The Hawke's Bay United Courier
Squad21 Dec 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Ryan Nelson
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Hawke's Bay United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match19 Dec 2026
Nowhere to hide for Hawke's Bay United
1‑4 against Auckland City, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Boardroom21 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Hawke's Bay United dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad21 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Bill Singh
“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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Hawke's Bay United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. James Lockyer 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A long afternoon for Callum Tuiloma
Beaten 4 times, with 5 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
In brief
- Player ratings Off the bench and decisive: Noah Nelson
- Market Hawke's Bay United put Bill Singh up for sale
- Player ratings Jai Just runs at them all day