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Sport Nation's Year in Review: Biggest disappointment of 2024
Sport Nation • December 26th, 2024 7:48 am
With a blockbuster 12 months of sports in the rear-view mirror, what better way to wind up than by reflecting on some of the stellar achievements of one of the most memorable years of Kiwi excellence in recent memory.
Today, the Sport Nation crew cast their vote for the biggest disappointment of 2024.
Stephen Foote, digital producer: NZ Warriors
When you weigh expectation vs its old foe reality, the 2024 NZ Warriors were the most criminal of offenders.
The highs of their resurgence under Andrew Webster became a distant memory as the losses piled up to a degree where their chances of making the top-eight were prematurely plagued by the dreaded age-old adage of "mathematical possibility".
The team which went all the way to the preliminary finals stumbled through the lows of a four-game losing streak, then plunged even further with a humiliating 66-6 demolition at the hands of the lowly Titans to hit rock bottom with a thud.
You can add 2024 to the jam-packed graveyard of 'our years'.
Riccardo Ball, co-host of Mornings with Ian Smith: Blackcaps
Accuse me of recency bias, but when I was asked for the biggest disappointment of 2024 the absolute roller coaster of a year from the Black Caps leapt to mind.
From no-show to shit-show.
The T20 World Cup in the West Indies, where we turned up the play without any warm-up games and proceeded to be dismissed for 75 - by Afghanistan. Then there are the selections to discuss, no specialist wicketkeeper so the gloves are thrown to Devon Conway, a batsman who had just come back from a long-term hand injury. Think about that, take all the time you need.
White-ball hero, Martin Guptill, was sidelined by the coach and replaced by young gun Finn Allen who proceeded to score a total of 35 runs from four innings against giants of the game like Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan, Uganda and the West Indies. Even if you were in the 'Guptill is done' camp, why was Colin Munro not brought in? He's played six seasons in the Caribbean Premier League, the very conditions the World Cup was to be played in, with an average of 35.65 and a strike rate of 128, seemed a no-brainer of selection.
We obviously need to address the English Test series as well - a 'what could have been moment' for New Zealand cricket, with the prospect of another World Test Championship final beckoning.
Loyalty and sentiment are all well and good but they have to be tempered against what is best for the collective. Selecting a 35-year-old "fast" bowler who hasn't taken more than two wickets in a Test match for nearly two years doesn't make sense even if it is his self-ordained farewell series.
Photo: Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Before Tom Blundell tonned up at the Basin Reserve he'd gone 28 Test Innings with just one score over 50, yet is supposedly seen as a specialist batsman. Meanwhile, player of the series in India, Will Young, carried the drinks for the first two matches.
That really is the rub here. A 3-0 series sweep of India in India, something that has never been done before, showed what this team is capable of, compounded by these failures - failures that have to sit firmly at the feet of the team leadership.
Smithy is shocked by Blackcaps' quick demise following historic India Test series win | Sport Nation
Jacob Scott, Afternoons with Staffy executive producer: NZ Warriors
It's never nice to highlight a disappointment of any kind, but unfortunately the Warriors hold that spot.
From top four in 2023 to 13th in 2024, heading into the year with the re-signings of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Chanel Harris-Tavita, hopes were at an all-time high - the sell-outs prove that.
But as we all always say - next year is our year.
Logan Swinkels, digital executive producer: Liam Lawson not getting an F1 seat sooner
The month-long summer break after the Belgian Grand Prix could have been the ideal time to bring in Lawson sooner with Daniel Ricciardo off the pace, allowing the Kiwi driver to gain more time on track with the RB car while looking to prove himself to be deserving of a 2025 seat.
In the end, Red Bull handled the situation poorly for both drivers as they dragged out what seemed like the inevitable to those on the outside - giving the Kiwi just six races with VCARB slipping well down the constructor standings, finishing 8th on 46 points (12 points behind Haas).
But with the recent news that Lawson has replaced Sergio Perez, I’ll move on and look forward to the 2025 season.
Photo: David Buono/Icon Sportswire
What will be exciting is when the next season of Netflix’s Drive to Survive drops – with so many narratives to follow throughout the year, along with a highly-competitive 2024 that didn’t result in Max Verstappen winning almost everything, we could be in for the biggest season to date.
If there’s a Lawson/Ricciardo/Tsunoda episode, it’ll be must-watch.
