The Wellington Phoenix Gazette
Squad25 Oct 2027
Benjamin Halloran damages knee ligaments — 21 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 21 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Tempers go at Wellington Phoenix
Bill Tuiloma 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.
Boardroom25 Oct 2027
Graduation day at Wellington Phoenix
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.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Ifeanyi Eze runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match23 Oct 2027
A bad afternoon for Wellington Phoenix against Sydney FC
0‑2 to Sydney FC, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Alex Rufer gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market25 Oct 2027
Wellington Phoenix promote Josh Hall from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Josh Hall 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.
Market25 Oct 2027
Tyler Martin steps up from the Wellington Phoenix academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Tyler Martin 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.
Market25 Oct 2027
One of our own: Lucas Griffin joins the Wellington Phoenix first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Lucas Griffin 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: Sam Richards joins the Wellington Phoenix first team
- Loan watch Luke Supyk wants to come home
- Squad Fin Conchie falls out with a teammate over standards