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Year in Review: Fearless prediction for 2025
Sport Nation • January 1st, 2025 7:25 am
Photo: Shane Wenzlick/Photosport
Having reflected on some of the greatest achievements from a stellar 12 months of Kiwi sport, the team take a look into their crystal balls with some bold forecasts for 2025.
Riccardo Ball, co-host of Studs Up! and Mornings with Ian Smith: Auckland FC win A-League Men
I thought long and hard about this and after considering Joe Parker becoming a World Champion Heavyweight again, or Carlos Ulberg making the UFC Light Heavyweight belt his own, in the end, I landed on a quite different black and blue.
In their debut season, Auckland FC have thrown the marker down already, breaking records for clean sheets and win streaks, and they have multiple winners steering the ship.
Owner Bill Foley's drive and vision saw the Vegas Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup in just their fourth season of existence, coach Steve Corica has won the A-League as both a player and a coach, and captain Hiroki Sakai won the Asian Champions League in 2022 and was named Player of the Tournament.
It's hard to recall a bigger splash in the New Zealand sporting landscape than the formation and launch of this team, the 1995 Warriors is probably the closest I can recall.
Unlike their Mt Smart roommates, I can't see them waiting 30 years to celebrate a title.
Logan Swinkels, digital executive producer: Oscar Piastri will win F1 drivers' championship
My fearless prediction? My beloved Toronto Maple Leafs will break their 57-year NHL championship drought to lift the Stanley Cup!
Just kidding, even with an improved defensive effort under new coach Craig Berube, I can’t see it happening.
What I can see happening is Oscar Piastri overtaking Lando Norris as the top guy at McLaren and fighting to dethrone Max Verstappen as the Formula 1 world champion.
Stephen Foote, digital producer: Kai Kara-France will win the UFC Flyweight world title
One of the most under-rated fighters on both the UFC roster, 'Don't Blink' has been keeping it real for years, an absolute mainstay for a division that, at one stage, was threatened with extinction.
Kara-France has carried that flag for six years now, and is just now hitting his prime as a fighter, perfectly exemplified with his searing first-round knockout of Steve Erceg to emphatically derail Aussie's hype train in Perth in his most recent outing in August.
That alone should have been enough to earn a crack at champion Alexandre Pantoja. But - yet again - he was overlooked in favour of newcomer Kai Asakura.
Pantoja has been touted as having "cleaned out" the division. But his only bout against Kara-France was a two-round affair at 'The Ultimate Fighter reality show back in 2016, an unofficial contest that isn't counted on either fighters' record. Both men have made enormous strides since.
It's a travesty that Kara-France's name won't be on the marquee in Sydney in February. But it's only a matter of time before he gets his shot at the belt, likely via a title eliminator against Brandon Moreno or Amir Albazi.
Reuben Bradley, content manager: Newcastle will win the League Cup
It’s not fearless when you know they’re into the semi-final, but when they haven’t won a major trophy since 1955, it takes boldness.
Some may not call the League Cup 'major', but we’ll take what we can get. Heck, I tried to claim our 2017 triumph in the Championship.
Ho'way the Lads!
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