Like his father, Napier City Rovers defender Kaeden Atkins is a Chatham Cup champion. Video / Neil Reid
Napier City Rovers’ Kaeden Atkins became a Chatham Cup winner at 18, following in his father’s footsteps.
The team, joint third in all-time wins, aim to add to their five Chatham Cup victories.
Kaeden Atkins cherishes contributing to the club’s legacy, inspired by his father’s successful career.
A tiny minority of New Zealand footballers ever get the chance to hold aloft the Chatham Cup.
Even fewer are teens in their first season as a regular starter in senior first-team football in the top domestic levels of the game.
It’s something Napier City Rovers defender Kaeden Atkins achievedwith his teammates in 2019; in writing another notable chapter in the history of the 102-year-old knockout tournament by becoming part of a father-son combination to win it.
Almost two decades earlier, his father Wayne Atkins was part of the victorious Napier City Rovers team that won the Chatham Cup in 2000.
As Napier City Rovers prepare for Saturday’s third-round clash against Miramar Rangers in this year’s edition of the knockout tournament, Kaeden Atkins opened up about what the Chatham Cup meant to him, his family and the club he proudly represents.
Kaeden Atkins is the proud owner of a house he built that overlooks Bluewater Stadium. Photo / Neil Reid
He was aged just 18 when he lifted one of New Zealand sport’s most famous cups, a year on from making his first-team debut and just months after making his first appearance in the starting XI.
“It was definitely special because I was 18 and everyone else was a bit older than me,” Atkins said of the cup-winning campaign he was a part of.
“I was a little bit hard stepping in at the start, but I got into things pretty well and did all right.
Defender Kaeden Atkins stands in front of a framed picture of the triumphant 2019 Napier City Rovers Chatham Cup team hung in the players' tunnel at Bluewater Stadium. Photo / Neil Reid
“It was good to get through all the way to the final. And that was one of the most special and memorable moments for me at the club.”
“And hopefully we can add to it [with future success].”
After watching his father play in the Napier City Rovers shirt for so long, Atkins said it meant a lot to now be contributing in his own way to the famous New Zealand football club’s rich legacy.
“I was always down here when Dad was playing back in the day, and supporting from the side,” he said.
“To then step in and play with the first team has been great. It’s quite cool to say I’ve done that.
Napier City Rovers captain Jim Hoyle – No 15 and one of the survivors of the 2019 Chatham Cup victory – tries to leap for a corner during his side's 3-2 Central League loss to Western Suburbs. Photo / Neil Reid
“He’s won [the] Chatham Cup and the league, so it’s cool to be able to do the same.”
Jack and John Batty are another father-son combination to have won the trophy.
Atkins’ father was among a group of jubilant supporters and family members who celebrated with the team in their changing room after the dramatic 3-2 grand final win over Melville United at North Harbour Stadium.
Kaeden Atkins (right) joins teammates including now coach Bill Roberts (second from left) in congratulating Liam Schofield (left) on a goal during the 2019 Chatham Cup run. Photo / NZME
Also present at the house are three of his teammates, who moved in after the building was completed late last year; Adam Hewson, Harry Mason and Benjamin Stanley.
“I’ve got four players, including myself, that play in this team in the house,” Atkins said.
“It’s pretty cool to play a sport together ... and cook together ... it’s special.”
He joked: “Adam and Stanners [Stanley] are pretty good. Harry’s a little bit dodgy on the cleaning side of things, but that’s all right.”
He is one of four players who remains in the playing group in 2025, alongside captain Jim Hoyle, Liam Schofield and Fergus Neil.
Napier City Rovers midfielder Liam Schofield, (left) and new recruit forward Eric Kostandini Ziu line up a free kick in their side's 3-2 Central League loss to Western Suburbs. Photo / Neil Reid
On Saturday afternoon, the side face Miramar Rangers – who moved up to second place in the Central League after knocking over defending champs Wellington Olympic last weekend – in Wellington in Chatham Cup action.
The match comes six days after Napier City Rovers suffered a heartbreaker of a loss to another Wellington club, Western Suburbs, in Central League action.
After conceding two nightmarish early goals, the Bill Robertson-coached team battled their way back into the match to trail 2-1 at halftime.
Referee Andrew Phillips prepares to give a red card to Western Suburbs' Finn Diamond after a rash challenge which left new Napier City Rovers recruit Jake Williams on the turf. Photo / Neil Reid
Stephen Hoyle looked to have secured Napier City Rovers a point after he levelled the scores with a classy backheel late in the match, by which time his team had enjoyed periods of dominance in the second 45 minutes.
Jonathan Robinson then scored the winner for Western Suburbs in the dying moments, putting the ball into the back of the net in a mad goalmouth scramble after first a teammate and then Robinson hit the posts, as Napier City Rovers defenders stood urging the assistant referee to call for offside.
The result saw Western Suburbs leapfrog Napier City Rovers into fourth spot on the Central League table with seven rounds remaining, with a top-four finish required to qualify for the 2025 National League.
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 33 years of newsroom experience.
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