Rugby league player Jai Arrow’s recently announced diagnosis of motor neurone disease has again brought this devastating disease to public attention. Motor neurone disease is relatively rare, with fewer than 1,000 Australians diagnosed each year.

Arrow’s diagnosis has shocked many because the disease is often associated with older adults, not elite athletes in the prime of life. So what is motor neurone disease? Why can it be difficult to diagnose?

And can it be treated? What is motor neurone disease? How does it progress? The disease affects the motor neurones, the specialised nerve cells that communicate signals from your brain to muscles throughout your body.

If these nerve cells are damaged or die you lose the ability to do some of the most basic things that require muscle function – moving, breathing, speaking or swallowing. Damaged or dead motor neurones cannot renew themselves.

So loss of muscle function is permanent. Motor neurone disease has life-changing symptoms that progressively worsen. The first symptoms can appear suddenly. In Arrow’s case he played the full 2025 NRL season, but recently reported changes in his speech.

The journey that each affected person faces after their diagnosis varies widely. This is due to a number of factors, including how progressed the disease is when it’s diagnosed and whether treatment starts early.

For instance, Arrow says he’s willing to be involved in clinical trials and use medication. AFL great Neale Daniher, 2025 Australian of the Year, has been living with his diagnosis since 2013. But most affected people can expect paralysis and death within two to five years.

Who’s at risk? What causes it? Most people diagnosed with motor neurone disease have the “sporadic” form, meaning the cause is unclear. And researchers don’t exactly know why it occurs in some people and not others.

As we see in Arrow’s case, being fit and 30 years old will not protect you. But 5–10% of cases are “familial”, meaning there is a recognised heritable genetic basis. For instance, the first discovered genetic cause were mutations affecting the enzyme SOD1.

Without this functioning enzyme, people cannot process harmful free radicals. There is also ongoing debate about whether repeated knocks to the head can increase the risk of motor neurone disease in some people. Several studies involving professional athletes and contact sports have suggested possible associations between repetitive head injury and motor neurone disease.

However proving one directly causes the other is difficult because many factors, including genetics and environmental exposures, are likely involved. Read more: I’ve seen the brain damage contact sports can cause – we all need to take concussion and CTE more seriously How is it diagnosed?

Why can that take so long? Early symptoms of motor neurone disease are often mild and dismissed. This could be slurred speech or tripping more often than usual on a lounge room rug. People can blame these on being tired or distracted.

But persistent or worsening symptoms may prompt someone to see a doctor. If a doctor suspects motor neurone disease, they need to exclude other potential causes first. Slurred speech could be a symptom of a stroke or Parkinson’s disease, for example.

There is no single test to diagnose motor neurone disease. So it is generally only through referral to a neurologist, then having nerve tests and imaging, that a definitive diagnosis can be made. As this process can take months, it often delays treatment.

This can have serious consequences as the patient’s symptoms worsen and their health deteriorates. Can motor neurone disease be treated? There is no cure. Instead, treatment focuses on managing symptoms, and trying to slow the progression of the disease.

For instance, this may include support to manage mobility, pain, work or eating well. The limited number of existing treatment options do little to change the trajectory of the disease. However, the drug tofersen, which has recently been provisionally approved by Australia’s drug regulator, seems to help people with the specific SOD1 mutation.

The drug meaningfully slows the progression of disease in this small sub-set of people with motor neurone disease. But it comes with side-effects, mainly related to the way the drug is delivered, via lumbar puncture.

How about the future? The more we learn about the underlying mechanisms of the disease, the better able we will be to prevent and treat it in the future. For example, we’re learning more about the involvement of other cells in the nervous system that are implicated in the disease.

These are the glial cells, microglia and astrocytes, which would normally support a healthy nervous system. In the sporadic form of motor neurone disease, these non-neuronal cells convert to a toxic state. So in the future, we may be able to prevent neurones from dying by targeting some of these other cells.

We are also learning more about how chronic (long-term) inflammation involving activation of the brain and spinal cord’s immune system drives how the disease progresses. For instance, our research and that of others is investigating how faulty mitochondria – the energy-producing structures in cells – may contribute to this inflammatory process.

So future treatments may target this pathway. However, for us to test whether any future treatments work, we need to measure how people respond in clinical trials. And experts don’t always agree on how best to do that.

So we have several challenges ahead. But with ongoing research and a focus on early diagnosis, our aim is to turn motor neurone disease from a fatal disease into a manageable one.

Peter J.

Crack receives funding from FightMND and the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Peter J. Crouch receives funding from FightMND and the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/05/22/why-does-motor-neurone-disease-take-so-long-to-diagnose-and-can-it-be-treated/

When famous soccer players come to mind, it is usually revered pioneers such as Pelé, Bobby Charlton and Diego Maradona. Later came Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Samantha Kerr. But who has heard of Jean-Marc Bosman?

A man who changed soccer forever Anyone interested in association football (soccer) or sport in general should know about Bosman. He is responsible for the European Court of Justice’s landmark December 1995 Bosman Ruling (often just called Bosman) that enabled players in Europe to move freely between clubs.

Jean-Marc Bosman, flanked by two of his lawyers, smiles after the European Court of Justice ruled in his favour on December 15, 1995.

STF/AFP via Getty Images This rather obscure Belgian soccer player, who never represented his country at senior level, is arguably as or more important to the world game and some other sports such as basketball than much more gifted athletes.

Elements of the Bosman story echo the late-19th-century feudalism of the Netflix series The English Game. Akin to peasants unable to switch lords and ladies of the manor, professional soccer players in the late 20th century were still forcibly attached to clubs.

Soccer goes to court In 1990, Bosman was at the end of his contract with Belgian club RFC Liège and wanted to move to French club Dunkerque. Sports can change dramatically in the blink of an eye.

Sometimes, these moments create immediate shockwaves. Other times, it’s not until much later that their impact become obvious. This is the second story in a rolling series that explores key (and sometimes long forgotten) moments in sports history.

Read more: Game changers: how one team’s dominance transformed rugby league forever But the clubs could not agree on the mandatory transfer fee and he remained at Liège, outside the first team on reduced wages.

He appealed to the European Court of Justice, which ruled in his favour. It determined preventing athletes from moving freely within the European Union was an unreasonable restraint of trade. This decision dramatically shifted the balance of power between players, their agents and the associations and clubs.

Within the powerhouse Union of European Football Associations confederation (UEFA), recruiting, retaining and remunerating players became much more complicated. Bosman did not create today’s overheated transfer market and hyper-commercialised football, but he certainly fuelled it.

One effect was to exacerbate the enormous financial losses of clubs chasing the best players for inflated sums. This bubble expanded as US private equity firms and Middle Eastern investment funds infused vast amounts of capital into soccer, creating multi-millionaire athletes and loss-making clubs.

UEFA was forced to intervene with financial fair play regulations and, later, financial sustainability rules in an effort to stop clubs haemorrhaging cash. Mobile players, static fans Players soon had to pay a physical and psychological price for their newfound riches as leagues and clubs sought to generate more revenue in a globalised sport market.

To the consternation of their “union” – Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels (FIFPRO) – they were soon required to play more games in more competitions and travel on intercontinental promotional tours. Although centred on Europe, Bosman had a ripple effect across the globe, including in Australia.

While Australian players such as Craig Johnston had long made their fortunes in Europe, the post-Bosman honeypot was especially attractive to the likes of Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Mark Schwarzer and others. Finding long-lost relatives in the European Union sometimes helped with immigration authorities.

One of Bosman’s greatest beneficiaries was the English Premier League (EPL), which was formed in the early 1990s with money from Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. The EPL became by far the richest league in Europe after luring the world’s best (and most mobile) athletes.

The combined transfer value (the estimated cost of buying their entire squads) of Chelsea’s and Manchester City’s 101 players is around A.5 billion. Ironically, the UK’s Brexit threatened to curtail the sport’s labour supply.

But the Bosman mobility template has largely survived. Bosman also had deeper social and cultural ramifications for the relationships between players and fans. The former transitioned from proto-employee to small businessperson selling athletic services to the highest bidder.

This was good for the bank balances of professionals with short, precarious careers. But hometown fans, unlike most athletes, are static rather than mobile in their loyalties. They tend to regard some players as money-grubbing mercenaries, while perhaps hypocritically welcoming big-money recruits from other clubs.

Bosman helped widen the gap between the celebrity player and everyday fan, exposing professional soccer’s corporate-capitalist underbelly and disenchanting many romantics. Soccer culture has changed substantially as a result, dramatically exacerbating the inequalities between apex predator and tiddler clubs.

Those same inequalities are reproduced among players. The still-developing women’s game has seen professionalisation and Bosman-inspired mobility enable some players to prosper in relative terms, while many more still need to supplement their incomes outside the game.

What happened to Bosman? What became of the man whose legal victory was so important to these developments? Now in his 60s, Bosman benefited little from the ruling, ending up bankrupt and divorced, an alcoholic with a conviction for assaulting his partner.

His life is a far cry from those of the many fabulously rich footballers for whom he paved the way. But his impact on soccer is still being felt today. Thirty years after the Bosman Ruling, the Justice for Players foundation served notice of a class action against FIFA, football’s governing body, and several European football associations.

Involving more than 100,000 players, the action seeks compensation for lost income since 2002 attributed to FIFA’s restrictions on player transfers. The similarity does not end there. French player Lassana Diarra sparked the dispute after he was obstructed from moving between Russian and Belgian clubs in 2016.

His lawyer, Jean-Louis Dupont, represented Bosman in his case and is advising the new class action.

This latest development demonstrates the 2020 documentary Bosman: The Player Who Changed Football was not exaggerating – the shock of the Bosman Ruling continues to reverberate around the world game and beyond.

David Rowe has received several Australian Research Council grants underpinned by sociology and related interdisciplinary domains, with the place of the sport-media nexus in contemporary cultural citizenship a consistent area of analytical concern.

Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/05/22/game-changers-how-soccers-mega-money-era-was-sparked-by-a-little-known-belgian-athlete/

Getty Images Real New Zealanders like mowing their lawns. I certainly do. Until I met my partner I thought everyone did. But she and I have strong views on mowing lawns – and they pull in opposite directions.

I’m from the conventional keep-the-damn-things-under-control school of thought, while she’d rather the grass was left to grow, if not to infinity and beyond, then at least to knee height. Lawns and I go way back.

Mostly, I associate them with Dad. Each Saturday he’d don his lawnmowing gear (stubbies, a daggy old tee-shirt of indeterminate colour, towelling hat) and spend an hour or so running the Masport up and down.

There was a narrow strip between our house and the neighbour’s fence, and when he got to that part he would drop the blade a notch and carve out a passable cricket strip.

As soon as he was done I’d be in, armed with a pile of lemons, and remove an entire World XI of the top international batsmen of the time – Viv Richards, Greg Chappell, David Gower – for next to nothing.

Each one of them bowled middle stump or, if I was having an off day, caught behind. None of them ever hit my lemons for six – scratchy singles were all I ever conceded.

But eventually the lemons would disintegrate, or I’d have run through the World XI, the last of them (Imran Khan) out retired hurt, trying to hook a short lemon which got big on him, and I’d wander off looking for something to eat.

After Dad died, I took his shorts, shoes and the Masport down to the bach at Te Whārangi Foxton Beach. The mower was the first to give up the ghost. The shorts went next, more hole than short by the time I reluctantly put them away in a bottom drawer.

The shoes were the last to go. I found that quite hard. Dad had worn them for years, and they were the last of his things in my possession that had been in direct contact with his skin.

I should probably biff them, but for now they’re sitting quietly alongside the new Chinese mower out in the shed. ‘Colonist grass’ Lately, the relationship between the grass and me has begun to shift.

Somehow, the lawn has become caught up in my thinking about the many ways in which the big, nation-building stories of colonisation are entwined with the small ones found in the histories of settler-colonial families like mine.

It seems an odd thing to have happened, but there is no getting away from it: the more I look at it through a settler’s eyes, the more clearly I see Maurice Shadbolt’s “colonist grass”.

The lawn – the “telltale patchwork quilt of European settlement” – arrived in this country with the British. The ones established over here were intended to mimic and to elicit an emotional connection with the ones left behind.

In early Pōneke Wellington, an observer noted, “many of the principal residences [are] standing in a green lawn, with a pretty garden at the back” and this “reminds one of an English villa”. This was by design, not accident; it was both natural and entirely contrived.

Like the introduction of other exotic flora and fauna, pastoral farming and parliamentary government, the laying down of the lawn was one of the ways in which colonisation marked this land. Perhaps not at the very beginning, when most new arrivals would have been busy felling trees, draining wetlands and burning bush.

But once the footholds had been established and life had become a little less precarious, it was time to take up the challenge of civilising the new colonial spaces by reproducing the landscapes of Home.

Time to impose order upon chaos and inscribe empire on the land. Time to cultivate the lawn. Laying down the lawn I didn’t think much about this sort of thing while I was cleaning Geoffrey Boycott out for a duck.

Neither would it have occurred to me to wonder where the grass I was trundling up and down on came from.

I’m not generally given to browsing scientific papers on the composition of New Zealand lawns, but lately I’ve taken to reading studies of what I’ve always thought was a local phenomenon but turns out to be no such thing.

None of the most popular lawn grasses we use in our lawns – perennial ryegrass, blue grass, fescue, meadow fescue and browntop – originated here.

Our lawns are dominated by alien grass species, and there is very little in the way of native grass at all: encounters with settlers didn’t usually end well for the local species, and those that have survived are often regarded as weeds.

Not really grass at all then, but something undesirable. One study of the lawns of Ōtautahi Christchurch reckons that native grasses account for just 13% of all of the lawn species down that way, and 19% across the entire country’s lawns.

I am struck by how similar those figures are to the proportion of Māori in the human population: perhaps the exotic does not much discriminate between Indigenous people and indigenous flora.

And those data mean that I have been waging a never-ending and unwinnable war on behalf of the imports against the indigenes – weeds, insects and the like – which are endeavouring to return our lawns to something resembling the way they once were.

Take your eyes off the insurgents for more than a week or two, and they will be all over you.

Miriam Sharland has smartly suggested that what we call a “weed” is really just a plant that happens to be in the wrong place, or which annoys us because it doesn’t need our help to grow.

What lies beneath The lawn is more than a square or a rectangle or a tangle of angles of grass. It is also an idea that reaches back to an earlier New Zealand.

Its potency has not been diminished by the passage of time – even if its origins, like those of some of the roads we drive on and land we farm, have also been lost, ecological amnesia taking its place beside other forms of forgetting.

Where once I saw simply grass, now, as I fire up the mower, I also glimpse the flickering ghost of the colonial project which carried the lawn to this place. In some places, the soil beneath the crown of green lies uneasy.

The lawns I grew up with in Taranaki are on unquiet ground.

Up that way, and in the other parts of the country where whenua was confiscated from those who were in the way of progress, and then surveyed, converted into sections or farms and sold to Pākehā farmers, the cutting, trimming and general keeping of things under control is a contemporary expression of old patterns of behaviour.

Ecological imperialism is just as imperial as the kinds that rely on soldiers and civil servants. The language of the lawn can grind a little in those parts. We talk of controlling the grass; of keeping things trimmed, cut and tamed.

We keep the section tidy and the grass down. Wage war on the weeds. Stop things from getting out of hand. These are terms of conflict and subjugation, the rhetorical descendants of words my forebears might once have used as they slashed, chopped, felled and burned the native bush.

Cleared the land of obstacles that needed to be removed so that new lives could be built. Invaded people’s villages and tore down their homes. This is also the lexicon used by those who colonise to characterise what must be done to those who have been colonised.

Indigenous people need to be kept in their place just as much as indigenous flora does, and for much the same reason: give them half a chance and they’ll get away on you.

Beneath words of this kind is a fear of what might lie behind or beneath us; of some primeval force that might rise up in the dead of night if we do not keep things buttoned down, neat and tidy, under control.

Of what might come lumbering out of the unknown. ‘Wakefield’s folly’ Moreover, the entwining of soil and finance lie deep in our colonial heritage.

In 1839, Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s New Zealand Company issued the terms of purchase for land in its first settlement, the location of which had yet to be determined but would eventually become known as Pōneke Wellington.

Some 1,100 sections, each comprising one “town acre” and 100 “country acres”, were advertised for sale at £101 per section. The company undertook to set aside 110 sections – or 10% of the total – for distribution among the “chief families of the tribe from which the lands shall have been originally purchased”.

The conditional tense is important, for at the time the lottery took place, in late July 1839, no company official had yet set foot in the new colony and no land had been purchased from Māori.

This did not stop the New Zealand Company from selling 99,999 acres of other people’s land to British land speculators. You can see why former New Zealand diplomat Derek Leask refers to the whole shoddy business as “Wakefield’s folly”.

Edward Gibbon Wakefield, circa 1850–1860. Wikimedia The act of surveying called the section into existence. The section’s rectilinear shape was not an accident but intentional, enabling the attribution of financial value where none had existed.

It was one of the means by which the spatial imagery of an alien West was inscribed upon a way of seeing and inhabiting the world that was already here. And it happened not because the section was, or is, in any sense a “natural” construct, but because this is how you ascribe value to land.

This is how you build a system of private property rights. This is how space is created for some and taken from others. The sale of land – of sections and farms – is what this colony was based on.

Between 1844 and 1864, the Crown paid Ngāi Tahu £14,750 – roughly NZ$2.5 million in today’s terms – for the entirety of Te Wai Pounamu South Island. Take Rakiura Stewart Island (which sold for £6,000) out of the equation, and that amounts to less than a penny per acre.

The land was then on-sold, the proceeds used to fuel the development of the colony.

One North Canterbury block of 30,000 acres went for £14,750, which was both the same price as the Crown shelled out for the whole South Island and fully 1,142% more per acre than the Crown paid Ngāi Tahu.

Now, that’s what you call a capital gain. Grass of empire I still like a good lawn. But it turns out that ours is not just something I mow. These days I’m aware that when I pull on the new boots which replaced Dad’s old sneakers and head outside, I’m doing a bit more than keeping things tidy.

And perhaps I’m overdoing it, conflating the mowing of a lawn with the ongoing effects of colonisation. But I find I’m unable to do the first without thinking about the second. It is no longer prosaic, our lawn, but is its own little piece of landscape, imbued with meanings I’m still learning and stories I’m just beginning to hear.

There is something immersive and interactive going on here; its borders are not where I thought they were. It has ceased to be a space in which I think, and become a place that makes me think.

Of people who are long gone. Of a past which still resonates. Of the knowledge that colonisation is not just about the movement of people and power across time and space. Ideas, too, are instruments of empire.

As is grass and the land it grows on.

This is an edited extract from The Good Settler: Essays from other people’s lands published by Massey University Press.

Richard Shaw does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/05/22/mowing-the-lawn-the-colonial-ghosts-haunting-our-suburban-ritual/

NRL: NZ Warriors v St George-Illawarra Dragons

Kickoff 7.30pm NZT, Saturday, 23 May

Jubilee Stadium, Kogarah

Live blog updates on RNZ

With Tanah Boyd now officially sidelined for the season with a ruptured knee ligament, NZ Warriors must not only settle on a replacement halfback, they must also find another goalkicker.

After a spectacular start to the 2026 NRL campaign, Boyd injured his anterior cruciate ligament early against Brisbane Broncos on Sunday and faces surgery next week, followed by nine months of rehabilitation.

Originally regarded by most as merely keeping the No.7 jersey warm for Luke Metcalf’s return, Boyd’s form was so compelling, it kept the club’s marquee half – who suffered the same injury last year – out of the starting line-up and persuaded him to seek his future elsewhere in 2027.

Veteran utility Te Maire Martin came off the bench and contributed mightily to the Warriors’ 42-12 romp over the defending NRL champions at ‘Magic Round’ and will have first crack as Boyd’s replacement on Saturday against St George-Illawarra Dragons, although Metcalf remains an option beyond that.

Turns out there is also no shortage of volunteers for the kicking chores.

Fullback Taine Tuaupiki immediately stepped into the role against the Broncos, missing his first attempt – a sideline conversion of Dallin Watene-Zelezniak’s opening try – before slotting his next five.

Inexplicably, five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita assumed the job, banging over a penalty from in front of the posts, before converting Watene-Zelezniak’s second try from the sideline.

“I actually just had a little niggle,” Tuaupiki explained, pointing just below his knee. “When you’ve got other good goalkickers in the team and you’ve got a niggle, you can just dish it over.

“We’re all happy to kick and the same would happen if [Chanel] got a niggle, I’d take over from him.”

Until that point, Boyd had taken all but two shots at goal for the Warriors this season, connecting on 70 percent. Veteran Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was allowed to convert a try in his 150th game for the club against Canberra Raiders, while front-rower Jackson Ford was also on target in his 100th NRL appearance against Newcastle Knights.

Across his 19 games for the club over the past two seasons, Boyd had kicked with 73 percent accuracy.

Tuaupiki has kicked spasmodically in his limited first-grade appearances, but that sideline effort against the Broncos was his first miss from 12 attempts (92 percent).

His most memorable goalkicking performance came at 2024 Magic Round, when he converted his own late try for a 22-20 victory over defending champions Penrith Panthers.

Harris-Tavita kicked extensively for the Warriors during his early years in first grade, but hadn’t attempted one since 2024. He has made 65/83 (78 percent) across his career.

“I didn’t know at the time,” coach Andrew Webster reflected on the kicking handover on Sunday. “I thought, ‘What’s Chanel doing?’ but I was very happy when he slotted them over.

“Now we’ve got another headache – we’ve got Chanel who wants to kick goals – so that’s good depth again.”

The kicking ability goes way beyond those two. If Metcalf returns to the starting line-up, he brings a 63/92 (68 percent) return from his 36 games for the club, while centre Adam Pompey proved himself more than useful during the 2024 season and has a 51/68 (75 percent) success rate.

No-one is quite sure who will take the tee first this week.

“We probably haven’t had that discussion yet,” Tuaupiki confirmed. “We’ve got captain’s run tomorrow and that’s when we sit down with the goalkicking coach… we’ll see how we go.”

Meanwhile, the players and staff have supported Boyd, as he comes to grips with his predicament. With his current contract expiring this season, he had reportedly negotiated an extension with the Warriors, but it had not been officially announced before his injury.

“He’s upset,” Webster said. “He’s put a lot of hard work into his game and this club. He’s done a terrific job for us, and he’s done his family and himself really proud.

“He’s gutted, because he’s done all that hard work and will now miss the opportunity, but for a guy who’s gone through what he’s done, I haven’t seen a player go through an ACL and then reconnect with the team so quickly.

“He’s been in our meetings and telling Te Maire, if he needs any reps, he’ll help him with stuff – not physically, but mental reps. He’s been unbelievably good, but you can see the disappointment on his face.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/nrl-nz-warriors-audition-new-goalkickers-after-tanah-boyds-season-ending-injury/

Steve Corica has won the biggest prize in the A-League five times before and should he do it a sixth time it will be a piece of history that brings his journey in the competition full circle.

The Auckland FC coach has been unwaveringly positive in public as the side navigated the long way to the A-League grand final to be played against Sydney FC on Saturday.

Having won a grand final as recently as 2020, Corica knew the mindset and the skillset it took for a club to be crowned the best in the competition.

Corica did not want to claim the “favourites” tag for the first A-League grand final to be played in New Zealand, maybe because the underdogs tag has served the side well at the business end of the competition, but two days before the biggest game in Auckland FC’s history Corica was steadfast in his belief he had the right group to lift the silverware.

“I know my players and what they can produce,” Corica said.

“We’ve been going two years and we’ve won a premiership, a couple of semi-finals, they’ve always performed under pressure.

“There’s probably that added pressure that we didn’t have last week [in the away semifinal in Adelaide], everyone’s going to have their family and friends there watching, but they really have performed well under pressure when we’ve asked them to.

“It’s just maintaining focus, not getting too carried away in the lead up to the grand final.”

Sydney had also had to win an elimination final and a two-legged semifinal to get to the last game of the season.

It took a penalty shootout against the top team in the league for Sydney to lock in a grand final against a side coached by one of their club legends.

Corica was involved in every A-League title Sydney FC has won.

Over 19 years with the club from foundation player, captain, assistant coach and head coach Corica was also on the wrong side of the ledger in two grand finals.

He claimed two championships as a player in 2005-06 and 2009-10; two as a manager in 2018-19 and 2019-20; and was involved as an assistant coach in the 2016-17 season victory.

“It’s a long time in football to stay at one club for that long,” Corica said.

“I loved it there…I’m really proud of what we achieved there but I’m really proud of what we’ve done here as well in the first two seasons.”

Corica said it was “even more dangerous” to be going up against a club that had Sydney’s pedigree in finals but he was driven to win on home soil and make history with Auckland.

“For me just winning a grand final is very sweet.

“They don’t come along all the time, that’s the message to the players, you don’t know when the next one’s going to come, we’d like it to be next year, but who knows.”

Sydney’s current captain and the club’s most capped player of all time, Rhyan Grant, is a one club man who worked with Corica for more than a decade.

“I know the mentality of a couple of the boys that I worked with there,” Corica said.

“Rhyan Grant has been there a long time, he’s been there, done that. He’s scored in grand finals before. He’s a good leader for Sydney.

“So, obviously, they’ve got some experienced players that have played before in finals. We have a couple, but not many.”

Sydney has moved on since Corica was fired in 2023. Ufuk Talay replaced Corica and then Talay was replaced near the back end of this season by new manager Patrick Kisnorbo.

Auckland have never lost to Sydney across two seasons, but Corica’s record against Kisnorbo, who has coached at Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory before taking over at Sydney in late March, stands at two draws and three losses.

“We’ve played Sydney before, we know what they’re about. Obviously, they’ve changed coaches as well, six games ago, and they’re unbeaten under the coach as well.

“It’s difficult, but we have to be positive. The mindset is always positive and to win the game.

“Sydney like to have the ball as well and control the tempo of things, so I’m happy with that if that happens. But we need to have the ball as well and to create opportunities, score goals, obviously defend well as well.”

Corica brought to Auckland one of his former charges from Sydney, Jake Girdwood-Reich, who was part of the Australia Cup-winning squad.

Corica gave Girdwood-Reich his A-League debut in the 2022-23 season and the defender went on to play 45 times for Sydney FC before heading to Major League Soccer in the United States in 2024.

An arrival in Auckland this season has set up a showdown against the club the 21-year-old was a supporter of as a youngster and went through the academy system of.

“I was there for about eight years, grew up there, started my career there. It was pretty weird versing them during the season, but I’m used to it now.”

Girdwood-Reich said it was a “little bit emotional” preparing to face some players he knows well but said “I can’t talk to them this weekend”.

“It’s a little bit weird, but I want to be an A-League champion, so I’m going to do whatever it takes to do that.”

Some of the same players Girdwood-Reich will be avoiding are the same players Corica has a little bit of extra intel on as they were academy players during his time.

Alongside Corica and Girdwood-Reich are Auckland’s director of football Terry McFlynn and head of player recruitment Doug Kors who have both also been involved with Sydney FC.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/football-auckland-fc-coach-steve-corica-targets-sixth-a-league-title-against-former-side/

Experienced sports and major events leader Jennah Wootten has been put in charge of the country’s largest women’s code, with Netball New Zealand (NNZ) naming her as its new chief executive.

Wootten will take up the role on 12 August, taking over from interim chief executive Jane Patterson, who did not apply for the permanent job.

Wootten has been serving as chief executive of Aktive – Auckland Sport and Recreation Charitable Trust since 2021.

She brings experience across some of New Zealand’s most significant sporting events, including as chief executive of the World Masters Games 2017, which featured 28,000 participants.

She has also served as a director of cricket 2021 for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, and played a leading role in delivering the Rugby World Cup 2011 programme in Auckland.

Wootten, who received the prestigious Sport NZ CK Doig Leadership Award in 2024 for outstanding leadership across New Zealand’s sport and recreation sector, said she felt “extremely privileged” to be taking up the role.

“Netball New Zealand is an organisation with an extraordinary community behind it and the Silver Ferns are one of our most beloved sporting teams,” Wootten said.

“My career has been built on bringing people together around ambitious shared goals. I am coming into this role with enormous respect for the netball community and a real desire to keep building this sport. I look forward to connecting with the community and our partners, and working hard to deliver the future this sport deserves.”

Patterson has led the organisation through a period of change since the beginning of the year and Wootten will face plenty of challenges when she takes over.

Last year the organisation struggled to secure a broadcast deal for the ANZ Premiership, the sport’s domestic showpiece. NNZ is still working through what the future of the competition from 2027 will look like.

The financial health of the ANZ Premiership has declined significantly since the league’s inaugural season in 2017. The biggest financial blow came when Sky TV’s broadcast rights offer was drastically less than it had been in the past.

Netball faces a lot more competition from cashed-up codes like rugby and cricket, who are putting new levels of investment into the female side of their game.

Last September, one of the most damaging periods for the sport was set in motion when Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua was suspended due to concerns raised from players about the high performance environment.

Taurua was eventually reinstated, but calls for “heads to roll” at Netball NZ came from many quarters. Patterson was hired as interim boss following Jennie Wyllie’s decision to step down as CEO in December 2025.

Alastair Carruthers, who was recently appointed the new board chair of NNZ, said a high calibre of candidates applied for the role.

“Jennah is an exceptional appointment and we are thrilled to have her bringing her considerable talent and skills to Netball New Zealand,” said Carruthers.

“She has a track record of delivering at the highest level of New Zealand sport, of building commercial and community partnerships, and of leading teams with clarity. We look forward to her leading the organisation into its next chapter.”

Wootten was also an independent director of Perpetual Guardian Holdings and Perpetual Trust, and deputy chair of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, where Carruthers was also a board director.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/jennah-wootten-named-new-boss-of-netball-nz/

Kiwi boxer David Nyika is relieved to have a more tangible fight on his hands.

The Olympic medalist was forced from the ring and thrust into a life-changing battle in 2025.

His fiancée, Lexi Thornberry, was diagnosed with head and neck cancer at just 24.

It would test Nyika like no fight had before.

“It was pretty grim. It was a pretty grim six months. But this is my greatest achievement to date, saving Lex’s life, and I think it will always be up there as a huge achievement for me. It’s a matter of doing all the small things, whether you want to do them or not. Inspiration and motivation are so fleeting, but discipline is where champions are made.”

Thornberry recently finished six months of radiation therapy.

“She’s on the up now. And that has kind of relieved me of a lot of that pressure because I was the rock. I worked really, really hard to make that journey as palatable as possible for Lex. A lot of character building. I feel like I’ve grown up a bit in the last six months. It’s kind of put everything into perspective. I know I’ve got one life to live and I’m going to live it to the fullest and do everything I can to make it a good life.”

With Thornberry’s health improving, Nyika is ready to return.

“It was not the time-out that I wanted but yeah, good to be back.”

Nyika will headline a Duco card on 8 August in an IBF cruiserweight world title eliminator with New Zealand-born Australian Floyd Masson.

Having grown up together in Waikato, the pair share plenty of mutual respect.

“You see guys like Floyd who have worked their way to where he is today purely through hard work and dedication and resilience. I believe I’m a more talented fighter. I like him, but in a way that you want to punch your older brother. I think it’s a fun fight for both of us.”

Nyika is well aware of the threat the veteran possesses, having won the IBO cruiserweight crown in 2023.

“It’s going to be hard, he is such a tough guy and a smooth operator in terms of going to the deep end. He’s fluent. For me , just being myself will be enough.”

It was a tough 2025 for Nyika, who also suffered his first career loss, a brutal KO at the hands of Jai Opetaia.

Nyika said he still regrets entering a fire-fight with the unbeaten Opetaia.

“We just started fighting. But I was expecting him to fade in the mid-round so obviously didn’t make it that far. But I backed myself. I backed my fitness.”

However, the belt Nyika was fighting for that night is now in his sights again, after Opetaia opted to sign with Dana White’s rebel boxing league Zuffa.

He was stripped of the IBF title as a result.

For the number five ranked Nyika, a victory over the number six ranked Masson would guarantee the top IBF ranking and a second tilt at the title.

“It’s funny how it works out, eh?”

Despite his admiration for Masson, Nyika said he will be able to flick the switch and find the finish.

“We’ll put our differences aside on the night and we’ll go toe-to-toe because I know that’s what he’s all about. He loves it. And I love it too.”

Nyika vs Masson

IBF Cruiserweight World Title eliminator

Saturday 8 August, 2026

Eventfinda Stadium, Auckland

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/new-zealand-boxer-david-nyika-on-fiancees-cancer-fight/

All Blacks fullback Will Jordan is back for the Crusaders and he’s daring Chiefs fans to bring as many cowbells as they can carry for what he believes will be a “heated” clash in Christchurch.

The latest chapter in rugby’s unlikely cowbell war kicked off again on Wednesday, when Chiefs boss Simon Graafhuis encouraged supporters to ignore the ban on the noise-making instruments, even offering prizes to successful smugglers.

“We want to see your most creative smuggling efforts. Hidden in jackets, disguised as emotional support equipment, packed in children’s lunchboxes.”

The Crusaders hit back with chief executive Colin Mansbridge threatening to melt any of the noise making instruments they manage to confiscate.

There’s history behind the cowbell beef.

Ahead of last year’s Super Rugby Pacific final, Mansbridge imposed a ban on cowbells from Appollo Projects Stadium and that ban appears to have been extended to their Christchurch’s new Te Kaha Stadium, the venue for Friday night’s clash between the defending champions and the Chiefs.

“We have a melting station set up at each gate and we propose turning any confiscated into scaffolding to take home with them to help them make a roof for their stadium so that they can diminish their jealousy,” Mansbridge said.

Jordan is back for the defending champions after more than a month on the sidelines with a calf injury and the All Blacks star is set to play his first game at Te Kaha, after missing the Crusaders first couple of matches at their new ground.

He doesn’t mind if Chiefs fans get a few cowbells through the gates.

“I’m happy for the cowbells to chirp, yeah, bring them down,” Jordan said.

“I’d like to think in 25,000 seats there’ll be a few more red and black jerseys than cowbells, but you never know.

“It’s all part of it and makes for a great atmosphere. A few Chiefs fans might have come down for a super round, so they might be back again if they enjoyed the experience. Bring it on.”

The rivalry between the two sides is one of the most fierce in Super Rugby, with emotions boiling over in their most recent match, a 43-33 win to the Crusaders in Hamilton in round three.

Referee James Doleman was forced to intervene, giving the Chiefs a stern halftime warning as tempers threatened to spill over.

Jordan is expecting another physical contest on Friday night.

“They always reasonably heated games against the Chiefs,” Jordan said.

“I think back to the likes of Brodie Retallick and those sorts of men who used to love getting stuck into it. So I think it’s always been the nature of this fixture a little bit.

“That’s part of it – two proud teams going at it.”

He said the neither team can afford any ill-discipline at Te Kaha, with both sides hoping to finish as far up the ladder as possible.

“Things maybe got a little bit above board in that game in round three and I thought we did a good job of being able to kind of focus in the second half and I guess harness that energy into something positive.

“The message is look out for your mate but make sure that when it comes to the next task or the next moment you’ve got a pretty clear mind around what you’re trying to do.”

With two rounds remaining before the playoffs the Crusaders are fourth in the standings on 32 points, with the Chiefs second on 45. The Hurricanes top the table on 50 points, with the Blues third on 38.

The top six teams qualify for the finals.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/crusaders-v-chiefs-rivalry-rings-loud-as-will-jordan-welcomes-cowbells/

Five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita will spend at least another year with NZ Warriors, after signing a contract extension through the 2027 season.

Harris-Tavita, 27, is currently on the last season of his current deal and has been exploring his future on the open market, reportedly limiting his availability to just one year.

Since debuting with the Warriors in 2019, he has brought up 102 appearances, celebrating his century against the Dolphins in Wellington this month.

Harris-Tavita became a fan favourite after rupturing a testicle in action during the 2022 season, and stepped away from rugby league the following year to travel the world, returning in 2024.

He played all but one game during the 2025 season – scoring eight tries in 24 games, – and has proved his value to the team during the current campaign, scoring a try double in the season-opening win over Sydney Roosters.

He missed a game with concussion and was then dropped for two more – the Warriors’ only two defeats this season – to accommodate Luke Metcalf’s return from injury.

Harris-Tavita was restored to the starting line-up in the historic win over Melbourne Storm and has become a fixture during the subsequent five-game streak, especially with his defensive abilities.

“There’s so much to like about the way Chanel goes about his game,” said Warriors coach Andrew Webster. “He’s so consistent and, this season, he has been in career-best form.

“Quite apart from his playing role, he brings so much energy to the team through his defence and the way he competes.

“He has been awesome this year and we were very keen for him to stay here.”

In recent weeks, the Warriors have been occupied trying to untangle the logjam in the half positions, with Webster sticking with Tanah Boyd in the No.7 jersey, while trying Metcalf outside him.

Metcalf’s decision to seek a future elsewhere has probably helped the club retain Harris-Tavita, while the Warriors are reportedly close to extending Boyd and veteran Te Maire Martin past this season.

After Boyd’s season-ending knee injury last weekend, Harris-Tavita must now form a combination with a different halves partner. Martin will fill the starting halfback role against St George-Illawarra Dragons on Saturday, but Metcalf may still return to his preferred position this season.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/nrl-nz-warriors-extend-chanel-harris-tavitas-contract-through-2027/

Former Black Ferns Sevens star Michaela Brake is set to return to the side following a stint in league and the birth of her first child.

Brake signed a new contract with New Zealand Rugby to the end of 2027.

The two-time Olympic Gold medallist, had her baby boy Harvey in March this year.

Last year she became women’s Sevens most prolific try scorer with 273 tries.

She last wore the Black Ferns Sevens jersey in May 2025 in Los Angeles where New Zealand was crowned World Series winners for the eighth time.

She then signed a one-year deal with the Warriors to play rugby league, but had her season cut short due to her pregnancy.

The 30-year-old was looking forward to easing back into the Black Ferns Sevens environment in the coming months, but knows she would have to fight for her place.

“The last nine months have been humbling, pregnancy has been a journey and it’s made me appreciate women’s bodies a lot more than I did before. The arrival of my son Harvey has been such a joy and I’m now in a place mentally where I want to come back,” Brake said.

“I love this team and this game so much. It’s been incredibly exciting watching the young talent come through. They’ve stepped up massively this year and I’m so proud of them. But when I come back, I’m going to be that aunty that’s annoying, and I’m going to be fighting for my position.”

Brake expected some “trial and error” as she gets to grips with the demands of Sevens again.

“I now call myself a fulltime mum and a part time rugby player because the well-being of my son comes first, so the fact I’m able to still be able to play rugby and come back to the Black Ferns Sevens is such a privilege.

“I’m very lucky to be in a position where I can come back and to have so much support around me who are helping me along the way.”

Black Ferns coach Cory Sweeney was excited about Brake’s fulltime return to the team later this year.

“Michaela is hugely important to our group, not only for what she brings to the field but also as a positive influence in the way she carries herself and the intensity, focus and professionalism she brings to training every day.

“She has stayed connected with our group, but we’re looking forward to officially welcoming her back to the environment.”

Sweeney said there was no set timeline on her return to play.

“She’s a remarkable athlete and incredibly competitive, but we’ll take our time and manage her transition back into training through the second half of the year.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/sevens-star-michaela-brake-to-make-black-ferns-return/

Mystics star defender Catherine Hall has been ruled out of the rest of the ANZ Premiership season due to injury, leaving her Silver Ferns Commonwealth Games prospects in serious doubt.

Hall could be seen on crutches when the Mystics beat the Stars 57-51 on Saturday to sit third on the ANZ Premiership ladder after six rounds.

Hall had to leave the court late in round five when it looked like she jarred her foot.

The Mystics on the weekend said they were waiting on scan results to determine the seriousness of the injury but the franchise issued an update on Thursday.

Mystics head coach Tia Winikerei said Hall underwent surgery to her foot on Monday.

“As a result of this Catherine won’t play for the Mystics again in 2026. She is recovering well and is in the good hands of our medical staff.

“The Mystics whānau are devastated that she won’t be able to play for the Mystics again this season and we’ve wrapped our love and support around her, she is still a massive part of our team.”

It’s unclear how long Hall will be off her feet.

Netball New Zealand said Hall was currently in rehabilitation with the Silver Ferns high performance team.

“She is working closely with medical staff and is being well supported. Her rehabilitation plan is in its initial planning phase, and we will provide an update when appropriate.”

The Silver Ferns’ selectors are due to pick the Commonwealth Games team on 1 June, in order to meet the New Zealand Olympic Committee deadline.

Hall is leading the league for both deflections and intercepts and was one of the best in the ANZ Premiership. She got her Silver Ferns debut last year and gave a glimpse of what she is capable of on the international stage.

Despite only having a handful of test caps, the national selectors would surely have pencilled the 22-year-old in for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, starting 23 July.

With around two months before the Silver Ferns’ first game against Scotland on 25 July, Hall would be in a race against time.

Leading up to the 2022 Commonwealth Games, shooter Grace Nweke injured her ankle and was named in the team, subject to medical clearance. Travelling and non-travelling reserves were also named but not required.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/injury-rules-catherine-hall-out-of-anz-premiership-commonwealth-games-in-doubt/

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/what-kylie-minogue-learned-from-michael-hutchence-and-nick-cave/

The Hurricanes halfback Ereatara Enari will leave the franchise at the end of the Super Rugby season to join Welsh club Dragons.

The 28-year-old former Samoa international was first named in the Hurricanes squad in November 2024 and has since played 22 games for the side.

Before joining the Hurricanes Enari played for Moana Pasifika and before that the Crusaders, where he was part of five title-winning teams.

He has played NPC for Canterbury and Hawke’s Bay since, winning two titles with Canterbury and the Ranfurly Shield.

He has played nine games for Samoa and featured at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Enari played for the New Zealand U20s in 2016 and 2017.

He said he has loved his time at the Hurricanes, but he’s looking forward to experiencing life in the UK.

“Firstly, I want to say how blessed and grateful we are that God brought Ella and I to the Hurricanes family for the past two seasons. It truly is one of the greatest team environments I’ve been a part of,” Enari said.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling to be leaving an environment that provides such a safe space for both of us and a lot of joy both on and off the field, but we’ve been praying for God to open doors overseas and here we are.

“After 10 years of my career in New Zealand, it’s time for a new challenge in a foreign environment and we are definitely not closing the door on New Zealand for good. It’s such a privilege to serve this team, and the main goal between now and July is to finish the job in front of us for our people.”

Hurricanes head coach Clark Laidlaw said Enari had made a significant contribution to the team.

“Ere is an ultimate team man, hugely selfless, a man that has high values, high work ethic, and is playing some very good rugby,” Laidlaw said.

“He came in a couple of years ago when TJ Perenara left and we were looking for somebody to call on alongside Cam and the team.

“I think the performance against the Blues sums up how good we think he is. We’ve got a huge amount of trust and belief in his ability, and everybody else got to see that on Saturday.

“We wish him and his partner Ella all the best in their next adventure.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/halfback-ereatara-enari-leaving-hurricanes-for-wales/

Auckland FC will play South Melbourne in the inaugural OFC Pro League final.

Auckland beat South Island United 1-0 in their semi-final at Mount Smart.

Substitute Isa Prins headed home the winner in the second half.

South Melbourne beat Vanuatu United 4-0 in the other semi-final.

Auckland’s win mean they qualify for the FIFA Intercontinental Cup as South Melbourne are ineligible because Australian teams are a part of the Asian Football Confederation.

The final is at Eden Park on Sunday.

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Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/auckland-fc-pip-south-island-united-for-place-in-pro-league-final/

A man facing a raft of charges over illegal poker venues in the Auckland city centre has fled the country.

Hai Tu Jason Fang, 26, is the sole director of two companies operating Poker Ape Bar on Vulcan Lane, and Poker Ape Cafe on Chancery Street.

Both venues are now closed.

The Department of Internal Affairs’ (DIA) lawyer Joseph Xulue told Judge David Sharp at the Auckland District Court on Wednesday that Fang was no longer in the country.

He said Fang’s last port of entry was Tokyo, in Japan.

The judge granted a warrant for Fang’s arrest.

Xulue told RNZ that he understood Fang left New Zealand late last year.

Eight charges were laid against Fang in February this year, including those relating to conducting and advertising illegal gambling, and stealing nearly $600,000 dollars from proceeds of gambling.

His four companies, JF Boardgames Limited (trading as Poke Ape Cafe), Ape Bar Limited (trading as Poker Ape Bar), Student Help Limited and Student Help 2 Limited, are also facing charges relating to illegal gambling at the two CBD venues.

Student Help Limited and Student Help 2 Limited are both listed on the Companies Office website with “social assistance or welfare services” as their Industry Classification.

Among Fang’s charges, the highest penalty is attached to the charge of receiving $590,877 net proceeds from gambling activity at Poker Ape Cafe and Poker Ape Bar, without complying with the requirements of the Gambling Act 2003, and the constitutions of Student Help Limited and Student Help 2 Limited.

If found guilty, a person could face up to seven years of imprisonment under the Crimes Act.

Under the Gambling Act 2003, poker games with prizes over $5000 or ticket sales exceeding $25,000 require a Class 3 gambling licence.

Only incorporated societies can apply, and all proceeds must go toward authorised community purposes, or prize costs.

Last December, the DIA disrupted nine alleged illegal gambling venues operating in Auckland, following a series of search warrants.

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Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/20/man-facing-charges-over-illegal-poker-venues-in-auckland-flees-country/