The Range - Issue 1 (2015/16)

OFFICIAL MATCHDAY MAGAZINE OF LOADED WAIBOP UNITED Issue 1, 2015/16

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Photo: Photosport.

Sunday, November 15, 2015 Gower Park, Hamilton Kick-off: 4.35pm

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We love goals as much as you do.

ASB Achieving them are successes to be celebrated. And because football is all about goals (and savings too of course) we’re proud to support it at every level. New Zealand Football, Succeed on.

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A Few Kind Words Dwayne Barlow

Today marks the start of Loaded WaiBOP United’s third summer of ASB Premiership football and what an exciting few months we have ahead of us.

The most noticeable change this summer will be the regular addition of Sky Sport’s cameras to ASB Premiership venues up and down the country. Today is our first experience of that, with this match being one of ten WaiBOP United games (six at home and four away) being broadcast live.

With TV coverage comes greater accessibility to local football for both fans of the game and, crucially, casual sports watchers. A larger following isn’t, of course, built off the back of a handful of televised games, but it’s important we put on a good show right from the off and keep the standards high throughout the season.

When I spoke with him last week, WaiBOP United’s Board Chair, Merv Williams, was excited about the new season.

“NZF has done a great job getting the ASB Premiership on TV,” said Williams.

“Now it’s up to us to support their hard work in getting it this far by providing an entertainment product worth watching and worth caring about.”

It’s crucial football fans in New Zealand make the most of the opportunity they have to watch the ASB Premiership, both live and on Sky. We need local fans to come along to our home games, at the very least, to help generate the sort of atmosphere that transfers well to TV. If you like what you see today, bring a mate next time.

One important area in which TV coverage should benefit the franchises, and ultimately the sport as a whole, is by bringing more money into the game.

Commercially, football is still behind other sports in New Zealand and this is our chance to steady the ship a bit.

We’ve already seen something of an effect at Loaded WaiBOP United as we’ve been able to attract a number of quality organisations to the football family for the 2015/16 ASB Premiership season.

Loaded Isotonic Sports Drink are our naming rights partner, with the team now referred to as Loaded WaiBOP United.

We have a host of other partners too, as you’ll see throughout this magazine. It’s important, now, that we prove to these organisations their investment in football is well worth it.

THE RA ANGE E Official Matchday Magazine of Loaded WaiBOP United Editor Dwayne Barlow. Enquiries to dwayne.b@waibop.co.nz Contributors Bruce Holloway, Josh Easby, Football Dad, Photosport, NZ Football.

Images WaiBOP United unless otherwise acknowledged.

Copyright None of the contents of this publication should be reproduced without prior permission.

WaiBOP United Brian Perry Sports House, Wintec Rotokauri Campus, Akoranga Road, Hamilton.

Board Chair Merv Williams. CEO Mark Christie. waibopunited.co.nz 3

From The Dug Out Peter Smith

Hello and welcome to another ASB Premiership season. This is my third season as head coach and one I’m very much looking forward to.

We made steady progress on the field during our first couple of seasons and will be looking to take that extra step this summer. It’s been a long, long time since a team from our region made the play-offs, but that’s our goal for 2015/16.

It will be a real challenge, however.

Every side in the league looks to have strengthened and, with the extra profile brought about by televised games, I think this will be a very competitive season.

We’ve got a host of new faces in our squad, along with more than a few familiar ones, and they’ve worked hard and performed well during the pre-season.

Selecting today’s side will be a tough job!

A big welcome to Matt, his players and staff. Team Wellington performed superbly well last season and, I thought, were unlucky not to knock Auckland City off their perch.

Our two sides had a couple of tight encounters in 2014/15 and I’m expecting the same today as we’ll both be wanting to get off to a good start in front of the Sky Sport cameras.

We attack the Waitakere United goal during our October 31 pre-season encounter at Auckland’s Ngahue Reserve. The match ended 2-2. Bonus points for naming the ex-WaiBOP United players wearing Waitakere red.

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Today We Welcome Team Wellington

We couldn’t really have been handed a tougher test to start the 2015/16 ASB Premiership season.

Team Wellington are one of the favourites for the title this summer, having led the league for long stages last summer. They finished second in the 2014/15 standings and were also extremely unlucky to lose to Auckland City on penalties in the 2015 OFC Champions League final.

They’ve recruited well and look to have a side that will seriously push Auckland City.

So, could this be their summer? Many close to the game would suggest this could well be the case.

Coach Matt Calcott.

Players to watch Team Wellington has a squad full of talented players, but local fans should watch out for a couple of recognisable figures: fullbacks Liam Higgins and Fergus Neil.

Liam was with us for two seasons, and made his All Whites debut earlier this year, while everyone who was there will remember Fergus’ last minute winner in the 4-3 victory over Canterbury United last season.

Also watch out for strikers Luis Corrales and Tom Jackson.

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Football Dad Slicing and dicing

A cold, wet and slimy piece of tomato slapped into the back of Football Dad’s neck.

“Yuck!” bleated Short Podgy Kid. “Mum knows I don’t like tomato but she keeps putting it on my sam’iches.”

A second slice of tomato emerged from the back of the car, followed a curving flight path between the two front seats and landed on the large volume knob on the Blaupunkt car stereo.

“Shooootttt!” screeched Winey Know-It-All. “You nailed it!”

“Yeah, boyyyyeeeee!” replied Short Pudgy Kid, bellowing at the top of his voice and kicking the back of Football Dad’s driver’s seat. “Told you I would hit it!”

The annual pre-season match with Small Seaside Town FC had been a tradition at the club for three decades. Football Dad was not a fan.

It was meant to be a turn-about exercise in which one team would drive the 57.2 km over the hill to face the opposition. For the last three years, Small Seaside Town FC had “struggled a bit finding road-legal vehicles to transport the kids,” according to the junior convenor.

So Football Dad, coach of the 11th Grade team – tradition dictated all grades clash, but it was mainly the older kids – had to take a team across. Again. For the third year in a row.

“If you could keep your tomato to yourself, that would be marvellous,” Football Dad asked politely but firmly, wiping the soggy slice from the back of his neck. “Don’t think your mother would approve of you tossing it around my car.”

Seven kids jammed into the Anonymous

Japanese People-Mover, the Youngest One in the front with her father. “Bit wet over there,” she observed dryly, pointing to the large dark grey crowd dumping rain on Small Seaside Town, 20km away in the distance, down the hill.

“Awesome!” bellowed Short Podgy Kid, enthusiastically leaning forward between the two front seats and staring straight at Football Dad. “The pitch will be really muddy so we will get really filthy! Whoop whoop!”

“Ewwwww…” muttered Skinny Prissy Girl.

“Yuck.”

“Worried your flash pink Nike boots might get dirty?” goaded Whiney Know-It-All. “Fail!”

Football Dad felt the back wheels slide on some gravel around a tight bend. The People-Mover shuddered as he braked.

Raj From India piped up from the back row of the seats: “Mister, mister…I feel like I’m going to be sick.”

More tomato whizzed through the car, this time travelling backwards through the car. Raj From India copped it square in the forehead, from where it slid down on to his notes. He gagged, reached for the electric window button, and leaned his head out of the car.

“Mister we need to stop please,” he asked, gagging a second time.

Football Dad slammed on the anchors off a bend, careering onto the roadside grass.

The car had barely come to a halt, a moment later, when Raj From Indian sprung forth from the vehicle, sprawling to the ground.

Football Dad yanked at the handbrake, and leapt from the car. A football came flying out of the door, followed by another. The second hit Football Dad in the shoulder as Raj From India chundered into a small ditch. waibopunited.co.nz 7

Loaded - d

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The Volunteer Army Josh Easby looks at Cambridge FC’s contribution to the history of WaiBOP United Cambridge’s Volunteer Army get a summer break as WaiBOP United go into their third season as a franchise with a new Waikato base.

The decision to play the majority of home games at Waikato Stadium means television audiences will see football with a backdrop of stadium seating, and at a venue familiar after hosting FIFA U-20 World Cup matches.

For those of us at Cambridge Football Club, the move is bittersweet because our club enjoyed hosting games at John Kerkhof Park for the team’s first two seasons of ASB Premiership.

A few cynics questioned the decision to play games at Cambridge but our ground achieved the league’s second highest average attendances for both seasons, and our volunteers showed how to generate an atmosphere of excitement with spectators crammed around the pitch fences.

It was hard work but our club benefitted from its efforts.

Our profile in the region, and in our own town, has never been higher with WaiBOP United’s 2015/16 Volunteer Team has taken shape, led by Gar Kee Wu, our volunteer co-ordinator. We have students plus juniors from local clubs involved this season. We’ll profile them in future issues of The Range.

A special thanks goes to the volunteers from Melville United for their help during today’s match.

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our club growing by 90 members (to 720) last winter. We won the WaiBOP Club of the Year award in 2014 and were named Waipa Sports Club of the Year and Supreme Winners of the Trustpower Community Services Awards.

We now get the chance to spend a summer as spectators at WaiBOP United games and can recoup our energy after a long (and wet) winter season.

Make no mistake, we’re supporters of WaiBOP United, regardless of where the team plays.

Our club is one of 106 clubs and schools affiliated to WaiBOP Football and we all have a stake in the men’s, women’s and youth teams that play under the WaiBOP banner.

The teams that represent us in the ASB Premiership, ASB Women’s and ASB Youth Leagues are the stepping stones between our clubs and breaking into national teams.

The main obstacle faced by the WaiBOP teams might not be opposing teams – it could be the apathy of our region’s clubs and schools if we don’t collectively support them however best we can.

For two seasons, our club went to extra lengths to get behind WaiBOP United and we’ll find ways to encourage and help the team this summer.

We want our kids to dream of playing for the All Whites or the Football Ferns; watching those who have already achieved that playing for or against our region’s best sides is critical to keeping those dreams alive.

Today’s Venue Gower Park, Hamilton

Today marks the first national league match to be played at Gower Park since March 14, 1997 (if you exclude the White Ribbon Cup Final match of 2012, when Team Wellington beat Waikato FC 6-1 in the one and only iteration of that competition).

Melville lost 4-1 to Waitakere City back in ‘97, and it remains a sobering factoid for anoraks that a home national league team has never won at Gower Park. But Gower Park today is far more suited to national league than it was in 1997, when it became a late-season substitute for Rugby Park, where Melville United played the bulk of their home games.

The most recent upgrades to Gower occurred in conjunction with it being made a training base for the Fifa U-20 World Cup, with new drainage, irrigation and a sand carpet laid in 2013, in the first major overhaul of the playing surface in 20 years.

The park was named after Dr George William Gower (1887-1974), an early member of the Hamilton Domain Board and a prominent surgeon at Waikato Hospital. For many years Gower Park stood as a swamp with little amenity value for recreational activities due to the composition of its soil (deep peat) and it was not until Melville AFC moved there

in 1981, that the transformation from what historically has been described as “a wasteland” to the park it is today, began.

Melville AFC - which amalgamated with Waikato United in 1996 - initially sought to build clubrooms on Gower Park, however council regulations did not permit, so Melville purchased a section on the southwestern corner of the park (on Kahikatea Drive) and for six years had its Lockwood clubrooms there.

Busy traffic conditions on Kahikatea Drive, and concerns of Transit NZ over the entry into the clubrooms, eventually prompted HCC to then insist Melville move the clubrooms to the current site and develop a larger parking area off Alison St. This was a hugely costly exercise, however it was beneficial long-term and over the last 34 years Melville have slowly transformed Gower Park with volunteer labour, in partnership with Hamilton City Council.

Melville has made a huge investment in clubrooms refurbishment, car park development, erection of floodlighting and a public address system, construction of a crowd barrier fence, perimeter hedge, seating, dugouts, paving and changing room upgrades. Plans are now afoot for major clubrooms development over the next few years.

Welcome and thank you to our100 Club Members Cambridge FC, Peter & Tanya Lawrence, Allfast Solutions, Rose Lynn Fashions, Bettle & Associates, DBMM, Davies Foods, Jet Creative, Printhouse, The Soccer Shop, H3 Group, Crombie Lockwood, Ebbett Volkswagon, MTF Vehicle Finance, Media Works, Fairfax Media. waibopunited.co.nz 11

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VW

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The National League Part 1: 1970 to 1990

A national league has been in existence in New Zealand for 45 years, and ahead of a major league revamp in the coming seasons, in the first of three articles Bruce Holloway summarises the first 20odd years of the league structure.

When the New Zealand Football Association introduced the inaugural national league in 1970 it was a groundbreaking club competition across all codes in New Zealand.

This novelty value assisted as the eight original entries of Blockhouse Bay (champs), Eastern Suburbs, Christchurch United, Mt Wellington, Stop Out, Gisborne City, Hungaria and Western Suburbs drew 64,000 paying fans at an average of attendance 1140 per game.

The league was confidently increased to 10 teams a season later. Hungaria forfeited their place to form an entry with Miramar Rangers, to be known as Wellington City, while Mt Albert Ponsonby and Dunedin Suburbs were promoted to form a 10-team league.

A year later Caversham and New Brighton entered and Mt Albert Ponsonby was renamed as Auckland City.

The early 70s was the golden era, and the advent of the league prevented greater player losses to Australia’s Philips League.

The league’s all-time highest attendance was in 1971, when 10,000 packed Newmarket Park to see Eastern Suburbs draw 2-2 with Mt Wellington to clinch the title.

The national league was increased to 12 teams in 1977 and then, more optimistically, to 14 in 1987.

Here in the Waikato, Hamilton AFC lost a desperately tight playoff series to Wellington Diamond United at the end of 1972, but finally made the cut in 1977, when they fielded an exceptionally entertaining team - featuring Keith Nelson, Alf Stamp, and John McDermid.

But in an era where a quarter of the teams (3 out of 12) got relegated each season Hamilton dropped out at the end of 1978, were back in in 1980, 1981 and 1982, but then fell off the map until the late withdrawal of Dunedin City allowed the composite entry from Hamilton and Claudelands Rovers of Waikato United to emerge to considerable effect from 1988 to 1996.

In 1987, in an effort to combat concentration of teams in the major centres, automatic promotion and relegation was scrapped and an invitationonly entry introduced, together with specific entry requirements. These included a minimum number of covered seats, a charge gate and walk-on changing facilities.

Elsewhere controversy reigned. In 1986 Auckland side University, despite finishing mid-table, were dumped and replaced by the league’s first composite outfit Hutt Valley United, in 1987. Mount Maunganui Continued on page 17... waibopunited.co.nz 15

Thank You To our partners for the 2015/16 ASB Premiership

Loaded WaiBOP United is pleased to have a number of quality organisations join our football family for the 2015/16 ASB Premiership season. The companies with ads in this issue of The Range, as well as those shown on this page, plus others, are backing football in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty region.

Scan the QR code to ďŹ nd out more about our partners.

MTF Matamata

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...from page 15 and Napier City joined them in boosting the league size to 14.

Clubs were required to meet entry criteria and had five years to meet the new regulations or risk being excluded.

These requirements put extra financial pressure on clubs, and the demise of Dunedin City — at the end of 1987 — and the expulsion of Nelson in 1988 and lastminute rescue of Gisborne City in 1989 sparked the first calls for a scrapping of the league and replacement with a regional competition.

Nelson United, who finished 13th, were relegated because their ground didn’t meet the required standards.

In 1989, following the report of a taskforce, the NZFA reaffirmed its commitment to the club-based national league, passing a resolution saying the council “... remains committed to a national

club-based league and the continued upgrading of this competition”.

By 1990 24 different clubs had been relegated from the national league, including all foundation clubs except Christchurch United and Mt Wellington - and 10 out of 14 existing clubs were reputed to have financial problems, with diminished spectator support.

Key figures were lobbying for a shorter, more viable competition, though for every team that wanted out, 5-6 still wanted in.

But change was on the way…

Bruce Holloway is author of The National League Debates: A potted chronology of the twists, turns and conflicting ideas in New Zealand football since 1990 a 276-page manuscript which examines the challenges of finding a sustainable format for our flagship competition. Available from: www.nationalleaguedebates.weebly.com

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Meet the Team 2015/16 WaiBOP United Squad

Peter Smith Head Coach Peter Smith is in his third season as Head Coach of WaiBOP United. He took the franchise to 6th in its debut season (2013/14), 5th last season and hopes to go at least one spot better in 2015/16.

Barry Gardiner Assistant Coach

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Neil Mouncher Goalkeeper Coach

Sunz Singh Trainer

Kirsten Laurence Physio

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Graeme Kinney Manager

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Janina Aricheta Physio

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Brock Radich Manager

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02

01 Louie Caunter

Scott Hilliar Defender

Goalkeeper

03

04

Finn Cochran Defender

Adam Luque Defender

05 Adam Mitchell

06 Tom Probert

Defender

Defender

07

08

Mark Jones Midfielder

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Marc Evans Forward

Ryan Tinsley Midfielder

09 Dylan Stansfield

10 Federico Marquez

Forward

Forward

12

Mario Ilich Midfielder

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13

14

Israel Whitley Defender

15

16

James Hoyle Defender

Robert Gallegos Midfielder

17 Stephen Hoyle

18 Alexis Varela

Forward

Midfielder

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20

Wade Molony Midfielder

24

Diego Viera Defender

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Maksim Manko Midfielder

Xavier Pratt Midfielder

21 Brendan Lesch

22 Cory Mitchell

Midfielder

Midfielder

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Zac Speedy Goalkeeper

ASB Premiership Wrap Opening Day

Defending champions Auckland City got their ASB Premiership season off to a winning start last Sunday with a fourgoal second half netting a 4-0 victory over Waitakere United at QBE Stadium.

In the 53rd edition of the Super City Derby, Auckland City enjoyed more possession than Waitakere in the first period but it was Brian Shelley’s side who crafted the best openings as Jake Butler headed wide from six yards while Aaron Scott saw his volley from distance rattle Jacob Spoonley’s cross bar seven minutes before the break.

If their first half was sluggish by their standards in terms of creating goal scoring chances, Ramon Tribulietx’s men

put the foot down in the second period, threatening Waitakere regularly with wide player Micah Lea’alafa the star turn.

The Solomon Islander consistently weaved his way in behind the Waitakere back four in the second period as Joao Moreira opened the scoring with 15 minutes to go, his shot from a rehearsed set piece deflecting beyond the outstanding Simon Williams in goal.

It was cruel for the Waitakere United ‘keeper, Williams having turned Auckland aside with a succession of top draw saves only to then concede three more times in the final stages of the match as Lea’alafa struck twice with Ryan De Vries also on target.

New signing Ryan Tinsley whips in a corner during our October 31 pre-season encounter with Waitakere United at Auckland’s Ngahue Reserve. The match ended 2-2, with Tinsley and Maksim Manko scoring our goals.

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ASB Premiership Standings & Fixtures

2015/16 ASB Premiership Table P Auckland City 1 Canterbury United 0 Hawkes Bay United 0 Southern United 0 Team Wellington 0 WAIBOP UNITED 0 Wellington Phoenix 0 Waitakere United 1

W 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

L 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

F 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

Pts 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2015/16 ASB Premiership Fixture List Date Nov 15 Nov 19 Nov 26 Dec 6 Dec 10 Dec 20 Jan 9 Jan 14 Jan 21 Jan 31 Feb 7 Feb 14 Feb 20 Feb 28

Opponents Team Wellington Waitakere Utd Hawkes Bay Utd Southern Utd Canterbury Utd Auckland City Well Phoenix Southern Utd Waitakere Utd Team Wellington Canterbury Utd Hawkes Bay Utd Well Phoenix Auckland City

H/A Home Away Home Away Away Home Away Home Home Away Home Away Home Away

Venue Gower Park, Hamilton QBE Stadium, Auckland Owen Delany Park, Taupo Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin ASB Football Park, Christchurch FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton Newtown Park, Wellington FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton David Farrington Park, Wellington FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton Bluewater Stadium, Napier Links Ave Stadium, Mt Maunganui Kiwitea Street, Auckland

Result 4.35pm 7.35pm 7.35pm 4.35pm 7.35pm 4.35pm 2.00pm 7.35pm 7.35pm

2.00pm 4.35pm 3.00pm 1.00pm 4.35pm

* Please check for any alterations at www.waibopunited.co.nz/ďŹ xtures

P2P Physio The complete one stop physiotherapy shop in Tauranga for all your injury needs and preventative solutions.

Phone: 07 571 1911. Web: p2pphysio.com.

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Head Coach Peter Smith 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25

Louie Caunter Scott Hilliar Finn Cochran Adam Luque Adam Mitchell Tom Probert Mark Jones Ryan Tinsley Dylan StansďŹ eld Federico Marquez Marc Evans Mario Ilich Israel Whitley Maksim Manko James Hoyle Robert Gallegos Stephen Hoyle Alexis Varela Wade Molony Xavier Pratt Brendan Lesch Cory Mitchell Diego Viera Zac Speedy

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Match Officials Referee C Mills Asst referee M Fisher Asst referee C Watkins 4th official C-K Waugh

Next home game v Hawkes Bay Utd Thursday Nov 26 7.35pm Owen Delany Park, Taupo

Head Coach Matt Calcott Scott Basalaj Liam Higgins Steven Gulley Anthony Hobbs Bill Robertson Chris Bale Leonardo Villa Cole Peverley Tom Jackson Luis Corrales Mario Marcia Andy Bevan Alex Feneridis Billy Scott Ben Harris Fergus Neil Saul Halpin

Alex Carr

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