As Wellington Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert tries to put last night's loss to the Melbourne Victory behind him, he will see the fixture list doesn't provide any comfort in the short term.
During their five-plus seasons in the A-League the Wellington Phoenix have always been a tough-tackling outfit and coach Ricki Herbert doesn't expect that to stop in light of the Jeronimo Neumann debacle from last weekend.
Two starts into his positional switch to right-back, Leo Bertos is beginning to feel at home.
If you needed a reminder of what Casey Williams brings to the Silver Ferns she delivered it last night.
While the Wellington Phoenix are unbeaten after the opening three rounds of the A-League the next month looms as the first defining chapter of their season.
Casey Williams has been pain-free for the past two days - that's a long time in her recent experience - and has declared herself ready to start for the Silver Ferns tomorrow night when they meet England in their Quad Series clash in Wellington.
Leana de Bruin jokingly refers to herself as an "old bird", but the 35-year-old Silver Ferns defender says she doesn't need to be rested or rotated any time soon as the Quad Series continues in Wellington this week.
It wouldn't feel like finals time in the ITM Cup unless Canterbury were involved.
Aside from being the two-time defending A-League champions with a great roster and a sharp coach, the Brisbane Roar also have something else going for them - they don't hold any major fears of playing against the Phoenix in Wellington.
Tomorrow is a day off for the Wellington Phoenix but head coach Ricki Herbert will be busy studying.
Wellington ensured they will play their ITM Cup Premiership semifinal at home next week after they knocked over Taranaki 33-17 in the capital this afternoon.
Todd Astle's transformation as a cricketer is nearing completion.
Just who will play in goal for the Wellington Phoenix against the Melbourne Heart at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon won't be decided until the side gets to Australia, although schoolboy Scott Basalaj has the inside running.
Tasman booked their place in the semifinals of the ITM Cup with a 28-19 win over Counties Manukau in Pukekohe tonight.
After losing the Ranfurly Shield during the week, Taranaki took out their frustration on Southland as they rolled the Stags over 47-18 in their ITM match at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill this afternoon.
Being written off across the Tasman has become such a rite of passage for the Wellington Phoenix that skipper Andrew Durante says the club doesn't even use it as motivation any more.
Ardie Savea has been terrorising defences in the ITM Cup recently but he wants to return to the sevens field in time to have a tilt at making the New Zealand side for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
New Zealand all-rounder Daniel Vettori expects to miss the upcoming Sri Lankan series with a nagging Achilles injury, but hopes to be fit for the tests in South Africa over Christmas and New Year.
If you were hoping to read about how Mark Paston and Glen Moss were locked in a bitter rivalry to claim the starting goalkeeper's role at the Wellington Phoenix, the following might disappoint.
For all the off-season action that has taken place at the Wellington Phoenix during the past few months, one player's progress appears to have gone largely unnoticed.