Auckland Pride - Make Auckland Great Again

Dougie Rydal

imanixsupporter

Corica on Piney's show today made it pretty clear Woud is still #1 for now despite yesterday's blunders

After watching the Doco, you'd be rooting for Sail, and not on GK'ing ability, he looks to have clearly failed the no famed dick-heads policy

any details?

Auckland announced that Scott Morris has retired due to a recurring injury.

Only 24 years old so that must have been a tough and probably upsetting decision to make.

Meh...jury's out but I think Cosgrove will prove to be an upgrade on Mata. He and Randall will be competing for a striker position alongside May. And it's looking like Rogerson will swap to left wing with Brook on the right. That's happened three times now when Brook came on.
Brook should start ahead of François, who loses the ball too often, and simply isn't as good.
My 2 cents says that will be a much more potent combination than last year's.
We'll see!

martinb

The Kings were free to air! I remember that. And had a million players including Wynton Rufer for a while.

Still- letting Mata go and bringing in Brook and Cosgrove- I hope that continues to backfire on them. Brook does look like a player and Cosgrove is large, but Mata and Rogerson were a winning combo last season. 

ballane

nixin

To be fair there were A LOT on here who said a new Auckland franchise was not going to work because it had been tried before and failed.

Bullion

Only a few minutes in but the theme so far is "rubbing peoples nose into it". Seems all rather precious. "We'll show them!" says the multi billionaire and multi millionaire owners with access to a multi club infrastructure.

To be fair given the history was there anything wrong with questioning its viability. Has been great what they have done but lets be honest the test will be when they face a bit of adversity. As im sure your aware the Auckland public probably more than anywhere else in NZ can be very fickle and every thing is great if your the flavor. BUT 

Buffon II

Auckland announced that Scott Morris has retired due to a recurring injury.

Only 24 years old so that must have been a tough and probably upsetting decision to make.

Sad for him, but wish him all the best for life after football. 

Doesn't matter what colour you wear, it's always sad to see serious injury troubles curtail a career in the game.

I do however have questions about how that got through Aucklands medical setup though.

Mainland FC

Dougie Rydal

imanixsupporter

Corica on Piney's show today made it pretty clear Woud is still #1 for now despite yesterday's blunders

After watching the Doco, you'd be rooting for Sail, and not on GK'ing ability, he looks to have clearly failed the no famed dick-heads policy

any details?

Hard to put in words, just a tool is the best way I can describe him, utterly full of himself and a bit weird

YoungHeartHM

Buffon II

Auckland announced that Scott Morris has retired due to a recurring injury.

Only 24 years old so that must have been a tough and probably upsetting decision to make.

Sad for him, but wish him all the best for life after football. 

Doesn't matter what colour you wear, it's always sad to see serious injury troubles curtail a career in the game.

I do however have questions about how that got through Aucklands medical setup though.

Does sound like a recurrence of the same injury he had in the UK. So maybe eveything looked good, and then sadly he's damaged it again.

Joe Knowles is out until next year with his own hip problem.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360810589/auckland-fc-goalkeeper-scott-morris-retires-professional-football-without-playing-match

In a statement on Tuesday, Auckland FC said the 24-year-old, “took the difficult decision after the recurrence of (a) hip injury and following advice from medical specialists”.

It is understood Auckland’s other contracted goalkeeper, Joe Knowles, is set to be out of action until early next year as he deals with his own hip injury.

Mainland FC

Harry Ngata was definitely the unsung hero of the team.  Was he the captain, or was it Danny Hay?
And sure, Silva was great, but I will remember Paul Urlovic - great Kiwi striker - ahead of Silva.

Urlovic was terrible. We slag some guys off on here but he was another level of piss poor. He's sooo lucky the internet wasn't a thing when he played.

Ngata should have played for the Knights. My favourite AW ever.

Anyone else remember Simon Yeeeeeoooooh? 

nixin

Meh...jury's out but I think Cosgrove will prove to be an upgrade on Mata. He and Randall will be competing for a striker position alongside May. And it's looking like Rogerson will swap to left wing with Brook on the right. That's happened three times now when Brook came on.
Brook should start ahead of François, who loses the ball too often, and simply isn't as good.
My 2 cents says that will be a much more potent combination than last year's.
We'll see!

martinb

The Kings were free to air! I remember that. And had a million players including Wynton Rufer for a while.

Still- letting Mata go and bringing in Brook and Cosgrove- I hope that continues to backfire on them. Brook does look like a player and Cosgrove is large, but Mata and Rogerson were a winning combo last season. 

ballane

nixin

To be fair there were A LOT on here who said a new Auckland franchise was not going to work because it had been tried before and failed.

Bullion

Only a few minutes in but the theme so far is "rubbing peoples nose into it". Seems all rather precious. "We'll show them!" says the multi billionaire and multi millionaire owners with access to a multi club infrastructure.

To be fair given the history was there anything wrong with questioning its viability. Has been great what they have done but lets be honest the test will be when they face a bit of adversity. As im sure your aware the Auckland public probably more than anywhere else in NZ can be very fickle and every thing is great if your the flavor. BUT 

I was backing them to get the job done against Heidelberg. They had one very crisp interchange of passing. It looked like they’d roll over the top. Both certainly look the business, but looking the business and doing the business are different things.
I was very wrong! 
How long before Rogerson is not starting? Or will his form and statistics recover? He does seem to have a good football brain and be a fairly grounded guy from his play.

LG

Anyone else remember Simon Yeeeeeoooooh? 

And Sean Devine, Devine
He wears number 10, not nine...

Oi Oi Edgecumbe

LG

Anyone else remember Simon Yeeeeeoooooh? 

And Sean Devine, Devine
He wears number 10, not nine...

My everlasting memory of him is the Bloc changing the next line of that chant from "he scores great goals all the time" to "na na na na na na na" and the two Exeter fans in amongst us getting upset.

You had to be grey or bald to play in that knights team

I also thought AFC would win. Arguably the better side was outsmarted.
As for Rogerson, IMO he starts as LW, Brook RW, with May and Cosgrove up front.
Randall pushes to start, either wing or striker. Middleton, Gillion and François in that order fight for a bench spot.
AFC look kinda top-heavy now. Lots of R wing options, even Elliot.

martinb

nixin

Meh...jury's out but I think Cosgrove will prove to be an upgrade on Mata. He and Randall will be competing for a striker position alongside May. And it's looking like Rogerson will swap to left wing with Brook on the right. That's happened three times now when Brook came on.
Brook should start ahead of François, who loses the ball too often, and simply isn't as good.
My 2 cents says that will be a much more potent combination than last year's.
We'll see!

martinb

The Kings were free to air! I remember that. And had a million players including Wynton Rufer for a while.

Still- letting Mata go and bringing in Brook and Cosgrove- I hope that continues to backfire on them. Brook does look like a player and Cosgrove is large, but Mata and Rogerson were a winning combo last season. 

ballane

nixin

To be fair there were A LOT on here who said a new Auckland franchise was not going to work because it had been tried before and failed.

Bullion

Only a few minutes in but the theme so far is "rubbing peoples nose into it". Seems all rather precious. "We'll show them!" says the multi billionaire and multi millionaire owners with access to a multi club infrastructure.

To be fair given the history was there anything wrong with questioning its viability. Has been great what they have done but lets be honest the test will be when they face a bit of adversity. As im sure your aware the Auckland public probably more than anywhere else in NZ can be very fickle and every thing is great if your the flavor. BUT 

I was backing them to get the job done against Heidelberg. They had one very crisp interchange of passing. It looked like they’d roll over the top. Both certainly look the business, but looking the business and doing the business are different things.
I was very wrong! 
How long before Rogerson is not starting? Or will his form and statistics recover? He does seem to have a good football brain and be a fairly grounded guy from his play.

And the sad fact that any of those players, even Francois, and not counting Middleton who I don’t know, makes the Nix better. Anyone of 7 players would more than likely go straight into our starting team currently. 

Oi Oi Edgecumbe

LG

Anyone else remember Simon Yeeeeeoooooh? 

And Sean Devine, Devine
He wears number 10, not nine...

Just found this. Great form at Lincoln after Auckland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Yeo

Back to the fly on the wall documentary, I finally saw all of the episodes and it was intriguing stuff. I’ve been close to a lot of elite sportsmen over the years (admittedly closer to my age than these guys) and I was amazed at the physical shape they are in and especially the sort of mindfulness applications they utilise, eg AP talking about his anxiety and how he meditates to overcome it. In my day the most ‘mindful’ we hot was wearing a favourite pair of underpants or putting on our left boot first lol 

Would be interesting to see something similar from the Phoenix and contrast their internal set up, interplay with coaches etc.

I seem to recall he went back home because once he got here he figured he couldn’t pay his mortgage

Or some shark like that 

LG

Oi Oi Edgecumbe

LG

Anyone else remember Simon Yeeeeeoooooh? 

And Sean Devine, Devine
He wears number 10, not nine...

Just found this. Great form at Lincoln after Auckland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Yeo

Napier Phoenix

Back to the fly on the wall documentary, I finally saw all of the episodes and it was intriguing stuff. I’ve been close to a lot of elite sportsmen over the years (admittedly closer to my age than these guys) and I was amazed at the physical shape they are in and especially the sort of mindfulness applications they utilise, eg AP talking about his anxiety and how he meditates to overcome it. In my day the most ‘mindful’ we hot was wearing a favourite pair of underpants or putting on our left boot first lol 

Would be interesting to see something similar from the Phoenix and contrast their internal set up, interplay with coaches etc.

Is it worth watching? On Facelessbook, the most common reflection is that Danny Hay comes across as an Egotistical Bellend.

LG, I really enjoyed it and I'm not a fan of Auckland FC. It really showed the other side of the players and coaching staff away from what you just see on the pitch. I found a lot of them to be very likeable. Especially May, Sakai and De Vries. Its definitely worth a watch.

Gooner 4 Life

LG, I really enjoyed it and I'm not a fan of Auckland FC. It really showed the other side of the players and coaching staff away from what you just see on the pitch. I found a lot of them to be very likeable. Especially May, Sakai and De Vries. Its definitely worth a watch.

Cheers, will binge watch. 

Not an Auckland FC fan at all but have enjoyed watching the first two episodes.
4 observations :
1. The Port seem to have more than the usual quota of dickheads.
2, Selective editing can do interesting things but Italiano did not come across well. Provided plenty of motivation to Auckland and the last 5 seconds of the second episode were telling
3. Auckland definitely targeted Phoenix keeper and the 1st goal in the first derby was a result of a planned strategy
4. Bidois didn't come across well. Obviously had a grudge against someone at the Phoenix but these things happen in professional sport. Interesting that he got moved on at the end of the season
Well worth a watch

Certainly worth watching I think. Danny Hay comes across OK I think, his interviews in the first episode are possibly a bit contrived and for effect. I noticed that the first words of Luis Toomey and Michael Woud were a bit wanky too but subsequent chats were alright. I know none of them (as adults anyway) and because there are those 3 examples, I can’t help thinking they were encouraged by the producers to be controversial or were edited that way.

As a Nix fan you will interested in some of the coaching talk by Corica in relation to them. 

LG

Napier Phoenix

Back to the fly on the wall documentary, I finally saw all of the episodes and it was intriguing stuff. I’ve been close to a lot of elite sportsmen over the years (admittedly closer to my age than these guys) and I was amazed at the physical shape they are in and especially the sort of mindfulness applications they utilise, eg AP talking about his anxiety and how he meditates to overcome it. In my day the most ‘mindful’ we hot was wearing a favourite pair of underpants or putting on our left boot first lol 

Would be interesting to see something similar from the Phoenix and contrast their internal set up, interplay with coaches etc.

Is it worth watching? On Facelessbook, the most common reflection is that Danny Hay comes across as an Egotistical Bellend.

Toomey I think, not Bidois.

chubbs

Not an Auckland FC fan at all but have enjoyed watching the first two episodes.
4 observations :
1. The Port seem to have more than the usual quota of dickheads.
2, Selective editing can do interesting things but Italiano did not come across well. Provided plenty of motivation to Auckland and the last 5 seconds of the second episode were telling
3. Auckland definitely targeted Phoenix keeper and the 1st goal in the first derby was a result of a planned strategy
4. Bidois didn't come across well. Obviously had a grudge against someone at the Phoenix but these things happen in professional sport. Interesting that he got moved on at the end of the season
Well worth a watch

Yeah definitely Toomey
Name was all over his shirt too !

chubbs

Not an Auckland FC fan at all but have enjoyed watching the first two episodes.
4 observations :
1. The Port seem to have more than the usual quota of dickheads.
2, Selective editing can do interesting things but Italiano did not come across well. Provided plenty of motivation to Auckland and the last 5 seconds of the second episode were telling
3. Auckland definitely targeted Phoenix keeper and the 1st goal in the first derby was a result of a planned strategy
4. Bidois didn't come across well. Obviously had a grudge against someone at the Phoenix but these things happen in professional sport. Interesting that he got moved on at the end of the season
Well worth a watch

I think you meant Toomey?

EDIT: sorry saw you had corrected after I posted.

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/sport/football/aberdeen-fc/6842399/sam-cosgrove-aberdeen-fc-heart-scare/

Interesting article. AFC always are quite on the length of players contracts when signed but appears to be a 2 year contract with the option of a third. Hope that is in the clubs favour only as Wood is off contract then.

Apparently had the opportunity of joining Hibs but chose AFC. No doubt the club model was in operation there.

Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere on the forums but I saw on social media that a bunch of the founding/ultra Port guys were in the Australia away fans section at Mt Smart cheering for Australia. I remember the Port were pointedly doing nothing for the Samoa game there last year as well. Really disappointing that the Port are so anti-NZ.

Just a thoroughly dislikeable fan culture they have, for this and for other reasons. So hard to respect them. 

Maybe they're Australian? 

imanixsupporter

Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere on the forums but I saw on social media that a bunch of the founding/ultra Port guys were in the Australia away fans section at Mt Smart cheering for Australia. I remember the Port were pointedly doing nothing for the Samoa game there last year as well. Really disappointing that the Port are so anti-NZ.

Just a thoroughly dislikeable fan culture they have, for this and for other reasons. So hard to respect them. 

Well the early season fixtures have been great for the lucky club.

After their first game which is away, they then have 6 games in NZ in a row.

First home game against Western Sydney which could be tasty if they have a decent away group.

Playing the Nix, Sydney, CCM and Newcastle three times,

The Nix and Sydney, two games away.

Apart from Sydney decent teams to play 3 times.

they're brits apparently

Nixieboys222

Maybe they're Australian? 

imanixsupporter

Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere on the forums but I saw on social media that a bunch of the founding/ultra Port guys were in the Australia away fans section at Mt Smart cheering for Australia. I remember the Port were pointedly doing nothing for the Samoa game there last year as well. Really disappointing that the Port are so anti-NZ.

Just a thoroughly dislikeable fan culture they have, for this and for other reasons. So hard to respect them. 

imanixsupporter

they're brits apparently

Nixieboys222

Maybe they're Australian? 

imanixsupporter

Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere on the forums but I saw on social media that a bunch of the founding/ultra Port guys were in the Australia away fans section at Mt Smart cheering for Australia. I remember the Port were pointedly doing nothing for the Samoa game there last year as well. Really disappointing that the Port are so anti-NZ.

Just a thoroughly dislikeable fan culture they have, for this and for other reasons. So hard to respect them. 

Yeah the reading some FB posts the Port do seem to have a heavy middled aged Brit expat influence.

But if the above story is true I hope it creates some friction within their fan base. I met some Port guys at the Roar v AFC game at Suncorp last year, and they were all Kiwi born & bred NZ football fans.

FYI - put up a polite post on The Port's FB page, asking if the above actually happened at the AWs v Socceroos game. One of the moderators has pulled it down asking that I repost it on the AFC Supporters FB page.

Then I got a PM from another Port member that said
"I saw you question on The Port page - a real good question bro. I saw the footage of who it was. I knew your post would be pulled down"


Interesting & too funny! So yeah seems a Port fan(s) has been seen in the Socceroos away zone at Mt Smart, and it's a sensitive topic for them! 

Sounds like they are ashamed of it.

Begs the question why do it?

Banter, arrogance, stupidity or self-destrcutive?

The core of The Port leadership, English no known link to Ozzie on their IG story. In Australian active support cheering for Socceroos vs 7 NZ All Whites who are current/former Auckland FC players...@pineynz @ByPhillipRollo https://t.co/agOi9B6YwM pic.twitter.com/sXRM12Kj9K

— The Truth NZL Priestman (@TheTruthNZL) September 9, 2025

This is one of the videos they put up that's been doing the rounds.

That's a good portion of the leadership group of the port I believe

Buffon II

Sounds like they are ashamed of it.

Begs the question why do it?

I think those that are ashamed are other members of The Port. It's just a small group of their Brit expat members who were supporting Oztraylia??

I mean I do remember being in the UK for 2.5 years in the late 1990s, and cheering for everyone to beat England at anything. It just sort of creep into the pysche of me and nearly every expat Kiwi I knew living there. You just got sick of their fans, media, and that superior attitude of 'you are just a colonial from little ole NZ'. 

So wry smiles when Beckham got sent off in 1998, and the Argies won on pens. An English guy standing near me in the local pub, openly sobbing. 


Still it's strange considering these guys obviously go to most/all AFC games at the same venue and cheer on a NZ team in the A League. More strange if they have, or plan to live in NZ long term. A split in The Port ranks?

Half a Pint

Banter, arrogance, stupidity or self-destrcutive?

The core of The Port leadership, English no known link to Ozzie on their IG story. In Australian active support cheering for Socceroos vs 7 NZ All Whites who are current/former Auckland FC players...@pineynz @ByPhillipRollo https://t.co/agOi9B6YwM pic.twitter.com/sXRM12Kj9K

— The Truth NZL Priestman (@TheTruthNZL) September 9, 2025

This is one of the videos they put up that's been doing the rounds.

That's a good portion of the leadership group of the port I believe

that's dumb. About as dumb as saying "u p t h e p o r t" when talking about your team, not the fans, Auckland FC "The Black Knights".

"U p t h e p o r t" autocorrects to "Wellington is the home of football". Lol

Seems they may also be asking people to pay to be a member of the Port.
Why would you bother if they cant support the clubs players who are representing NZ.

Think it needs to be pointed out there were also Port people in with White Noise

Why? For the sake of balance? Bulls**t, they are treacherous dogs and if I was running the Port, they would be out on their ear.

ballane

Think it needs to be pointed out there were also Port people in with White Noise

Napier Phoenix

Why? For the sake of balance? Bulls**t, they are treacherous dogs and if I was running the Port, they would be out on their ear.

ballane

Think it needs to be pointed out there were also Port people in with White Noise

agree, except it seems the ones running the port are the very same brits in the Aussie cheering squad.