First Team Squad
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1.4K
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about 3 years
coochiee
Wonder if FFA will play with the FFA Cup draw, to have Nix drawn against a NSW side. Originally they were to play a VIC side??
 Can't believe they haven't scraped the dang thing to be honest. 
Phoenix Academy
630
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470
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about 9 years
Aside from Spark kits vs Sky Stadium, does anyone know anything re the likely broadcaster this season?
Starting XI
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over 5 years
coochiee
theprof
tough to get super excited cos its unlikely we'll see the team at home much, if at all. But still its a new footy season which gives us something to cheer for.
IF (if) the above schedule works, ie team returns to NZ post Dec 27th, Nix would have only played 2 'home' games in Aus.
Interesting to note in the fixtures. Perth glory get a run of 5 games away from home.
Why couldn't they call all our games away games as they will all be in NSW?
Legend
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almost 9 years
Ranix
coochiee
theprof
tough to get super excited cos its unlikely we'll see the team at home much, if at all. But still its a new footy season which gives us something to cheer for.
IF (if) the above schedule works, ie team returns to NZ post Dec 27th, Nix would have only played 2 'home' games in Aus.
Interesting to note in the fixtures. Perth glory get a run of 5 games away from home.
Why couldn't they call all our games away games as they will all be in NSW?

Glory may just be a travelling roadshow for their first 5 games, living out of hotel rooms. 

Bit different to Nix having a singular 'home base' like the Gong, which you'd hope would be a bit cheaper plus more stable for the players. But counter to that, partnership arrangement with Wollongong Wolves/Illawarra Shire or whoever, is you must bring min number of home games to the Gong. Same any other NSW city Nix may choose over the Gong.
Legend
8K
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over 16 years
billyspleen75
Aside from Spark kits vs Sky Stadium, does anyone know anything re the likely broadcaster this season?

my bet will be that sky gets it and then maybe shares the content with spark. I have a theory that spark and sky are gonna team up at some point to take on the sports streaming world.
Marquee
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over 13 years
Sky has already shown that they want to work with everyone to be a content aggregator, so it's a good call.
Starting XI
550
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over 14 years
Just read NSW will reopen on 11 October, no word on trans bubble though.
Legend
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over 16 years
with Auckland only have 9 new cases today I'd be expecting level 2 announcement by Oct 4 and hopefully level 1 within a week or so afterwards.  Whole country could be level 1 by 18 October. Bubble back up and running by November for vaxed Aussies?
Starting XI
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over 8 years
theprof
with Auckland only have 9 new cases today I'd be expecting level 2 announcement by Oct 4 and hopefully level 1 within a week or so afterwards.  Whole country could be level 1 by 18 October. Bubble back up and running by November for vaxed Aussies?

Maybe getting ahead of ourselves - we haven't had any chance to see what impact, if any, the shift to level 3 has on case numbers.
Legend
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almost 9 years
Looks like Nix have definitely locked in being in NSW for their first 6 league games, up to Dec 27th. So even if in the unlikelihood the 2 way TT was open earlier, Nix wouldn't come back to Welly before Jan 2022.     

It could be that NZ Govt open a 2 way bubble first with NSW, which looks likely to hit 90% adult popn double vaccinated before Xmas. Even though NSW has Covid in the community. QLD for example may have no Covid in the community, but only be 75-80% adult popn double jabbed by Xmas. Or it could be the opposite, Ardern & Robertson go with, ie open with NSW last.

I guess if NZ Govt opens TT bubble with NSW last (say not until Feb-March 2022 for example), Nix will have already played 6 games against NSW teams pre Xmas, so just play H&A against the non NSW teams for a few months, through Jan-Feb or whatever.

But yes the increasing vaccine numbers on both sides of the ditch, make the Warriors early decision to play the whole 2022 NRL season in Brisbane look strange. Not that I follow league much. 
Legend
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almost 9 years
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/126482394/wellington-phoenix-rule-out-move-for-all-whites-captain-after-west-ham-exit

Reading this article seems a guy like Ben Old will be getting some serious minutes in Australia. Maybe the odd NSW NPL short term signing again, like a Ngoy. 

The Phoenix have 18 players on board for the upcoming season but Talay indicated he wanted five more to complete his playing roster before they embark on another lengthy stint in Australia, including a “young” centre-back to provide injury cover behind captain Steven Taylor, Tim Payne and Joshua Laws.

He said the final five spots would likely be filled by players from the club’s reserve team.

“I’m looking to take 22-23 players over to New South Wales,” Talay said.

With two import spots up for grabs, Talay said a lot of prospective players had been offered to the club in recent weeks, but the Phoenix had not been able to “pull the trigger” and sign any of them because of the current border restrictions in New Zealand and Australia.

He said at this stage it was looking increasingly likely that the Phoenix would not be in a position to sign another import until January.

Although a return to Wollongong, where they were stationed last season, remained a possibility, Talay said the facilities at the University of Wollongong were not up to scratch and urged club officials to look for a new base.

“The setup that we currently have here, we need to have over there to be able to do our jobs.”

First Team Squad
2K
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1.9K
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almost 17 years
theprof
with Auckland only have 9 new cases today I'd be expecting level 2 announcement by Oct 4 and hopefully level 1 within a week or so afterwards.  Whole country could be level 1 by 18 October. Bubble back up and running by November for vaxed Aussies?

Getting Vaxed is great and all, but from a bubble with Aussie perspective I don't see how it helps much. If I understand correctly (and correct me if I'm wrong) Delta is still very contagious even for vaccinated people, what the vaccine mostly does is make it's effects MUCH less likely to be severe/fatal when you do get it, rather than meaning you aren't going to catch it.

So if we have very low case numbers, letting in Australians with higher case numbers (assuming that stays the same) isn't a good idea, even if the people coming are vaccinated.
Legend
11K
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21K
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almost 9 years
siac
theprof
with Auckland only have 9 new cases today I'd be expecting level 2 announcement by Oct 4 and hopefully level 1 within a week or so afterwards.  Whole country could be level 1 by 18 October. Bubble back up and running by November for vaxed Aussies?

Getting Vaxed is great and all, but from a bubble with Aussie perspective I don't see how it helps much. If I understand correctly (and correct me if I'm wrong) Delta is still very contagious even for vaccinated people, what the vaccine mostly does is make it's effects MUCH less likely to be severe/fatal when you do get it, rather than meaning you aren't going to catch it.

So if we have very low case numbers, letting in Australians with higher case numbers (assuming that stays the same) isn't a good idea, even if the people coming are vaccinated.

Basically you are wrong. Go and do some reading on effectiveness of the vaccines in stopping transmission.  

And if Aussie gets 90% if it’s age 12 plus popn double vaccinated, in conjunction with mask wearing and other continuing restrictions etc they stand a reasonable chance of reducing the current case numbers. Even once lockdowns end. That optimistic view improves further if vaccinations for kids younger than 12 become available 
Starting XI
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over 5 years
I'm picking vaccinated sports teams will likely be one of the first groups allowed to travel TT quarantine free. As they can organise a controlled environment, strict testing regime, in and out in a short space of time.
First Team Squad
2K
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1.9K
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almost 17 years
coochiee
siac
theprof
with Auckland only have 9 new cases today I'd be expecting level 2 announcement by Oct 4 and hopefully level 1 within a week or so afterwards.  Whole country could be level 1 by 18 October. Bubble back up and running by November for vaxed Aussies?

Getting Vaxed is great and all, but from a bubble with Aussie perspective I don't see how it helps much. If I understand correctly (and correct me if I'm wrong) Delta is still very contagious even for vaccinated people, what the vaccine mostly does is make it's effects MUCH less likely to be severe/fatal when you do get it, rather than meaning you aren't going to catch it.

So if we have very low case numbers, letting in Australians with higher case numbers (assuming that stays the same) isn't a good idea, even if the people coming are vaccinated.

Basically you are wrong. Go and do some reading on effectiveness of the vaccines in stopping transmission.  

And if Aussie gets 90% if it’s age 12 plus popn double vaccinated, in conjunction with mask wearing and other continuing restrictions etc they stand a reasonable chance of reducing the current case numbers. Even once lockdowns end. That optimistic view improves further if vaccinations for kids younger than 12 become available 

Any reading you would recommend? I have done a little, but as a non scientist, it's not always easy to know where to find data or how to interpret it. I have read several articles on mainstream media websites (which I'm sure aren't the best place to get info) saying that the viral load is still very high and just as transmissible in vaccinated people. For example: this one on Forbes.

Just so we are clear, I am very pro vaccine (had my 2nd jab today actually!), but my understanding is that its main protection is in limiting the severity of the virus if you get infected, but doesn't necessarily make a big difference in terms of catching it or spreading it to others.

WeeNix
340
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550
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over 11 years
A bit of conjecture on the podcast regarding the covid situation in Australia being to blame for the Phoenix' situation.
It is infact New Zealand's problem, not Australia's, why we will have no home games in Wellington for another season and why the boys will have to play in aus for a second season.
We have very low vaccination rates playing catch up and no road map out. 
Covid numbers are pretty irrelevant when you have high vaccination rates. Sydney will be more free than Auckland in a few weeks time. Australia is opening up international travel to other countries in November/December.

Sadly for us, NZ asleep at the wheel.
Legend
11K
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21K
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almost 9 years
siac
coochiee
siac
theprof
with Auckland only have 9 new cases today I'd be expecting level 2 announcement by Oct 4 and hopefully level 1 within a week or so afterwards.  Whole country could be level 1 by 18 October. Bubble back up and running by November for vaxed Aussies?

Getting Vaxed is great and all, but from a bubble with Aussie perspective I don't see how it helps much. If I understand correctly (and correct me if I'm wrong) Delta is still very contagious even for vaccinated people, what the vaccine mostly does is make it's effects MUCH less likely to be severe/fatal when you do get it, rather than meaning you aren't going to catch it.

So if we have very low case numbers, letting in Australians with higher case numbers (assuming that stays the same) isn't a good idea, even if the people coming are vaccinated.

Basically you are wrong. Go and do some reading on effectiveness of the vaccines in stopping transmission.  

And if Aussie gets 90% if it’s age 12 plus popn double vaccinated, in conjunction with mask wearing and other continuing restrictions etc they stand a reasonable chance of reducing the current case numbers. Even once lockdowns end. That optimistic view improves further if vaccinations for kids younger than 12 become available 

Any reading you would recommend? I have done a little, but as a non scientist, it's not always easy to know where to find data or how to interpret it. I have read several articles on mainstream media websites (which I'm sure aren't the best place to get info) saying that the viral load is still very high and just as transmissible in vaccinated people. For example: this one on Forbes.

Just so we are clear, I am very pro vaccine (had my 2nd jab today actually!), but my understanding is that its main protection is in limiting the severity of the virus if you get infected, but doesn't necessarily make a big difference in terms of catching it or spreading it to others.


Replied in Covid thread. And Nix will definitely host home games in NZ season 2021/22 - with regular season I presume now not finishing until June 2022 
Marquee
6.9K
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9.3K
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over 13 years
pierre
A bit of conjecture on the podcast regarding the covid situation in Australia being to blame for the Phoenix' situation.
It is infact New Zealand's problem, not Australia's, why we will have no home games in Wellington for another season and why the boys will have to play in aus for a second season.
We have very low vaccination rates playing catch up and no road map out. 
Covid numbers are pretty irrelevant when you have high vaccination rates. Sydney will be more free than Auckland in a few weeks time. Australia is opening up international travel to other countries in November/December.

Sadly for us, NZ asleep at the wheel.
Boss of Pfizer AUNZ said that NZ bought the vaccine early but it took time to ramp up production and in a pandemic they had to ship supplies where they were most needed.

The only way really for NZ to do better would be to have a horrible covid response so that we were in those early priority shipments, or to make deals with the Russians for vaccines.
Phoenix Academy
620
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420
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almost 9 years
pierre
A bit of conjecture on the podcast regarding the covid situation in Australia being to blame for the Phoenix' situation.
It is infact New Zealand's problem, not Australia's, why we will have no home games in Wellington for another season and why the boys will have to play in aus for a second season.
We have very low vaccination rates playing catch up and no road map out. 
Covid numbers are pretty irrelevant when you have high vaccination rates. Sydney will be more free than Auckland in a few weeks time. Australia is opening up international travel to other countries in November/December.

Sadly for us, NZ asleep at the wheel.

Sydney will be more free? More free to die from Covid maybe - 1200 deaths from a population of 8 million. You call that freedom?
No road map? Do you read the news at all?
Read about the Skegg report.
The only one asleep around here mate, is you.

and 2 others
First Team Squad
1.3K
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1.1K
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over 5 years
pierre
A bit of conjecture on the podcast regarding the covid situation in Australia being to blame for the Phoenix' situation.
It is infact New Zealand's problem, not Australia's, why we will have no home games in Wellington for another season and why the boys will have to play in aus for a second season.
We have very low vaccination rates playing catch up and no road map out. 
Covid numbers are pretty irrelevant when you have high vaccination rates. Sydney will be more free than Auckland in a few weeks time. Australia is opening up international travel to other countries in November/December.

Sadly for us, NZ asleep at the wheel.


Is that you, Judy? What total and utter nonsense.
WeeNix
340
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550
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over 11 years
Ryan
pierre
A bit of conjecture on the podcast regarding the covid situation in Australia being to blame for the Phoenix' situation.
It is infact New Zealand's problem, not Australia's, why we will have no home games in Wellington for another season and why the boys will have to play in aus for a second season.
We have very low vaccination rates playing catch up and no road map out. 
Covid numbers are pretty irrelevant when you have high vaccination rates. Sydney will be more free than Auckland in a few weeks time. Australia is opening up international travel to other countries in November/December.

Sadly for us, NZ asleep at the wheel.
Boss of Pfizer AUNZ said that NZ bought the vaccine early but it took time to ramp up production and in a pandemic they had to ship supplies where they were most needed.

The only way really for NZ to do better would be to have a horrible covid response so that we were in those early priority shipments, or to make deals with the Russians for vaccines.


No denying we achieved great gains early on and saved a lot of deaths. But we had a perfect opportunity to vaccinate our community during this time. We rested on our laurels. 
Pfizer is not the only vaccine out there you know? Gov failed to sign enough deals. We could've and should've been all vaccinated months ago. Instead it took a 6 week Auckland lockdown, loss of billions, before any urgency kicked in and kiwis rolled up their sleeves.
The rest of the world has moved on and we'll still be here in Lockdown pursuing an elimination strategy even when we are vaccinated!
Marquee
6.9K
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9.3K
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over 13 years
pierre
Ryan
pierre
A bit of conjecture on the podcast regarding the covid situation in Australia being to blame for the Phoenix' situation.
It is infact New Zealand's problem, not Australia's, why we will have no home games in Wellington for another season and why the boys will have to play in aus for a second season.
We have very low vaccination rates playing catch up and no road map out. 
Covid numbers are pretty irrelevant when you have high vaccination rates. Sydney will be more free than Auckland in a few weeks time. Australia is opening up international travel to other countries in November/December.

Sadly for us, NZ asleep at the wheel.
Boss of Pfizer AUNZ said that NZ bought the vaccine early but it took time to ramp up production and in a pandemic they had to ship supplies where they were most needed.

The only way really for NZ to do better would be to have a horrible covid response so that we were in those early priority shipments, or to make deals with the Russians for vaccines.


No denying we achieved great gains early on and saved a lot of deaths. But we had a perfect opportunity to vaccinate our community during this time. We rested on our laurels. 
Pfizer is not the only vaccine out there you know? Gov failed to sign enough deals. We could've and should've been all vaccinated months ago. Instead it took a 6 week Auckland lockdown, loss of billions, before any urgency kicked in and kiwis rolled up their sleeves.
The rest of the world has moved on and we'll still be here in Lockdown pursuing an elimination strategy even when we are vaccinated!
The  government signed deals with AstroZenica, Jannsen, and Pfizer at the very start, and has since also signed deals with Novavax.

AstroZenica has worse supply constraints, was part of an EU law suit, and has less efficacy. Australia manufactures AZ domestically and is still behind us when we purchase internationally.

We could have had more vaccines, especially if we went with Sputnik, but there's also the logistics of this. The government, quite sensibly decided to just use a single vaccine provider because logistically that's easier.

I seriously doubt anyone has rested on their laurels, in fact I know for a fact that people have been working incredibly long hours since the start to make this thing work.

Do you think it's a coincidence that all countries which did well early in the pandemic lagged behind the worst hit countries in vaccination rates? 
Opinion Privileges revoked
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over 14 years
Some people in this thread haven't looked at the numbers to see that Oz is JUST BARELY ahead of us on vaccination right now, so talking about the great freedoms of Sydney is ignorant at best (unless it means "freedom to go on a ventilator")

But some people just have a bias that they don't care if 1000s of vulnerable people die so long as they, personally, don't have to wear a mask / care about anything.
and 3 others
Marquee
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over 13 years
Without wading into this debate too deeply, overall the main Western vaccines are relatively close to each other in terms of efficacy and safety. I am not including Sputnik or Sinovac in here.
Yes there are a lot of anecdotes and some genuine cases of side effects including some deaths after vaccinations.  However, if you look at the big picture, they are all very safe overall. And yet, for some reason, some people expect more guaranteed safety from something that prevents deaths or serious health problems, than from something like say driving a car on a main highway (higher death rate per million, apparently, than death rate from a mainstream Covid-19 vaccine). 
We do not manufacture our own here in NZ (although Vaccine Alliance, sensibly, is hoping to do that), and we do not manufacture someone else's vaccine under licence (which Australia does). That leaves at the mercy of supply channels and at the mercy of Govt wheeling and dealing "what to buy at what price and when".  It is harder to coordinate vaccinations with more than one vaccine if they have different storage rules, shelf life after defrosting, and interval betwee n two jabs. 
Yes we were slow to roll out the vaccinations when they first started late last year / early this year. However, the pace has picked up. The recent purchase of oversupply of Pfizer stock from Denmark and from Spain (which would otherwise expire relatively soon, in a matter of some months) was sensible as it was probably at a decent price and it would not be used up in these countries in time.  
More long term data becomes available, and that is how we know that there is a a dropoff in antibody levels after about six months following Pfizer vaccination, while the dropoff after similar vaccines like that by Moderna is much less noticeable. But Moderna (although trialled at the same time as Pfizer and Astra Zeneca) took much longer to get manufactured on a large scale.  People vaccinated with Moderna may not need a booster as early as those jabbed with Pfizer or with Astra-Zeneca.  And yes it makes sense to use a different vaccine for a booster than the original vaccine, but even a single booster with Pfizer is better than none, although not everyone may need it (and different countries adopt different policies for boosters even after examining the same global data).  I am in general happy to wait for arrival of a different vaccine in NZ after we vaccinated most of our population with one type of a vaccine.
All of this paints a picture where we will continue here in NZ being cautious with the borders, will quarantine arrivals, and keep vaccinating locals (or visitors) until we have a very high general coverage before our life looks different than now.  
Personally, I am less worried about getting a mild case of Covid after being well-vaccinated, than I am worried about people getting long Covid syndrome if they are not vaccinated and get infected / fall ill.  I have enough colleagues in the USA and in continental Europe who all know someone who has long Covid and struggles with the consequences. Personal lives, professional lives, all being affected long term although they have recovered. 
Legend
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almost 9 years
There is a Covid thread elsewhere.
RR
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Bossi Insider
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over 15 years

Starting XI
550
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2.4K
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over 14 years
We are screwed now for sure with Taylor quitting (cant blame him) and the club unable to spend a cent on players blaming Covid when we all know its money.
I've already written the season off, just hope we don't get the spoon again.
Opinion Privileges revoked
4.5K
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over 14 years
I've accepted the spoon is most likely, I doubt I'll watch very much; what I hope is that the club doesn't go broke this year (travel/accommodation costs) and there will be another season to look forward to. Who knows whether Talay will just decide to break his contract too if he sees it all being pointless.
Legend
8K
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over 16 years
how about you and Royz just abandon the club and give the rest of us a break. Sure it might be tough this year but true fans dont give up on their club.
and 1 other
Legend
11K
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almost 9 years
Nix return to Welly in January after only 6 games in NSW (2 against a weak looking CCM), plus 2-3 new visa guys arrive around the same time, whole situation changes very very quickly.
and 1 other
First Team Squad
1.3K
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1.1K
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over 5 years
coochiee
Nix return to Welly in January after only 6 games in NSW (2 against a weak looking CCM), plus 2-3 new visa guys arrive around the same time, whole situation changes very very quickly.


That's the assumption though isn't it? Reliant on us actually opening up? I hope you're right.
Legend
11K
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21K
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almost 9 years
WanderingSheep
coochiee
Nix return to Welly in January after only 6 games in NSW (2 against a weak looking CCM), plus 2-3 new visa guys arrive around the same time, whole situation changes very very quickly.


That's the assumption though isn't it? Reliant on us actually opening up? I hope you're right.

I'd say it's simply reliant on 85% plus of Kiwis, over the age 12 getting vaccinated. Achievable aim by Christmas. 

Bearing in mind vaccinated sports teams and the like, could enter NZ with some strict bio security rules, before the full TT bubble is reopened.
Marquee
3.7K
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over 11 years
If the club was worried about finances, they would have brought in a women's team.
Starting XI
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over 8 years
MetalLegNZ
If the club was worried about finances, they would have brought in a women's team.
 Depends how much of it is Nix funded and how much is NZF
Marquee
6.9K
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9.3K
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over 13 years
They wouldn't have brought in Hooper and tried to retain Hamed and Davilla of they were worried about finances either.

I'm looking forward to the season. Low expectations mean I won't be disappointed. 
First Team Squad
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over 5 years
Even without Taylor I think this squad is good enough to challenge for a playoff spot tbh. Expecting some of the younger guys to step such as Waine, Sutton, and McGarry. 5th-9th I see being realistic tbh.
Legend
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14K
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over 16 years
wilbaker
Even without Taylor I think this squad is good enough to challenge for a playoff spot tbh. Expecting some of the younger guys to step such as Waine, Sutton, and McGarry. 5th-9th I see being realistic tbh.

Our defense without Taylor though 
Phoenix Academy
630
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470
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about 9 years
martinb
wilbaker
Even without Taylor I think this squad is good enough to challenge for a playoff spot tbh. Expecting some of the younger guys to step such as Waine, Sutton, and McGarry. 5th-9th I see being realistic tbh.

Our defense without Taylor though 

If we can jag 5-8 points from the first 6 NSW games, then bring in an import CB and CAM in Jan, I think we can be in the running
First Team Squad
2K
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1.3K
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over 5 years
martinb
wilbaker
Even without Taylor I think this squad is good enough to challenge for a playoff spot tbh. Expecting some of the younger guys to step such as Waine, Sutton, and McGarry. 5th-9th I see being realistic tbh.

Our defense without Taylor though 

That will be our main issue but I think Payne can step in and be that dominant figure in defense for us it'll just depend on who partners him if they can be solid. Maybe a year of A-League football under Laws belt will see him kick on this season still very young.

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