Daniel Duvnjak 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 injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Navua next, and one man in the Nasinu dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Mohammed Shaheer 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 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.
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nasinu, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
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.
“I will play as long as the body lets me and stop the day it does not.” He is 34, with 83 appearances behind him, and the club has to plan for a decision that is not yet made.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 4 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Daniel Duvnjak 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.
Nasinu asked and Lautoka said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Nasinu ran out of time with Lautoka. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Nasinu than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Daniel Duvnjak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Melbourne City have kept their man, and Nasinu go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Nasinu will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Raul Chandra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
19 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Nasinu lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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 new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Nasinu have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
26 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Nasinu lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Daniel Duvnjak is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
Add another name to the list: Nadroga have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Shainal Lal. The answer from Nasinu has not changed — yet.
Jone Naraba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anushil Prasad was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Meli Talevakarua is on it.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Maikah Dau on the training pitch
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. Nasinu will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Raul Chandra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Daniel Duvnjak 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Raul Chandra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Daniel Duvnjak and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Nasinu, another week without a signature from Daniel Duvnjak.
Daniel Duvnjak and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Raul Chandra 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.
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. Nasinu will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
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.
He signed expecting a bigger stage than the one he found. It has not taken long, and it has not taken the dressing room long to notice either.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Maikah Dau 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.
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.
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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amani Makoe 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.
Nobody at Nasinu will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
8 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.
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.
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.
Full training, no reaction, and a player who wants to be picked immediately. Nasinu will hold him back a week and he will spend it arguing.
11Edition
The Nasinu Sentinel
12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondentUneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amani Makoe 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 happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 37 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
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.
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.
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.
In brief
Squad8 new faces, and Nasinu are still learning each other
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
Amani Makoe 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 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.
“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 deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 14 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lautoka have kept their man, and Nasinu go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Waisake Navunigasau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Waisake Navunigasau has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Nobody at Nasinu will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
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.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Nadi keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
8 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Ashok Kumar 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 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.
“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.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Savenaca Nakalevu has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Waisake Navunigasau 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.
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 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.
In brief
SquadThe training reports on Emori Ragata are not good
Out, 3‑3 to Tailevu Naitasiri, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
1 on the scoresheet on his first appearance and a mark of 7.55 beside it. Most debuts are got through; this one was enjoyed, by him and by everybody watching it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sanaila Waqanicakau provided it, and the 8.74 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Nasinu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Waisake Navunigasau 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.
A point taken on 109 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Tuimasi Baledrokadroka 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Akuila Hughes 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Beniamino Tiko 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. Abishek Tuisese 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Waisake Navunigasau and Nasinu agree another 1 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Waisake Navunigasau was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Jone Naraba and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
8 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.