Marked for Michael Boxall
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad6 Dec 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Damien Harris and Waitakere United agree another 1 years.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Tommy Boxall 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
Michael Boxall is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The terraces6 Dec 2027
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Tommy Boxall was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.05. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Stefan Tuiloma named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Stefan Tuiloma is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Chris Nelson on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Owen Kirwan, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Apr 2027
Clayton Kirwan 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Waitakere United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Wood 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Michael Boxall and Waitakere United agree another 3 years.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Waitakere United will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Bill Tuiloma has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Waitakere United will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Tommy Boxall knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Waitakere United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Clayton Kirwan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Michael Wood 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
Steady
Market11 Jan 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
The bid was some way short and Waitakere United did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Clayton Kirwan 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.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
Waitakere United asked and Auckland City said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Michael Wood 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Michael Boxall and Waitakere United agree another 3 years.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.51 on the card, and the Waitakere United support went home talking about one name.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
Waitakere United have made the call to Team Wellington. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
Jake Wood left out for the big one
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Jake Wood will call it something else in private.