The past few years have seen a shake-up in the landscape of premier rowing at the New Zealand Rowing Championships. Since the introduction of the draft system for the Premier Eights and Quads, a new element has been introduced into this racing. Prior to this, the biggest intrigue into men’s premier events at the National Championships was who would compete under what colours for the Boss Shield (the Men’s Premier Four). Painting your club’s colours on the Boss Rooster was an honour that had the Rooster being stolen before it could be painted. Matt MacDonald has taken his talents across the Tasman post Paris, and like many other notable names, he will be missing from this NZ Rowing Champs, leaving the opportunity open for many new athletes to don a red coat. For this article, I will be breaking this down into discussing athletes rather than boat classes, as I am sure there will be some who shine across both sweeping and sculling. Not only will previous flat-water results be brought into consideration, but the beach sprints’ emergence means the results from this will also be showcased.
Finn Hamill: Rowing New Zealand and Waikato Rowing Club
It would be amiss not to talk about, arguably, New Zealand’s most exciting prospect: Finn Hamill. Hamill might even be one of the most exciting scullers in the world, and here he is competing on our very shores. Where do you begin with a sculler who has already pretty much done it all? Head of the Charles – completed it, twice; Henley Royal Regatta – beat Zeidler and van Dorp and won the The Double Sculls Challenge Cup with Ben Mason; Coastal Rowing – he’s a World Champion. Finn Hamill really is on his way to a Hall of Fame career. Internationally, he’ll be looking to win a world championship and book his ticket to Los Angeles. I would be very surprised if he doesn’t do both of those in the coming years.
A little bit closer to home, he is in scintillating form as well, and that’s what I’m going to focus on. Hamill, before the regatta could be completed, had already won gold in the Premier Single at the North Island Championships and was the fastest qualifier with the aforementioned Mason in the Premier Double. At 23 years of age, he already wears a red coat proudly, as the defending champion in the Premier Single, taking down the world’s fastest time holder, Robbie Manson, last year. Would you bet against someone with this form and pedigree to retain the title? Alongside being a favourite for the Premier Single, I would also look for him to be leading the charge in the Premier Double. Likely partnering him would be Oscar Ruston, a fine young sculler in his own right, but don’t be surprised if you see him joined by Robbie Manson, who seems to be returning to the country on the lead up to the National Championships, or even Matt Dunham, like he was at last year’s Nationals.
To round out Hamill’s programme for 2026, I would have him as the number one draft pick for the quad (if he isn’t captain). If Waikato Club chooses to field a full quad, then Hamill could be joined by any of the aforementioned scullers or even Callum Tutbury, who has been transformed into a fine sculler this season. Waikato won the Premier Quad last year, so they may just want to keep that title locked away. Yes, he is predominantly a sculler. Don’t be surprised if he puts himself in the mix for a spot in the Premier eights as well, or he could well be a chance in the pair like he was in 2025. The young man from the Waikato could have one of the great New Zealand Rowing Championships this year, and this is only really just the beginning. Keep him on your radar for LA and beyond, whether that’s flat or ocean conditions.
Harry Molloy: Rowing New Zealand and North Shore Rowing Club
For the better part of a decade, Rowing New Zealand had two exceptional coxswains: Caleb Shepherd and Sam Bosworth. In age-group crews during that time, and of late, they have tried the likes of Ben Tyson and Annabel Wynn-Williams; now they seem to have found their coxswain of the future in Harry Molloy. Molloy’s brilliance deserves recognition, and that is why I am giving him his flowers. Molloy started his career at West End Rowing Club and St Peter’s College before taking his talents to North Shore Rowing Club after school. It was performances in North Shore colours that caught the eye of national selectors in 2023 as he coxed the U23 coxed four at the World Championships in a very competitive field. Off the back of this success, his eyes were on Tokyo, but alas, a coxswain was not required, and retirement was on the cards. Molloy did not give up on the Olympic dream, which brought about an opportunity with Thames Rowing Club. With this club, he won The Thames Challenge Cup at Henley in 2024 and asserted himself as the premier coxswain in New Zealand. Rowing New Zealand realised they couldn’t leave Molloy behind at the 2025 World Championships, and he was the talisman that steered the mixed eight to bronze at the most recent World Championships. Back on home soil, and the one national honour that eludes Molloy is a red coat. He is the best coxswain in the country and thus should have the best opportunity to win the Premier eight, either with the men or the women. Molloy will, of course, also be on hand to cox any North Shore crews where they need it. Can Molloy finally shake up the waters and wear that beautiful Red Coat?
Oliver Welch: Rowing New Zealand and Avon Rowing Club
I’ve already written about the most exciting sculling prospect coming out of New Zealand, now I’ll turn to the most exciting sweeping prospect – Oliver Welch. Coming out of Auckland Grammar before moving down south to Christchurch for university, Welch finds himself back churning out kilometres on Karapiro as an open age World Champion. 2025 was a year to remember for Welch, winning his maiden senior World Championship in the pair with fellow Avon athlete Ben Taylor, after winning the U23 Pair World Championship with Josh Vodanovich in 2024. Welch will be looking to continue this form in the Pair when he, likely, joins forces again with Ben Taylor in the red and white colours of Avon to defend their title.
Welch and fellow Avon athletes will also be looking to defend their title in the Boss Shield, most likely Taylor and Zack Rumble will join Welch in the four, with the final addition more up for debate. Welch has, for most of his time in the sport, been known as a sweep oarsman, but, as of this season, he has shown his abilities with two blades. At the recent North Island Championships, Welch finished a very respectable fourth in front of two scullers in Karl Manson and Ben Mason, who would’ve been touted to beat Welch. This shows Welch can do it with the best of them, whether it be one stick or two. With this all noted, I expect Welch to have a full week of racing ahead. He is one of the best bowsiders in the country, and that will lead him to the front of the pack in the pair and the four and will be a name on everyone’s lips during the eight draft. Don’t be surprised if he puts himself forward for the quad as well after his early-season performances in the single, which itself could mean a shot at the single sculls title too. Avon has many fine scullers, so a spot in the Premier Double might be a tussle, but if he wants to add another race to his programme, I am sure he would be right near the very top in this too.
Logan Ullrich: Rowing New Zealand and Waikato Rowing Club
Logan Ullrich is an Olympic Silver Medallist in the Men’s Four, but does not yet have a Red Coat. One of the true nuances of men’s sweeping. That being said, this could be the year that it changes. Whether he is sweeping like he has done up until the 2025 season or sculling as he did internationally in 2025, Ullrich will be one of the red-hot favourites in all events he enters this week. Someone with the pedigree to win the World Rowing Cup III in the Single Scull is not someone you want to underestimate. As I will get on to later, I see the sweeping events for Premier Men coming down to two clubs and for the pair, I would love to see a Waikato Club combination of Logan Ullrich and Campbell Crouch. After doing his representative rowing for Australia up until U21s, Ullrich crossed the Tasman Sea for U23s where he first teamed up with Crouch in the New Zealand U23 Four in 2022. Four technically gifted athletes took home silver with that crew. Ever since then, Ullrich has taken his chances on this side of the Tasman, and we all know what he can do on both flat conditions and Beach Sprints. As one of the best stroke siders, if not the best, Ullrich would be my first pick for the draft eights. As he has shown an international pedigree in the single, I would also have him as one of my favourites alongside one previously mentioned Waikato sculler for the Premier Single and a very strong pick if he puts himself forward for the draft quad as well. As for the Boss Shield, Crouch and Ullrich will likely be joined by Josh Vodanovich and one other to give Waikato a very good chance to paint their colours on the rooster. Ullrich is also the definition of a new-age athlete, often highlighting erg results for both training and testing on his Instagram. Overall, that is why I have Logan as one of my favourite athletes at these Championships.
Notable Mentions
I have touched on quite a few athletes, but honestly, the list could double, and I still wouldn’t cover all the athletes to keep an eye on. Jordan Parry was New Zealand’s Single Sculler at Tokyo in 2021, and he has made a return to our waters, so definitely keep an eye out for him at these championships. A few more notable athletes that could cause an upset and are currently training outside of the Rowing New Zealand base are Scott Shackleton, Henry Kirk and Matthew Glen. These Avon athletes all know a thing or two about showing their skills and have been in exceptional form down south this season. So, keep your binoculars peeled both in draft spots and in individual events for those wanting to prove their ability to earn a black row suit.
Predictions
Although I have talked about individual athletes, I will still delve into my front-runners in these events. As I alluded to earlier, I see most, if not all, of these events coming down to two clubs: Waikato and Avon. For the premier single, I would back Finn Hamill to retain his title, Ben Taylor and Oliver Welch to retain theirs in the pair for Avon, and the Boss Rooster is going to have very tight racing, but I will side with Avon to also retain their title just over Waikato. So yes, I think it will be a battle between two heavyweights: Avon vs Waikato. Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen, you’re in store for some high-quality racing.
