Marked for Anare Naranayanan
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Jul 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Nasinu waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Lautoka is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market12 Jul 2027
“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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Lautoka
Sairusi Nalaubu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market12 Jul 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Napolioni Verevou 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.
Market12 Jul 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Isikeli Drudru is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Labasa have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Anare Naranayanan 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.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Josaia Cama, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Apr 2027
Poasa Bainivalu damages knee ligaments — 83 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 83 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 ratings26 Apr 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.93, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lautoka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces26 Apr 2027
At 17 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.
Match24 Apr 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Sairusi Nalaubu. 2‑0 against Ba, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Lautoka
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilisoni Tuinawaivuvu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ilimotama Jese, and the manager let it.
Squad26 Apr 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Beniamino Tuyaga and Lautoka agree another 3 years.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Boardroom
Belts tighten at Lautoka
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The dugout
Samuela Sauturaga gets picked when it counts
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Lautoka
Sairusi Nalaubu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Malakai Qaraniqio and Lautoka agree another 3 years.
Market8 Feb 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Tito Naranayanan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sailasa Ratu, and the manager let it.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Shivam Naidu gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Shivam Naidu is on it.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Malakai Qaraniqio trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market8 Feb 2027
11 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Squad8 Feb 2027
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Lautoka has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Saula Matarai is 34, with 1 appearances behind him, and Lautoka will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market1 Feb 2027
$6.0K. Fees like that buy a footballer and rent a debate: every touch will be measured against the number for a season at least.
Market1 Feb 2027
$12.0K from Ba for Atunaisa Naucukidi. Money is money, but the dressing room has lost the man it looked to.
The terraces1 Feb 2027
Lautoka sell a favourite for $12.0K
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Atunaisa Naucukidi was one of the reasons people came, and $12.0K does not replace that by itself.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Lautoka close the window on a squad of their own making
6 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Lautoka
Sairusi Nalaubu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces1 Feb 2027
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Malakai Qaraniqio from Ba for $6.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Lautoka
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilisoni Tuinawaivuvu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
A loan move for Hayyaan Khan is in the works
Lautoka have made the call to Ba. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Ba have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market25 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Lautoka, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lautoka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Lautoka have made the call to Nadi. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Sairusi Nalaubu is on it.
Market25 Jan 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Saula Matarai may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Anare Naranayanan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
The clubs have shaken hands with Tailevu Naitasiri; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Market11 Jan 2027
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Samuela Nabenia is a Lautoka player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Lautoka
Sairusi Nalaubu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market11 Jan 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Josaia Nailatikau is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Lautoka
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilisoni Tuinawaivuvu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Lautoka will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Market11 Jan 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Saula Matarai has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Lautoka.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Zibraaz Sahib has company in his position
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Zibraaz Sahib keeps the shirt for now, at Lautoka's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Zibraaz Sahib
30 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lautoka lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market30 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Lautoka, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad30 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lautoka this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Lautoka training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilisoni Tuinawaivuvu 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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Anare Naranayanan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Sep 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Zibraaz Sahib
109 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lautoka lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market14 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lautoka can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Lautoka
Sairusi Nalaubu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market14 Sep 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Aporosa Jale 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Nickel Bari 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A muscle injury sidelines Senirusi Bokini for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Lautoka will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Zibraaz Sahib
137 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Lautoka lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market17 Aug 2026
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Lautoka have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Lautoka
Sairusi Nalaubu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Ilisoni Tuinawaivuvu 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Lautoka has been clear about where Anare Naranayanan stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market17 Aug 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Leisari Qalica may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.