On Sports Fix with D'Arcy Waldegrave for 13 May 2026, this week, the Waikato Rugby Union posted an open letter to Facebook pleading parents, coaches, spectators and supporters of children's sport to watch their behaviour on the sidelines as there have already been a number of reports of abusive behaviour on the sidelines since the junior sport season started. Amy Marfell is the CEO of Waikato Rugby and she joined D'Arcy to discuss.
D'Arcy shares his thoughts on his engagement in Football as the start of the FIFA World Cup looms.
And D'Arcy and New Zealand Herald sports journalist Alex Powell discuss the potential for Luke Metcalf to leave the Warriors and whether the sideline abuse at children's sport has accelerated in recent times.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks EDB. Follow
this and our Wide Ranger podcasts now on iHeartRadio. This
is Sportsfix Howard by News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Well, Hello there and welcome on into the Sports Fix podcast.
Thanks for downloading, Thanks for your ears. My name's Darcy Waldergo.
That is a Wednesday. It's the thirteenth of May twenty
twenty five. On today's podcast will be joined by Amy Marfel.
She is the CEO of Wack for Rugby is to
(00:41):
look at the bear drive, to stop, to slow down,
to eradicate sideline abuse aimed predominantly at young children playing
the game. And I'll be joined in the chamber by
Alex Pale is our sportscribe for New Zealand Heraldings at
Herald dot co dot nz. As we look at the
dodgy situation around the Warriors half Luke Metcarth, We've got
(01:05):
other discussions to have as well.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Well.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
That's our plan and so like normal, stick the keys
and turn it over and leads roll in other news
and on the sporting quote menu. Todayspoonful of league, a
sprindle of cricket and a dash of football. Let's eat
New Zealand at Rugby League Royalty, Sir Graham Lowe has
chimed in on the loop metcalf saga the format. Kiwis
(01:30):
coach understands just how good Metcalf is, but he thinks
that the bloke who did a snatch and grab job
on the Warriors seven Jersey is a different kind of
player that is delivering for the club since he elevated
to the starting role.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
It's a brilliant player and he's a game break, has
no doubt about that. But the thing is with Tanner
Board he is a trades and he does he's you're
exceptionally well and he's unlocked.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
The whole Warriors. Then he's the key to help the performance.
Devin Conway, black Cat Batter, has explained the transition from
the boundary happy slog fest that is T twenty to
the more than nine and let's face it, civilized highest
level of the game test cricket.
Speaker 5 (02:10):
With the short turnarounds. It's a nice opportunity to have
like this week playing on Lincoln, you know, four days
of prep where we can just you know, zone in
on our red ball skills, which we haven't done in
a while. But I think transcisioning from T twenty crickets
to red ball is actually a nice way to get
back into, you know, the motion of being patient.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
And the Phoenix women about to jelling for the A
League title are well aware of the weight of history
they carry into Saturday's finally into Melbourne City. Captain Lily
all Felt reflect on her early days in the sport.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
When we were all growing up, we loved the Phoenix,
but we were you know, my favorite player was Glenn
Moss or a Mike Xton or Chris Greenacre. So getting
the opportunity to be the the kind of faith for
the female game, I think we all just knew the
privilege that.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
It was league cricket football, say she add, what more
do your need? That was sport Today from the mouths
of the Newsmakers.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Newsman, it's Sportsfix with Dancie Valde Grave.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
And it's a big hello now to Amy Marfel. Amy
is the wa at the Rugby c oh and she
joined us now to discuss a long term problem for
sport right across the matsu. Hi, Amy, welcome to the program.
I trust you well, I am thank you. I see
now wyk at the Rugby are looking at talking again
(03:29):
about sideline behavior of adults at school games. This is
a constant, isn't it? In school sport or younger person's sport.
It's a real shame it has to constantly be raised.
But plainly it's still a clear and present problem in
the Wakata and i'd suggest right across the.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Moti yes, absolutely, And while I used my Wattle rugby
platform and obviously we're speaking directly to rugby community. I
guess the message was intended to hopefully cut across regions
and cut across codes. We know that nationally, across multiple
different sports, that this is an ongoing challenge, and we
(04:07):
thought it was time that we really, I guess, put
forward quite a pointed message about the behaviors that we
expect to see in our youth sports.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
You've seen an open letter out to parents and coaches
and spectators and support us, so pretty much everybody. What's
the main thrust of this if you could summarize it
with a couple of points.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Amy, I think it was just around setting expectations for
what we want to see out there and what our
kids deserve to see of us as adult influences in sport.
Where a couple of weeks in now to the youth
sports season. We've already heard that there have been some
incidents that have been less than ideal in terms of
(04:47):
adult behavior and sideline support and that kind of thing.
So it seemed like a really timely opportunity to just
put the message out there around expectations and hopefully, bit
by bit get some change out there for our kids.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
How do you think this has changed over the years.
I believe that earlier on, when I was young playing
the game, I don't know if it was as prevalent
as it is now. Do you think it's risen this
objection of behavior from the sidelines, from all people, from
the parents, from the spectators.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
It's hard to know whether we've seen arise or we're
just hearing about it a little bit more, but certainly
we're definitely seeing it still be prevalent. Perhaps as sport
has become more professional, maybe people think that there are
higher stakes, but we're definitely not seeing decrease in the
behavior across the board. So, in my opinion, any instances
(05:41):
of this type of behavior, they are too many. So
if we can get people to stop and think about
what they're doing in the effect it has on young people.
Then that's a really good outcome from these messages.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Personal responsibility for the people concerned. But let's talk about
parents and spectators at a part witnessing this. How do
they work through this problem? What can they do to
try and normalize good behavior and shut people down? Because
a lot of people are concerned someone's having a crack
from the sideline, they don't want to say anything just
(06:11):
in case they incur the wrath of the individual. So
is their process training around how you actually deal with
this from your own personal point of view toward other humans?
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Yeah, I think the safety aspect is absolutely something that
we need to be mindful of, and it's a message
that I want to reinforce. I guess the intention of
the letter was never to insist that people needed to
stand up to behavior that might make them feel unsafe.
I think there's a part of it that is imploring
people to just role model good behavior. We know that
sometimes if behavior is normalized, then the behavior that is
(06:43):
maybe a bit negative it stands out a bit more
and people might think tawice about being the only one
who's exhibiting that behavior and a group of people that
are doing the right thing. So there's that tactic which
you know, hopefully if we get enough people exhibiting what
we want to see out there, it kind of retrains behavior.
There definitely are I guess, consequences that we can implement
(07:06):
for people that are exhibiting negative behavior, and they are
often dealt with through the relevant organizing bodies, So whether
that's secondary schools themselves for secondary school rugby, or whether
it's through judicial processes that might sit in the club
rugby context for example.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Has this been effective when you can sanction people there?
Does it actually work? Or does the threat of sanctioning
hanging above people? Does that work? Do you know?
Speaker 3 (07:36):
I think there's a little bit of both, right. We
know that generally in society, when people think they might
get in trouble for something, it might make them think
twice about their behavior. But definitely, where we are sanctioning
people for breaches of the rules of the game, which
include you know, aggression and violence and things like that,
we are seeing people being actually removed from the game
and they're often re entering and not having any further incidences.
(07:58):
So sometimes simply removing the joy of playing for somebody
can be enough of a deterrent to make them think
about their behavior.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
It's astonishing that adults don't mind some of the examples
they've used, don't mind actually gotting off at children. I
find that fascinating that anybody in a sensible space would
even consider doing that. You can't tell me what's wrong
with people, but it's bizarre, is it not? Amy?
Speaker 3 (08:26):
It's definitely the thing that I guess out of all
of us, keeps me awake at night. Right, we know
that what kids want out of their sporting experiences is
to have fun, to feel supported, to be given the
space to learn and develop, to play with their mates,
you know, basically, to feel good, to feel like they
belong and be valued. And so we know that the
behavior that we're seeing people exhibit is not conducive to that.
(08:48):
So it is kind of surprising that people are willing
to behave in some of the ways that they are
around young children. And I guess I have two major
fears off the back of this. One is that kids
will drop out. You know, if they're not getting the
things that they need out of sport, why would they bother?
They're just going to stop playing. And the other is
that kids grow up thinking that that type of behavior
is accepted, and that's a scary thought to.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Dissecting the sporting agenda. It's sportsfex with Dancy Wildegrave.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
I honestly never thought I'd experienced the day where I
watched more football in a twelve hour period than any
other sport. I'm not the biggest fan of the beautiful game,
the world's biggest game, but of course every four years
I climb on in like everybody else does, to watch
this enormous global festival, the FIFA World Cup. So the
(09:43):
run into the World Cup has been very exciting from
a football point of view, and it moves towards its
crescendo tomorrow when Darren Baisley announced the names of the
men who will be wearing all white for this huge tournament.
But the lead up to it I think has got
everybody engaged in the game of football more so than
(10:03):
I've seen in a number of years. Why is this
professional are doing great work. I watched the Wellington Phoenix
women's side, the Wahenix, managed to battle their way in
to a final of the Ninja A league that's coming
up on Saturday, and on Friday night it is adelaide
(10:25):
in the way of Auckland FC and the possibility of
a title for themselves. I can say as I've never
felt so much excitement personally around the game of football
strange days.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Indeed, the chamber is now in session on Sportsfix and
it's a warm while around of the studio.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Now to Alexa Powell, thanks for coming into the chamber.
That's a studio chamber, same same right. Alex is a
sports writer ascribed for en Z de Herald and he
joins us now to talk about a couple of things
floating around in the ETHA right now. One of them
is mister Luke Metcalfe. What a crazy story this one is.
(11:06):
We could see it coming, but it exploded in the
last couple of days. Last night when the Warrior said, fine,
don't negotiate, we don't want you anymore. Then they dropped
them from the team.
Speaker 6 (11:15):
Ouch afternoon, does thank you for having me just pull
up that? Did we see this coming? He only resigned
on a huge contract at the end of last year.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
While he didn't get packed, he deep didn't get in
picked and people were starting to say, well, how long
are you going to last? If you've got a guy
Tanner Boyd who's running the show and he's running it
very well. And you remember that Andrew Webster did say
it was a couple of weeks ago. No, I'm sticking
with my haarves. I lo like what you're doing. We're
not changing any checking name check now that is rare.
(11:42):
So then we started going, oh, where are we at now?
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Right?
Speaker 6 (11:46):
I mean, the NRL is a very long, very tough campaign.
There is no guarantee that Tanner Boyd is going to
get through the rest of the season unscathed. That's there.
There is every chance.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
It's more of a guarantee he will get.
Speaker 6 (11:57):
Scathed exactly, he will be scathed. I honestly, I'm still
flabbergasted by this. It's a very dramatic move from Luke
Metcalfan's representation. They will not have done this unless they
have some indication from somewhere that there is an offer
on the table.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Now.
Speaker 6 (12:13):
I've been speaking to people not related to it, but
there is a very big suspicion that he could be
gone by the end of the week. Not leaving the
club immediately, because it's very difficult for another club at
this time of the year to absorb his wage. He's
on just shy of a million dollars, I understand, and
to bring him on board you would have to accommodate
that in your salary cap. But you do just think,
(12:37):
what now, you know, will we see Luke Metcalfe rotting
on the sidelines for the rest of the year, because
if if he's making this move, he's probably not going
to play first grade. He's probably not going to play
a new Soper's Cup because they won't want to stand
in the way of developing the pair of Luke Hanson
and Jack Clary, who are the six and seven at
the moment. So I don't know where this goes. I'm
hearing the Bulldogs could genuinely be an option. Perth was
(13:00):
linked because Pertha yet go out and make a huge marquee.
Signing Saint George Neil will help. They can get Saint
George Needil helping get But it sounds like it's not
a money thing. You know, if he goes if he
goes to the Dragons, it'll be one million dollars a year.
He's on what nine to fifty at the moment, I understand.
So for fifty grand more, do you want to go
to a team that you're probably going to finish last
(13:21):
I wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Maybe he wants to lift them and be the superhero
that turns up. There's also the requirements with the nrlum
This was brought up last night by Braithan answer, he
does a weeb is on NRL three sixty, he does
a week of player agency work about the ERL legality
around approaching him and what happens in that space. You
(13:43):
got any further on that.
Speaker 6 (13:44):
At all, or well, this would be where the Bulldogs
really should be in the gut if they are where
Luke metcalffs end up, because they did it to Lucky
Galvin last year to get him in at number six.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
That did we know?
Speaker 6 (13:55):
So NERL regulations mean if a player comes off contract
in twenty twenty seven, you can talk to them from
on November November one, twenty twenty six. Now Luke Metca
is not coming off contract, so last year he would
have been off contract at the end of what this
year and then he would have been free to.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Talk from us signed an extension.
Speaker 6 (14:17):
Which he did before it even got to that point. Yeah,
I will continue to stand here and say I don't
know how this ends. I can see him signing with
another club. And then triggering a bit of a shuffle
in where players go. You look at if he goes
to the Bulldogs, what happens to someone like Matt Burton?
Where would he go to Perth? Would he go somewhere
like the paramatter Eels who need a number six for
(14:37):
next year? It's I mean, this is part of what
makes the NRL so dramatic.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
I wonder if he Fancy's going and living in a
compound Papulo and New Guinea for a couple of years
because they're offering tax free.
Speaker 6 (14:49):
Bucks who met car for?
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (14:51):
Well, I mean he'd have to wait another year because
they're not until twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
He's waiting anyway, isn't he sitting on the sideline?
Speaker 6 (14:56):
Yeah? But twenty seven is a bit closer.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Who do you think initiated this? But does it even
matter whether it was him or whether it was his
management that actually set this ford and said hey, we're
not happy.
Speaker 6 (15:06):
I would be very concerned if Fluke men Cuffs management
are acting without his consent in that space.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
That's a team effort.
Speaker 6 (15:14):
It's a team effort. But Luke Metcalf is the client.
You know, the manager does what he wants if his
job is to go out and get a better deal.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Yeah, but they can direct talent, can't they. It's they're good.
They're making a cutout of us. They're like, well this
is not looking good mate, maybe we should consider I mean,
I don't know the end of workings, planning. It wasn't
a fly on the wall.
Speaker 6 (15:32):
It's not as though he's going hungry at the Warriors.
He's the highest paid player at the club.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
And the fact that they think that maybe Tannan's got
his job full time. As you pointed out right at
the start, it's a game of high impact and players disappear.
That we saw it him to the Warriors last year.
It all fell apart halfway through the season. It's a
fascinating test case and while we'll see how it goes.
But what we do know about the NRL is the
(16:00):
contracts aren't worth the toilet paper they're signed on. So
it really doesn't.
Speaker 6 (16:05):
Matter, doesn't spend its four play or not.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
And that's super soft hated. Also today interesting that at
the rugby I've been talking about sideline abuse of young
players used to be referees. I expect it still is
as well. We're talking off air before around this, this
is accelerated. Do you think of recent times? Do we
not talk about it back in the seventies and eighties
(16:30):
and nineties. Where does this come from?
Speaker 6 (16:33):
I mean, we did speak about this off air, and
it's staggering that people are going to these games like
I played my child's sport in front of no one,
you know, parents, families, none of it. It is a
worry about the the over professionalization of children's sport. You
tend to see this more at school level, but I
(16:54):
worry that kids are not learning to love the game
because there it doesn't matter what game they're playing, because
there are such high stakes from an early age. And
we're seeing this now. If parents are getting frustrated and
yelling at kids and referes, it's clearly because of this
mindset of my child needs to be the best now,
they need to be winning every week, and that's not
(17:16):
how children's sport works. You need to learn the fundamentals
of the game that will take you through into higher grades.
I mean that ties into another problem in your own
that if you're not on track to reach the elite level,
you drop out very early. You know, you look at
Rugby's dwindling participation numbers for years. It's going down and
down and down and down, And like obviously there's safety concerns.
(17:38):
Parents don't want to see their kids get hurt, but
also the idea that if you're not going to be
in all black, just don't play, you go and do
something else. And I mean both.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
I don't know about you. Did you ever play sport
because you thought you were going to be a world beater,
a gold medalist and number one? Because I never did,
I know, thought about my ability. I probably didn't have any.
But it wasn't about higher honors. It was about playing
the game of my mates. Yes, that's what it.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
Was exactly, But I wouldn't say the question needs to
be posted to the want to be with for the athletes,
for the kids playing. It's for the parents. If you're
putting your kids into sports so they can be an
all black, a black fern, an all white football fern,
a black cap or white for you know, silver fern
to all black tall fan, you're not doing it for
the right reasons. Sport isn't about going out there to
(18:27):
be the best of the best at that age. Like obviously,
the higher up you go than it starts coming to it.
It's like I say, it's about and it's about enjoying yourself.
It's vicarious parents, isn't it. Yeah, And that's really sad
to see and I hope they're okay.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Yeah, obviously not. And one last thing on this. I've
often talked about this on air. The beauty of sport
is that a vast majority of people at a lower level,
at a mid level, and even at the elite level,
mostly lose. That's what sport's all about. Very few people
get the gold medal, become the world champion, very few
(19:01):
teams win the NRL or win Super Rugby. If you
can't deal with loss, you shouldn't be because that's what
it is. And this is this character building your parents
always talk about. Because you're going to lose. You're definitely
going to lose, so understand it, deal that and work
through it. And you've got someone on the sideline screaming
at you that you're a loser and you're going nowhere.
(19:24):
Not good. You're not going to disagree, are you.
Speaker 6 (19:26):
I've got nothing to add.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
And with that, Alex Peel, we can remove you now
from the chamber. You want to read more from Alex
Pel we can in zidherld, dot co, dot nz and
Formula ones only a week and a half away, mate,
so we'll get you back in the studio again.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
We've got just the ticket. It's Sports Fix powered by
News Talks IVY, and that's.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
All we have time for. It's the Sports Fixed podcast. Hey,
thanks very much for listening here on a Wednesday on
the thirteenth of May twenty twenty six. If you've enjoyed
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(20:10):
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(20:31):
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Tell your friends, tell your family, get engaged. We love
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Speaker 1 (20:46):
For more from News Talk zed B. Listen live on
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You're listening to a podcast from News Talks EDB. Follow
this and our Wide Ranger podcasts now on iHeartRadio. This
is Sportsfix Howard by News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Well, Hello there and welcome on into the Sports Fix podcast.
Thanks for downloading, Thanks for your ears. My name's Darcy Waldergo.
That is a Wednesday. It's the thirteenth of May twenty
twenty five. On today's podcast will be joined by Amy Marfel.
She is the CEO of Wack for Rugby is to
(00:41):
look at the bear drive, to stop, to slow down,
to eradicate sideline abuse aimed predominantly at young children playing
the game. And I'll be joined in the chamber by
Alex Pale is our sportscribe for New Zealand Heraldings at
Herald dot co dot nz. As we look at the
dodgy situation around the Warriors half Luke Metcarth, We've got
(01:05):
other discussions to have as well.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Well.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
That's our plan and so like normal, stick the keys
and turn it over and leads roll in other news
and on the sporting quote menu. Todayspoonful of league, a
sprindle of cricket and a dash of football. Let's eat
New Zealand at Rugby League Royalty, Sir Graham Lowe has
chimed in on the loop metcalf saga the format. Kiwis
(01:30):
coach understands just how good Metcalf is, but he thinks
that the bloke who did a snatch and grab job
on the Warriors seven Jersey is a different kind of
player that is delivering for the club since he elevated
to the starting role.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
It's a brilliant player and he's a game break, has
no doubt about that. But the thing is with Tanner
Board he is a trades and he does he's you're
exceptionally well and he's unlocked.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
The whole Warriors. Then he's the key to help the performance.
Devin Conway, black Cat Batter, has explained the transition from
the boundary happy slog fest that is T twenty to
the more than nine and let's face it, civilized highest
level of the game test cricket.
Speaker 5 (02:10):
With the short turnarounds. It's a nice opportunity to have
like this week playing on Lincoln, you know, four days
of prep where we can just you know, zone in
on our red ball skills, which we haven't done in
a while. But I think transcisioning from T twenty crickets
to red ball is actually a nice way to get
back into, you know, the motion of being patient.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
And the Phoenix women about to jelling for the A
League title are well aware of the weight of history
they carry into Saturday's finally into Melbourne City. Captain Lily
all Felt reflect on her early days in the sport.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
When we were all growing up, we loved the Phoenix,
but we were you know, my favorite player was Glenn
Moss or a Mike Xton or Chris Greenacre. So getting
the opportunity to be the the kind of faith for
the female game, I think we all just knew the
privilege that.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
It was league cricket football, say she add, what more
do your need? That was sport Today from the mouths
of the Newsmakers.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Newsman, it's Sportsfix with Dancie Valde Grave.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
And it's a big hello now to Amy Marfel. Amy
is the wa at the Rugby c oh and she
joined us now to discuss a long term problem for
sport right across the matsu. Hi, Amy, welcome to the program.
I trust you well, I am thank you. I see
now wyk at the Rugby are looking at talking again
(03:29):
about sideline behavior of adults at school games. This is
a constant, isn't it? In school sport or younger person's sport.
It's a real shame it has to constantly be raised.
But plainly it's still a clear and present problem in
the Wakata and i'd suggest right across the.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Moti yes, absolutely, And while I used my Wattle rugby
platform and obviously we're speaking directly to rugby community. I
guess the message was intended to hopefully cut across regions
and cut across codes. We know that nationally, across multiple
different sports, that this is an ongoing challenge, and we
(04:07):
thought it was time that we really, I guess, put
forward quite a pointed message about the behaviors that we
expect to see in our youth sports.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
You've seen an open letter out to parents and coaches
and spectators and support us, so pretty much everybody. What's
the main thrust of this if you could summarize it
with a couple of points.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Amy, I think it was just around setting expectations for
what we want to see out there and what our
kids deserve to see of us as adult influences in sport.
Where a couple of weeks in now to the youth
sports season. We've already heard that there have been some
incidents that have been less than ideal in terms of
(04:47):
adult behavior and sideline support and that kind of thing.
So it seemed like a really timely opportunity to just
put the message out there around expectations and hopefully, bit
by bit get some change out there for our kids.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
How do you think this has changed over the years.
I believe that earlier on, when I was young playing
the game, I don't know if it was as prevalent
as it is now. Do you think it's risen this
objection of behavior from the sidelines, from all people, from
the parents, from the spectators.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
It's hard to know whether we've seen arise or we're
just hearing about it a little bit more, but certainly
we're definitely seeing it still be prevalent. Perhaps as sport
has become more professional, maybe people think that there are
higher stakes, but we're definitely not seeing decrease in the
behavior across the board. So, in my opinion, any instances
(05:41):
of this type of behavior, they are too many. So
if we can get people to stop and think about
what they're doing in the effect it has on young people.
Then that's a really good outcome from these messages.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Personal responsibility for the people concerned. But let's talk about
parents and spectators at a part witnessing this. How do
they work through this problem? What can they do to
try and normalize good behavior and shut people down? Because
a lot of people are concerned someone's having a crack
from the sideline, they don't want to say anything just
(06:11):
in case they incur the wrath of the individual. So
is their process training around how you actually deal with
this from your own personal point of view toward other humans?
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Yeah, I think the safety aspect is absolutely something that
we need to be mindful of, and it's a message
that I want to reinforce. I guess the intention of
the letter was never to insist that people needed to
stand up to behavior that might make them feel unsafe.
I think there's a part of it that is imploring
people to just role model good behavior. We know that
sometimes if behavior is normalized, then the behavior that is
(06:43):
maybe a bit negative it stands out a bit more
and people might think tawice about being the only one
who's exhibiting that behavior and a group of people that
are doing the right thing. So there's that tactic which
you know, hopefully if we get enough people exhibiting what
we want to see out there, it kind of retrains behavior.
There definitely are I guess, consequences that we can implement
(07:06):
for people that are exhibiting negative behavior, and they are
often dealt with through the relevant organizing bodies, So whether
that's secondary schools themselves for secondary school rugby, or whether
it's through judicial processes that might sit in the club
rugby context for example.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Has this been effective when you can sanction people there?
Does it actually work? Or does the threat of sanctioning
hanging above people? Does that work? Do you know?
Speaker 3 (07:36):
I think there's a little bit of both, right. We
know that generally in society, when people think they might
get in trouble for something, it might make them think
twice about their behavior. But definitely, where we are sanctioning
people for breaches of the rules of the game, which
include you know, aggression and violence and things like that,
we are seeing people being actually removed from the game
and they're often re entering and not having any further incidences.
(07:58):
So sometimes simply removing the joy of playing for somebody
can be enough of a deterrent to make them think
about their behavior.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
It's astonishing that adults don't mind some of the examples
they've used, don't mind actually gotting off at children. I
find that fascinating that anybody in a sensible space would
even consider doing that. You can't tell me what's wrong
with people, but it's bizarre, is it not? Amy?
Speaker 3 (08:26):
It's definitely the thing that I guess out of all
of us, keeps me awake at night. Right, we know
that what kids want out of their sporting experiences is
to have fun, to feel supported, to be given the
space to learn and develop, to play with their mates,
you know, basically, to feel good, to feel like they
belong and be valued. And so we know that the
behavior that we're seeing people exhibit is not conducive to that.
(08:48):
So it is kind of surprising that people are willing
to behave in some of the ways that they are
around young children. And I guess I have two major
fears off the back of this. One is that kids
will drop out. You know, if they're not getting the
things that they need out of sport, why would they bother?
They're just going to stop playing. And the other is
that kids grow up thinking that that type of behavior
is accepted, and that's a scary thought to.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Dissecting the sporting agenda. It's sportsfex with Dancy Wildegrave.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
I honestly never thought I'd experienced the day where I
watched more football in a twelve hour period than any
other sport. I'm not the biggest fan of the beautiful game,
the world's biggest game, but of course every four years
I climb on in like everybody else does, to watch
this enormous global festival, the FIFA World Cup. So the
(09:43):
run into the World Cup has been very exciting from
a football point of view, and it moves towards its
crescendo tomorrow when Darren Baisley announced the names of the
men who will be wearing all white for this huge tournament.
But the lead up to it I think has got
everybody engaged in the game of football more so than
(10:03):
I've seen in a number of years. Why is this
professional are doing great work. I watched the Wellington Phoenix
women's side, the Wahenix, managed to battle their way in
to a final of the Ninja A league that's coming
up on Saturday, and on Friday night it is adelaide
(10:25):
in the way of Auckland FC and the possibility of
a title for themselves. I can say as I've never
felt so much excitement personally around the game of football
strange days.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Indeed, the chamber is now in session on Sportsfix and
it's a warm while around of the studio.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Now to Alexa Powell, thanks for coming into the chamber.
That's a studio chamber, same same right. Alex is a
sports writer ascribed for en Z de Herald and he
joins us now to talk about a couple of things
floating around in the ETHA right now. One of them
is mister Luke Metcalfe. What a crazy story this one is.
(11:06):
We could see it coming, but it exploded in the
last couple of days. Last night when the Warrior said, fine,
don't negotiate, we don't want you anymore. Then they dropped
them from the team.
Speaker 6 (11:15):
Ouch afternoon, does thank you for having me just pull
up that? Did we see this coming? He only resigned
on a huge contract at the end of last year.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
While he didn't get packed, he deep didn't get in
picked and people were starting to say, well, how long
are you going to last? If you've got a guy
Tanner Boyd who's running the show and he's running it
very well. And you remember that Andrew Webster did say
it was a couple of weeks ago. No, I'm sticking
with my haarves. I lo like what you're doing. We're
not changing any checking name check now that is rare.
(11:42):
So then we started going, oh, where are we at now?
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Right?
Speaker 6 (11:46):
I mean, the NRL is a very long, very tough campaign.
There is no guarantee that Tanner Boyd is going to
get through the rest of the season unscathed. That's there.
There is every chance.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
It's more of a guarantee he will get.
Speaker 6 (11:57):
Scathed exactly, he will be scathed. I honestly, I'm still
flabbergasted by this. It's a very dramatic move from Luke
Metcalfan's representation. They will not have done this unless they
have some indication from somewhere that there is an offer
on the table.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Now.
Speaker 6 (12:13):
I've been speaking to people not related to it, but
there is a very big suspicion that he could be
gone by the end of the week. Not leaving the
club immediately, because it's very difficult for another club at
this time of the year to absorb his wage. He's
on just shy of a million dollars, I understand, and
to bring him on board you would have to accommodate
that in your salary cap. But you do just think,
(12:37):
what now, you know, will we see Luke Metcalfe rotting
on the sidelines for the rest of the year, because
if if he's making this move, he's probably not going
to play first grade. He's probably not going to play
a new Soper's Cup because they won't want to stand
in the way of developing the pair of Luke Hanson
and Jack Clary, who are the six and seven at
the moment. So I don't know where this goes. I'm
hearing the Bulldogs could genuinely be an option. Perth was
(13:00):
linked because Pertha yet go out and make a huge marquee.
Signing Saint George Neil will help. They can get Saint
George Needil helping get But it sounds like it's not
a money thing. You know, if he goes if he
goes to the Dragons, it'll be one million dollars a year.
He's on what nine to fifty at the moment, I understand.
So for fifty grand more, do you want to go
to a team that you're probably going to finish last
(13:21):
I wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Maybe he wants to lift them and be the superhero
that turns up. There's also the requirements with the nrlum
This was brought up last night by Braithan answer, he
does a weeb is on NRL three sixty, he does
a week of player agency work about the ERL legality
around approaching him and what happens in that space. You
(13:43):
got any further on that.
Speaker 6 (13:44):
At all, or well, this would be where the Bulldogs
really should be in the gut if they are where
Luke metcalffs end up, because they did it to Lucky
Galvin last year to get him in at number six.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
That did we know?
Speaker 6 (13:55):
So NERL regulations mean if a player comes off contract
in twenty twenty seven, you can talk to them from
on November November one, twenty twenty six. Now Luke Metca
is not coming off contract, so last year he would
have been off contract at the end of what this
year and then he would have been free to.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Talk from us signed an extension.
Speaker 6 (14:17):
Which he did before it even got to that point. Yeah,
I will continue to stand here and say I don't
know how this ends. I can see him signing with
another club. And then triggering a bit of a shuffle
in where players go. You look at if he goes
to the Bulldogs, what happens to someone like Matt Burton?
Where would he go to Perth? Would he go somewhere
like the paramatter Eels who need a number six for
(14:37):
next year? It's I mean, this is part of what
makes the NRL so dramatic.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
I wonder if he Fancy's going and living in a
compound Papulo and New Guinea for a couple of years
because they're offering tax free.
Speaker 6 (14:49):
Bucks who met car for?
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (14:51):
Well, I mean he'd have to wait another year because
they're not until twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
He's waiting anyway, isn't he sitting on the sideline?
Speaker 6 (14:56):
Yeah? But twenty seven is a bit closer.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Who do you think initiated this? But does it even
matter whether it was him or whether it was his
management that actually set this ford and said hey, we're
not happy.
Speaker 6 (15:06):
I would be very concerned if Fluke men Cuffs management
are acting without his consent in that space.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
That's a team effort.
Speaker 6 (15:14):
It's a team effort. But Luke Metcalf is the client.
You know, the manager does what he wants if his
job is to go out and get a better deal.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Yeah, but they can direct talent, can't they. It's they're good.
They're making a cutout of us. They're like, well this
is not looking good mate, maybe we should consider I mean,
I don't know the end of workings, planning. It wasn't
a fly on the wall.
Speaker 6 (15:32):
It's not as though he's going hungry at the Warriors.
He's the highest paid player at the club.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
And the fact that they think that maybe Tannan's got
his job full time. As you pointed out right at
the start, it's a game of high impact and players disappear.
That we saw it him to the Warriors last year.
It all fell apart halfway through the season. It's a
fascinating test case and while we'll see how it goes.
But what we do know about the NRL is the
(16:00):
contracts aren't worth the toilet paper they're signed on. So
it really doesn't.
Speaker 6 (16:05):
Matter, doesn't spend its four play or not.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
And that's super soft hated. Also today interesting that at
the rugby I've been talking about sideline abuse of young
players used to be referees. I expect it still is
as well. We're talking off air before around this, this
is accelerated. Do you think of recent times? Do we
not talk about it back in the seventies and eighties
(16:30):
and nineties. Where does this come from?
Speaker 6 (16:33):
I mean, we did speak about this off air, and
it's staggering that people are going to these games like
I played my child's sport in front of no one,
you know, parents, families, none of it. It is a
worry about the the over professionalization of children's sport. You
tend to see this more at school level, but I
(16:54):
worry that kids are not learning to love the game
because there it doesn't matter what game they're playing, because
there are such high stakes from an early age. And
we're seeing this now. If parents are getting frustrated and
yelling at kids and referes, it's clearly because of this
mindset of my child needs to be the best now,
they need to be winning every week, and that's not
(17:16):
how children's sport works. You need to learn the fundamentals
of the game that will take you through into higher grades.
I mean that ties into another problem in your own
that if you're not on track to reach the elite level,
you drop out very early. You know, you look at
Rugby's dwindling participation numbers for years. It's going down and
down and down and down, And like obviously there's safety concerns.
(17:38):
Parents don't want to see their kids get hurt, but
also the idea that if you're not going to be
in all black, just don't play, you go and do
something else. And I mean both.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
I don't know about you. Did you ever play sport
because you thought you were going to be a world beater,
a gold medalist and number one? Because I never did,
I know, thought about my ability. I probably didn't have any.
But it wasn't about higher honors. It was about playing
the game of my mates. Yes, that's what it.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
Was exactly, But I wouldn't say the question needs to
be posted to the want to be with for the athletes,
for the kids playing. It's for the parents. If you're
putting your kids into sports so they can be an
all black, a black fern, an all white football fern,
a black cap or white for you know, silver fern
to all black tall fan, you're not doing it for
the right reasons. Sport isn't about going out there to
(18:27):
be the best of the best at that age. Like obviously,
the higher up you go than it starts coming to it.
It's like I say, it's about and it's about enjoying yourself.
It's vicarious parents, isn't it. Yeah, And that's really sad
to see and I hope they're okay.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Yeah, obviously not. And one last thing on this. I've
often talked about this on air. The beauty of sport
is that a vast majority of people at a lower level,
at a mid level, and even at the elite level,
mostly lose. That's what sport's all about. Very few people
get the gold medal, become the world champion, very few
(19:01):
teams win the NRL or win Super Rugby. If you
can't deal with loss, you shouldn't be because that's what
it is. And this is this character building your parents
always talk about. Because you're going to lose. You're definitely
going to lose, so understand it, deal that and work
through it. And you've got someone on the sideline screaming
at you that you're a loser and you're going nowhere.
(19:24):
Not good. You're not going to disagree, are you.
Speaker 6 (19:26):
I've got nothing to add.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
And with that, Alex Peel, we can remove you now
from the chamber. You want to read more from Alex
Pel we can in zidherld, dot co, dot nz and
Formula ones only a week and a half away, mate,
so we'll get you back in the studio again.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
We've got just the ticket. It's Sports Fix powered by
News Talks IVY, and that's.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
All we have time for. It's the Sports Fixed podcast. Hey,
thanks very much for listening here on a Wednesday on
the thirteenth of May twenty twenty six. If you've enjoyed
what you've heard, or you've hated it, but you're a
sucker for punishment, why don't you subscribe that way this
will turn up directly into your inbox on a week
daily basis. We also, oh of course, have standard radio
(20:10):
two terrestrial radio regular old radio news Talk ZB. The
sports show is called Sports Talk Monday to Friday seven
to eight pm. Jason Pine's got the Monday shift. I
have the rest of the week and then Jason Pine
has got the magnificence of weekend sport. And indeed, this
weekend from twelve mid day to till three o'clock he'll
(20:31):
be broadcasting from the NRL's Magic Round. Well Worth a listen,
Tell your friends, tell your family, get engaged. We love
your ears. We love your company, and that's it from me.
Darcy Watergrave here on the fix.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
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