Woodman’s still got it

Portia Woodman showed no lingering effects from her lengthy layoff as she made an immediate impact for the Black Ferns at the Oceania Sevens. After spending the past year on the sidelines due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, Woodman celebrated her return to the national side with an impressive solo try in the 26-5 win over Japan in Fiji yesterday. With the Black Ferns already leading 14-0, Woodman scooped up a loose ball on halfway and brushed off two defenders before racing away to score. It was New Zealand’s only match of the day ahead of games against Australia and Canada today. The New Zealand men’s team recorded two massive victories, crushing New Caledonia and Niue 57-0 and 38-0, respectively.

The officials at the centre of a controversial penalty decision in Wellington Phoenix’s loss to Melbourne City will not be involved in A-League action this weekend. Ben Abraham and Craig Zetter were both absent from the list of officials for round five matches released by the FFA yesterday. Abraham awarded a penalty to City in the 61st minute of the 3-2 win at AAMI Park last Sunday after ruling Louis Fenton had handled a cross by Denis Genreau. Fenton wasn’t fazed at the time, confident VAR official Zetter would overturn Abraham’s decision but was then incredulous when the penalty award was upheld. Despite the controversy, an FFA spokesman told AAP the pair’s absence from this weekend’s officiating lists was routine. Zetter is unavailable due to work commitments, while Abraham is being rotated, the spokesman said.