The Wellington Phoenix are focusing forward as they look to continue their winning start to the new A-League football season. 

The Nix have notched back-to-back home victories to sit top after two rounds, but face away matches against Newcastle and Auckland FC this weekend and next. 

Steve Coleman is an assistant coach of the Nix and he joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to preview the Newcastle clash. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

The Wellington Phoenix are focusing forward as they look to continue their winning start to the new A-League football season.&nbsp;
The Nix have notched back-to-back home victories to sit top after two rounds, but face away matches against Newcastle and Auckland FC this weekend and next.&nbsp;
Steve Coleman is an assistant coach of the Nix and he joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to preview the Newcastle clash.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Join Newstalk ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave as we kick start your Saturday Morning with The All Sport Breakfast.

The All Sport Breakfast

Steve Coleman: Wellington Phoenix Assistant Coach previews their A-League clash against Newcastle

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/a57607fa-ad40-48dd-999b-b4f301658b44/transcript

This weekend marks the final stage of the 2026 New Zealand Rally Championship – Rally Bay of Plenty. 

Jack Hawkeswood has already locked up the championship for the season, but he'll be competing in this weekend's race. 

He joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to preview it. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

This weekend marks the final stage of the 2026 New Zealand Rally Championship – Rally Bay of Plenty.&nbsp;
Jack Hawkeswood has already locked up the championship for the season, but he'll be competing in this weekend's race.&nbsp;
He joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to preview it.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Jack Hawkeswood: New Zealand Rally Driver on securing the NZ Rally Championship title, Rally Bay of Plenty

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/86e548f6-cb71-46b0-be1c-b4f3016d838b/transcript

It was a bit more of a challenge, but a late surge saw the Black Ferns power through to a comfortable 31-12 victory in their second test against France. 

Tonight is their final clash, and the Kiwi side will be aiming to put on another strong performance and end their year on a high. 

Assistant Black Ferns Coach Riki Flutey joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to preview the clash at One NZ Stadium. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

It was a bit more of a challenge, but a late surge saw the Black Ferns power through to a comfortable 31-12 victory in their second test against France.&nbsp;
Tonight is their final clash, and the Kiwi side will be aiming to put on another strong performance and end their year on a high.&nbsp;
Assistant Black Ferns Coach Riki Flutey joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to preview the clash at One NZ Stadium.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Riki Flutey: Assistant Black Ferns Coach previews the final test against France

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/309d5f71-5f86-4a16-aa61-b4f301576f8b/transcript

Something is rotten in the state of... Netball.  

Maybe not as dramatic as it sounds, but the long, torturous, turgid and weighty tragedy that netball has become is vaguely Shakespearean. 

Ali Williams spoke with Heather du Plessis-Allen yesterday around the collapse of the short-term relationship he and Anna Mowbray had with Netball NZ. He said he'd been blindsided by NNZ, who had, by email, walked away from negotiations designed to consolidate and rubber stamp the future of the professional game. 

Their master plan to pump new life, structure, and money into domestic netball had more than stalled – it collapsed.

Long story short, after a chaotic year of bloodletting and unheard-of instability within netball, which resulted in the game being rattled to the core, Williams and Mowbray rode in on white steeds to save the day, offering a feasible way out of the financial mire the game was bogged down in. 

Brilliant. On the surface, it looked calm and ready, but someone dropped bombs, and we kept forgetting that professional sport in NZ lives on a fractured plain, where nothing is a given, nor calm, nor steady. 

As per, NNZ have remained essentially silent, only releasing a short statement around the breakdown, stating that they have "a different perspective on comments that have been reported" but they recognise the confidentiality commitments made between the parties. 

So they won't say a thing, leaving the comments by Ali Williams to hang in the ether for people to make what they will of. There's quite a lot to unpack from his interview, here's my main takeaway.

After eight weeks of negotiation, how could anyone not see that the gap between the two groups around the final make-up of the proposed competition was so vast that it was doomed to fail?

Blindsided is a strong word. Someone wasn't listening, or someone is being economical with the truth.

I just can't work out who... is .... to be or not to be.  

Something is rotten in the state of... Netball. &nbsp;
Maybe not as dramatic as it sounds, but the long, torturous, turgid and weighty tragedy that netball has become is vaguely Shakespearean.&nbsp;
Ali Williams spoke with Heather du Plessis-Allen yesterday around the collapse of the short-term relationship he and Anna Mowbray had with Netball NZ. He said he'd been blindsided by NNZ, who had, by email, walked away from negotiations designed to consolidate and rubber stamp the future of the professional game.&nbsp;
Their master plan to pump new life, structure, and money into domestic netball had more than stalled – it collapsed.
Long story short, after a chaotic year of bloodletting and unheard-of instability within netball, which resulted in the game being rattled to the core, Williams and Mowbray rode in on white steeds to save the day, offering a feasible way out of the financial mire the game was bogged down in.&nbsp;
Brilliant. On the surface, it looked calm and ready, but someone dropped bombs, and we kept forgetting that professional sport in NZ lives on a fractured plain, where nothing is a given, nor calm, nor steady.&nbsp;
As per, NNZ have remained essentially silent, only releasing a short statement around the breakdown, stating that they have "a different perspective on comments that have been reported" but they recognise the confidentiality commitments made between the parties.&nbsp;
So they won't say a thing, leaving the comments by Ali Williams to hang in the ether for people to make what they will of. There's quite a lot to unpack from his interview, here's my main takeaway.
After eight weeks of negotiation, how could anyone not see that the gap between the two groups around the final make-up of the proposed competition was so vast that it was doomed to fail?
Blindsided is a strong word. Someone wasn't listening, or someone is being economical with the truth.
I just can't work out who... is .... to be or not to be. &nbsp;

D'Arcy Waldegrave: The vaguely Shakespearean tragedy netball has become

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/295dce17-0a7e-4a44-8d7b-b4f301534fd1/transcript

Steve Coleman: Wellington Phoenix Assistant Coach previews their A-League clash against Newcastle

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