Marco Smith

Goalkeeper - Waitakere United
8 Sep 2026
Tuesday
Process

Marked for Marco Smith

5 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Marco Smith 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 Waitakere United can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Clayton Tuiloma 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Waitakere United

James Nelson 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.

In brief

Back issues
3 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Hawke's Bay United come back empty-handed

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.

Squad

Tempers go at Waitakere United

Joel Obi 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.

Squad

Joe De Vries 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.

Squad

Callum McCowatt stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Callum McCowatt and Waitakere United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Clayton Van Hattum gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

Cameron Smith is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Waitakere United has been clear about where Cameron Smith stands, which is more than many ever get.

In brief

1 Edition

The Waitakere United Sentinel

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A move Shadrack Kobedi would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Shadrack Kobedi is living that version at Waitakere United, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

Joel Obi 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 Waitakere United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Eyes on Stefan Barbarouses again

The phone has started ringing about Stefan Barbarouses again, and this time the name on the line is Southern United. Waitakere United are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

Shadrack Kobedi signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Shadrack Kobedi and Waitakere United agree another 2 years.

Squad

Words at Waitakere United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Joe De Vries 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.

Market

No place for Marco Smith in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Marco Smith has his answer from Waitakere United; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

In brief