Western and Pacific Premierships

hotchips wrote:
Western Prems back from the hiatus for that awful All Whites performance:

FC Western Reserves vs PNU Reserves, 1230pm, Lynmouth Park
Marist Reserves vs Feilding, 1230pm, Ashhurst
Takaro vs Moturoa, 1230pm, Skoglund
Whanganui Athletic vs New Plymouth Rangers, 245pm, Wembley
NPBHS vs Levin, 245pm, Gully Turf


Central/Capital Football will use the "consultation" process to keep Gisborne United out of CL2. It will be Whanganui Athletic, Phoenix U18, Olympic Reserves and Greytown. If a 5th club gets National League from CL, I'd bet they bring in NCR Ressies over Gizzy.

bigfudge wrote:

 hotchips wrote:
Western Prems back from the hiatus for that awful All Whites performance:

FC Western Reserves vs PNU Reserves, 1230pm, Lynmouth Park
Marist Reserves vs Feilding, 1230pm, Ashhurst
Takaro vs Moturoa, 1230pm, Skoglund
Whanganui Athletic vs New Plymouth Rangers, 245pm, Wembley
NPBHS vs Levin, 245pm, Gully Turf


Central/Capital Football will use the "consultation" process to keep Gisborne United out of CL2. It will be Whanganui Athletic, Phoenix U18, Olympic Reserves and Greytown. If a 5th club gets National League from CL, I'd bet they bring in NCR Ressies over Gizzy.

I can see Central Football having issues with the ground and the fact that they have no junior setup at Gisborne United at all. If they're kicking them out just for the sake of no one wanting to go to Gisborne that would be brutal. Are these rumors or a prediction?

hotchips wrote:

 bigfudge wrote:

 hotchips wrote:
Western Prems back from the hiatus for that awful All Whites performance:

FC Western Reserves vs PNU Reserves, 1230pm, Lynmouth Park
Marist Reserves vs Feilding, 1230pm, Ashhurst
Takaro vs Moturoa, 1230pm, Skoglund
Whanganui Athletic vs New Plymouth Rangers, 245pm, Wembley
NPBHS vs Levin, 245pm, Gully Turf


Central/Capital Football will use the "consultation" process to keep Gisborne United out of CL2. It will be Whanganui Athletic, Phoenix U18, Olympic Reserves and Greytown. If a 5th club gets National League from CL, I'd bet they bring in NCR Ressies over Gizzy.

I can see Central Football having issues with the ground and the fact that they have no junior setup at Gisborne United at all. If they're kicking them out just for the sake of no one wanting to go to Gisborne that would be brutal. Are these rumors or a prediction?

Just a prediction. The documents I've seen all point to club licensing playing a big factor. I'd have thought ground issues and lack of juniors would be a disqualifying factor but they let FC Western in with a shit ground and no womens section so who knows. The only thing that is certain is Central/Capital Football will find a way to mess it up and piss off as many people as possible.

hotchips wrote:
Western Prems back from the hiatus for that awful All Whites performance:

FC Western Reserves vs PNU Reserves, 1230pm, Lynmouth Park
Marist Reserves vs Feilding, 1230pm, Ashhurst
Takaro vs Moturoa, 1230pm, Skoglund
Whanganui Athletic vs New Plymouth Rangers, 245pm, Wembley
NPBHS vs Levin, 245pm, Gully Turf


Central/Capital Football will use the "consultation" process to keep Gisborne United out of CL2. It will be Whanganui Athletic, Phoenix U18, Olympic Reserves and Greytown. If a 5th club gets National League from CL, I'd bet they bring in NCR Ressies over Gizzy.

mraotxt2 wrote:

 hotchips wrote:
Western Prems back from the hiatus for that awful All Whites performance:

FC Western Reserves vs PNU Reserves, 1230pm, Lynmouth Park
Marist Reserves vs Feilding, 1230pm, Ashhurst
Takaro vs Moturoa, 1230pm, Skoglund
Whanganui Athletic vs New Plymouth Rangers, 245pm, Wembley
NPBHS vs Levin, 245pm, Gully Turf


Central/Capital Football will use the "consultation" process to keep Gisborne United out of CL2. It will be Whanganui Athletic, Phoenix U18, Olympic Reserves and Greytown. If a 5th club gets National League from CL, I'd bet they bring in NCR Ressies over Gizzy.

NCR reserves would have to improve massively to compete at that level. But I suppose the national league pull would mean players heading over to them. 

bigfudge wrote:

 mraotxt2 wrote:

 hotchips wrote:
Western Prems back from the hiatus for that awful All Whites performance:

FC Western Reserves vs PNU Reserves, 1230pm, Lynmouth Park
Marist Reserves vs Feilding, 1230pm, Ashhurst
Takaro vs Moturoa, 1230pm, Skoglund
Whanganui Athletic vs New Plymouth Rangers, 245pm, Wembley
NPBHS vs Levin, 245pm, Gully Turf


Central/Capital Football will use the "consultation" process to keep Gisborne United out of CL2. It will be Whanganui Athletic, Phoenix U18, Olympic Reserves and Greytown. If a 5th club gets National League from CL, I'd bet they bring in NCR Ressies over Gizzy.

NCR reserves would have to improve massively to compete at that level. But I suppose the national league pull would mean players heading over to them. 

Yeah, in their defence, they have played Fed-league so have that experience at a better level before so would probably take a lot of those ambitious Prems players and any outcasts from Dale. But it seems brutal to promote them when they might not even finish top 4 this season.

bigfudge wrote:
Results in the East:

Gisborne United 5-2 Taradale Prems
Another solid win for United as they look to continue their unbeaten form through to the end of the season. Looking at the squad, Taradale had a lot of CL2 players dropping down due to their cup-bye, and had a full bench but when Jimmy Sommerton is scoring first half hattricks it's always going to be difficult. Nicked 2 late on but this Gisborne team looks a class above everyone. Will do well if they do go up to CL2.

Port Hill United 0-3 Havelock North Wanderers
Not too many surprises here, game was a bit passive first half but Wanderers turned it on in the second half. No Jack Parker as it sounds like he's now left. Important win for Wanderers with Thistle snapping at their heels.

Western Rangers 2-5 Gisborne Thistle
A very young Thistle side travelled to Hastings and only had two youth players on the bench. Rangers battled back to make it 1-1 and 2-2 after halftime, but Thistle's quality shone through as they scored 3 unanswered goals to take the 3 points home. That Maisey striker is a real handful for strikers at this level, always nice to see former players returning and doing well.

Napier City Rovers 8-0 Maycenvale United
Disciplinary issues rear their ugly head for Vale once again this season (even with no Lucas' playing) as they went down to 10 men just before half-time. It was only 2-0 at half-time but when so many players are suspended and you have to play a man less on a big pitch like Bluewater, it was always going to be difficult. 6 goals in the second half sealed this one, as Vale continue their terrible run of form. If ever a club needed a culture reset, Vale should be the obvious choice.

Top 4 win this week, bottom four lose. A bit of a split starting to form in the league. I know Fed League isn't the answer, but the quality of this league seems to get worse and worse.

mraotxt2 wrote:

 bigfudge wrote:
Results in the East:

Gisborne United 5-2 Taradale Prems
Another solid win for United as they look to continue their unbeaten form through to the end of the season. Looking at the squad, Taradale had a lot of CL2 players dropping down due to their cup-bye, and had a full bench but when Jimmy Sommerton is scoring first half hattricks it's always going to be difficult. Nicked 2 late on but this Gisborne team looks a class above everyone. Will do well if they do go up to CL2.

Port Hill United 0-3 Havelock North Wanderers
Not too many surprises here, game was a bit passive first half but Wanderers turned it on in the second half. No Jack Parker as it sounds like he's now left. Important win for Wanderers with Thistle snapping at their heels.

Western Rangers 2-5 Gisborne Thistle
A very young Thistle side travelled to Hastings and only had two youth players on the bench. Rangers battled back to make it 1-1 and 2-2 after halftime, but Thistle's quality shone through as they scored 3 unanswered goals to take the 3 points home. That Maisey striker is a real handful for strikers at this level, always nice to see former players returning and doing well.

Napier City Rovers 8-0 Maycenvale United
Disciplinary issues rear their ugly head for Vale once again this season (even with no Lucas' playing) as they went down to 10 men just before half-time. It was only 2-0 at half-time but when so many players are suspended and you have to play a man less on a big pitch like Bluewater, it was always going to be difficult. 6 goals in the second half sealed this one, as Vale continue their terrible run of form. If ever a club needed a culture reset, Vale should be the obvious choice.

Top 4 win this week, bottom four lose. A bit of a split starting to form in the league. I know Fed League isn't the answer, but the quality of this league seems to get worse and worse.

I think the level of this league is actually very high at the moment. It’s just that without the fed league, the top two sides (United/Havelock) are playing at a level too low for them. It’s shown quite clearly with Havelocks Chatham cup run. 

Although they have lost a few quality players, they play the ball around so well. They are very sharp and hard to break down. 

Thistle and Rovers are playing at a level that would traditionally win this league. 

I agree with the vale red ruining even the slightest chance they had. Not sure what happened there but by the closeness of the two yellow cards, I assume it was for dissent. I believe that’s the same player who got more than a years ban when he was at havelock a few seasons ago. I wonder if Central Football will have the guts to permanently ban him?

bigfudge wrote:

 mraotxt2 wrote:

 bigfudge wrote:
Results in the East:

Gisborne United 5-2 Taradale Prems
Another solid win for United as they look to continue their unbeaten form through to the end of the season. Looking at the squad, Taradale had a lot of CL2 players dropping down due to their cup-bye, and had a full bench but when Jimmy Sommerton is scoring first half hattricks it's always going to be difficult. Nicked 2 late on but this Gisborne team looks a class above everyone. Will do well if they do go up to CL2.

Port Hill United 0-3 Havelock North Wanderers
Not too many surprises here, game was a bit passive first half but Wanderers turned it on in the second half. No Jack Parker as it sounds like he's now left. Important win for Wanderers with Thistle snapping at their heels.

Western Rangers 2-5 Gisborne Thistle
A very young Thistle side travelled to Hastings and only had two youth players on the bench. Rangers battled back to make it 1-1 and 2-2 after halftime, but Thistle's quality shone through as they scored 3 unanswered goals to take the 3 points home. That Maisey striker is a real handful for strikers at this level, always nice to see former players returning and doing well.

Napier City Rovers 8-0 Maycenvale United
Disciplinary issues rear their ugly head for Vale once again this season (even with no Lucas' playing) as they went down to 10 men just before half-time. It was only 2-0 at half-time but when so many players are suspended and you have to play a man less on a big pitch like Bluewater, it was always going to be difficult. 6 goals in the second half sealed this one, as Vale continue their terrible run of form. If ever a club needed a culture reset, Vale should be the obvious choice.

Top 4 win this week, bottom four lose. A bit of a split starting to form in the league. I know Fed League isn't the answer, but the quality of this league seems to get worse and worse.

I think the level of this league is actually very high at the moment. It’s just that without the fed league, the top two sides (United/Havelock) are playing at a level too low for them. It’s shown quite clearly with Havelocks Chatham cup run. 

Although they have lost a few quality players, they play the ball around so well. They are very sharp and hard to break down. 

Thistle and Rovers are playing at a level that would traditionally win this league. 

I agree with the vale red ruining even the slightest chance they had. Not sure what happened there but by the closeness of the two yellow cards, I assume it was for dissent. I believe that’s the same player who got more than a years ban when he was at havelock a few seasons ago. I wonder if Central Football will have the guts to permanently ban him?


 

Very good points. I think what I more meant to say is that the disparity between those top teams in Havelock and United and the rest if larger than it ever has been. It'll be extremely frustrating for those other sides in the league if either Gisborne or Havelock don't get promoted, especially considering that they're basically CL2 squads already. For the sake of the league I hope that at least one of them goes up to CL2, but will depend on how Central/Capital Football decide things.

A mate of mine plays for Havelock and said they've been missing 5-7 players each game for the last few weeks (and have a few heading overseas). The cup run showed what they were capable of but it seems as though the squad depth just wasn't there for them like it is for Gisborne United.

Agree about Thistle. Normally, United wouldn't have this level of squad depth and Havelock have regularly played in the levels above. Their early season form was mainly due to factors like injuries and the fact it was almost a completely new squad (from the last squad of the previous season, only 9 of them have returned) and their coach has done incredibly well to get them challenging up the right end of the table.

Had another friend watching that game, it was their short winger, used to be at Port Hill. Apparently had been getting into a few scuffles and had a few words with one of the Rovers player. It's not one of the Lucas'. Also notably no Nick Yorke playing for them this week.

bigfudge wrote:
The core of the Thistle squad is quite young. Even their English imports are around the age of 20ish. They had to deal with a lot of their squad players like Patterson or Aldridge not coming back from last year, as well as players like Jimmy Sommerton, Hills, and the other Gisborne Boys players that have made the switch to United over the last season and a bit. They have been a bit bare-bones when it comes to squad depth which showed early in the season when they had a lot of players either injured or away. 

In their Starting 11 against Western Rangers, I'd say that 8/11 would have been under the age of 22, and 6 out of those 8 being under 20. Not to mention the CDL players that made up the bench. 

Regarding top 4, I'm assuming they'll push Havelock all the way for second place. They're on a 5 game win streak and have notched some very impressive wins in that time, particularly their 3-1 win against Havelock. If the rumors are true that if a team finishes above you you play them away in the top 4 games, then they'll only really have to travel to HB for Wanderers, providing HNW don't slip up against Vale. 

When everyone is available, their starting 11 is easily top 2 quality in the league, their poor start has cost them but the quality is definitely there for them.

mraotxt2 wrote:
Actually now I’ve said that, I’ve looked at the Hawke’s Bay Top 6 split for division 3. The league winners play away 3 out of 5 fixtures scheduled. So no idea what they’ll do for the Eastern Prems 😅


 

bigfudge wrote:
Sorry everyone I'm home sick so needing to pass the time. Thought I'd do a little recap similar to what Hot Chips has done on here but for Napier Marist.

Marist football has had to deal with a few issues that have plagued them over the last few seasons. The football club was established in 1987, being formed by a group of students from St Johns High School in Hastings. With Napier locals growing tired of travelling to Hastings for games, Bill Dick formed Napier Marist Football Club. The club won the HB Knockout Cup in it's first season.

After many years spent in the local leagues and Premier division of Hawkes Bay football, the club had a golden generation come through, a large portion of which was down to Jamie Dunning and a large contingent of Napier Boys HS players that played for the side. A partnership also formed with Celtic FC from Glasgow, who sent coaches over from Scotland and set up a partnership academy. This ended up in promotion to Federation League for the 2019 season, where the club finished 2nd, behind local rivals Havelock North. After that season, Dunning moved on to join Team Wellington's coaching staff in the National League, and Miramar Rangers, taking a few players with him. A large portion of that team moved to uni (as most students and footballers do at that age) and the following year the club finished 8th out of 9 teams. 

The club had boasted a Fed team, a Prems team, and multiple sides in local divisions but their player base was beginning to shrink. 7th and 5th place finishes followed as the club made the decision to withdraw from the 2023 Federation league season.

The 2023 season they won HB Prems league with Brett Angell as coach but this was then followed by last, and second-to-last finishes in 2024 and 2025. In 2026, the club relegated to HB division 2, with the only other side in HB div 3. The emergence of Taradale AFC as a CL2 regular has eroded their player base further, and the junior side has begun to decline as well, as families view Dale and Rovers as better options in the region. The current 'top' team is now made up of a few of the Marist die-hards who have been with the team throughout, and mainly social players. 

One of the other unfortunate aspects of the team is that they have never had a designated home pitch. In their previous Prems years, and now in 2026, they play at Shrimpton Field (across from Tremain field and the Marist clubrooms), using Bond Field (over 220m away from changing rooms and toilets) across the road for the Fed League years. They have had to look on as Rovers boast one of the best grounds in NZ in Bluewater Stadium and their rugby affiliate club, Napier Old Boys Marist, enjoy the setup at Tremain Field, which boasts the clubrooms, changing rooms, a grandstand, and two hedged/fenced off pitches. While plans existed previously to expand Treamin Field to four fields (with two turfs, one for rugby, one for football), the emergence of Hawkes Bay Rugby Union and Napier Pirates building there has put an end to that dream. 

One of the bright lights of the club currently, is the reemergence of their women's side. The club previously boosted teams in the local leagues but these faded away due to declining interest and teams like Dale and Port Hill enjoying far better playing squads and setups. The new team is now finding their feet in HB Div 2 and will hopefully grow. The club has advertised for Director of Football roles so hopefully better days are ahead but without an identifiable home for their top teams, they'll continue to languish with Prems as their ceiling.

Bootl3gger wrote:
Your league winners are Whanganui Athletic, great footy team. Amazing having Noony back looking forward to redemption in the playoffs again now!

mraotxt2 wrote:

 Bootl3gger wrote:
Your league winners are Whanganui Athletic, great footy team. Amazing having Noony back looking forward to redemption in the playoffs again now!

After watching both Athletic & Gisborne United this year. I can’t see Athletic beating Gisborne. Gisborne are just too strong all across the park. 

mraotxt2 wrote:

 Bootl3gger wrote:
Your league winners are Whanganui Athletic, great footy team. Amazing having Noony back looking forward to redemption in the playoffs again now!

After watching both Athletic & Gisborne United this year. I can’t see Athletic beating Gisborne. Gisborne are just too strong all across the park. 

bigfudge wrote:

 mraotxt2 wrote:

 Bootl3gger wrote:
Your league winners are Whanganui Athletic, great footy team. Amazing having Noony back looking forward to redemption in the playoffs again now!

After watching both Athletic & Gisborne United this year. I can’t see Athletic beating Gisborne. Gisborne are just too strong all across the park. 

I think when Gisborne are at home it'll be a huge advantage for them, might struggle on the bigger Wembley Park. Also, is it confirmed that there will be playoffs?

bigfudge wrote:

 mraotxt2 wrote:

 Bootl3gger wrote:
Your league winners are Whanganui Athletic, great footy team. Amazing having Noony back looking forward to redemption in the playoffs again now!

After watching both Athletic & Gisborne United this year. I can’t see Athletic beating Gisborne. Gisborne are just too strong all across the park. 

I think when Gisborne are at home it'll be a huge advantage for them, might struggle on the bigger Wembley Park. Also, is it confirmed that there will be playoffs?

mraotxt2 wrote:

 bigfudge wrote:

 mraotxt2 wrote:

 Bootl3gger wrote:
Your league winners are Whanganui Athletic, great footy team. Amazing having Noony back looking forward to redemption in the playoffs again now!

After watching both Athletic & Gisborne United this year. I can’t see Athletic beating Gisborne. Gisborne are just too strong all across the park. 

I think when Gisborne are at home it'll be a huge advantage for them, might struggle on the bigger Wembley Park. Also, is it confirmed that there will be playoffs?

Definitely home advantage on their tiny pitch. United have played well on the big pitches in Napier (McLean Park, Bluewater). 
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t necessarily want Gisborne to beat Whanganui. I just don’t see any other result if there are playoffs. 

mraotxt2 wrote:
I suppose Gisborne United still need to win the league. Though that will be effectively sewn up with a win over Thistle on Saturday. 

hotchips wrote:
results out west:

Takaro 4 - 0 Marist Reserves - not only did Marist have a whopping 7 changes from the team that drew with Feilding last week, their Assistant Coach scored one of the all time great own goals, chipping his own keeper from the halfway line 2 minutes in.
Feilding 0 - 6 Whanganui Athletic
NPBHS 6 - 3 Moturoa
Levin 4 - 0 PNU Reserves
FC Western Reserves 4 - 0 NP Rangers

In other news the result of the earlier fixture between NPBHS and Feilding has been overturned and Feilding awarded a 3 nil win, as Boys High played a player who had been sent off the previous week.

 

hotchips wrote:
They had a handful of parents on the sideline when I was up there, was quite surprising how few supporters they had at a great venue for watching footy..  The wood based turf takes a bit of getting used to, as does the Subway and Coca Cola post match with no supporters. But it's an enjoyable place to visit, probably best facilities in the league.

They are a very well coached side with two outstanding players in Bruno Bisaga and Riley Daken. I would wager they if they were at FC Western they'd both be starting and probably playing very well in the Central League. Those two elevate them, probably lower middle table without them. They are definitely far above Gisborne Boys High level and I understand their game with PNBHS (large number of PNU 1st team players) was extremely close.

I have heard from a couple of people that Central Football removed them from the competition to lineup with NZ Footballs stated position that school teams should not be playing senior footy. I heard legal action was put on the table and CF relented.. This default was similar, happened ages ago, had a player sent off for a 2nd yellow, played him anyway the following week against Feilding then CF supposedly check team cards after the fact. They appealed the decision, and only stopped when the next stage was an appeal to NZ Football. 

Palmy Boys High teamed up with Marist and PNU to form sides for the Wellington CDL at u17 and u19. It has resulted in most of their players playing 1st team for those sides in Central League 2 rather than youth footy. Probably better for development in the long run than being a school side in a inter-regional senior league heavily reliant on one or two outstanding players.

Bigboot wrote:
I’ve had many years involved in school football as a player, senior men’s football as a player, school football as a coach and senior football as a coach. 

In my experience and my opinion is that schools do not belong in senior men’s or women’s football. Schools are there to educate, clubs are there to coach. Some schools can justifiably say that they coach too, but in my mind that should be limited to school competitions and national tournaments. 

Think how much more those players would have developed playing a season for FC Western against Olympic, Miramar and Napier….. and what was the reason why…. NPBHS want their school team to play together to gain an advantage at national tournament - which they have never won.  

bigfudge wrote:
Call me crazy, but I feel like CL2 should remain club-only. It was created to help increase the level of the clubs sitting below CL and help the clubs from the Central Region face better opposition and equal the playing the field for those clubs when going up to CL.

Reserve teams are an essential part of every club, but do clubs like Olympic really need to stockpile players? I remember when reserve teams were made up younger players coming through, the odd first teamer dropping down, or that veteran that had been at the club for years. Do we really need them to basically act as a second first team? Basically makes it impossible for those CL2 clubs to recruit without splashing cash. Why would someone join Tawa, when they can play for Olympic ressies and maybe have a go at National League?