusuf Van Dam getting into the area in space, along came Hideto Takahashi sliding across from outta nowhere to block him.

Nobody got across to block Derek Tieku when he dashed through soon after but that shot hit the side-netting. Jake Hale sliced his way infield and smashed a good shot that might have beaten the keeper but we didn’t get that far because it hit Tieku first. Couple useful surges for Coastal though. Enough to set this game up on an even platform awaiting to see which club would do something cool to bust it open. First goal is always important in any game and it might have been Liam Cotter for Coastal as he ran onto an early switch from Joe Hoole except his shot was fizzed wide from the edge of the box. Instead it was Lucca Lim for Auckland United as he crept into the area and nodded home a Shaan Anand cross.

Auckland Utd’s backline were making some wicked tackles there, stepping in accurately and breaking up chances... but the exception was Liam Cotter who dribbled into another chance only to see Kai McLean give him the old No Deal. You’d have to say that Coastal had the better chances but they hit the sheds trailing by a goal. And when they came back out looking fired up, Kai McLean kept spoiling them by diving at their feet or punching away their crosses or diving to save their shots. Pesky bugger that he is. But again, Coastal had their moments and they didn’t do enough with them. With twenty to go, Auckland United made a triple change with Matt Conroy (LW), Bruce Izumi (CM), and Ishveer Singh (CF) coming on and immediately they looked so much better with Vollenhoven out wide and Conroy running at dudes and Singh giving them a target man. Within two minutes of the changes, Otto Ingham and Dre Vollenhoven combined up the right wing before DV laid one over for Conroy to convert at the far post.

Danny Boys did nearly score a screamer from distance, McLean having to add a fingertip save to his day’s work for that, so AUFC figured they’d better add a third in the 87th minute to make it safe. Nico Mancilla, another substitute, scored that one. Lovely little pass infield from him to start the move then he followed through when Singh’s shot was parried into his path. That’ll do it. 3-0 to Auckland United... a result which finally gets them on the board and also offers a few ideas for Jose Figueira to think about over the second half of the campaign. Will Vollenhoven return to the wing full-time? Would Ishveer Singh provide a different dynamic starting up top? No questions about Kai McLean who had a superb outing for his clean sheet... but they did lose Ross Haviland to injury with ten to go so they’ll be hoping that’s nothing drastic since RH has been their best and most consistent dude thus far. Hideto Takahashi was all class here as well, giving his team the steady hand that they needed as a fullback pushing forward (and often infield too).

Coastal Spirit did enough to get something out of this but you can only spurn so many chances and still keep your heads up. McLean deserves a lot of credit for that... but also Coastal have only scored three times in six matches hence this is not a one-off problem. They’ve now dropped to last place. The 8-0 loss to Wests was an anomaly (except for the nil part) but they are where they are for a reason.

Auckland United 3-0 Coastal Spirit

34’ | 1-0 | AU | Lim (Anand)

73’ | 2-0 | AU | Conroy (Vollenhoven)

87’ | 3-0 | AU | Mancilla (Singh)


Auckland FC Reserves vs Birkenhead United

The only Sunday game of this week’s slate pitted the Auckland FC Reserves against another Northern League rival fresh from a hugely impressive 1-1 draw at Kiwitea Street. They’ve never lost to Auckland City after three meetings. They’d also never beaten Birkenhead United, having had a loss and a draw against that lot during the Northern League. Ah but those matches didn’t involve Nando Pijnaker, who joined Oli Sail in dropping down to the Ressies this week. Those two are not only solid pros... they’ve both been in All Whites squads this year – in fact Nando would probably be in the current squad if he hadn’t been injured. Sail and young defender Ryan Mackay had been on the bench for the first team the previous day. Nando was the only change from the starting eleven for the ACFC match, with Adama Coulibaly sliding to left-back to accommodate the big man (who won the National League with Eastern Suburbs a few years back). Everton O’Leary captained against his former club.

Over on the Birko side, wins against Coastal and Auckland City before their bye were followed by losses against Western Suburbs and Wellington Olympic which effectively left them in must-win territory against AFC if they’re going to repeat last year’s run to the final. To win games you’ve gotta score goals... and Paul Hobson took that mantra very literally. His teamsheet was even crazier than seeing Nando Pijnaker on the AFC list. Somehow he managed to squeeze in all FOUR of his strikers: Morgan Wellsbury and Sam Philip joining last week’s duo of Michael Suski and Kian Donkers. Five if you count Alex Connor-McLean at right wing-back. Wellsbury was the number nine while Donkers and Suski hung beside/behind him. Philip, meanwhile, returned to his youth days by lining up in the back three (a striker by reputation only on this occasion). Hamed Basiri also got a chance in midfield.

But all those strikers didn’t help much while AFC peppered them with a sequence of corner kicks and then took the lead after ten minutes when a cheeky backheel in the box by Jonty Bidois sent Oliver Middleton into a crossing position and good ol’ Dejaun Naidoo did the rest for his second goal in two weeks. Keep in mind that Naidoo is one of the younger dudes in this squad having only turned 18yo in July (that’s two months younger than Ryan Mackay who was the next youngest in this starting eleven). Ten minutes later it was Naidoo chasing down a rapid punt by Sail, who’d scooped up a free kick cross and obviously wanted to catch Birko before their defenders could get back. Yeah that was pretty smart of him because Naidoo secured the ball with some silky footwork and then fired it over for Jonty Bidois to side-foot home as his run intersected the cross. Deceptively nice finish and blimey the AFC Ressies were hooning away.

First of all: Bloody hell. Second of all: Birko blew a 2-0 lead at home last week so now they merely had to do the same thing from the opposite perspective. The likelihood of that didn’t seem too high as a confident AFC were out there hunting in packs and swarming the midfield wide areas. They were having so much fun that a few tricks and flicks even emerged. Not from uber-pros Sail and Pijnaker, naturally, but a bit of youthful exuberance was on show from the others. Adama Coulibaly’s combination with Naidoo on the left was awesome. And Birko weren’t helping themselves with some pretty rank average crossing... they had all those targets to aim for and weren’t giving them a sniff.

Five minutes before the break, James Mitchell got tangled with a Birko player and stayed down. Rather than stop and appeal, Finn McKenlay scooped up the loose ball and stormed forward with single-minded determination. Jonty Bidois was signalling his run with two hands yet nobody tracked him as he drifted into a channel to collect the pass and then beat Keegan Smith with his finish, two for Bidois and three for AFC. An already felicitous day had become a full-on party for the AFC Reserves.

Obviously that state of affairs was unacceptable for Birko hence they made three changes at the break – Zach Chung, Curtis Hughes, and Sammy Khan giving them a more traditional arrangement of positions. AFC also mixed it up with Semi Nabenu and Matt D’Hotman replacing Pijnaker and Coulibaly who’d run their races for the day, probably on predetermined limits, and could start thinking about first team training instead.

There’s no doubt that the second half brought a more enthused/desperate Birko team and a lot more time was spent in the AFC half. Unfortunately for Birko, they spurned a great chance when Donkers got in behind and cut back for Suski whose shot was brilliantly saved by Sail. Fortunately for Birko, they didn’t go further behind when Rutherford’s deflected shot was smacked at by both Bidois and Mitchell and Keegan Smith made a super double save. But, man, the damage had been done. AFC were a little more vulnerable without Pijnaker but only a little considering his replacement was Nabenu. With a three goal buffer to overcome, Birko needed to spark some chaos and they never found it (except maybe within their own formation). Donkers couldn’t lift a 1v1 over Sail. Rostron missed the target following up on a Sail save. The most exciting part of the second half was probably when Sail and Suski almost decided to scrap it out near the end.

This time Oli Sail got his clean sheet, making his presence felt again with the way he commanded his area and organised his defenders (he was especially good in the air here). That was backed up by great shifts from all of his back four, including the subs (D’Hotman made a couple huge interventions), with a bit of flair from guys like Naidoo and Rutherford, plus Jonty Bidois’ eye for goal doing the rest. By the way... Dejaun Naidoo has started four games and AFC have two wins and two draws in those. The two he didn’t start were both losses. It’s been said a few times but mate Auckland FC really knocked it out of the park with their reserves recruitment. Five blokes in their squad (Vicelich, Fitzharris, Masamba, Perez Baldoni & Martin) are currently away at the U17 World Cup too.

Three defeats in a row for Birkenhead United Football Club. That first half was a mess and they weren’t able to finish their half-chances for a chance at at comeback. Gotta appreciate the commitment to putting as many attacking players out there as possible but you do wonder if perhaps they underestimated what they were up against from an AFC Ressies side that have proven themselves to be a very dogged outfit not just during the Nats but through in the second half of the Northern League as well. Even if Birko win all five remaining games, it’s going to be hard to stay in grand final contention from here. The most they can get to is 18 points. Nobody in the previous three years of the nine-game format ever made the top two with less than 19 points, though there is an extra game this year (thanks AFC!) so adjust your forecasts accordingly... at the very least, they can’t afford another trip-up.

Auckland FC Reserves 3-0 Birkenhead United

10’ | 1-0 | AFC | Naidoo (Middleton)

20’ | 2-0 | AFC | Bidois (Naidoo)

40’ | 3-0 | AFC | Bidois (McKenlay)


PWDLGFGAGDPTS
Wellington Olympic6501158715
Western Springs6411116513
Christchurch United62229908
Auckland FC62227708
Auckland City522178-18
Miramar Rangers521212937
Western Suburbs520313856
Birkenhead United5203811-36
Auckland United51226605
Wellington Phoenix5113811-34
Coastal Spirit6114316-134
TOP SCORERS  
Kaelin NguyenWestern Suburbs4
Sebastian Barton-GingerWestern Suburbs4
Martin BuenoMiramar Rangers4
Jack-Henry SinclairWellington Olympic4
Isa PrinsWellington Olympic3
Gerard GarrigaAuckland City3
Caspar McGavinWestern Springs3
Jonty BidoisAuckland FC3
Noah KarunaratneChristchurch United2
Riley GroverChristchurch United2
Sam Mason-SmithWellington Olympic2
Joel StevensChristchurch United2
Ben WallaceWestern Springs2
Jordan LambMiramar Rangers2
Tor Davenport-PetersenWellington Olympic2
Luke SupykWellington Phoenix2
David YooAuckland City2
Dejaun NaidooAuckland FC2
MOST ASSISTS  
Owen SmithMiramar Rangers3
Alex SolomonWellington Olympic2
Joshua TollerveyChristchurch United2
Tyler FreemanWestern Suburbs2
Gianni BouzoukisWellington Olympic2
Nathan WalkerWellington Phoenix2
Riley DalziellAuckland City2
Devin SlingsbyBirkenhead United2
Isa PrinsWellington Olympic2
Louis FentonMiramar Rangers2
Jordan LambMiramar Rangers2
Oliver Van RijsselChristchurch United2
Dejaun NaidooAuckland FC2
Shaan AnandAuckland United2
Daniel NormannWestern Springs2
Jerson LagosAuckland City2

The Niche Cache relies on the generous contributions of our readers to keep churning out the good stuff so if you reckon we’re worthy then please pop on over to Patreon, Substack, or Buy Me A Coffee to chip in

Also helps to whack an ad, share the yarns around, and tell your mates about us