Brad Whitworth: Miramar Rangers captain on the team's Chatham Cup progress

The Miramar Rangers are the sole Wellington team remaining in football's Chatham Cup, and have a trip down to Christchurch on Sunday to meet Cashmere Technical.

Adam Cooper spoke to Miramar captain Brad Whitworth about the match, and whether the recent Football World Cup has triggered interest in the game at a local level.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The weekends. Finally here let's kick it off Wellington's Fall
Sport Breakfast with Adam Cooper and Automak BYD's new CBD
show room opposite the railway station Youth Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
That'd be eight here on the All Sport Breakfast. So
Football's Chatham Cup is into the quarterfinals around the country
this weekend. Three of the four games are tomorrow, the
one remaining Wellington team in the Chatham Cup this year
as Miramar Rangers have been drawn yet another away game
and they have a trip down to take on Kashmere Technical,
one of christ Church's strongest teams, who of course have

(00:31):
been multiple winners in recent years of the Chatham Cups.
I should be a great game down there in christ
Church tomorrow afternoon. Miramar Rangers captain Brad Whitworth is with us.
Morning to you, Brad, and I guess with technology now
and you're playing teams from around the country that you
don't know see week and week out in the local league,
does technology of the streaming available make it easier to
prepare prepare for teams from outside your own region.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (00:55):
I believe so.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
Yeah, we've been We've had a little look at some
games is give us a task as a group to
have a little bit of a watch of some of
the games at Kashmir and then they've done a little
bit of highlights and stuff for us to have a watch,
and so it's easy to recognize where their streams are
and also weaknesses, so you can prep that into your
training and push sort of the trying and expose that

(01:17):
the areas that we want to try and work on
through the week. And yeah, I said, the technology really
helps with that and the platform that all the games
are stream now makes life a little bit easier for everybody.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah. Great, And you mentioned you coach Jamie Deer obviously
he was appointed in the off season heading into twenty
twenty six, very familiar in experienced across the Central League
and the Wellington football scene with a lot of clubs
and his coaching CV. What's he brought to the Miramar
Rangers team for you guys campaigns across the different competitions
to see I do you feel?

Speaker 3 (01:48):
Yeah, I think James just a breakfast, fresh air. Obviously,
Cale we finished off with cal last year and just
missed out and kle Tuker a step away and Jamie's
come in and We've kept quite a lot of the
same players from last year, so I think that's been
a big thing. But just a new style of how
he wants to do things and a new approach to stuff.
And you know, we've got an abundance of good players

(02:11):
so and intelligent footballers as well. So Jamie's just sort
of tweaked a few things and different things that he
wants us to try and do and it's gone well.
You know that we everyone's sort of bought into what
Jamie wants to do and he's been good for us,
So you have no complaints of him coming in. We've
we've we've enjoyed it, and obviously that's showing in the
position that we are and later in the Cup and

(02:32):
still in the league.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
And it has been a very competitive league this year
as well. A few of those teams, your main rivals.
It's Nick and Nick between a lot of you almost
every weekend, hard to be separated. Is that kind of
a value to you, just how tight the competition has
been so far when you are coming back and to
knock out mode now for a Cup game like this one.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah, I think we approached it a little bit on
the on the weekend sort of mentioned to the group
after we dropped points against Patoni, but Patoni were well
worth the draw. You know, they performed really well against
us and cause us a lot of problems and we
did deal with it the best that we have been doing.
So it's a bit of a reality check for us
and it's sort of stemed us on a little bit
again this week. The competition is really strong. Napier Olympic

(03:17):
West still are in the fold, and the competition that
the lower teams, you know, the strengthening during the season
as well, so you likes the Upper up Tony and
Phoenix and stuff. Every game is a challenged so I know,
like down South Cashmir sort of can have games where
they'd run away with things, so I know it can
be difficult for them come when they rolls into the
National League and stuff, and I think that's something that's

(03:37):
been quite open about that competition. So it's good it's
a little breakaway from the league again now and refocus
of just going and seeing if we can go get
a result down South and then reassess and then go
again into the next couple of weeks before potentially another
break if we get through this Cup so yeah, it's
all it's all good for us, it's all good momentum,
and it's all good sort of challenge points building towards

(03:58):
what we hope is a a good National League campaign
as well, all being well.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
And how do you balance out the focuses across the
different campaigns in competitions. Obviously a new look coach this year.
As we've mentioned, you just obviously seid National League is
a big focus wanting to go, you know, right to
the end, and that in twenty twenty six as well,
but obviously with the cup now and in a very
tight Central League, how do you balance out the different
focuses through the course of the year.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
Yeah. I think a club like Miramar that's got a
renowned history of winning things, is just trying to get
back to that momentum of sort of doing that. I've
been at the club for a few years now and
it's not been through that rebuild phase of what once
was when it was that Team Wellington sort of scenario
and that transition sort of happened. So I've been across
that rebuild and I just want to bring some silverware

(04:45):
back to the club. Really. I think that's just the
goal I think the idea is to try and win
as anything that we can and everything if possible. You know,
there's a lot of good people at the club and
a lot of people spend a lot of time and
effort into the club, so to be able to bring
back some silver air for that at the end of
what could be a successful Central League and Channel Cup
and then refocus and go National League and see how

(05:06):
far we can go with that as well.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Great, Now, how's the Tame looking for this week end?
Louis Finton, of course, long time Phoenix player, will be
one of the more familiar names in your team to
our listeners. He's been in and out of some of
your lineups I've seen over the past few weeks. So
what has what has sort of playing status and does
he see to be playing tomorrow?

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Yeah, I think louis sort of having a little bit
of a look again at training. He sort of just
sort of comes back in, gets going a little bit
and then sort of has been pulling up with a
few few injuries. So it's been a bit of a
frustrating campaign for him again. Obviously, when he's in he
brings so much quality to us and a little bit
of something different as well, So he's one that obviously
we want to try and get on the team sheet. Also,
his brother Tim has took a concussion just before we

(05:47):
played Napier in round one and hasn't sort of recovered
from that. So we've missed a few people, key players
during but other players have come in and that's sort
of testimony to the to the squad and so what
Jamie ruited as well of players that have come in
and kept us going and strengthened the squad. So but no,
we're all done blazing. A couple of a bit of

(06:07):
sickness knocking around, but hopefully everyone will be back in
against But you know, we're all good.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
We're ready to go, right And I mean you probably
could ask this a lot then. It has talked about
often it is literally the lack of the draw. But
do you feel hard done by by the amount of
a wave fixtures you guys seem to get drawn in
the cap?

Speaker 3 (06:24):
Yeah, I think like when you look at the teams
that we've played, like the first two rounds was Olympic away,
they draw West at Home Island Bay away, and then
you know the Cashmere one is you know it's difficult,
but like it's it's just another challenge point as much
as we like to play at home, like it's a
fantastic place to play it David Farrington, you know, look

(06:48):
like another challenge of going down to christ Church and
and sort of trying to beat the top team that's
down there. All set us in a good place for
what we what we expect for the year. So it
is where it is part and parcel of football. Well,
you know, we'll just go ahead Oldham's blazing and see
if we can get the result.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
And Brad, just to wrap up, you're obviously involved and
not only playing but also coaching at many different levels
and corners of football and the Wellington region. And obviously
we've had you know, the football's biggest show piece that
the World's Cup, a very exciting past month or two.
You know, how's the trickle down effects of that so
far in the local game here in Wellington or what
you're hearing from your contacts around the country. Has it

(07:29):
provided that that boost yet with sort of inspiration and
motivation for players of all levels of the game, from
juniors up to senior players to sort of you know,
be a bit more interested in their football.

Speaker 3 (07:42):
Yeah, to a degree, you know, I think obviously in
New Zealand, making the World Cup and the excitement round
that is brilliant and potentially that pathway being a little
bit more not easy, but more in their favor of
trying to get into a World Cup and potentially if
it goes to a sixty four team competition, then you'd
expect them to be there every time, which is brilliant,

(08:02):
you know, Like it's a it's a sport that's played
I think even more so than rugby through like junior sections.
It's the most played sport in New Zealand. But they
have the excitement around it, Like I did, a lot
of camps and stuff around the World Cup and kids
wanting to watch football. I think that's a massive thing
is given the access to kids to be able to

(08:22):
actually watch the game as well. I just still think
there is a lack of that for for youth level
at the moment that there's all parts of training that
you can do, but I think watching football is really
really important. Doesn't always need to be at the highest level,
but just sort of learning from from more experienced or
senior players is important. So but now like there's there's
a buzz around it obviously Auckland, new teams South Island United,

(08:46):
new Team Phoenix, like all all things that are changing
there with with Greenie going in and Bev's doing a
really good, really good campaign in the women's last year.
So you know, the game's growing here which is exciting.
So it just hopefully it just keeps going. You know,
there's big, big platforms now for for kids to keep

(09:06):
progressing into professional environments and all being well, we can
we can keep doing that through through different aspects of
what we do with our coaching.

Speaker 2 (09:14):
Brillian Brad Hey, well, it's been great to catch. I
appreciate your insights in wishing you all the very best
for the big game tomorrow. So thanks for your time.
Travel well and and go well down there in christ Church.

Speaker 3 (09:23):
Oh cheers, buddy, Thank you appreciate your time. Yeah, hopefully
it's a good weekend for us down there.

Speaker 1 (09:29):
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