Callum McCowatt was injured this time last year, meaning that he missed out on Silkeborg’s Europa League qualifiers against Molde of Norway. This year it’s only Conference League qualifiers but McCowatt is fit and firing and coming off the finest form of his career.
The Kiwi-NRL umbrella includes all those who played junior footy in Aotearoa and many of them are eligible for Samoa or Tonga, so here are the best emerging players who come from Aotearoa but seem likely to represent Samoa or Tonga in international rugby league.
New Zealand Warriors have an intriguing weekend of NRL, NRLW, NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup coming up and it's led by tricky encounters for the premier teams.
New Zealand Warriors have settled back into their gritty footy with consecutive wins vs Tigers and Knights.
Chris Vea'ila took the tally to 12 Kiwi-NRL debuts in 2025 playing at right centre for Cronulla Sharks in their win vs Sydney Roosters.
Tevita Naufahu was the 11th Kiwi-NRL debutant of 2025 when he played on the wing for Dolphins vs Sharks and he's backed it up with another appearance in the win vs Cowboys.
New Zealand Warriors were excellent with four wins across their top four grades last weekend and they now head to Newcastle for NRL/NRLW games, while the NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup teams host their Melbourne Storm equivalents in Auckland.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have started their first NRLW season with two wins and almost half of their team coming from Aotearoa.
New Zealand Warriors return to Mt Smart this weekend after three consecutive losses across NRL and NRLW, having not scored more than 20 points and conceded more than 20 points in each of these losses.
There have been 10 Kiwi-NRL debutants in 18 rounds of NRL footy and Temple Kalepo is the latest addition after playing 41 minutes for North Queensland Cowboys in their loss to Melbourne Storm.
New Zealand Warriors take a break this weekend which may shake off some of the stink from the two losses between two byes in the past month.
The 2025 NRLW season starts this week and while the return of NZ Warriors offers a hefty boost to women's rugby league in Aotearoa, Bulldogs will enter their first NRLW season with eight women from New Zealand in their team and there are plenty of new NRLWahine sprinkled among the other Australian teams.
The last game New Zealand Warriors won at Mt Smart was in round seven against Brisbane Broncos and after losing to Penrith Panthers at home, they are back on the road for a return game against Broncos.
Turangawaewae junior Aublix Tawha added himself to the list of 2025 Kiwi-NRL debutants with a hearty stint coming off the bench for Dolphins in their loss to Knights.
Kiwi-NRL juniors from Aotearoa continue to simmer their way through reserve grade footy in Queensland and New South Wales with a bunch of them on the cusp of NRL debuts.
New Zealand Warriors youngsters have been a staple of their strong start to the 2025 NRL season and with a bye this weekend, now is the perfect time to take stock of how it's all going.
Tukimihia Simpkins made his return to NRL footy with Gold Coast Titans in their win vs Manly Sea Eagles and the hearty Pikiao junior from Rotorua seems like the type of forward that coach Des Hasler would love.
As the trees release their leaves and winter sweeps across Aotearoa, we have a lovely sample size to take stock of the best emerging talent for New Zealand Warriors.
New Zealand Warriors bullied Cronulla Sharks in a 40-10 win and the NSW Cup Warriors also had a 22-16 win vs the Sharks' reserve grade outfit Newtown Jets, rolling out a combined 22-4 record this season across the top two grades.
Elijah Salesa-Leaumoana became the eighth Kiwi-NRL debutant of 2025 after coming off the bench for Newcastle Knights in their win over Manly Sea Eagles.
New Zealand Warriors had their second loss to Canberra Raiders of the NRL season last weekend and while that was a bummer, another Sunday outing against South Sydney Rabbitohs in Sydney will be a better gauge of how they are tracking through the winter grind.
Otara's Benaiah Ioelu became the seventh Kiwi-NRL debut of 2025 as he started at hooker for Sydney Roosters in their win vs Cronulla Sharks.
The New Zealand Warriors tour of Australia finished with a win over Dolphins and this gives Warriors folks a taste of something they can't have experienced too often before as they had three consecutive wins in Australia.
Tanner Stowers-Smith became the sixth Kiwi-NRL debutant in the 2025 NRL season after the Halswell junior from Christchurch got 25 minutes of action for New Zealand Warriors vs Dolphins.
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...
Callum McCowatt was injured this time last year, meaning that he missed out on Silkeborg’s Europa League qualifiers against Molde of Norway. This year it’s only Conference League qualifiers but McCowatt is fit and firing and coming off the finest form of his career.
The cup stuff swung back around this weekend as the last eight clubs in the Chatham Cup were chiselled into four. Gotta start with the defending champions Wellington Olympic, who faced Western Suburbs in a Central League duel at Endeavour Park.
Who saw that coming, aye? Wrexham had reportedly been after Liberato Cacace for weeks but they were only one of a long list of clubs you could say that about (and that’s just the ones we heard about).
There’s nothing quite like a good old top of the table bonanza. That’s what we got at Shepherds Park on Saturday when Birkenhead United hosted Western Springs seeking to reclaim the first place badge that they’d been wearing for most of the season
Elijah Just’s Mothwerwell move was confirmed last Thursday NZT with the Scottish club paying an undisclosed fee to sign him on a two-year contract (with a club option for a third). This reunites him with coach Jens Berthel Askou who previously signed Just at AC Horsens.
Sarpreet Singh has landed in Serbia, ready to add another language to his Duolingo lessons. In a career that’s already taken him from Wellington to Germany to Portugal, he’s now signed a two-year contract with TSC Bačka Topola in the Serbian SuperLiga.
That’s right, time for another cup week and leading the way are the quarter-finals of the Kate Sheppard Cup. Final eight. No time to wait.
Michael Boxall may have told reporters that he didn’t want the spotlight of MLS All Star status but the voters didn’t listen, sending him on the way to his first ever selection. The squad was announced last Thursday NZT and…
What do ya know, the old mates at Auckland FC have made another couple of reserves signings. They already added Benjamin Perez Baldoni (15, Ellerslie) and Nathan Martin (17, Fencibles) a few weeks back and in the last few days…
This was a week for transfers... but there are a few stray games involving kiwi footballers sprinkled in here. Like, for instance, another silky victory for Joe Bell’s Viking FK as they continue to hang out at the very top of the Eliteserien.
Let us begin at the summit, where Birkenhead United have been hanging out for a couple of months. Birko remain first after this week’s fixtures... but the lead has been narrowed after they only drew 3-3 against West Coast Rangers.
Gabi Rennie was in a generous mood for Eskilstuna United’s penultimate game before the summer break. She didn’t score as Esky won 4-0 against Gamla Upsala, instead she simply set all four of them up.
It was only a fortnight ago that the previous cup rounds took place but the games keep flowing so it was time for third round fixtures in both the Chatham Cup and Kate Sheppard Cup
There’s a Men’s U20 World Cup happening in a couple of months, if you didn’t know, and the New Zealander team has been busy in preparation. They just popped over to Chile for a couple of games.
Getting over that initial barrier and proving you can get results against top sides is one thing, but a World Cup group stage involves three matches in a short space of time and one good result usually doesn’t cut the mustard.
Dunedin City Royals had won seven outta seven heading into this week but a trip to face Cashmere Technical away posed one of their trickiest fixtures yet. Nevertheless, they did in this game what they did in all the other games.
This two-game trip to Canada marks a new phase for the All Whites, going from qualifying for the World Cup (by beating lower-ranked nations) to preparing for the World Cup (with games against much higher-ranked nations)
What were we hoping to see from the Football Ferns as they took on Venezuela? Probably just the usual objectives of scoring goals and winning games, alongside some more clues as to how Michael Mayne’s vision for this team will look.
Even in what ought to be a down week, with most European seasons wrapped up and the women all on an international break, the Flying Kiwis shelves can still produce bangers like this
It was a long weekend and it was a very busy weekend. We had cup games all over the country and somehow the Northern League managed to squeeze in a full round of fixtures on top of that
The last time we saw the All Whites, they were busy qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Now that they’ve booked their tickets for that event it’s time to start preparing for it.
Auckland FC didn’t carry any baggage or trauma into their second leg semi-final against Melbourne Victory. They were home at Mt Smart Stadium with more than 29,000 fans packed in – their biggest crowd of the season.
It all came down to this. Nottingham Forest versus Chelsea on the final day of the season with Champions League football on the line. It’s a situation that would have been inconceivable to Forest fans at the beginning of the campaign.
Another unbeaten record has fallen. Christchurch United have been looking imperious this year but they got popped 2-1 by Coastal Spirit on Sunday in a crazy finish.
The A-League has wrapped up, most of the leagues in Europe have ended, and that makes this a perfect time for a couple of Football Ferns games... in Spain? Yeah righto.
Hold the phone... Empoli won another game of football! They went twenty games on the trot without winning in Serie A but suddenly they’ve grabbed two in a row just in time to give them renewed hope of avoiding relegation.
Auckland United have done the business at the Oceania Champions League. Having progressed easily through the group stage, they met Henderson Eels (Solomon Islands) in the semis and scored three times in the opening seven minutes…
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.
The Tall Ferns recently got back from an Asia Cup jaunt in which they were pretty impressive on the way to a fifth-placed finish. Now it’s the turn of the Tall Blacks to do the same thing.
The Tall Ferns travelled to China for the latest Asia Cup with one major objective: don’t come last... or second to last. As long as they avoided those fates then, no matter what else happened, they’d progress in World Cup qualification.
A little over a year ago, the only basketball team from Aotearoa to ever make the semi-finals of a FIBA World Cup event at any age grade, men or women, were the Tall Blacks of 2002. Now it’s happened twice in twelve months.
While most of the kiwi basketball focus is rightfully on the FIBA Men’s U19 World Cup, not to mention the latter stages of the NBL season, it just so happens that we’re only the start of a busy spell of international hoops which also includes both men’s and women’s Asia Cups.
These are heady times for basketball in Aotearoa. You only have to tune into any random NBL game to witness the calibre of our emerging young talent and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Steven Adams has signed an extension with the Houston Rockets. The Rockets were desperate to get this deal done with both general manager Raphael Stone and also head coach Ime Udoka having made it very clear that this was an offseason priority.
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
Aotearoa are Zimbabwe tri-series champions after defeating South Africa in the final, winning all five games of the tri-series and taking their record since the last T20 World Cup to 12-3.
New Zealand's Test series in Zimbabwe isn't part of the World Test Championship but it's our first dose of Test cricket in a while and an important phase for the Blackcaps to lay some foundations in the longest format.
The Blackcaps have won their first two games of the T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe featuring impressive mahi from emerging batters Tim Robinson and Bevon Jacobs in the first game, plus the continued excellence of Matt Henry.
The New Zealand A women's cricket team went down 1-5 to England A across both formats and there were many intriguing performances from the kiwi outfit that can bolster White Ferns depth
Aotearoa's development pipeline is on show again in the emerging talent who got their first domestic cricket contracts from the first round of announcements.
The Blackcaps T20I squad selected for a tri-series in Zimbabwe sums up the state of New Zealand cricket nicely with excellent depth on show, talented youngsters on the rise and experienced troopers improving, along with Blackcaps contracts having no relevance to fans and the need to adjust perception about a few kiwi cricketers.
The first round of domestic cricket contracts have been announced with a few movers and groovers to digest, most of which revolves around Otago.
The New Zealand A women's cricket squad was announced for their tour of England starting in a few weeks with three one-dayers and three T20s locked in.
The New Zealand A cricket team stretched out their undefeated streak in Unofficial Tests with a win then a draw in Bangladesh, making it six games in a row without a loss and three wins in their last four games overseas.
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.
