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Western and Pacific Premierships

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about 1 month ago
hotchips wrote:
 bigfudge wrote:
 mraotxt2 wrote:
 hotchips wrote:
 mraotxt2 wrote:
Prem Cup East
Napier City Rovers Res 14-0 Gisborne Thistle 

Sounds like Thistle travelled with a very very young inexperienced team. Not even close to their usual side. Scoreline isn’t a surprise 

Havelock North 6-0 Port Hill 
Havelock North absolutely clinical finishing, they probably had 8 clear cut chances and scored 6 of them. Considering how boggy the pitch was, they passed the ball around beautifully. 

There are rumours they fielded multiple cup tied players, will be interested to see if anything comes of that  


 
Samuel Wait, Tomas Suarez, Jack Pyott all cup-tied by playing for their ressies.

It's a stupid rule but it's still a rule.
It’s a stupid rule until you are in the reserve league and play against half a Prems starting team 🤷‍♂️

Although they lost that game, so it could be a double backfire.
This feels very harsh, especially when you see that Port Hill didn't have the chance to get cup-tied because they defaulted their only D1 cup game against Rovers in the first round.

Feels like they're being rewarded for defaulting. Also, 3 players dropping down can hardly be considered playing against "half a Prems starting team".
The part I think is stupid is that players are cup tied up, not familiar enough with their team to know if they are normally prems players. Dropping players into lower grades is shitty and them ending up punished for doing that is just desserts I guess.
How is dropping players to your reserve team shitty? Its local football, squads don't always have enough players so especially with any first team/reserve team dynamic, a few players will move between teams to help out with numbers. 

Can you explain what you mean by "not familiar enough with their team to know if they are normally prems players"? Also, I believe the first team had a bye that week so it could've just been a mix of their ressies needing some players and then a few first teamers wanting some minutes.
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Bi
about 1 month ago
bigfudge wrote:
 mraotxt2 wrote:
 hotchips wrote:
 mraotxt2 wrote:
Prem Cup East
Napier City Rovers Res 14-0 Gisborne Thistle 

Sounds like Thistle travelled with a very very young inexperienced team. Not even close to their usual side. Scoreline isn’t a surprise 

Havelock North 6-0 Port Hill 
Havelock North absolutely clinical finishing, they probably had 8 clear cut chances and scored 6 of them. Considering how boggy the pitch was, they passed the ball around beautifully. 

There are rumours they fielded multiple cup tied players, will be interested to see if anything comes of that  


 
Samuel Wait, Tomas Suarez, Jack Pyott all cup-tied by playing for their ressies.

It's a stupid rule but it's still a rule.
It’s a stupid rule until you are in the reserve league and play against half a Prems starting team 🤷‍♂️

Although they lost that game, so it could be a double backfire.
This feels very harsh, especially when you see that Port Hill didn't have the chance to get cup-tied because they defaulted their only D1 cup game against Rovers in the first round.

Feels like they're being rewarded for defaulting. Also, 3 players dropping down can hardly be considered playing against "half a Prems starting team".
"Port Hill didn't have the chance to get cup-tied because they defaulted their only D1 cup game"

Not sure this is relevant. If you can't field a squad, you default, simple as. But also, surely Port Hill would have just fielded their D1 squad for the D1 cup, then in the Prems cup they field their Prems players?

Amazing how people could get upset when the rules have been out for ages. Go read them. I hear in the west there was some debate about an error in the cup rules, but this was brought to attention because...well, clubs were smart and checked the rules. 

If we're talking about whether the rules make sense, that's a different thing. Because they don't. You should be allowed to move upwards, but not down. For example: if I play for a Div 1 team regularly and am graded to them, and then I play in the Div 1 cup, I should not be allowed to go down to the Div 2 cup (league is fine as per the drop 3 rule). However, I SHOULD be allowed to go up to the Prems Cup if they are short a player. I guess the only debate would be - can I go back down after that? Or am I trapped as a Div 1 league player, but a Prems cup player?

It gets a bit complicated as you can tell...
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biNoah4thenix
about 1 month ago
bigfudge wrote:
 hotchips wrote:
 bigfudge wrote:
 mraotxt2 wrote:
 hotchips wrote:
 mraotxt2 wrote:
Prem Cup East
Napier City Rovers Res 14-0 Gisborne Thistle 

Sounds like Thistle travelled with a very very young inexperienced team. Not even close to their usual side. Scoreline isn’t a surprise 

Havelock North 6-0 Port Hill 
Havelock North absolutely clinical finishing, they probably had 8 clear cut chances and scored 6 of them. Considering how boggy the pitch was, they passed the ball around beautifully. 

There are rumours they fielded multiple cup tied players, will be interested to see if anything comes of that  


 
Samuel Wait, Tomas Suarez, Jack Pyott all cup-tied by playing for their ressies.

It's a stupid rule but it's still a rule.
It’s a stupid rule until you are in the reserve league and play against half a Prems starting team 🤷‍♂️

Although they lost that game, so it could be a double backfire.
This feels very harsh, especially when you see that Port Hill didn't have the chance to get cup-tied because they defaulted their only D1 cup game against Rovers in the first round.

Feels like they're being rewarded for defaulting. Also, 3 players dropping down can hardly be considered playing against "half a Prems starting team".
The part I think is stupid is that players are cup tied up, not familiar enough with their team to know if they are normally prems players. Dropping players into lower grades is shitty and them ending up punished for doing that is just desserts I guess.
How is dropping players to your reserve team shitty? Its local football, squads don't always have enough players so especially with any first team/reserve team dynamic, a few players will move between teams to help out with numbers. 

Can you explain what you mean by "not familiar enough with their team to know if they are normally prems players"? Also, I believe the first team had a bye that week so it could've just been a mix of their ressies needing some players and then a few first teamers wanting some minutes.
It's more that whilst the rules have been massively stuffed up and are poorly written, they outline that whilst you are sweet as to drop players down in the league, you are not supposed to do it in the cup. I struggle to see any benefit from not allowing players to move up but that's how the rules have been written and they were communicated to all clubs last week.

"not familiar enough with their team to know if they are normally prems players" I was not familiar with Havelock North's players until looking at the team cards now.
There's another poorly written rule that would potentially have seen them booted from the champ cup is below. That to me means if you are graded to Prems you don't get to play champ cup - looking at the cards one of them is the Prems captain

image.png 26.45 KB
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bi
about 1 month ago
hotchips wrote:
 bigfudge wrote:
 hotchips wrote:
 bigfudge wrote:
 mraotxt2 wrote:
 hotchips wrote:
 mraotxt2 wrote:
Prem Cup East
Napier City Rovers Res 14-0 Gisborne Thistle 

Sounds like Thistle travelled with a very very young inexperienced team. Not even close to their usual side. Scoreline isn’t a surprise 

Havelock North 6-0 Port Hill 
Havelock North absolutely clinical finishing, they probably had 8 clear cut chances and scored 6 of them. Considering how boggy the pitch was, they passed the ball around beautifully. 

There are rumours they fielded multiple cup tied players, will be interested to see if anything comes of that  


 
Samuel Wait, Tomas Suarez, Jack Pyott all cup-tied by playing for their ressies.

It's a stupid rule but it's still a rule.
It’s a stupid rule until you are in the reserve league and play against half a Prems starting team 🤷‍♂️

Although they lost that game, so it could be a double backfire.
This feels very harsh, especially when you see that Port Hill didn't have the chance to get cup-tied because they defaulted their only D1 cup game against Rovers in the first round.

Feels like they're being rewarded for defaulting. Also, 3 players dropping down can hardly be considered playing against "half a Prems starting team".
The part I think is stupid is that players are cup tied up, not familiar enough with their team to know if they are normally prems players. Dropping players into lower grades is shitty and them ending up punished for doing that is just desserts I guess.
How is dropping players to your reserve team shitty? Its local football, squads don't always have enough players so especially with any first team/reserve team dynamic, a few players will move between teams to help out with numbers. 

Can you explain what you mean by "not familiar enough with their team to know if they are normally prems players"? Also, I believe the first team had a bye that week so it could've just been a mix of their ressies needing some players and then a few first teamers wanting some minutes.
It's more that whilst the rules have been massively stuffed up and are poorly written, they outline that whilst you are sweet as to drop players down in the league, you are not supposed to do it in the cup. I struggle to see any benefit from not allowing players to move up but that's how the rules have been written and they were communicated to all clubs last week.

"not familiar enough with their team to know if they are normally prems players" I was not familiar with Havelock North's players until looking at the team cards now.
There's another poorly written rule that would potentially have seen them booted from the champ cup is below. That to me means if you are graded to Prems you don't get to play champ cup - looking at the cards one of them is the Prems captain

image.png 26.45 KB
I appreciate the explanation! Yeah they have messed up here. After talking to a mate that plays at the club, he said one was the captain, one was a prems squad player, and the other only started one game in Prems after coming up near the end of the season to help with squad numbers and sit on the bench mostly. 

They should've known better really.
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about 1 month ago
I thought the cup tied thing has been a rule for a very long time? I’ll

It is a little confusing, but that rule written in the post above, is in the Premiership rules. 

In the ‘local knockout cup’ rules, it clearly states that once played for one team. You are cup tied. 





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about 1 month ago
mraotxt2 wrote:
I thought the cup tied thing has been a rule for a very long time? I’ll

It is a little confusing, but that rule written in the post above, is in the Premiership rules. 

In the ‘local knockout cup’ rules, it clearly states that once played for one team. You are cup tied. 





 
Cup tied going down has always been a thing.

There was lots of drama last year around players dropping into the Masters cup in Manawatu, and they've put a rule in that is poorly worded and prevents players from moving up grades.
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about 1 month ago
hotchips wrote:
 mraotxt2 wrote:
I thought the cup tied thing has been a rule for a very long time? I’ll

It is a little confusing, but that rule written in the post above, is in the Premiership rules. 

In the ‘local knockout cup’ rules, it clearly states that once played for one team. You are cup tied. 





 
Cup tied going down has always been a thing.

There was lots of drama last year around players dropping into the Masters cup in Manawatu, and they've put a rule in that is poorly worded and prevents players from moving up grades.
It could certainly have been clarified better. 

Part of the issue this year is probably that the prems cup is played separately at the end of the season.
If it was played concurrently it may not have been an issue 
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bi
about 1 month ago
mraotxt2 wrote:
 hotchips wrote:
 mraotxt2 wrote:
I thought the cup tied thing has been a rule for a very long time? I’ll

It is a little confusing, but that rule written in the post above, is in the Premiership rules. 

In the ‘local knockout cup’ rules, it clearly states that once played for one team. You are cup tied. 





 
Cup tied going down has always been a thing.

There was lots of drama last year around players dropping into the Masters cup in Manawatu, and they've put a rule in that is poorly worded and prevents players from moving up grades.
It could certainly have been clarified better. 

Part of the issue this year is probably that the prems cup is played separately at the end of the season.
If it was played concurrently it may not have been an issue 
I believe the prems only found out about it later in the season, after these div 1 cup games had been played
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about 1 month ago
bigfudge wrote:
 mraotxt2 wrote:
 hotchips wrote:
 mraotxt2 wrote:
I thought the cup tied thing has been a rule for a very long time? I’ll

It is a little confusing, but that rule written in the post above, is in the Premiership rules. 

In the ‘local knockout cup’ rules, it clearly states that once played for one team. You are cup tied. 





 
Cup tied going down has always been a thing.

There was lots of drama last year around players dropping into the Masters cup in Manawatu, and they've put a rule in that is poorly worded and prevents players from moving up grades.
It could certainly have been clarified better. 

Part of the issue this year is probably that the prems cup is played separately at the end of the season.
If it was played concurrently it may not have been an issue 
I believe the prems only found out about it later in the season, after these div 1 cup games had been played
It was made clear to clubs that the competition would be run at the end of the season. But entries weren’t accepted till a few weeks before the competition (this Maycenvale not entering) 
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about 1 month ago
Games out west this week:

East/West Playoff:

Whanganui Athletic vs Gisborne United, 12pm, Wembley Park

Prem Cup:

FC Western Reserves vs PNU Reserves, 12pm, Lynmouth Park
Marist Reserves vs Levin, 11am, Arena Turf
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about 1 month ago
Results

Whanganui Athletic 4 - 1 Gisborne United

PNM Reserves 0 - 2 Levin
Fc Western Reserves WBD - LBD PNU Reserves 
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about 1 month ago
Based on what the forum has been saying for a while now this is a massive upset! Anyone at the game to give a report?
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about 1 month ago
I dont know anyone that was there and there was no livestream. Hopefully one next week Gizzy have put a fair few of their games on YouTube.

Some social media comments about the ref. Bench looks light with two plus the coach, I hope they traveled Friday as thats a long way to go for a noon kickoff. 

Or maybe I'm just salty about Athletic 😆
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about 1 month ago
Shame to see PNU Reserves defaulting. I hear both teams were struggling for numbers given the absurd cup rules. 

As for the West v East playoff, the second leg will be a good watch. United with a full strength squad, and Athletic doing the travel. I hear Athletic are driving up and doing some overnight stays, whereas Gizzy flew down yesterday.

4-1 lead, but Athletic let that same lead go when they faced Wainuiomata in last years Central v Capital playoff...
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about 1 month ago
BigRed49 wrote:
Shame to see PNU Reserves defaulting. I hear both teams were struggling for numbers given the absurd cup rules. 

As for the West v East playoff, the second leg will be a good watch. United with a full strength squad, and Athletic doing the travel. I hear Athletic are driving up and doing some overnight stays, whereas Gizzy flew down yesterday.

4-1 lead, but Athletic let that same lead go when they faced Wainuiomata in last years Central v Capital playoff...
It should be a great game! Respect to Athletic as they needed to win their home game with a very difficult away-leg coming up. Would love to have either of these teams end up in CL2 next season.

Also shoutout to Wembley Park, looked absolutely stunning in the pictures. Genuinely turning into one of the better lower league grounds in NZ football
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wh
about 1 month ago
Very surprised by the result, but well done to Whanganui. Clearly deserved result despite mentions of ref troubles. 

Gisborne is a hell of a tough place to play, not to mention the strange dimensions of their pitch. But 4-1 is a massive deficit to overturn. 
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about 1 month ago
mraotxt2 wrote:
Very surprised by the result, but well done to Whanganui. Clearly deserved result despite mentions of ref troubles. 

Gisborne is a hell of a tough place to play, not to mention the strange dimensions of their pitch. But 4-1 is a massive deficit to overturn. 
Hopefully Whanganui has learned from last year when they went down to Wainuiomata with a healthy lead but were "Possums in the headlights" as Wainui took them apart in the second half.
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about 1 month ago
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/gisborne-herald/sport/gisborne-united-face-uphill-battle-following-4-1-loss-to-whanganui-athletic/BGBLOEMH4FDCBLQHZPQAVI54CQ/

Some interesting insights in there.

Also confirms playoff with Greytown for the winners.
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about 1 month ago
hotchips wrote:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/gisborne-herald/sport/gisborne-united-face-uphill-battle-following-4-1-loss-to-whanganui-athletic/BGBLOEMH4FDCBLQHZPQAVI54CQ/

Some interesting insights in there.

Also confirms playoff with Greytown for the winners.
Federation operations manager Donald Piper is quoted in that article saying that the 12th NL spot would be decided by a playoff series “in a yet-to-be-determined format at a yet-to-be-determined time". A bit out of the loop there - NZ Football held the draw on 28th July (https://www.nzfootball.co.nz/newsarticle/168426) with the format clearly determined and matches in September albeit not with specific dates as yet.
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bi
about 1 month ago
The quote from Donald is rehashed from an article when this first came up.

"At stake this weekend is the right to meet the Capital Premier competition winners in a further playoff."


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about 1 month ago
Prediction for this weekend:

Whanganui come into this one with a 4-1 lead after the first leg in Gisborne. If United's summary of the game is anything to go by, then it could have been a lot closer than the scoreline suggested.

Gisborne United will be hoping that their squad can recover from the illnesses that plagued them in the first leg (only 14 players travelled, including assistant coach Venema who was listed as a sub). The big thing from Gisborne's perspective, is that they will have no room to ease off from the outset. I'm expecting a very attacking, goal-heavy display from both sides. I also think at home, and once the Gisborne crowd gets on top of this younger Athletic team, that this is the game where 2-3 goals can go in in very shorts spaces of time. 

I expect that Gisborne will take the game to Athletic, and could even go a few goals up. What we do know from Whanganui is that they are more than capable of scoring goals themselves. Gisborne missing Cullen Spawforth in midfield will be a big miss for them as well. While the players that come in should be more than good enough to try and fill his shoes, his physical prowess and ability in midfield will be a big loss for United.

My final score prediction, will be 5-3 to Gisborne United. Ending the two legged tie with a 7-6 aggregate lead to Whanganui Athletic. Both teams have shown their attacking ability, and both sides have shown they have the potential to switch off and concede a few. Atheltic have been in this position before, and should be better equipped to deal with the time of onslaught that United are going to throw at them. 

I'm very excited to see what type of crowd turns up at Harry Barker and hopefully theres a stream of the match somewhere.
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ho
about 1 month ago
And congratulations to Rovers Prems on promotion to CL2!

Absolute joke. Well done Central Football
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about 1 month ago
Now we wait to see how they mess up the Western/Eastern Prems. 
Even if just NCR go up who comes up to make the East an 8 team league? NCR 3rds? And if Gizzy overturn the deficit!

In the West if Athletic go up, do they Ressies who finished bottom of the Manawatu Champs come up? Or another Naki team in Peringa - who pulled out of the comp at the last minute in 2025?
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bi
about 1 month ago
hotchips wrote:
Now we wait to see how they mess up the Western/Eastern Prems. 
Even if just NCR go up who comes up to make the East an 8 team league? NCR 3rds? And if Gizzy overturn the deficit!

In the West if Athletic go up, do they Ressies who finished bottom of the Manawatu Champs come up? Or another Naki team in Peringa - who pulled out of the comp at the last minute in 2025?
My guess is that Rovers 3rd team will come up, they've won the HB Div 1 a ridiculous amount of times but will likely just be a youth version. Napier Marist said in a comment on a FB post months ago they were working to try and get back in Prems but that may be another season or so away. If Gisborne United go up as well it's a bit stranger as their reserve team is dead last in the Gisborne league. Guess at that stage Napier Marist might be more inclined to return if theres only one Gisborne trip.

Who knows.
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about 1 month ago
I see Havelock North got booted from the Eastern Prems Cup
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about 1 month ago · edited about 1 month ago · History
bigfudge wrote:
 hotchips wrote:
Now we wait to see how they mess up the Western/Eastern Prems. 
Even if just NCR go up who comes up to make the East an 8 team league? NCR 3rds? And if Gizzy overturn the deficit!

In the West if Athletic go up, do they Ressies who finished bottom of the Manawatu Champs come up? Or another Naki team in Peringa - who pulled out of the comp at the last minute in 2025?
My guess is that Rovers 3rd team will come up, they've won the HB Div 1 a ridiculous amount of times but will likely just be a youth version. Napier Marist said in a comment on a FB post months ago they were working to try and get back in Prems but that may be another season or so away. If Gisborne United go up as well it's a bit stranger as their reserve team is dead last in the Gisborne league. Guess at that stage Napier Marist might be more inclined to return if theres only one Gisborne trip.

Who knows.
Napier Marist didn’t even make the top 4 of Division 2.

Eskview won Division 2 for the second year straight, so they would be more likely. But I still doubt they would move any higher than division 1 next year. 

NCR would almost certainly put a team in Prems. But I doubt their team that’s dominating reserves would come up. They are quite happy winning by 5+ goals every week. They would put their youth side up to Prems and hope they have enough  youngsters come over from over clubs to somehow support two travelling teams 
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29 days ago
Congratulations to Whanganui Athletic on their 2 1 win in gizzy and promotion. Fortunate to have a livestream to watch, gisborne must have hit the crossbar 4 or 5 times, but they couldnt finish their chances and Athletic scored two against the run of play.

Highlight for me was the two handed goaline clearance by a Gisborne player that everyone saw except somehow the ref!
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bi
29 days ago
hotchips wrote:
Congratulations to Whanganui Athletic on their 2 1 win in gizzy and promotion. Fortunate to have a livestream to watch, gisborne must have hit the crossbar 4 or 5 times, but they couldnt finish their chances and Athletic scored two against the run of play.

Highlight for me was the two handed goaline clearance by a Gisborne player that everyone saw except somehow the ref!
Top man chips👏🏻
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Endorsed by
bi
27 days ago
Exciting year of Eastern and Western Prem football completed! Don't be surprised if Whanganui push on here and instantly become one of the better sides in CL2. 

In the West, will be interesting to see if Levin turn these years of challenges into a proper title fight. Will someone like NP Rangers push on and make a challenge for the playoffs?

In the East, United will be looking to go a step further next year next season but I've heard a rumor that Jimmy Sommerton is headed for Australia which will be a huge loss. Havelock won't be happy with a trophy-less season so expect them to be right up there again next season! Hopefully the league doesn't drop below 8 teams but I won't be too surprised to see Maycenvale take a year out to rebuild after a turbulent time.
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27 days ago · edited 27 days ago · History
Deleted posted on wrong tread.
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27 days ago · edited 27 days ago · History
bigfudge wrote:
Exciting year of Eastern and Western Prem football completed! Don't be surprised if Whanganui push on here and instantly become one of the better sides in CL2. 

In the West, will be interesting to see if Levin turn these years of challenges into a proper title fight. Will someone like NP Rangers push on and make a challenge for the playoffs?

In the East, United will be looking to go a step further next year next season but I've heard a rumor that Jimmy Sommerton is headed for Australia which will be a huge loss. Havelock won't be happy with a trophy-less season so expect them to be right up there again next season! Hopefully the league doesn't drop below 8 teams but I won't be too surprised to see Maycenvale take a year out to rebuild after a turbulent time.
I can't see Rangers doing much, they've lost their best player to Aussie. Levin comfortable winners but depends on the recruitment merry-go-round for the other clubs.

In the West a lot will be determined by who replaces Athletic. Peringa won the naki champs but pulled out of the league last year. Whanganui City are the only 1st team in the Manawatu Champs but could only finish 3rd, Athletic Ressies were awful and finished rock bottom.
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biBi
12 days ago · edited 12 days ago · History
Already missing the season so here's some grades for the East Prem sides' seasons.

Gisborne United | A
It's hard to say that winning the league unbeaten, winning the challenge cup, and winning the federation cup wouldn't equal a perfect A+ grade, but the club no doubt would've been aiming for CL2 and will be disappointed not to of made that a reality.
Aside from that, you couldn't ask for a better season from the team. I really hope that they manage to keep the core together and go again as it's been great having that added quality in the league. If a few illnesses or suspensions hadn't hamstrung their playoff games against Athletic it could've finished oh so differently.

Havelock North Wanderers | B+
Finishing second rather comfortably would normally be a good result but Havelock will be disappointed by their late season slide that saw them drop off and finish 9 points behind Gisborne United. Other disappointments included being knocked out of the Prem Cup for fielding ineligible players, while a brief but impressive Chatham Cup run saw them defeat then-CL2 leaders Palmerston North United 3–1 before eventually falling to National League-chasing Wests. However, back-to-back away defeats in Gisborne ultimately proved costly. They'll no doubt be looking to reclaim that East Prem title and have a go at CL2 again next year.

Gisborne Thistle | B+
While rating them the same as Havelock may seem strange, considering the position they came from before the season started, to finish third, is nothing short of impressive. Thistle lost a huge amount of players from the squad that disappointingly finished 6th last season (including Jimmy Sommerton) but still managed to put together a side that notched up some impressive victories. Their opening 8-0 defeat to bitter rivals United would not of been many of those new imports' dream debut, but they turned it around to eventually go on a 6 game win streak and push Havelock for 2nd place until the last few games. If they can keep those same imports and maybe lure a few former players back they could push high up the league table again.

Napier City Rovers Prems | B
A very young Rovers side struggled to find consistency this season but like Thistle managed to put up some very decent performances along the way. Some notable games include their final day win away to Thistle, and most importantly their East Prem cup win against Port Hill United. I've been very critical of Rovers over the years, but this young squad did well in what proved to be a difficult league for teams to navigate. And of course, promotion!

Taradale AFC Prems | B-
Not the league season that Dale ressies would've been hoping for, especially considering how impressive they were in the second half of last season. They of course were the only other side apart from Havelock to take points off of Gisborne United, and made it all the way to the Fed Cup final with a very young team. Losing their second top score from last season to play in goal for their CL2 side didn't help but still a solid season for the Dale ressies.

Port Hill United | C
Another season plagued by inconsistency, Port would turn up one game, and struggle the next few. Some impressive performances on the Fed Cup over FC Western and then a decent fight against Gisborne United showed they had it in them, and of course an East Prem cup final appearance didn't quite finish the season the way they had hoped. A strong community club that will be hoping to eventually return to the heights of a few years ago when they were consistently up the top end of the Premiership tables.

Maycenvale United | D
Vale started the season brilliantly, and looked set to be a solid challenger for the top 4 this season. Unfortunately, those 7 points in their first 3 games, were followed up by 2 points in their last 14. They had to manage some in-house controversy which saw them kick a few players from the club (which I respect massively as this club has needed a culture reset for the last few years) and look set for a club rebuild which has been sorely needed. Conceding 78 goals in 17 games makes it hard to rate this season positively at all. Won't be surprised to see them drop down a div for a year or two.

Western Rangers | D
A last placed finish is not something to brag about but it wasn't a completely terrible season for Western Rangers. A very young team with a solid core had to deal with a merry-go-round of coaches to begin the season which would've made getting settled almost impossible. The highlight of the season was undoubtedly the away win over Gisborne Thistle which ended up being the teams only win of the season. Hopefully they can keep the same coach all the way through next season and begin to build something.

Hopefully all these sides return next season as it would ideal to see this league build some consistency. Let me know if you disagree with any ratings!
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mrNoah4thenixSouthernix
5 days ago
I've heard a rumor that Jimmy Sommerton is sticking around in Gisborne for a final year before heading off to Australia. I'd predict he'd look to stay at United so it could be another cracker of an Eastern Premiership season next year. 

Hopefully some other clubs can sort out their teams and we can have a proper title race next season!
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Endorsed by
ho
5 days ago
bigfudge wrote:
I've heard a rumor that Jimmy Sommerton is sticking around in Gisborne for a final year before heading off to Australia. I'd predict he'd look to stay at United so it could be another cracker of an Eastern Premiership season next year. 

Hopefully some other clubs can sort out their teams and we can have a proper title race next season!
Long way out but I’m sure Havelock will give it a really good go.

Gisborne United is an interesting situation. They don’t really have a reserve team or any obvious development pathway. Thistle appear to be a much larger club. I imagine in the long run they’ll reclaim their previous spot as the best side in Gisborne. 

NCR 3rds will also be an interesting side. No idea what sort of side they’d put out. I suppose it will depend how many players come across to NCR? Not that many I would think with Taradales promotion.
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Endorsed by
bi
4 days ago
mraotxt2 wrote:
 bigfudge wrote:
I've heard a rumor that Jimmy Sommerton is sticking around in Gisborne for a final year before heading off to Australia. I'd predict he'd look to stay at United so it could be another cracker of an Eastern Premiership season next year. 

Hopefully some other clubs can sort out their teams and we can have a proper title race next season!
Long way out but I’m sure Havelock will give it a really good go.

Gisborne United is an interesting situation. They don’t really have a reserve team or any obvious development pathway. Thistle appear to be a much larger club. I imagine in the long run they’ll reclaim their previous spot as the best side in Gisborne. 

NCR 3rds will also be an interesting side. No idea what sort of side they’d put out. I suppose it will depend how many players come across to NCR? Not that many I would think with Taradales promotion.
Gisborne United have basically had the benefit of having the same playing group for the last decade or so, and have recently supplemented that team with players like Jimmy Sommerton and other former GBHS players like Matt Hills and Waroa. It does however mean that in the long run their player pool is not super secure. If 4-5 of those core players decide to leave, the club could struggle to replace them. This was the first season in a while where they were confident about having a consistent travelling squad every game.

Thistle are far more put-together off the pitch and their setup is basicaly Central League standards in terms of the clubrooms, grandstand, closed off pitch etc. They've had to deal with changing divisions and lots of fluctuations to the playing squad which has caused this wobble in league positions. I expect they'll be right back to challenging in a year or so.

I'm assuming that Rovers' prems next year will be a very young team. Their Prems side this season was very young and the majority of those players will be stepping up to CL2 (which I think they may find difficult to recruit for as most players willing to travel to Wellington every other week will prefer to move to Dale). I'm expecting them to struggle as they won't have CL players dropping down like in previous years.

Who knows with Havelock, their team last year at the start of the season was more than good enough but by the end of the season their benches were very thin.
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