The Wellington Phoenix Gazette
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
No thanks: Joseph Opoku rejects the move
Wellington Phoenix had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Swansea City, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Bill Tuiloma signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bill Tuiloma and Wellington Phoenix agree another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Rafael Durán 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 Wellington Phoenix this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Brentford tell Wellington Phoenix: Ethan Laidlaw is not for sale
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Kazuki Nagasawa wants to finish where he started
Every long career reaches the week the player starts thinking about the last one. He would like it to be at the club that first put him on a pitch, and Wellington Phoenix now know that too.
Market10 Aug 2026
Craig O'Brien steps up from the Wellington Phoenix academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Craig O'Brien 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
Wellington Phoenix promote Eli Kennedy from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Eli Kennedy 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Mark Bell joins the Wellington Phoenix first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Mark Bell is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Ethan White joins the Wellington Phoenix first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ethan White is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
- The dugout James McGarry gets it from the manager
- Squad 7 new faces, and Wellington Phoenix are still learning each other
- Transfer targets A loan move for Will Murdock is in the works