Northern Region Football League U-23 squad for Pacific Games
Fixed
More than half of the squad is from outside the NRFL (13/20 – 11/20 if you don't want to count Cooper and De Jong, who are back briefly from the US, though I'm not 100% on that re: De Jong, but still, doesn't change the point).
There will be more to come on the selection process when various people at NZ Football speak to media on Tuesday, but I believe the process for this particular tournament has created a few roadblocks, especially with regard to adjusting in the wake of recent events. They haven't taken three fewer players than possible for the hell of it.
The qualifiers clash with the NCAA season and the European men's season and come right on the eve of the A-League season, so there won't be many 'big names' involved in them.
As for this squad...
Brown and Schnell went to the Fifa U-20 World Cup.
Akers, Spain, Tipelu, Clark, Dowling, McIsaac and Whyte were all involved in the final camp before the U20 WC.
Hare-Reid was involved in the February U20 camp.
Ihaia Delaney has been playing for Wests/Ole and was on the radar early in the U20 WC cycle.
Byron Heath has been playing for Lower Hutt/WeeNix since recovering from an injury suffered last September.
Brady, Cooper, de Jong and Jones are all NCAA players born 97-98.
Porter, Liddicoat, Rogerson and Tracey are all NZ-based players (Rogerson only recently) born 97-98.