The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
“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 The request is on a desk at Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Nasinu will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isikeli Tovilo 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
“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 The request is on a desk at Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nasinu is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Nasinu game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Nadroga runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Nasinu would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
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.
Nasinu spent the window trying to move Isikeli Tovilo on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Sitiveni Tuisese has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Nasinu told Ekene Emmanuel something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Rustam Elomonov is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
Add another name to the list: Tailevu Naitasiri have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Iliesa Rakuka. The answer from Nasinu has not changed — yet.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasinu can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Suva for Taniela Rakariva was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nasinu they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Sitiveni Tuisese has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
“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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kalisito Veikoka 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.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Nasinu are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nasinu is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
20 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Nasinu can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasinu can pretend not to have heard.
Rustam Elomonov 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.
In brief
SquadIsikeli Tovilo falls out with a teammate over standards
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isikeli Tovilo 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.
18 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Faza Al Firdaus has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Tailevu Naitasiri will make the call about Misaele Raju this week. Nasinu have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kalisito Veikoka 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.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
10 combined actions and 6.83. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isikeli Tovilo 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.
16 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
In brief
SquadWords at Nasinu training over how hard people work
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasinu can pretend not to have heard.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Nasinu know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isikeli Tovilo 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.
12 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Position 10 and 5 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasinu can pretend not to have heard.
Rustam Elomonov 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.
“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.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kalisito Veikoka 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
At 20 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.
At 20 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Nadroga defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kalisito Veikoka 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.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
8 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Nasinu can tell you which week it ends in.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 7 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isikeli Tovilo 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasinu can pretend not to have heard.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Rustam Elomonov 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Nasinu know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
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.
At 21 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ilaisa Nakaci 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sakaraia Goundar 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ilaisa Hughes 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Misaele Raju 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.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasinu, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The words a physio says slowly. 23 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.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
Rustam Elomonov 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 30 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.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 37 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasinu can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
Squad6 new faces, and Nasinu are still learning each other
The words a physio says slowly. 44 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 words a physio says slowly. 51 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasinu can pretend not to have heard.
The words a physio says slowly. 58 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Suva have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kelemedi Matou. The answer from Nasinu has not changed — yet.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad28 Dec 2026
6 new faces, and Nasinu are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasinu can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Nasinu would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasinu can pretend not to have heard.
Rustam Elomonov 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Jone Naraba 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Ekene Emmanuel has just signed for Nasinu, and for once the answer mattered.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Praise Chimechetam has just signed for Nasinu, and for once the answer mattered.
Jone Naraba 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.
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Nasinu lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Nasinu training over how hard people work
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Nasinu lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Jone Naraba 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Nasinu training over how hard people work
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Nasinu lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Sailose Tawake 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Nasinu training over how hard people work
35 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Nasinu lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Nasinu will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Nasinu training over how hard people work
42 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Nasinu lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Nasinu will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
In brief
SquadNasoni Mereke falls out with a teammate over standards
49 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Nasinu lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Nasinu will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
56 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Nasinu lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Nasinu will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Nasinu will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Jone Naraba 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Nasinu will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kalisito Veikoka 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasinu can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nasoni Mereke 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.
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.
It is the least glamorous business a club does and the reason seasons do not collapse in February. Faza Al Firdaus is here for the weeks when three men are injured and somebody still has to play.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasinu can pretend not to have heard.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Nasoni Mereke 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“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 Nasinu, and it is not being withdrawn.
Jonetani Buksh 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Emori Ragata, and the manager let it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Nasoni Mereke 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.
Nobody at Nasinu is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Abdul Sahil arrives from Ba with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
A 1‑0 win over Tailevu Naitasiri, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Match12 Aug 2026
Kelemedi Matou wins it after the whistle should have gone
104 minutes played. Kelemedi Matou found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Tailevu Naitasiri went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
The offer from Tailevu Naitasiri for Kelemedi Matou was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Jone Naraba 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.
At 23 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nasoni Mereke 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.
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.
Jone Naraba 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.
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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Manasa Levaci has his answer from Nasinu; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Still no offer on the table, and Taniela Rakariva’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasinu can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasinu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Nasoni Mereke 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Sanaila Waqanicakau has his answer from Nasinu; what he does with it is the next window’s story.