Marked for Kishan Sami
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match15 Oct 2029
Lautoka are in among the leaders
Position 2 and 28 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Mpho Molepo is the real thing at 20
A season average of 7.09 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Lautoka know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad15 Oct 2029
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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market24 Sep 2029
“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.
Market24 Sep 2029
Only the photograph left for Aporosa Begg
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aporosa Begg will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lautoka the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Sairusi Nalaubu 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.
Squad24 Sep 2029
53 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market24 Sep 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Lautoka know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market24 Sep 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Netani Suluka may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad27 Aug 2029
Epeli Vunibola: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lautoka have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market27 Aug 2029
“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.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Sairusi Nalaubu 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.
Market27 Aug 2029
He is 19, and nobody at Lautoka signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Market27 Aug 2029
Mervin Chand is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Lautoka has been clear about where Mervin Chand stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market27 Aug 2029
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Lautoka will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market30 Apr 2029
Jordan Weah hands in a written request
“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.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Sairusi Nalaubu 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.
Match28 Apr 2029
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings30 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad30 Apr 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kishan Sami, and the manager let it.
Player ratings30 Apr 2029
5.52 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Mar 2029
28 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad12 Mar 2029
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.
Match10 Mar 2029
Nasinu left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad12 Mar 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sitiveni Cavuilagi, and the manager let it.
Market12 Mar 2029
The name of Sairusi Nalaubu keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Lautoka say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market12 Feb 2029
“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.
Squad12 Feb 2029
56 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market12 Feb 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Simione Sauturaga will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lautoka the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad12 Feb 2029
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.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Isikeli Tovilo and Lautoka agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom29 Jan 2029
Lautoka counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Lautoka now.
Squad29 Jan 2029
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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Mervin Chand 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.
Market29 Jan 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Joela Biuvanua’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Sekove Luma knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sekove Luma trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market29 Jan 2029
Lautoka have made Ahmat Youssouf available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match30 Aug 2028
Cup progress for Lautoka
A 1‑0 win over Navua, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Squad4 Sep 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad4 Sep 2028
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.
Market4 Sep 2028
The name of Tito Qaraniqio has come up in conversations Lautoka were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Marked 8.08 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Aporosa Yada
5 goals and a season average of 7.29 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market4 Sep 2028
The name of Aporosa Yada keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Lautoka say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Jul 2028
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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“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.
Market10 Jul 2028
The name of Aporosa Yada keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Lautoka say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Somebody is after Kishan Sami’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Kishan Sami suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Lautoka have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market10 Jul 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Salesitino Caucau trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Jun 2028
“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 Jun 2028
Navneel Nand: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lautoka have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad12 Jun 2028
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.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.80, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
A performance of 8.69 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market12 Jun 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Lautoka will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Match10 Jun 2028
Lautoka and Suva take a point apiece
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Mar 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Lautoka may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match18 Mar 2028
No end in sight to Lautoka's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Lautoka has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad20 Mar 2028
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.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 16, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 14 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Match18 Mar 2028
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Nadi will be the happier side with the point.
Market20 Mar 2028
The name of Aporosa Yada keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Lautoka say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad13 Mar 2028
Sairusi Nalaubu 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.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
A performance of 8.73 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad13 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Sairusi Nalaubu
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match11 Mar 2028
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Market13 Mar 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Sairusi Nalaubu signs something — a contract at Lautoka or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Hassan Adamu is not enjoying his job description
Played out of position, hooked on the hour, asked to be somebody he is not — the details vary and the mood does not. Lautoka have a player doing his work under protest.
Market13 Mar 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Lautoka squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market6 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lautoka is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
The board have signed the man in the dugout to a longer contract, which says more than any statement of support. Stability is easy to promise and costly to keep.
Market6 Mar 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market6 Mar 2028
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Dave Tuinakauvadra is a Lautoka player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market6 Mar 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad6 Mar 2028
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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Atonio Tuivuna and Lautoka agree another 2 years.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match4 Mar 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match20 Dec 2027
Lautoka up to position 2
33 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad20 Dec 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Robi Darwis asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.