The Hawke's Bay United Courier
Squad19 Oct 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Kosta Sutton
39 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
32 days out for James Colvey after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Hawke's Bay United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market19 Oct 2026
Only the photograph left for Ryan Payne
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ryan Payne will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hawke's Bay United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Real improvement from James De Vries at Hawke's Bay United
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. James De Vries is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
5 academy graduates step up at Hawke's Bay 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
A falling-out at Hawke's Bay United
Nathan Garrow and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
The crowd has taken to Francis Van Hattum
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Market19 Oct 2026
One of our own: Noah Lockyer joins the Hawke's Bay United first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Noah Lockyer 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
One of our own: Matt Kirwan joins the Hawke's Bay United first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Matt Kirwan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
- Market One of our own: Michael Waine joins the Hawke's Bay United first team
- Match Francis Van Hattum the difference as Hawke's Bay United beat WaiBOP United
- Player ratings Christopher Shaw was unplayable