Mark Dillon: Five-time New Zealand Ploughing Champion on the NZ team's equipment going missing at sea on the way to the World Ploughing Championships

Our national ploughing team may be at a disadvantage at the World Ploughing Championships in Croatia. 

The team’s tractors, ploughs, tools, parts, and uniforms have gone missing at sea – ending up in Tasmania. 

They now have plans to borrow equipment from overseas if it doesn't arrive by the fifth of September.  

Five-time New Zealand champion, Mark Dillon told Mike Hosking it won't be the same without the gear. 

He says it's like playing golf with someone else's clubs, they need their own – and they've also spent a lot of money on modifications. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So our top plowing champions. They're after the world champs.
World champs are in Croatia. A small issue. The attractors,
plows and gear have gone missing at sea, so the
scrambles on. Anyway, Mark Dyllan's our five time New Zealand
plowing champion. He's whether it's Mark morning one of mic
Do you know literally where they are or they're just
out there somewhere.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
They're on their way from Australia back to New Zealand,
which is the wrong direction.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Really that would be true because I know where Croatia
is and it's not this way. So how did that happen?
And does it matter? I suppose? I mean, is it
a massive cockup?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Oh yeah, she's not good. Via the gear was meant
to be over there in a couple of weeks in Croatia,
so it was good ahead of time. So we hadny hiccups.
We had a bit of a buffer, but it's not
cert Apparently at mister ship and Sydney or road loaded
onto the wrong outfit and then he now the decided
to send the home rather than sending it from Sydney
to Croatia.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
Will you be able to get it there or not?

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Well, we're just totally we can full of magic rabbit
out of her hat and someone can come on board
and give us a hand. But it's not looking real
promising at the moment.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
Okay, do you need your gear for this? Could you
jump on any tractor with any plower and feel competitive?
Or is it a personal thing?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Now? We're just we need around gear. It's like playing
golf for someone else with golf cubs. We're using someone
else as a or to be wrong or something like that.
We tayler tailer around gear of just being an a
extorsion amount of money or more gee, modifying it because
it's been away at the world and yeah, we'll change
stuff to herty make yourselves more competitive, and then we're
not even going to get to use it.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Is this going to mess with your head?

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Oh, it's not ordeal and it's we'll make things challenging,
but we'll throw pass something.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
What's it worth? When you started to extan, what's it worth?
What's your tractor?

Speaker 2 (01:31):
And plan?

Speaker 1 (01:32):
All that stuff?

Speaker 2 (01:32):
With the modification, Well, the main airs I've put onto
it is you had to even keep trink of if
you're if you're getting paid. But I'll be over one
hundred thousand dollars, but it's it's not worth it. But
it's all the way bits and places you do to
help you on the day to give you the need
or wally playing to give us eals you need.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Yeah, exactly. So there's nothing you can do. It'll either
be there or you're backing yourself in general terms, where
you're going into this as six time thinking sixth time
we'll ye over.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
An issue with He says, I see, I've done all
these most treat and play. I've got it really really well,
and I've had an our three ton world champion or
scotch almost Cochran's come on board as a character as well,
so he was sort of I was hoping he was
going to lift me to the next level and get
us a bit further up the place.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
And what do a coach do is in plowing, he's.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Just critiquing what we're doing and what we're just watching,
how the hell the soul rolled across the boards and
see and what we can do better. Yeah, it's just
like any coaracter watching and encouraging you and giving you
a guidance and.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
As location a big deal. Does it matter, you know,
soil quality, size, of paddick. You know, location, whether all
that stuff does it make.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
It way, They can make a big difference. Last year
when we were playing in Prague it was really really dry,
which made it really challenging. The two years pool that
were in Estonia and it was really dry and we
made a lot of round and that changed grand conditions
and made it more favorable.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
That's very that's a very European sort of competition. We're
holding it up. When are we holding it in twenty nine.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
When you know a year we are safety housting it
down here and certain so.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
You would get a home paddick advantage.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well that's the plaint. Yeah, yeah, this was this There
was a big picture here we're trying to build into
is would be playing at the next two to three Worlds,
which I've called forward for next year already, and then
just keep building myself up the later. So the fairness
to have a really good goal that when we're hours
to get out here.

Speaker 1 (03:16):
At home, good on you. Well, all I can do
is wish you the best with a gear and wish
you the best with the competition itself.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
So Mark Dylan for more from the Mic Asking Breakfast,
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