31 December 2005 The Knights finish the year well, a great left foot volley from 18 year old Jeremy Brockie earned the Knights a deserved 2 - 2 draw with the rich club of the league. Check out our Knights pages.

29 December Going to be in Auckland on 30th Dec?? A must see is the Knights home clash with Sydney FC, who feature Dwight Yorke. Yorke was a huge star for Man United and he has just helped Trinidad and Tobago qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals. It's an 8pm kick off at North Harbour.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
Thanks to NZ's soccer historian Barry Smith is a summary of Edgecumbe's 1979 season. John Scholtens was the coach. Click here for a look.

7 December Rangers AGM was held tonight. The following positions were finalised: president Barrie Hawkes, secretary Margaret Elliot, treasurer Stewart Sutton, coach for 2006 Jason Pullar. Committee members Aaron Muggeridge, David Dennis, Brendan Cusack, Bas Overdevest. Outgoing coach David Dennis was thanked for his contribution over the past three years. The first meeting for the 2006 season is Wed 1st Feb 7pm.

5 December Reminder of club meeting Wed 7.30pm at the rugby club. Agenda includes sponsorship for 2006. If you're interested in sponsoring, phone Barrie on 07-3222076 or email. Club secretary Margaret Elliot is recovering from a serious injury at the moment. Have a speedy recovery Margaret. Neighbours Whakatane Town have become the third club in the Eastern BOP (behind this one and Awakeri) to have a website operating. It's looking good too. Well done Carwyn.

1 December The Knights grab an away draw at Queensland, well deserved after three weeks of good play. Check out our Knights pages.

21 November Australia have made it to the World Cup finals. Good on them. Hey funny that they beat Uruguay 1 - 0, with Bresciano the scorer, that same as they beat NZ to start their campaign. We are as good as Uruguay!
Rangers are seeking sponsors for next season. Anyone interested email Barrie Hawkes.

5 November Bad news that Rangers defender Harley de Lacy has fractured vertebrae in his back. Fell off a roof! A follow-up club meeting has been set for Wed 7 Dec.
Better news, that teenagers Jeremy Brockie and Kris Bright combined well for the Knights, the dreadlocked Brockie scoring twice after comnig on with 20 to go.

18 October Club meeting on Wednesday 2nd November, 7.30pm at the Rugby Club. Agenda: evaluate the season and plan for next season.

16 October Plains Rangers season officially came to an end with the Prize Giving, sponsored by Four Seasons Whakatane. Awards were presented by Player-coach Davis Dennis and Captain Jason Pullar. Check out the awards to Matt Ward, Mark Thompson, Kirk Bain, Dan Logan, Barrie Hawkes, Aaron Muggeridge & David Dennis on the Honours Board.
The return of Whakatane player-coach Werner Rechsteiner to Switzerland next week will change things around in the Eastern Bay. All the best Werner.

11 October Another disaster for the NZ Knights, losing captain and most experienced player Neil Emblen to long-term injury and the game 3 - 0 to Melbourne Victory.

8 October Kawerau did themselves and Rangers a big favour today, winning the final catch-up game at Whakatane 4 - 0. Kawerau controlled the midfield and put pressure on the home defence which cracked in the second half. Hence the very interested spectators, Suburbs and Rangers, saw Kawerau win the title on goal difference and Rangers finish third. JP, Muggs, Chopper, Bazza and Jerm enjoyed the game for Rangers, with JP showing off his new footwear and trying hard to get in the Beacon's match photos.

3 October The NZ Knights suffered another heartbreaking loss in atrocious conditions, and being on the wrong end of referee's calls, 2 - 1 at home to Adelaide. Check out our Knights pages.
One game to go in BOP div One. Can Kawerau pip Suburbs for the title? Will Plains Rangers keep 3rd place? All will be revealed on Saturday when Whakatane host Kawerau in the last remaining catch up game!!

27 September Kawerau took out the Tasman Cup in an exciting game. Whakatane equalised at 2 - 2 right on full time, then Kawerau grabbed a winner in the last minute of extra time. Whakatane won the Tasman Bowl convincingly.

24 September Rangers break-up Sat 15 October. Who will be player of the year???
The Knights had a heartbereaking loss at home to Perth Glory, despite having the better of the match. Josh Rose smacked one shot into the crossbar and had another superbly saved.

19 September It's a Kawerau v Whakatane showdown for the finals of the Tasman Cup and the Bowl on Saturday. Check out the results.

18 September Rangers had a good win against Te Puke on Saturday, playing attractive football, to win 3 - 1, and climb back into 3rd spot. Bas had a hand in all three goals. Thommo played ping pong with the keeper. Matt Aberhart's last game. Read the report. Meanwhile the Knights had a terrible first half, losing 4 - 0 to Newcastle despite winning 13 corners!.

11 September Rangers made a rapid exit from the Tasman Cup, showing the effects of having played no games for four weeks, losing at Kawerau 7 - 1. Keeper Matt Aberhart may have played his last game for Rangers as he heads back to Matamata. Aberhart has been a fine keeper and will be sorely missed. Read the report if you're a sadist. The action photos are quite good.
Meanwhile, some good news. The NZ Knights had their first win in the A League, 2 - 0 away to the Central Coast Mariners.

3 September A lucky look at the Force Three referees' listings spots that Rotorua City have defaulted today's game, so Rangers are through to play Kawerau in the Tasman Cup next week. Kawerau had a hard fought 1 - 0 win against second div Opotiki today. One Opotiki player was sent off, in an illtempered game that could easily have had several red cards.
The NZ Knights gave the 10,000 home crowd hope when they came back tio level the scores against league favourite Sydney FC last night, through a nice Josh Rose goal. However Sydney eventually took the game 3 - 1.

30 August The NZ Knights were robbed in their opening game in the Aussie A League. A great Sean Devine header was ruled out when the ref thought he saw a foul on the Queensland keeper. Check out our Knights Pages Their first home game is this Friday night, 8pm at Albany.

29 August Rangers next opponents will be no push overs. Rotorua City have been unbeaten in div 2 for the last six weeks, beating league leaders TBC on Saturday.

28 August Rangers are drawn to play 2nd div Rotorua City away in the first round of the Tasman Cup next Saturday.The only all div one game is Te Puke v Whakatane. Kawerau and Whakatane drew nil all yesterday, with Werner hitting the crossbar. Click here for the Tasman Cup and Bowl draw.

25 August No game again this Saturday. Catch up game v Te Puke has to wait as Te Puke have another game v TCU. The Tasman Cup draw should be done on Saturday night.
Watch out for the NZ Knights in their first game in the A League, Sunday 5pm Sky Sports 2, away to Queensland Roar.

22 August Rangers, well several of them, assisted by Pete Sheather, Errol Verstegen, Jeremy Hawkes, Chris, Muggs, one of Matt's workmates and a rare appearance by Richie Nillesen (!) gave Trident a good workout before going under in the second half 3 - 1. A Mark Petersen hat-trick more than cancelled out Thommo's freekick. JP got sinbinned for his goal keeper impersonation and Matt Aberhart impressed with some commited saves in the real goal.

14 August Injuries! Dan and Richie out. Chopper, Harley and JP all playing despite them. Deano almost gets yellow carded before he gets to the ground, as he speeds past the ref on his Harley-Davidson! Kirk sports a mohawk that almost doubles his height! A useless first half, but a better effort in the second ends in a 1 - 0 loss. Read the report.

7 August Injuries to important players, comebacks by Cuse and Jerm, some good football, lots of free-kicks including one disputed costly one, some crunching tackles all added up to a typical derby with Whakatane. Sadly a 3 - 2 loss. Read the report

1 August Check out the action pictures from the win at Te Puke a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to the creative photographer!

31 July A great game of football, thanks to quality play, consistent refereeing and a prevailing sporting spirit, and Rangers got home 5 - 4 in a thriller against Tauranga City. Draws in the other games mean Rangers is now 3rd, one point behind the leaders.
JP distinguished himself by make two after match speeches, one to the visitors then one on his cellphone while the TCU coach was replying! Dan and Dean the goal scoring men! Read the report. Meanwhile the NZ Knights made a horror home debut, losing 5 - 0 in a pre-season cup match against Queensland Roar.

28 July After training, Kirk and Ernst, still upset by Deano's Harley, had their kids' trikes out in the carpark. Brrrrrm brrrrm, brrm brrm brrm brrm. Lucky the rugby boys weren't there to see, but they are out of the competition. Season over.

24 July Otumoetai used their home conditions better than Rangers and took out a 2 - 0 win. Even Deano turning up on a mean 1450cc Harley couldn't bring Rangers a win. JP kept Matt on his toes by putting a great through ball for an Otumoetai striker, but Matt was up to it, clearing the danger with millimetres to spare. Read the report.
Rangers weren't alone. Kawerau were beaten by Te Puke, and the NZ Knights, in their first game of a preseason cup, were beaten by Bling FC (Sydney FC) 3 - 1. Dwight Yorke only scored one!

17 July A hard fought local derby with league leaders Kawerau, plenty of chances and good football ended fair and square in a 1 - 1 draw. We won't mention Chopper's hand ball or Thommo drawing a sprig mark across his face after he went down in the box, or Macca trying to get himeself red-carded after the final whistle. Here is the official report.
A creative onlooker at last week's game at Te Puke has put together an entertaining powerpoint of the game. It is 3.5 Mbites. If you want an emailed copy, contact the webmaster. Thanks Willy!

14 July Plenty of heat in training tonight as the lads prepare for local derby with Kawerau. Kirk's superman cape didn't make him too much of a target. Maybe he was invisible to the other mortals around him. Congratulations to Ernst and wife on the birth of a son on Tuesday.
Check out the crazy answers on our poll / quiz. Add your own!

11 July With Suburbs scoring a late penalty winner against Otumoetai, Rangers are up to 3rd on the table.

9 July Rangers struggled to get a fluid game going at Te Puke, where a steady wind down the pitch affected the game significantly. Richie got booked for dissent when he took a free kick early. Chopper, wearing his new white boots, didn't get booked. Ernst showed that wearing the tightest pair of shorts since the 70s was no handicap, by scoring an injury time winner. Read the report.

4 July Kawerau grabbed the league leader's position, beating second placed Rotorua Suburbs 2 - 0. A comfortable win in the end. Meantime, Rangers, with the bye, dropped to fourth as Otumoetai beat the inconsistent TCU side.

27 June Kawerau's game at Otumoetai was abandoned after 60 min with the visitors leading 2 - 0. Conflicting reports say it was called off because
a) unsafe ground conditions
b) continual infringing of the rules or
c) a more imaginative reason, e.g. Neesie decided to transfer to someone else

25 June Water and mud at Suburbs. Rangers played well to grab a 2 - 0 half time lead and hold on to win 3 - 2 against the league leaders. Deano and Bazza got the goals. No bookings! Read the report.

19 June A game where the wind and rain helped out. An exciting encounter with Whakatane and Rangers both missing chances, leaving a 1 - 1 draw. The sideline crowd entertained themselves trying to guess / influence ref Dave Gray's decisions. Surprise, surprise, Chopper and Werner both got booked.
The only injury was to the linesman, and though there were many among the spectators who felt qualified to do his job, luckily Dave McNally was on hand. Pre-game, Cuse impressed by driving up in his new station wagon, that he'd swapped a remote controlled yacht for, with Bas. Bazza's jandals also got some attention. Here is the match report.

12 June Rangers could not take inspiration from the All Whites excellent showing against Australia, going down 4 - 1 to a powerful TCU side yesterday. A ref's decision opened the way for the home team, but after that TCU deserved their win. Read the report.

5 June Rangers put in a good display, beating Otumoetai 2 - 1. Some good movement up front set up the win and solid defence kept the visitors out. Read the report. See the action photos

29 May Revenge is sweet! Rangers went to Kawerau and did the job. Defections during the week saw Aaron Storey back playing for Kawerau, and Aaron Muggeridge transferred to Whakatane. Harley has a nice lump on his forehead after a clash with "Nessie" Storey. Bas threatens to miss training again this week, after scoring twice. Read the report.

20 May The catastrophic floods that hit Matata yesterday have caused the postponement of tomorrow's home game v Te Puke. Road access to Edgecumbe is blocked, and even if Te Puke came around the long way, Edgecumbe itself has sewage problems. Rangers players like Barrie and young Matt who live in Matata were lucky, their homes unaffected. George Elliot, however, has a huge layer of silt through his section.

17 May Tragedy in Tokoroa, where former Whakatane, Kawerau & EBOP coach & player Mark Cooper, his 8 year old son Liam and a Tokoroa team-mate were involved in a serious car accident. Liam died when a car ploughed into them from behind at 180 km/hr. Mark is in a critical condition. Our sympathy goes to Simone and the other children. Mark used to coach Richie, Harley and Ashley.

14 May The bye gave quite a few Rangers players the oopportunity to watch their next opponents Te Puke play Whakatane today. After Te Puke took an early lead with a lovely one-on-one finish, the game became a benefit for Whakatane player-coach Werner Rechsteiner, who scored all four as his team won 4 - 2.

8 May Rangers were pipped in the final minute, after deserving a draw against league leaders Suburbs. Matt Aberhart back to his best. JP gets the Suburbs keeper to "harbour bridge" a penalty. Richie almost becomes super sub. Bazza gets a warning (!) 'Young' Matt is player of the day. Read the report.

1 May Rangers just needed an ounce of luck in their local derby at Whakatane on Saturday. Last ditch tackles denied Rangers time and again. Matt Ward had some great runs down the left wing, then got booked for colliding with his school mate Sean Henderson! Click here for some cool action photos. Read the report as well.

28 April To show the esteem JP holds his player coach in, Jason has named the junior team he is coaching Whakatane Choppers!!!

25 April A much needed win for Rangers on Saturday. Matt Ward stood in for the injured Matt Aberhart in goal, and earned player of the day. Dan the man scored the goal. Ref Michel Nillesen also dished out three yellow cards to the visitors to add to their woes. Read the report. The boys say "Bring on Whakatane!"

21 April A number of BOP teams are in the 1st round of the Chatham Cup on 7 / 8 May, no doubt postponing their regular league fixture. Te Puke is at home to Taupo, while Whakatane are away to Tauranga Boys College. With Bas Overdevest and Richie Nillesen returning after two weeks absence, the Rangers side for Saturday should be fairly strong.

20 April The league tables are now all up to date.
Ex-Rangers player Ashley Hawkes is getting excellent reviews for his role in the brilliant Irish comedy Milo's Wake being performed at the Dogs Bollix pub in Auckland at present. It's on Tuesday, Wed, Thurs and Sundays for the next five weeks.

16 April Rangers were unlucky to lose to league leaders Otumoetai away. Chopper, played right half, got booked, then went off, giving his boots to Cuse to wear. Cuse squeezed into them, arranging his toes in interesting fashion. Bazza and Thommo also were booked in what was a much improved performance. Read the report.

10 April News that Whakatane lost to Rangers next opponents Otumoetai will be ringing warning bells. Whakatane's women's team opened their season by winning the tournament at Kawerau, taking the final 1 - 0 against TCU. Sad news that the Trident High School keeper broke her arm making a save.

9 April Kawerau grabbed their chances with both hands and took away a 5 - 2 win. Read the report if you're interested!

7 April Ngongotaha have now withdrawn their division 1 team, so the bye is back in! Positive training tonight in preparation for Saturday's local derby v Kawerau.

6 April Young squad members Matt Ward and James Mitchell helped Trident High School to a place in the final of the annual Western Heights tournament over the weekend. Trident lost 3 - 1 to Liston HS, who are one of Auckland's top colleges, in the final. Trident won their seven preliminary games.

3 April Despite a few players being unavailable, Rangers did well in their opening league match, drawing away to Te Puke. Muggsy is leading the golden boot race! Richie damaged himself while crossing the ball in. Read the report!
Best wishes to ex-player Cameron Peat preparing for his wedding shortly. With a groomsman like Bas, the wedding is sure to go well! Bas is well known for his grooming.

29 March Late entries see Ngongotaha take up the bye in BOP Div One and Opotiki enter a second team, in Div 3. The excitement builds for Saturday. Rangers even have two trainings this week!

25 March The draw for the new season is here. Rangers first game is away at Te Puke. It is always a difficult fixture, the home crowd like to make their presence felt. BOP Division One has seven teams in it, creating a bye. Three full rounds will be played, no break for Best Insulation Tournament. The Tasman cup will be played at the end of the season. The second division has 12 teams while the 3rd has seven. This year the women's league is split into two divisions from the start.

19 March A useful preseason game with Te Puke. Coach Dennis opted to try a 3 - 4 - 3 formation. It took Rangers quite a while to settle. They conceeded two penalties to mistimed tackles, with the visitors converting the second one past stand-in keeper Thommo. Matt Ward was very unlucky, beating the keeper after a good touch from Dean Butterworth, but a fullback raced back and hooked it off the goal-line. The very warm temperature took its toll. Rangers 0 Te Puke 1.

18 March Kick off for Saturday's pre-season match at home to Te Puke is 2.30 pm. A hardy ten souls trained in steady rain last night.

12 March Today Auckland City won the final of the first NZFC, with an injury time winner against Waitakere United 3 - 2.

9 March Rangers are pleased to announce sponsorship from Four Seasons Whakatane.
Congratulations to ex-Rangers keeper Rhys Berghuis who has a baby son in his home in the USA.

5 March A couple of "must watches" on TV this weekend. On Sunday at 4pm, our local NZFC team Waikato play the semi final of the championship away at Waitakere. Waikato are big underdogs, but they have beaten their hosts twice this season.
Early Monday morning, 5 am, SS2, watch NZ captain Ryan Nelsen play for Blackburn Rovers against high flying Everton in the English premiere League. Ryan has been in outstanding form lately and was man of the match and captain of Rovers when they won their FA Cup game on Tuesday against Burnley.

24 February Good quality football at training tonight, some good goals scored.
An unnamed team member was labelled a "boy racer" after his car was impounded recently for showing 'insufficient traction' on the road.

6 February Kiwi captain Ryan Nelsen continues to get excellent reviews for his play for Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League. He has now played four games and has grabbed a starting spot.

30 January Scorching hot conditions for today's game, 28 degrees. From this Thursday on, preseason training will be Thursdays 6.30pm at the Edgecumbe Rugby & Sports Club. All welcome. Ph 3222076 for more information.

23 January A fairly good muster of players for the coming season, talk of fielding two senior sides. The usual assortment of characters: Dan the man Logan back from playing futsol in Brazil; Dan "Dutchie" and Ron "Big Daddy" Overdevest had a run but aren't playing; Rick from Birmingham; Muggsy, who's had a haircut; Bas, who hasn't; JP and Aaron Storey who have seen the light from Whakatane; quite a few other hopefuls and finally (by at least 45 minutes) Cuse, who jogged on with a bottle of beer and then complained that running made it go fizzy!!!! Business as usual!

20 January The Kingz are now the Knights, coached by legend John Adshead. Ryan Nelsen good debut, made BBC team of the week! Watch Ryan, hopefully, on Tuesday morning Sky Sport 2 at 8.55am as Blackburn host Bolton Wanderers, see if he earns his $27000 a week! Ex-Tauranga City player Tony Lockhead is offered contract in USA, but trialling in Europe as well.

13 January Rangers first gathering for the 2005 season is on Sunday 23 January, 4pm at Warren Park. Come prepared for a game followed by drinks at Chopper's place and a meeting to sort out directions for the year.

7 January 2005 Good news that NZ captain Ryan Nelsen has signed to play for Blackburn Rovers in the English Premiership. Nelsen is a strong and steady defender, can score goals and should be good for Rovers.

There is lots of fascinating news and trivia from 2004, 2003 and 2002 and beyond. Have a read!

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