NUAFC 1968-2018

Northern League Division 2 - Squad Members
1983
JIM BARRY
Goalkeeper. Considered the best keeper in the Waikato. An
angular sort of bloke with a powerful kick that belies the build of his legs:
Extremely fast reflexes and is equally good out in the field.
DICK PLUME
Defender. Short and thick-set. Has a no-compromise approach to
opposing attackers. Brings his dog to matches just in case the referee gets out
of hand!
STEVE WILLIAMS
Defender who would dearly love to play as a striker. Has
become famous for falling over on the field when there is nothing to fall over.
Very good in the air.
BARCLAY McGHIE
Defender with a high work-rate. Has an effective drawl to his
speech that gives the referee the impression that he was not quite "all there"
when committing a bookable offence!
CHRIS BARAKAT
Midfielder who has also had a stint at the back. Skilful ball
controller and distributor who has had a long lay-off through injury. Wellknown
for "different" clothes and hairstyles.
NACHO REYES
Midfielder who told the referee that he would like a 12-week break
from the game. Auckland, so impressed with his flair, reduced it to five.
Mesmerizing ball skills.
IAN PRETSWELL
Midfielder. Regularly puts out the highest work-rate in a game,
due to the prune and licorice tablets taken beforehand! A tenacious player
who does not like the ball being in possession of the opposition.
GRAEME FLEMING
Winger. A dour Scotsman with the ability to be in the right place at
the wrong time. Infallible ball distribution skills and a good turn of pace.
Outstanding at operating Irish Computers.
KEITH MACKRELL
Striker. He is so short that his feet barely reach the ground. A
pacey type with flair and tenacity. Good goal-grabbing attitude. Has formed
his own fan club!
GLEN GRAY
Masseur. Once you've been rubbed down by Glen you know
you've been rubbed down! A bit of liniment in the wrong place and the lads
are prancing, ready for the fray.
STEVE GRAHAM
Midfielder. Had a short stint with the lads but could not solicit much
business for his hairdressing establishment! Returned to Rovers, having
learned all about Mackrell's foibles!
DAVE BLACKETT
Promotions Manager. Always ready to replace Dick Plume at
fullback, mainly because he is the same shape! Also a junior coach. Worked
miracles in getting the Green Machine name well-known 0utside Ngaruawahia.
BEN HENCKEL
Manager. Commonly known as the Danish Cheese. Acted
as Mother and Father-Confessor to the team. Even had to wipe a few noses at
times!
CHAS GORMAN
Manager. Always available as an extra substitute and managed to
sneak onto the field at times! Used this position as a stepping stone to Club
presidency!
KEN HOUSTON
Striker. A go-getter. Loves unleashing a devastating long shot at
goal. Great turn of pace, especially when approached by Dick's dog!
PHIL GIBBS
Striker. Loves to run right through goalkeepers to ensure the ball
finds the back of the net. Spent his allotted time on the sub's bench making
sure no-one got at the magic water.
JOHN STEWART
Midfield/Striker. Plagued by injury but played out each game as a
substitute - becoming exhausted after each game! Deadly striker when
confronted by a goal and a ball.
JEFF TOZER
Utility player who more than adequately fills gaps on the field.
Mostly used as a striker. Runs all day and has a good attitude to football. Has
about a 10% strike rate below the bar and 90% rate above it.
NELSON GRANDONA
Striker with knee-caps appreciably wider apart than his ankles! Has
exceptional ball-control skills that leave many would-be tacklers floundering.
Owner of cheeky chips over goalkeepers!
JASON CARGO
Midfielder. White flecks on his hair are claimed be snowflakes
from the altitude! Theresa says it dandruff! Wins most aerial ballets and has a
lethal shot.
MIKE LIDDLE
Midfielder who loves to get a shot in at the goal A good foil for
Pretswell, and has the same work-rate. Injury kept him out for the best part of th
season. Coaches juniors.
GRANT CARLSON
Striker. Has a good eye for any half-chance at goal. Good future
potential. A quiet gentleman who unknowingly has many female supporters.
JOHN MOHN
Defender. John has a no-nonsense approach to any attacker who
has the temerity to bring a ball any where near him. Sometimes doubles for Jim
Barry in goal a is a dab hand at that too. Has been accused of giving wrong venue
directions to Jim!
MIKE HEAPPEY
Defender. Solid player in the air and a good grasp of the
vernacular! His pass-backs are as entertaining as his attempts at defending!
JOHN McDERMID
Midfielder. Uses hot air to keep referees and attackers at bay! A
mature player who uses his international experience to meld the team
together.
DAVE HALL
Utility and Coach. Knows all the players better than they do
themselves. Gets the best out of players by threatening to sub himself on!
STAT’S
The Northern League saw us any
number of opportunities to experience the
highs and lows of football. Who can forget
the exciting win against Ellerslie (1-0) in the
Country Foods Cup Knockout and the
despondency of losing to Takapuna in the
dying seconds with a goal that wasn't!
On the positive side we shared
the joys of some exceptional goals - Keith
Mackrell's hat-trick against Clendon joining
Nelson Grandonna's superb long chip in
the same match.
Glen Gray’s habit of taking
statistics that year gave us such little gems
as conceding 381 free kicks (128 for offside),
winning 158 corners and conceding 91.
SMART DRESSERS
The season opened with our senior
side being outfitted in blazers and travelling
strip - a smart green and grey combination.
It certainly turned a few heads,
especially early in the season in the Muir
Park clubrooms after Hamilton’s 2-0 defeat
of the Green Machine in an early-season
friendly!
PROMOTION
The seniors gained promotion
from Northern League 2nd Division to
1st Division under the direction of
Dave Hall with admirable back-up from
Bernie Carmody.
PRE-SEASON
The Unicol 5-aside did not
get off the ground this year, after
Narra doing so well in previous years. We
were not accepted into the Rotorua
pre-season tournament but managed
to advance as far as the second round
of the Cambridge tournament.
NACHO MARCHES
A low-light of the season was
midfielder Nacho Reyes 12-day
suspension but this was offset by our
9th and 11th Grades topping their
competitions and Glenys Fraser
representing NZ at the World Body
Building Championships.
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