The Hawke's Bay United Courier
Squad19 Oct 2026
Jai Rufer damages knee ligaments — 52 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 52 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Alex Garbett could not have asked for more on his first appearance — 7.83
Debuts are survived rather than enjoyed. This one was enjoyed: 7.83, 1 goals, and a manager already being asked whether he starts again next week.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Liberato De Vries is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Chris Wood 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 Hawke's Bay United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A late step up for Owen Van Hattum
At 29 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
Graduation day at Hawke's Bay United
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Stefan Just runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
Hawke's Bay United supporters have found a favourite in Joe Smith
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Joe Smith 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.
Market19 Oct 2026
Liberato Nelson steps up from the Hawke's Bay United academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Liberato Nelson has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Market Michael Lockyer steps up from the Hawke's Bay United academy
- Market Monty Barbarouses steps up from the Hawke's Bay United academy
- Market One of our own: Bill Barbarouses joins the Hawke's Bay United first team