PHOENIX NOW HAS CLAWS
Both men's and women's senior Phoenix professional football teams from Wellington whose training base is at the Heretaunga sports institute, won their matches today at Auckland's Mt Smart. And both defeated teams at or near the top of their A-League competitions prior to today.
This would have been unheard of in the last two seasons when our women's team was formed and the men had been struggling prior to that of the 2022-23 season.
It is as if the imminent formation of Auckland-based teams to rival the Phoenix club as NZ's representatives in the Australian leagues, is a spur to go so much better this season than ever before. I think the women Phoenix had not won as many games in the league in both past seasons combined as this season which is only in its sixth round.
Meanwhile Phoenix men have never done as well as early as in this season's comp since it was formed 15 years or so ago.
No longer are these teams regarded as walk-overs and they have gained the respect of the Australians including their referees who largely though not completely now treat Phoenix evenhandedly.
The coaching has a lot to do with the new found success of both Phoenix teams - as well as the world class facilities in Upper Hutt. Something by the way that the Auckland Black Knights football teams will lack.
I was at the Tuki Cafe at the sports institute last Friday and this little gem of a cafe is just another reason for the plaudits given to this amenity.
Funny enough, a few weeks ago I had a brief conversation with former economist whizz Gareth Morgan. One of the owners of the Phoenix club, Morgan has some excellent ideas about cats in restricting their opportunities to kill birds. Morgan also wanted Phoenix to loosen its defensive shackles and play an entertaining, attacking style all those years ago. Happy to say that Morgan's ambitions for Phoenix and its supporters came to fruition and these days they play crowd pleasing, goal scoring football.
Moe mai rā, Nicholas.
We're sad to announce the passing of Nicholas Boyack, our Hutt Valley reporter who has long written for The Dominion Post, The Hutt News and Upper Hutt Leader.
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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83.1% Yes
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14.6% No
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2.4% Other - I'll share below
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