The Hawke's Bay United Courier
Squad19 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Winston Van Hattum out for 61 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hawke's Bay United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 9 of the 32 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Chris De Vries is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Francis McCowatt has improved at 25, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 4 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Hawke's Bay United
Tim Barbarouses 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.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
Graduation day at Hawke's Bay United
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Match17 Oct 2026
Hawke's Bay United come up short against WaiBOP United
WaiBOP United left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Nobody could get near Winston McCowatt
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market19 Oct 2026
Joe Just steps up from the Hawke's Bay United academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Joe Just 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.
In brief
- Market Hawke's Bay United promote James Sutton from within
- Market Hawke's Bay United promote Noah Tuiloma from within
- Market Owen De Vries steps up from the Hawke's Bay United academy