WPM 2025/26 Squad Speculation, Confirmation and Mutual Termination

Yeah - not only are conviction rates lower, but sexual crimes are also under-reported. This whole notion that women are prepared to dish out false accusations willy-nilly is absurd and harmful.

Going about your life without being accused of a serious crime should not be difficult. The possibility that it might have been false does not, in my eyes, mean that we should be open to giving him the opportunity to play for us because "we can't afford to ignore talent". I don't want my club anywhere near that shark.

MetalLegNZ

What makes Tongs claims credible... was there audio as well etc.

I prefer to stay clear just in case.

Cases like this don't make it to court without there being some credible evidence, though i can't say I've know the details as intimately as with Greenwood.

Nelfoos

MetalLegNZ

What makes Tongs claims credible... was there audio as well etc.

I prefer to stay clear just in case.

Cases like this don't make it to court without there being some credible evidence, though i can't say I've know the details as intimately as with Greenwood.

Not familiar with either, end of ther day the jury and the judge are the only ones who can actually determine what evidence is actually credible - they get to hear/see it all whereas the rest of us get the media sound bites.

I'll stand by my point though, if someone is judged not guilty of any crime then as far as I'm concerned that should be the end of it, once all appeals have been completed of course,

This forum and public would really erupt if they signed him.

So it won’t happen. 

There's a big difference between "He did it" and "We can prove he did it beyond doubt", in this kind of case over any other.

I'm sure the rapists who walked free because they were found not guilty or where there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute are very thankful for your support. My thoughts and support will remain with the victims who couldnt get justice.

Anyway, I doubt we're in for Tongyik and it's probably a conversation that should be shelved on a football forum until such time as its relevant.

It’s messy and we don’t need it. 

Lachlan Brook is linked to a move back to the A-League. Auckland is one of the linked teams but surely we put in an offer and get Macey Fraser back too for the women’s team (his gf). 

wilbaker

Lachlan Brook is linked to a move back to the A-League. Auckland is one of the linked teams but surely we put in an offer and get Macey Fraser back too for the women’s team (his gf). 

Beat me too it. Would be a great signing.

He's been tried in a court of law, why repeat the trial in a court of kangaroos? For all you or I know he's been falsely accused and been through hell.

2ndBest

Gross. Just like Scott Kuggeleijn, the threshold doesn't need to be 'was he convicted of a crime'. Sexual assault conviction rates are significantly lower than for many other crimes.

If that's the case, then the Wanderers are the obvious club to sign him. They are in a far far better position to make an objective judgement on what did or didn't happen. 

He's their ex player, his character is known to them, the incident occurred in their area (Mt Druitt), and they would have been involved in the case in some capacity from the very start.

The Nix shouldn't and won't go near him.

Is Jack Marriott from Wrexham still here? Any chance he has absolutely fallen in love with our city??

Procrastinixing

Is Jack Marriott from Wrexham still here? Any chance he has absolutely fallen in love with our city??

Where are you seeing this? 

WanderingSheep

Procrastinixing

Is Jack Marriott from Wrexham still here? Any chance he has absolutely fallen in love with our city??

Where are you seeing this? 

He had his appendix removed while here and couldn't head back with the rest of the team

nixin

He's been tried in a court of law, why repeat the trial in a court of kangaroos? For all you or I know he's been falsely accused and been through hell.

2ndBest

Gross. Just like Scott Kuggeleijn, the threshold doesn't need to be 'was he convicted of a crime'. Sexual assault conviction rates are significantly lower than for many other crimes.

If that was the case I would have thought his agent or management would be singing it from the rooftops or at least into the ears of GMs. 

I’d give it a minimum of a year to air out and the most likely outcome of that is that in the end it’s a lot of controversy that isn’t required or needed at the Phoenix. 

Also possible the player might not want the gauntlet of more publicity in Australia and like some who were linked with other scandals just head overseas…

We’ve got so many positive stories going with the Nix now. We’d have to be very sure about someone to risk those for him or her. 

coochiee

If that's the case, then the Wanderers are the obvious club to sign him. They are in a far far better position to make an objective judgement on what did or didn't happen. 

He's their ex player, his character is known to them, the incident occurred in their area (Mt Druitt), and they would have been involved in the case in some capacity from the very start.

The Nix shouldn't and won't go near him.

He is training at WSW, with a view to being signed by them.

He only had one good ALM season tbh & that was under Staj at CCM. So putting the off field issues aside for the moment, I wouldn't want us to sign him based on his talents either. 

martinb

nixin

He's been tried in a court of law, why repeat the trial in a court of kangaroos? For all you or I know he's been falsely accused and been through hell.

2ndBest

Gross. Just like Scott Kuggeleijn, the threshold doesn't need to be 'was he convicted of a crime'. Sexual assault conviction rates are significantly lower than for many other crimes.

If that was the case I would have thought his agent or management would be singing it from the rooftops or at least into the ears of GMs. 

I’d give it a minimum of a year to air out and the most likely outcome of that is that in the end it’s a lot of controversy that isn’t required or needed at the Phoenix. 

Also possible the player might not want the gauntlet of more publicity in Australia and like some who were linked with other scandals just head overseas…

We’ve got so many positive stories going with the Nix now. We’d have to be very sure about someone to risk those for him or her. 

Or posibly, more likely, he and his agent don't want to tak about whatever happened in any capacity. The more he and his agent crow about him being innocent the more the accuser feels victimised and also gets more media/news attention - which is good for noone.

A decision has to be made at some point. My preference is after a conviction, anything else up to that point is not beyond reasonable doubt. Not a perfect system but the best available and a basic tenet of a democracy.

Nelfoos

That logic works until you think about Mason Greenwood and get sick to your stomach that he's never been found guilty of anything. I hope you aren't seriously saying he should still have a pro career and that you'd welcome him here with open arms, should that ever occur.

Personally I don't think a not guilty verdict removes all stigma from someone who has been accused of sex crimes especially (due to their usually private nature and difficulty to prove). I wouldn't want Greenwood, Tongyik or anyone else who has had credible accusations against them to play for us, regardless of what a court found.

OJ Simpson was not found guilty "beyond reasonable doubt" of doing a murder.

"Beyond reasonable doubt" is the standard necessary to lock someone up. A much *lower* standard is appropriate to decide whether someone is a bad apple whom you don't want to associate with.

Napier Phoenix

A decision has to be made at some point. My preference is after a conviction, anything else up to that point is not beyond reasonable doubt. Not a perfect system but the best available and a basic tenet of a democracy.

Nelfoos

That logic works until you think about Mason Greenwood and get sick to your stomach that he's never been found guilty of anything. I hope you aren't seriously saying he should still have a pro career and that you'd welcome him here with open arms, should that ever occur.

Personally I don't think a not guilty verdict removes all stigma from someone who has been accused of sex crimes especially (due to their usually private nature and difficulty to prove). I wouldn't want Greenwood, Tongyik or anyone else who has had credible accusations against them to play for us, regardless of what a court found.

That isnt a "basic tenet of democracy" and never has been. Legality and morality are different things and cannot and should not be applied interchangeably.

Genuinely who cares. Not our player not our problem

You will find it is, forms part of the Rule of Law.

Nelfoos

Napier Phoenix

A decision has to be made at some point. My preference is after a conviction, anything else up to that point is not beyond reasonable doubt. Not a perfect system but the best available and a basic tenet of a democracy.

Nelfoos

That logic works until you think about Mason Greenwood and get sick to your stomach that he's never been found guilty of anything. I hope you aren't seriously saying he should still have a pro career and that you'd welcome him here with open arms, should that ever occur.

Personally I don't think a not guilty verdict removes all stigma from someone who has been accused of sex crimes especially (due to their usually private nature and difficulty to prove). I wouldn't want Greenwood, Tongyik or anyone else who has had credible accusations against them to play for us, regardless of what a court found.

That isnt a "basic tenet of democracy" and never has been. Legality and morality are different things and cannot and should not be applied interchangeably.

Sounds like we are still going for a visa centre back as we missed out on a local option and not much other choice out there. 
Eze arrives in Welly today so hopefully will play some part in the Australia cup match 

Brisbane fans seem quite happy with McGarry in their pre-season game against Auckland, more so his attacking capabilities. With Armiento potentially playing that LWB role and seems like we'll be playing 5 ATB. Now seems like we should've tried to get McGarry. 

wilbaker

Brisbane fans seem quite happy with McGarry in their pre-season game against Auckland, more so his attacking capabilities. With Armiento potentially playing that LWB role and seems like we'll be playing 5 ATB. Now seems like we should've tried to get McGarry. 

Armiento - 2711 ALM mins 6 goals, 10 assists
McGarry - 3765 ALM mins 4 goals, 5 assists

The caveat on those numbers being Armiento has played as a Winger throughout his career, whilst McGarry as a LB/LWB. But assuming their defence is on par with each other, surely you want the option that has a much better history of actually producing some output going forward?

RR

wilbaker

Brisbane fans seem quite happy with McGarry in their pre-season game against Auckland, more so his attacking capabilities. With Armiento potentially playing that LWB role and seems like we'll be playing 5 ATB. Now seems like we should've tried to get McGarry. 

Armiento - 2711 ALM mins 6 goals, 10 assists
McGarry - 3765 ALM mins 4 goals, 5 assists

The caveat on those numbers being Armiento has played as a Winger throughout his career, whilst McGarry as a LB/LWB. But assuming their defence is on par with each other, surely you want the option that has a much better history of actually producing some output going forward?

Assuming their defence is on par with each other is a huge assumption. McGarry is defensively suspect in a back 4 but he’s still a natural full back.

McGarry is made of glass and I can not recall a more 1 footed footballer in the last 10 years in any professional league.

loving this intel. Thanks Chiefy 

Chiefytheman

Sounds like we are still going for a visa centre back as we missed out on a local option and not much other choice out there. 
Eze arrives in Welly today so hopefully will play some part in the Australia cup match 

MetalLegNZ

McGarry is made of glass and I can not recall a more 1 footed footballer in the last 10 years in any professional league.

Also not convinced he would want to come back not sure his departure was on the best of terms

mykey

loving this intel. Thanks Chiefy 

Chiefytheman

Sounds like we are still going for a visa centre back as we missed out on a local option and not much other choice out there. 
Eze arrives in Welly today so hopefully will play some part in the Australia cup match 

Not so much for me given as dont  we only have one visa spot left. So that means we arnt getting a Visa 10 unless they go down the marque way. Hope Chiefytheman is way off with his intel if im honest

What do you mean the Marquee way? Still takes up an import slot if they were to sign a marquee import 

ballane

mykey

loving this intel. Thanks Chiefy 

Chiefytheman

Sounds like we are still going for a visa centre back as we missed out on a local option and not much other choice out there. 
Eze arrives in Welly today so hopefully will play some part in the Australia cup match 

Not so much for me given as dont  we only have one visa spot left. So that means we arnt getting a Visa 10 unless they go down the marque way. Hope Chiefytheman is way off with his intel if im honest

 

Think balane probably means a designated player which, if I recall correctly, is outside of squad limits but has to be approved by the league as it's designed to bring attention to the league 

I hope not too many decisions have been made off the back of the Perth game. They’re not a recent top 5 team. 

As in, I don’t think relying on our young playmakers is enough. And we didn’t see Ishige or Nagasawa in a position to make play that much. 

How would we go with the kids against Auckland/Victory/WSW etc going full in? 

I wonder if we’re looking at Daniel De Silva? If we’re signing a visa CB then we’ll still desperately need one more creative player, and he’s one of the only free agent locals that fit that bill.

Chiefyistheman neglected to cite his source here: a Gill interview broadcast on Pine's show today (but recorded midweek). Gill also said there were more local attacking options available, another reason why it is looking more likely the last visa spot goes to a CB. Certainly doesn't sound like anything is close though based on Gill's comments.

Highly doubt Eze is involved in Melbourne if Chiefy's track record of very slowly easing players into action after arrival or return from injury is anything to go by. Will have flown halfway across the world to get here today, having had little preseason or integration with the team, and then to do a 4 hour flight just days later to play in a game we definitely don't need him in to win... forget about it

Chiefytheman

Sounds like we are still going for a visa centre back as we missed out on a local option and not much other choice out there. 
Eze arrives in Welly today so hopefully will play some part in the Australia cup match 

Ryan

Think balane probably means a designated player which, if I recall correctly, is outside of squad limits but has to be approved by the league as it's designed to bring attention to the league 

 Designated Player is outside the salary cap but within the squad rules. A Guest Player (they can play up to 14 games iirc) is the only way to sign a visa above the maximum 5 visas.

RR

Ryan

Think balane probably means a designated player which, if I recall correctly, is outside of squad limits but has to be approved by the league as it's designed to bring attention to the league 

 Designated Player is outside the salary cap but within the squad rules. A Guest Player (they can play up to 14 games iirc) is the only way to sign a visa above the maximum 5 visas.

 
So no cap simplification this season?

I am not happy.

How can we be this far into the off season and not have someone lined up either as a AM or CB... surely as we were chasing one we were working on back ups etc.

It wouldn’t surprise if the Nix arranged a friendly against one of the VIC ALM next week, post Nunawading. If so they might take Eze over to at least train with the squad and play 20 mins

Friar Tuck

I wonder if we’re looking at Daniel De Silva? If we’re signing a visa CB then we’ll still desperately need one more creative player, and he’s one of the only free agent locals that fit that bill.

I had noticed Chief follows Dani De Silva & Jay Rich-Baghuelou on Instagram, can't think where they would have overlapped before + he doesn't follow many non-Nix players.

We’re still over ten weeks out. There’s a good chance of two signings being announced in the next week or two.

We’ve signed two useful players. Who knows? Maybe the other ones are done already, just waiting on rolling them out? We’ve seen a steady drip of positive or frickin awesome news preseason. 

And we’re on a mini-cup run. Lukas Kelly Heald has gotta fuel up on confidence from that. Loke, Smith and others have shown they have potential to play some very handy minutes, but probably shouldn’t be playing all of them at this stage. Hughes has underlined his seniority. And that his sister is hot. 

We’ve put Wrexham to the sword and they’ve signed Libby! Wtf? Awesome. 😎 

LBS is shooting. We’re winning. Cracks are papered over or better! 

Chill, it’s summer 😉 Only one tsunami so far. 

Looking forward to Peruvian food from that restaurant at that neighborhood summer festival in a couple of weeks time!