Stefan De Vries

Right Back - Waitakere United
20 Dec 2026
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Marked for Stefan De Vries

17 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad23 Nov 2026

The knee: Marco Stamatelopoulos out for 20 days

20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Waitakere United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match18 Nov 2026

Cup progress for Waitakere United

A 1‑0 win over Southern United, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Match18 Nov 2026

Cruel end for Southern United as Waitakere United pounce

There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Waitakere United scored in the 100th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.

Squad23 Nov 2026

7 saves: James Rufer was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Match23 Nov 2026

Waitakere United refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 7 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Market23 Nov 2026

Stefan De Vries asks to leave Waitakere United

“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.

Match21 Nov 2026

Nobody wants to play Waitakere United right now

3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.

The terraces23 Nov 2026

Waitakere United supporters have found a favourite in James Payne

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. James Payne has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Match21 Nov 2026

Waitakere United find a way past Auckland City

Auckland City made Waitakere United work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

In brief

Back issues
12 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad19 Oct 2026

Jai Sutton is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.

Boardroom19 Oct 2026

5 academy graduates step up at Waitakere United

Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.

Squad19 Oct 2026

Stefan De Vries signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Stefan De Vries commits to Waitakere United for another 3 years.

Squad19 Oct 2026

Tempers go at Waitakere United

Josh Damevski 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.

Market19 Oct 2026

One of our own: Callum Sutton joins the Waitakere United first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Callum Sutton is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market19 Oct 2026

Waitakere United promote Oliver Tuiloma from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Oliver Tuiloma has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market19 Oct 2026

Waitakere United promote Callum McCowatt from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Callum McCowatt has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market19 Oct 2026

One of our own: Monty Bell joins the Waitakere United first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Monty Bell is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Squad19 Oct 2026

Time is catching up with Raúl Baena

Everybody at Waitakere United saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 37 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.

In brief

  • Player ratings Ryan Smith was unplayable
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • Boardroom No investment in the facilities at Waitakere United