Marked for Jitoko Vulava
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom13 Nov 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Labasa
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
This is not rotation. Sailimone Ravonokula has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Labasa is pretending otherwise.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Words exchanged at Labasa
Nemani Dolodai and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Words at Labasa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samuel Navoce is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Nemani Dolodai is on it.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Joji Vuakaca
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Market13 Nov 2028
The Aporosa Yada talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Labasa know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad13 Nov 2028
He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Labasa lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom24 Jul 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Labasa
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Netani Suluka breaks a bone — 33 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market24 Jul 2028
Kartik Sharma has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Labasa they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Labasa have done the hard part with Rewa, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Labasa
Nemani Dolodai was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rewa have kept their man, and Labasa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Eparama Moraica has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Labasa is pretending otherwise.
Squad24 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Labasa
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sailose Tawake was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Nemani Dolodai is on it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Jul 2028
A fracture rules Netani Suluka out for 47 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Labasa will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match10 Jul 2028
Full time on the season at Labasa
Position 10 on 14 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Match8 Jul 2028
7 matches without a win for Labasa
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Labasa are no longer polite ones.
Market10 Jul 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad10 Jul 2028
A falling-out at Labasa
Nemani Dolodai and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom10 Jul 2028
The numbers do not look good at Labasa
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
The dugout10 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Samuel Navoce has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Labasa is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
Labasa asked and Lautoka said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match8 Jul 2028
Labasa come up short against Ba
Ba left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces5 Jun 2028
Supporters organise against the Labasa board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Match3 Jun 2028
Chastening afternoon for Labasa
A 0‑3 beating by Lautoka was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market5 Jun 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Labasa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets5 Jun 2028
The deal with Suva is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Words exchanged at Labasa
Nemani Dolodai and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Sahil Deo has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Labasa is pretending otherwise.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Words at Labasa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Akeimi Ralulu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
In brief
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
-
Squad
A place in the month's best eleven for Aporosa Yada
-
The dugout
When it matters, Aporosa Yada plays
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match27 May 2028
The 87th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Aporosa Yada decided nobody was going anywhere. Navua had no time left to answer.
Boardroom29 May 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Labasa
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market29 May 2028
Sahil Deo hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Labasa can pretend not to have heard.
Market29 May 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Labasa is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad29 May 2028
Tempers go at Labasa
Nemani Dolodai was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match27 May 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Aporosa Yada. 1‑0 against Navua, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout29 May 2028
This is not rotation. Eparama Moraica has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Labasa is pretending otherwise.
Player ratings29 May 2028
Marked 8.16 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad29 May 2028
A row about effort at Labasa
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aporosa Yada was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market1 May 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Labasa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom1 May 2028
Pressure builds in the Labasa boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
The dugout1 May 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match29 Apr 2028
No end in sight to Labasa's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Labasa has to find a result from somewhere.
Market1 May 2028
Kartik Sharma has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Labasa they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad1 May 2028
Words exchanged at Labasa
Lebogang Mokotjo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match29 Apr 2028
Nadi take the points off Labasa
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout1 May 2028
This is not rotation. Eparama Moraica has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Labasa is pretending otherwise.
Squad1 May 2028
Ilaisa Vulimainavuso falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces10 Apr 2028
Supporters organise against the Labasa board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market10 Apr 2028
Jitoko Vulava hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Labasa can pretend not to have heard.
Match8 Apr 2028
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Sailose Tawake falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words exchanged at Labasa
Nemani Dolodai and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Alipate Sauturaga to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sitiveni Rakai, and the manager let it.
Market10 Apr 2028
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Labasa has been clear about where Simione Ragoneturaga stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
Iliesa Lino is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Alipate Sauturaga has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words exchanged at Labasa
Aporosa Yada and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad6 Dec 2027
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
This is not rotation. Netani Suluka has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Labasa is pretending otherwise.
Squad6 Dec 2027
A row about effort at Labasa
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Akeimi Ralulu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
Lebogang Mokotjo loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Lebogang Mokotjo's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
Samuel Navoce knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Samuel Navoce trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market6 Dec 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Aporosa Yada’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces30 Aug 2027
Supporters organise against the Labasa board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market30 Aug 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Labasa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
Pressure builds in the Labasa boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market30 Aug 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Nasinu waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Labasa is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Labasa
Akeimi Ralulu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Suva have kept their man, and Labasa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Labasa
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aporosa Yada was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad30 Aug 2027
6 Labasa players away with their countries
The training ground goes quiet for a fortnight. 6 men have gone off to be somebody else’s players, and the manager is left with the ones nobody has called.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
Labasa have made the call to Rewa. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces2 Aug 2027
Supporters organise against the Labasa board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Labasa
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Aporosa Yada in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Labasa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nemani Dolodai and Labasa agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Suva have kept their man, and Labasa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market2 Aug 2027
The name of Kartik Sharma has come up in conversations Labasa were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Ilaisa Vulimainavuso falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Sitiveni Rakai slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Sitiveni Rakai is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Market2 Aug 2027
Sahil Deo is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Labasa has been clear about where Sahil Deo stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces5 Jul 2027
Supporters organise against the Labasa board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad5 Jul 2027
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market5 Jul 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Tailevu Naitasiri waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Labasa is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market5 Jul 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
Jitoko Vulava: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Labasa have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match3 Jul 2027
A bad afternoon for Labasa against Nadi
1‑2 to Nadi, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad5 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Labasa
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Akeimi Ralulu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market5 Jul 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Labasa, another week without a signature from Joji Vuakaca.