Big guns await as Kieran Richards and Napier City Rovers eye potential National League grand final spot. Video / Neil Reid
Back-to-back clashes against National League heavyweights await Napier City Rovers in their hunt for glory. Kieran Richards tells Neil Reid he can’t wait.
Midfield dynamo Kieran Richards says Napier City Rovers’ run home in the National League is something to embrace, not shy away from.
Then six days later, they will take on 2023 champions Wellington Olympic – in the fifth spot - in the capital in the final round before whoever the league’s top two teams are meet in the grand final.
Richards – who, along with his younger brother, Ethan, has impressed in his first season in the Napier City Rovers strip – said it was a duo of mouth-watering clashes he and his teammates were determined to rise for.
“As the saying goes, to be the best you have got to play the best,” he said.
Midfielder Kieran Richards has been a standout all season for Napier City Rovers in both the Central League and National League. Photo / Neil Reid
“Auckland City and Wellington Olympic ... they’re the biggest names in New Zealand football apart from the Wellington Phoenix, and now Auckland FC [A-League clubs].
“I back us any day of the week.
“We’ve got a really good team. We’ve got a good back line, Tonners in goal, the midfield is solid and even the forwards ... I don’t wanna boost them up too much ... but they’re all good lads,” he laughed.
“It should be a good test; it should be good fun.”
Napier City Rovers’ rise to the top of the National League points table with two matches to go is an outstanding story of guts, resilience, belief, skill and great coaching.
It’s one that had its beginning on the pitches at Park Island, the reward for all the hard yards the team, expertly coached by Bill Robertson and inspirationally captained by Jim Hoyle, has done for three nights a week in training.
And given the trust and belief that runs through the team, the side has every right to dream big.
Ahead of the final two rounds of the National League, Richards said he was “very proud” of what his team had achieved so far in 2024.
Kieran Richards is no stranger to being targeted for special attention from opposition defenders in 2024. Photo / Neil Reid
The side made the quarter-finals of the Chatham Cup for the first time since 2019, then finished third in the Central League; the latter placing secured them a spot in the 10-team National League.
On a personal note, one of the greatest things Napier City Rovers had done for Richards this year was fully rekindling his love for playing football.
“I’ve been in teams that have taken the fun out of the game a lot,” he said.
“But here, I love it. I actually enjoy coming to training.”
Richards said while he always wanted to “have fun and enjoy” his football, he was incredibly serious about it too.
When Kieran Richards sets off with the ball, he can turn on electric runs up the pitch for Napier City Rovers. Photo / Neil Reid
The former New Zealand age-group representative said as soon as he crossed the white line on game day “all I’m thinking about is, ‘I want to win’”.
Richards has firmly become a fan favourite at Bluewater Stadium for what he has contributed to his side in the Central League, Chatham Cup and now the National League.
That includes using his power and pace to repeatedly set off up the pitch sparking attacks from his own half, in the process leaving flailing defenders in his wake.
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
