The Hawke's Bay United Courier
Market17 Aug 2026
Hawke's Bay United turn down Waitakere United for Liberato Tuiloma
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market17 Aug 2026
Eyes on Tim Smith again
The phone has started ringing about Tim Smith again, and this time the name on the line is Auckland City. Hawke's Bay United are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market17 Aug 2026
Chris Cacace puts it in writing
“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 The request is on a desk at Hawke's Bay United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Hawke's Bay United
Bill McCowatt 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Hawke's Bay United
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matt Lockyer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Hawke's Bay United count the cost of losing Ryan Kirwan
55 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Caleb Bennett
“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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Noah De Vries signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Noah De Vries commits to Hawke's Bay United for another 3 years.
Market17 Aug 2026
Kosta Reid is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Hawke's Bay United has been clear about where Kosta Reid stands, which is more than many ever get.
In brief
- The dugout Kosta Reid knocks on the manager's door
- The dugout The manager plants his flag on Francis Kirwan