Full Show Podcast: 03 January 2026

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talk ZEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Happy thirty seventh birthday to former Keiwi's forward and Warriors
double century and Ben Mattaleno, Happy sixty fourth to Scottish
rugby legend Gavin Hastings. I'm Jason Pine, producer Andy McDonald
back for twenty twenty six. We're here talking sport with
you until three o'clock this afternoon. One of our great

(00:33):
middle distance runners, Rod Dixon, leading us off. He's been
made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
for services to athletics in the New Year's Honors. He's
standing by the chat to us with his reflections on
an absolutely iconic running career. So Rod Dixon first up.
Other matters around today, Canterbury have made a strong start,

(00:56):
unsurprisingly to the men's Super Smash season two from two.
They take on CD in Nelson this afternoon. Canterbury open
to Chad bows In for a chat a bit later
this hour. The A League men's season has been an
absolute cracker, completely unpredictable, often chaotic teams doing things that
you do not expect them to do. Two time A

(01:19):
League champion and our commentator and analyst Eric Partalou with
us after one o'clock to try and break it all down.
The Wellington Phoenix men and women both in action today,
were a bit later on actually a doubleheader at Radcliffe.
They both face the Brisbane Raw, the men first at seven,
the women at nine. Forty five. Women's strikert Emma Main

(01:41):
will become the fourth player to bring up fifty games
for the Wellington Phoenix women in tonight's game. She joins
us for a chat. As in our sports News, the
draw for the Women's ASB Classic going to be made
in under an hour one o'clock. Tournament director Nicholas Lampern
is in to review the draw just after two, and
also in our sports news you would have heard that

(02:03):
we have our finalists for the World Darts Championship. Luke
Littler Jean van ven Ben Francis, our darts analyst here
on a weekend sport going to join us to give
us prospects for that and also break down the two
semi finals. Adam Peacock with his look at Australian sporting matters,
in particular the retirement announcement yesterday of usman Kowaja was

(02:24):
it yesterday? Yeah, yesterday and prospects for the fifth Ashes
Test which starts in Sydney tomorrow Live Sport This afternoon
I mentioned the super smash in Nelson CD against Canterbury.
The women's game underway at twelve forty. Will keep eyes
on that for you and a bunch of NBA games
as well. To keep tabs on too. As always, the
opportunity to join the show is always there for you.

(02:47):
Oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty, we'll get you.
Throw on the phones nine two ninety two for your
text messages, emails and to me Jason at newstalksb dot
co dot Nz. It's just gone ten past midday.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
From breaking down the Hail Mary's and the every fails.

Speaker 3 (03:04):
Weekends for it with Jason time New Sork Zenby.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
One of our greatest middle distance runners, Rod Dixon, has
been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of
Merit for services to athletics in the New Year's Honors.
Rod Dixon was an incredibly versatile runner with a competitive
career which spanned nearly two decades across as many many
achievements in numerous disciplines. He won bronze in the fifteen

(03:31):
hundred meters at the nineteen seventy two munich Olympic Games,
and produced a memorable victory in the nineteen eighty three
New York City Marathon, which he won in a New
Zealand record time which lasted for thirty five years.

Speaker 4 (03:46):
What Dixon's Aressmith let me over the last prize. Dixon
a tremendous contpactison here at New York nineteen ny three
Blood Dixon sprinting haunted and finished good Dixoness spectacular racing
effort fast inhabit clod Dixon two fifty eight.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Out of basilion, absolutely connick. He remains Rod Dixon the
only athlete in history to have meddled in the Olympic
fifteen hundred meters and one the New York City Marathon.
He competed in three Olympic Games, in two Commonwealth Games,
and several cross country World Championships podium finishers in nineteen
seventy three and nineteen eighty two. He then became involved

(04:28):
in many major events as a director, including the Auckland
Round the Bays, the Sovereign Miles Series, and the Los
Angeles Marathon. He founded Kids Marathon Foundation in nineteen ninety
an educational running and nutrition program that's been implemented in
schools nationally and around the world, impacting more than one

(04:48):
point five million kids worldwide. He's been a UNISEF Goodwill
Ambassador promoting children's rights and welfare on a global scale,
and since two thousand and five has been Patron and
Inclusion Ambassador for Special Olympics Leukemia Team in Training and Achilles,
New Zealand. He was inducted into the New Zealand Sports

(05:11):
Hall of Fame in nineteen ninety six and now is
an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Rod
Dixon joins us on weekend Sport. Congratulations Rod on this
thoroughly deserved New Year's honor and amongst everything else that
you've achieved, What does recognition of this type mean for you?

Speaker 5 (05:31):
Well, it's yeah, it's I guess. I think in my
earlier days it wasn't that interested. I was more focused
on running. But certainly now as we see the impact
that the kids Running program, Run Jump Clay ABC agility,
balanced coordination skills for kids at elementary primary school is

(05:55):
really working and I'm seeing kids in high school now
that will tell me that they were inspired by the
program when they were in elementary school and now they're
playing basketball or hockey or soccer at college. And that's
we know the journey. We know the journey.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
Well, let's look at your journey. You grew up in Nilsen.
How did you catch the running bug?

Speaker 5 (06:20):
Well, I think my primary school teachers have figured out
that seeing my day. In my day, if you misbehaved,
you had to go out and run around the football field.
And of course the pitcher kept telling my mother, he says,
your son is misbehaving all the time. Every day he's

(06:41):
almost behaving. And she said, well, what do you do
I seen him out for a run. She said, well
he loves that. Why don't you give him a hundred lines?
I will not misbehave. Well, I stopped misbehaving. I didn't
want to be writing one hundred lives. So it was born.
It was my DNA, it was absolutely and I joined
the running club when I was thirteen years old. And

(07:04):
of course just up the road was Harold Nelson, who
was the nineteen forty eight Olympian nineteen fifty gold and
silver medalists at the British Empire Games and he was
such an inspiration. George McKenzie, who was the brother of
Dave McKenzie who won the Boston Marathon nineteen sixty seven,
My brother who was a great runner. It's my hero.

(07:26):
At meeting Sir Edmund Hillary in nineteen sixty at Tonnuis School.
These people just gave me so much inspiration.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
Your early success or a lot of it was in
cross country. Were you always driven though to become a
track athlete.

Speaker 5 (07:45):
No, I think it was just you know there again,
you know, cross country season track season were different, you know,
winter and summer, and it just meant that I could
run all year round. But I absolutely loved cross country
and my most favorite cross country course was at the
Oaklands Farm in Stoke, where they had big hills and

(08:09):
big fences and gates and creeks and swamps and we
just love going through that.

Speaker 2 (08:17):
I guess given your cross country background, when you did
move to the track rod, the more obvious choice would
have been the five thousand meters. So as we look
at your appearance at the Munich Olympic Games, you targeted
the fifteen hundred meters.

Speaker 5 (08:31):
Why was that, Well, it was because I was inspired
by Jack Lovelock, ninety thirty six Olympic gold medalists, Peter Snell,
Murray Hilberg, Bill Bailey, Barry McGhee, all these guys who ran,
John Davies, all these incredible athletes back in the sixties.

(08:52):
They inspired us and it was just amazing and I
wanted to be a miner. I wanted to run the mile.
That was something that was very, very powerful.

Speaker 2 (09:03):
Did it feel attainable to you? You had your brother
John as a coach and a mentor. Did Olympic qualification
feel attainable for you?

Speaker 6 (09:13):
Oh?

Speaker 5 (09:13):
No, I don't think so. At the time ninety sixty eight,
with all our mates were listening on the transistor radio
to the fifteen hundred meters and I said, I'll be
there one day, you guys, and they get have you
been drinking? I mean it was like, I mean they couldn't,
you know, But I said, no, this is going to

(09:35):
be a goal. I'm going to be doing this. But
it was just a dream. It was a dream and
it was spontaneous, but slowly the dots started to connect.
And I think that was when my brother John said,
you know, what do you think? And I said, I
want to run the fifteen hundred. I want to run
the mile. He said, well, we're halfway there already.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
And so how did it come to be. What sort
of training program, what sort of preparation did you put
in place that saw you run a personal best to
qualify for Munich?

Speaker 5 (10:03):
Well, I think yeah, John, having been coached with George mackenzie,
John figured it out. And of course in those early days,
the Lydiad used to come to Nelson because he worked
for Rothman's and he used to come to the club
and coach coaches, and of course John was there too,

(10:24):
and he understood the principles and philosophy of the Lydiad
Prince training, and I think all that was started to
come together, the ducks started to connect, and of course
I just was just motivated and inspired to I mean,
I couldn't wait for each day's training. It was amazing.

Speaker 2 (10:45):
I want to talk about what happened on the track
in Munich in a moment, but those Olympics overshadowed, of course,
by the terrorist attack resulted in the death of eleven
Israeli hostages a West German police officer. The New Zealand
team were housed very close to the israel team when
all this took place. For what do you remember of
that terrible day?

Speaker 5 (11:05):
We were right next door and sometimes when we would
go to breakfast and that we would walk with the
Israeli athletes and talk with them. And that was what
the Olympics is all about, just sharing and understanding and
learning and becoming friends. And of course we were right
next door. In fact, I was in the room with

(11:27):
Dick Taylor and as Terry Manners, who is the marathon runner,
and we heard we heard this banging and pop pop
pop in the night. We sort of what they were
all at about. And then I got up in the
morning and went out onto our little balcony because our
room was right next to the Israels, and I said,

(11:49):
now there's somebody out there with a balletklava and AK
forty seven rifle. We couldn't belave. But within about ten
minutes we had a knock on the door. Get your passports,
you've got to move out. And that became the the

(12:09):
what was going on with the negotiations and the terrorists
and they said that they had enough explosives to blow
up half the village?

Speaker 2 (12:18):
How how did you handle that? Rod Well? I mean
what I mean a completely foreign situation to a young
runner from Nelson. How did you deal with what was happening?

Speaker 5 (12:30):
Well, fortunately, we you know, we all got to our
team and Graham Davy, who was our manager athletics manager,
he got us all over at the assembly point and
he worked with us for emotional and spiritual blessings for
what was going on. And I think we all started

(12:53):
to understand that we had to be part of this
support as best we could. And of course the unfolding
is as you said, the athletes diet and and they
were going to actually they were going to postpone or
cancel the games, and the Israelis said, no, don't you
do that. We live with this every day of our lives.

(13:16):
The games must go on for the spirit and the
integrity of the athletes we have lost. And so we
sort of felt then then we were actually out there
running for the cause to continue with the Olympic movement,
that terrorism wasn't going to stop us believing in ourselves.

Speaker 2 (13:35):
Incredible, incredible. Well, let's get to the fifteen hundred meters
in your heat up against the great Kenyon kep Caino,
the USA's Jim Ryan. You're round UPB three minutes forty
in the heat, second alongside Kano, who clocked the same time.
I think, how much belief did you run in the
heat give you?

Speaker 5 (13:52):
Well know, fortunately with my brother John in those days,
we had to lock in a phone call to New Zealand,
so I would lock in a make a reservation for
a hune called every day so that I could talk
to John and tell him what was going on. But

(14:12):
he when he saw that fact that Kino said, you've
got to stay up with him. He is he runs
the perfect race for you. It's a strength race, not
a speed race. And so I knew then to stay
up as close as I could to the to the leaders,
so that it was more of a even race, rather

(14:34):
than sitting at the back and hoping that I could
run them all down.

Speaker 2 (14:38):
You won your semi final and another pebe then the final,
you broke Peter Snail's New Zealand record and winning bronze.
What do you remember most vividly about the about the final?

Speaker 5 (14:48):
Well, it was incredible to think that, but there again
we knew what Kino was likely to do, and I
stayed as close as I could to that pace, and
going into that last lap, I I actually thought that
the other runners would start to go past me, but

(15:11):
I could see that I was third. And then a
boy went past me about two hundred to go and
he actually cut me off, which means I had to
step back and go around him, and I think I
lost that momentum, but certainly coming down the home straight
and I could see Vassal of first, kind of second,

(15:33):
and I was third, and I just glanced to them.
I left, nobody was there, and I just couldn't believe it.
It was just a dream. And then of course after
the when Ron Polanski, who was the MZPA, he came
over and he says, not only have you got yourself,
but you broke Peter Snow's New Zealand record, and I

(15:54):
couldn't believe that. I thought, oh my gosh, really it
was an incredible moment.

Speaker 2 (16:00):
What's it like to stand on an Olympic podium?

Speaker 5 (16:05):
I think it's it's I think, you know. It was
interesting because when we when Sedmund Hillary told us kids,
he said that Mount Everest wasn't high enough for your goals,
your dreams, and your aspirations. And here I was standing
on the podium feeling as if I had found out
Everest was Sedman.

Speaker 2 (16:26):
Incredible yea a heartbreaking fourth in the five thousand meter
final four years later in Montreal. How devastated were you
to miss another Olympic podium four years later?

Speaker 5 (16:39):
Yes, that was that was had. Of course. You know
New Zealand were threatened with the boycott the the African nations,
of course boycott because of New Zealand.

Speaker 7 (16:52):
And we were told bit careful, you are going to
be subject to an attack, and that was.

Speaker 5 (17:02):
Walker Dixon Quacks. We were the three of us were.

Speaker 8 (17:05):
Told we didn't walk in the opening ceremony because of
the potential danger. And then I haven't told too many people,
but I got a third poisoning the night before the
race and I was up all night in the bathroom.
So that took the edge off me.

Speaker 2 (17:26):
Goodness. Then they step up to the marathon distance road.
What was behind that decision?

Speaker 5 (17:34):
Well, I of course, then the boycott of nineteen eighty
came around, yes, and so I mean we were in
Pennsylvania at the time, heading towards Moscow and we were told, sorry,
you won't be going to the Olympics. And we looked
at one another and said, well, how do you know it? Said, oh, mouldering.

(17:54):
Your Prime minister has just announced the boycott, and we
were already on our way. So I thought themself, no,
this is not. One of the guys said, hey, there's
a road race here in Philadelphia next weekend, and Bill
Rogers the bossing around when Jackie is coming, and I said, oh,
that'd be kind of cool to run a team k
and so what.

Speaker 9 (18:15):
I did, and I ran and I finished third and
of four thousand runners, and it was the excited in
that and then and then runners and the people running
and walking and and it just it was just overwhelming
because I had never been in a race with that
many people, and I just thought I liked this environment.

(18:38):
And I and then the guy Ron set.

Speaker 8 (18:43):
Me up with the Airmstown Beer festival next week.

Speaker 5 (18:47):
I said, I'd better say for that wonderful and in fact,
i'll tell you dayson. I said. The winner got his weight,
his body weight and beer and so unbelievable because just
before they put me on the scouts, a guy said,

(19:09):
I'll put this vest on, and I put the vest
on it and it was weit vest and they weighed
me and I was about nearly two hundred pounds, which
meant I could I could give beer to all my friends.

Speaker 2 (19:21):
Oh, brilliant, brilliant. And then of course New York nineteen
eighty three on New Zealand record time two of eight
fifty nine. It stood for thirty five years. When you
think back to that day in New York, a damp
day in New York, what stands out the most.

Speaker 5 (19:37):
Well, it was I went back. I decided. In eighty
two I ran the Auckland Marathon, which was the past
of Diamond Pastor Marathon in Auckland, and I won that,
and I knew then that I had another good marathon
in me. I had a lot of races I had
committed to, so I knew I wasn't going to run
another marathon in eighty two. But then I set my

(20:00):
goal to run the New York City Mouth eighty three,
went back and trained and absolutely focused for eighteen nearly
twenty weeks specifically for the New York City Marathon. So
when I flew out over Lancaster and out of the Philadelphia,

(20:21):
I just knew that this was the moment that I
had done everything I could to be the best prepared
for this marathon. And of course, you know, and I
had in those days we didn't have any telemetry, so
I had to put my split times on my fingers.
And it was amazing because I set myself a time
of two hours nine minutes to go out, and I

(20:45):
was variation between the various five mile, ten miles, thirteen mile,
eighteen mile, twenty three miles. I was in variation, but
I was so close to running the perfect race, and
yet I was still quarter of a mile to half
a mile behind in the leaders. But just focused on
that and then realizing that I wasn't able to go

(21:07):
to run any faster. They may not be slowing down,
and I started to run the tangents, and of course
when you run the tangents on the road, you actually
saved distance. You're not running faster, you're just saving distance,
and that it relates to time. And of course you know,
I had like thirty odd corners to go and I
had two seconds per the corner that I saved. That

(21:31):
was the time that I've made up. And I caught
Jeff Smith, the Englishman, right on the mile twenty six.
So I only led the race for two hundred and
eighty five yards.

Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yeah, well that's all. It was the most important two
hundred and eighty five yards and the scenes when you win,
the arms raised to the heavens, iconic scenes. Rod. I'm
getting goosebumps even saying it was What was that? What
was that like?

Speaker 3 (21:57):
Oh?

Speaker 5 (21:57):
Absolutely, the defining moments. And I thought to myself, you know,
and of course you know after ninety seventy two when
I had when the bronze medal, they said, I talked
about Servan Hillary coming to our school and inspiring us,
and they said, well, you have to call sir, and
I said, oh, I don't think you can call him,
because he said Himalaya is building schools and hospitals. And

(22:21):
they said, well, hold on, he's the Auckland phone book
and it's Hillary Edmund Percival to eighty a m you
were a road and the telephone number. But I went
and knocked on his door and I and I and
he came, Well, Lady Hillary came to the door and
said just a minute, young man, And of course I was.
I said, Satin and I went to the Olympics last

(22:43):
year and he said, oh yes, I don't think he
believed me actually, but he said, but I had my
medal with me and I took the medal out of
my pocket and showed him and he said, oh, this
is very fine young man. He said, well, you inspire
the next generation. And I said yes, sir, And so
that well that he gave me the medal back and
closed the door. And I didn't know what to do then,

(23:07):
but certainly, you know, you call your mother and she says,
just hold on to the goal, let go the timing.
And then as we started to do the kids program,
the Hillary Commission or the Hillary Foundation called me and
they said, well, you haven't told she And he said,
I said, well, he didn't tell me to tell him.
He just led me to do it. So of course,

(23:29):
then he invited me for a tea and he became
the patron for our program. And it was just incredible
to think that, you know, that journey and that inspiration
that he gave us as a country and the world.
Actually well, of course, the let's not forget an Augay
Tenzik who climbed with and it was just all those moments,

(23:52):
and those moments all flattered in on that finish light
at New York and just realizing that I had to
take all those steps, the disappointment of seventy four con
work Games, the disappointment of the seventy six Comwork Game,
the boycott of nineteen eighty I mean, all those were
moments that we have to go through in order to

(24:13):
get to our Mount Everest.

Speaker 2 (24:15):
What wonderful perspective. How did you know it was time
to call it a day? Certainly in the elite competitive
since you went to a third Olympics in eighty four,
I think your final senior competitive appearance the nineteen eighty
eight World Cross Country Championship, How did you know it
was time to perhaps, you know, to call it a
day in an elite sense.

Speaker 5 (24:37):
Well, I got very involved with the City of Los
Angeles marathon and getting into coaching and training. And I
remember when Mayor Bradley at the eighty four Games and
I said, why doesn't this city have a marathon like
New York and Boston and London? And he looked at
his people and he said, why don't we And they said, oh,

(24:59):
we've never thought about it, And of course from that
they created the City of Los Angeles Marie and I
was asked to go and work on it, at which
I did. I loved going, and my thing was was
to get leave, no, to encourage everybody to get off

(25:20):
the sofa and go out for walking and jogging and
let's see if you can run a marathon. And La
that first year was the highest number of first time
runners ever to sign up for a marathon and the
first the highest finishers of first time runners. So we

(25:41):
knew that by training and coaching the runners, we can
get them to achieve their goals. And it's not about
how fast you run. Finishing is winning. Winning is finishing,
and that's the manswer for our kids.

Speaker 2 (25:55):
Just if we talk about the next generation just quickly,
what have you made of the feats of teenager Sam
Ruth and his middle distance running in the last twelve
to twenty ten months or so.

Speaker 5 (26:05):
Oh, absolutely inspiring. Because of the schools that I go to,
the first thing the kids tell me is that what
about Sam moves? We want to be like him? So
he is. He's been an incredible inspiration. And you know
the Sam Tanners and Jordy Beamish and you know Nick.
It's just been amazing the inspiration that those athletes have

(26:29):
been able to share around the country and kids today
see are very very enthused. And here we had the
spectacle here at Nelson and the highest number of first
time runners running ten k's and five k's and fifty k's.
It's just very very inspiring.

Speaker 2 (26:48):
Well, as are you, Rod. It's been energizing chatting to
you as always. Congratulations on your New Year's honor as
I say, absolutely and thoroughly deserved, and thanks for taking
so much time to have a chat to us today.

Speaker 5 (27:00):
Thank you, Jason, and happy you're here. To everybody on
the on the planet.

Speaker 2 (27:05):
Everybody on the planet Rod, including you. Thanks mate. Rod
Dixon now Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
for services to athletics, named so in the.

Speaker 10 (27:16):
New Year's Honors.

Speaker 2 (27:17):
It's twenty five to one.

Speaker 1 (27:19):
Be back in a moment the tough questions off the
turf weekends for It with Jason Hin and GJ. Gunnerholmes,
New Zealand's most trusted home builder News TALKSV.

Speaker 2 (27:30):
Coming up twenty two to one. Lot of feedback on
our chat to Rod Dixon. What a wonderful interview, says
travel What a wonderful man. Indeed, a very interesting chat
with Rod. Happy New Year to him, What an inspiring man.
This interview will be hard to beat, says Gavin Cheap
As I hope we can beat it it's only the
third of January. Piney Rod Dixon bloody legend. I loved
hearing him relive running the tangents in the New York Marathon.

(27:54):
He said, that's the interesting thing about the marathon, as
I'm not speaking from experience here, just from observation, but
when you run the marathon, it's not like running around
a track and that you know you're doing four hundred
meters or whatever it is. There are clearly ways to
make sure that you run the shortest distance possible, and
in a very close marathon, which nineteen eighty three was

(28:15):
in New York, running those tangents clearly helped Rod Dixon out.
Trissas So enjoying the interview with Rod. What a lovely
speaking man. Happy New Year and someone else's it wasn't
it great that Arthur Lydy had worked for Rothmannd's It's
quite ironic, isn't it quite ironic? Indeed, the other athletes
who were honored on New Year's Day, Sir Scott Dixon

(28:38):
speaking of Dixon's, Sir Scott for services to Motors Board,
of course Rod Dixon. Lorraine Moller for services to Athletics.
VLL Smith, another Nelsonian for services to outdoor bowls, Ronnie
Clark for services to the Pacific community and to rugby,
and Martin Gupdel member of the New Zealand Order of
Metaphor services to cricket. Then we had Judith Hamilton, longtime

(29:01):
rowing coach, and a bunch of administrators and volunteers also recognized,
Greg Barclay, Quinn, Brian Davies, Ian Potter, Shirley Hooper, Malcolm McKee,
Jenny Nahu and Gary Whittele. Look, I know not everybody
agrees with the honors system and the fact that sports
people are often recognized in this way, and I think
most most of the recipients are very humble in their

(29:26):
receipt of these awards. But what it does get us
the opportunity to do is to relive moments like we
did with Rod Dixon and to hear his reflections and
to soak in his enthusiasm. So yeah, great to do
just before we go to break. Jason, hopefully one of
your New Year's resolutions will be to cover more texts

(29:47):
or at least have a cone head summarize the key themes.
It's a bit of a waste of time sending in
text compared to the number that you actually read. Look,
I do have a conehead. Andy is his name. I
must say though we do receive a lot of text
messages and we could fill up the whole sh oh
reading them out. We don't get to them all. As

(30:09):
I've often said, though we do read them all and
we appreciate you sending them. Twenty to one. Let's go
for another break, come back and talk some cricket. Chad
Bows opening batsman for Canterbury the start of the Super Smash. Well,
they play CD and Nelson this afternoon. Chad Bow's going
to join us for a chat after this.

Speaker 1 (30:25):
The biggest things in sport are on Weekend Sports with
Jason Paine and GJ. Gubnoholmes, New Zealand's most trusted home builder,
News Talks INB.

Speaker 2 (30:35):
News Talks AB. Canterbury have made a strong start to
the Men Super Smash Cricket season two from two. They
take on CD and Nelson this afternoon. Canterbry up to
Chad Bows is with us. Chad thanks for joining us.
On match day forty off twenty seven against Otago just
after Christmas and sixty two off thirty seven balls against
CD and christ Chi John New Year's Day, you're obviously
hitting it, okay. How happy are you with the start

(30:57):
to the Super Smash season?

Speaker 5 (30:59):
Yeah?

Speaker 11 (31:00):
Thanks man, I appreciate that it has been a good
start personally and collectively obviously. I mean, look, in this format,
you can't always guarantee when performances will come around. So
you know, when it's your day, you try and cash in,
and you know there'll be days where it's.

Speaker 10 (31:17):
Not going your way.

Speaker 11 (31:19):
But I mean all you can do is try your
best and use your strengths and hopefully it works out
on the day and we'll see what transpires are later
on today.

Speaker 2 (31:28):
You've been playing T twenty cricket now for well over
a decade. How much is the way you bat in
T twenty changed in that time?

Speaker 10 (31:39):
Yeah, I'd say it's evolved.

Speaker 11 (31:42):
I think every player evolves, you know, as a cricketer. Anyway,
I think when I first started, I didn't have enough
power and I didn't trust myself to hit players back
over the head, so I was using a lot of
laps and reverse laps and sweep some things like that.
Where I think I've formed a better foundation of I

(32:05):
guess powerheading to trust myself to hit strong shots. Obviously,
I've better at the top my whole career really, so
that the powerplay has been my niche, so to speak.

Speaker 10 (32:18):
So I've been able to, I.

Speaker 11 (32:20):
Guess, understand myself and my own strengths and how to
utilize that powerplay the best way I can. Obviously, I
don't need to always hit sixers in the power play,
you know. Through through the gaps we'll do just fine
as well, and I'll leave the big the bigger heading
for the boys down the order. But yeah, I think
there's there's always a natural evolution to two players throughout
their careers.

Speaker 2 (32:39):
Well, it seems to come off the bed, okay mate,
if I'm honest, through the gaps and over the over
the fence as well, interested as well, and in the
dynamic of being an opener, because well, if you bat first,
you have no idea what that pitchure is going to do.
Even if you're bat second, you know no your mates
have been out there, So how do you negotiate the
challenge of being there from ball one? In T twenty?

Speaker 11 (33:03):
Yeah, well, I mean you can say that across all formats. Really,
the difference in T twenty cricket is you don't actually
have the time to kind of just hang around and
see what's going on. You've got to hit your strap
straight away. So and that's where you know, it can
be a fickle format where you know, you make one
or two minor errors and that can be your day done.

(33:24):
You may not even make errors on your day could
be done just because there's always quality boilers upfront to
utilize the new ball, and you know, we we have
a lot of good bilers in this country. We've seen
the depth coming to the black Caps recently from domestic cricket.
There's some seriously good, good players around the traps. So
it's a challenge, but I guess the beauty of opening

(33:49):
is that you know the situation that you're going to
be confronted with every game, even though the conditions might
might be different, you understand what's in front of you.
So that's that's the challenge is to try and combat
you know, some good boilers with the new ball and
and potentially conditions that you're unsure of. But it's to

(34:12):
you know, be courageous and brave and trust your strength
and commit to a style of play that you know
won't come off all the time. But that's that's how
this game works.

Speaker 2 (34:23):
As you mentioned, you are an all format cricketer for Canterbury,
well over one hundred games in all three formats, closing
in on twelve thousand runs across the three combined. Where
does T twenty six? Is it your favorite format?

Speaker 11 (34:40):
I wouldn't use the word favorite because they are all
very different in their own right. You know that there's
I enjoy aspects of all three formats, and I don't
enjoy some aspects of all three formats too. You know,
the beauty of T twenty cricket is that it's the
closest to a lot of other sports codes and talment
in terms of length of time that you play the

(35:01):
game for, the intensity, the speed, the entertainment factor as well.
So you know, you know, you know you're playing for
three hours, You're going to you know, give it your
best crack. It's high intensity when it's your day, it's
it's really enjoyable and you know there's instant feedback from
from the crowd, whereas the other formats, your kind of

(35:24):
rewards are more long lasting and it's a longer effort
to obviously get that, and there's I guess more inner
satisfaction when it comes to those performances. So look, it's
hard to compare between them all. But the nice thing is,
you know, the T twenty campaign is over the summer holidays.
There's always a nice atmosphere on the ground and energy,

(35:45):
so it is a very enjoyable occasion every time we play.

Speaker 2 (35:49):
And I know it's a team game, but surely this
first T twenty century's got to get ticked off soon
for you.

Speaker 11 (35:55):
I mean, I didn't want to bring it up, but.

Speaker 10 (36:03):
I guess it's in the back of the head. It's
hard to come by. Obviously.

Speaker 11 (36:10):
I feel like it's just going to be my day.
If it happens, things will will fall that way. It's
very hard to come out and play a T twent
inning saying when I try and score hundred, because that's
not really what you set out to do. It's usually
the role let's get the team off to a good start,
but the opposition and pressure and if that carries on

(36:32):
into kind of the ten or fifteenth over, then you're
having a really.

Speaker 10 (36:35):
Good day as an opener.

Speaker 11 (36:37):
So to get that hundred, I guess it's just a
case of that's just got to extend for a little
while longer, and if it's my day, then you know
that that will happen.

Speaker 10 (36:48):
But it's very hard.

Speaker 11 (36:49):
To try and actually say I'm going to I'm going
to get one hundred this campaign because it either works
out that way or what doesn't.

Speaker 2 (36:56):
Yeah, I'm sure that day will arrive, probably when you
least expect that, actually, but exactly sure it will arrive.
How can I cannibrate to win this thing? I mean,
you've made the fine of what the last five seasons,
one of them was rhin effected, and you haven't lifted
the silver away. How can are you to win this thing?

Speaker 11 (37:13):
I mean, just as keen as every other season. But
obviously you know, the reality is it's it's been very
close but not close enough for for a period of years.
So the hunger is not anymore just because we haven't
got it. We're a professional team who you know, who

(37:34):
want to win games a cricket and bringing silverware no
matter what.

Speaker 10 (37:38):
Format it is.

Speaker 11 (37:39):
But I mean, there's no running away from the fact
that we've missed out consecutively the last five years. So
it's a conversation we were aware of. We're not putting
any more pressure on ourselves. Uh Yeah, it's something that
we we will, I guess look to towards the end

(38:01):
of the tournament whether or not that's you know, going
to be within our control again and hopefully if we're
good enough then we can get a hand in it.
But yeah, that's it's obviously been missing for a while.

Speaker 2 (38:16):
And the structure of the summer is as such that
you you know the formats all you switch between the
formats for trophy, then to planket shield into the super
Smash and then back into the other formats. Always interested
as far as bad as are concerned, how you manage
the challenge of switching between the formats? How do you
do that?

Speaker 5 (38:39):
Yeah?

Speaker 10 (38:39):
A lot of it probably would be.

Speaker 11 (38:42):
Personal changes from player to player, depend on how they
depending on how they prepare. Just generally speaking for me,
a lot of it's a mental shift, not necessarily tactical
or technical shift. Some guys like to hit a lot
of balls in the new format and train, you know,

(39:04):
there their body and mind to get back into a
new groove. We don't often have the luxury of time
or sources to do that, so a lot of it
comes down to your mental ability to shift into a
new space, a new game, plan new application of strengths

(39:26):
and also you know the nature of playing for a
while as you kind of get used to doing that
and understand how to do it for yourself, where you know,
if you're just start going out it might be a
bit of trial and error. So for me, it's more
a mental shift, and I've been able to do that
enough times to trust you know, my method and our processes.

(39:48):
Sometimes for me it's it's doing less instead of doing more,
so keeping things really simple sometimes it's not even hitting
that many balls and just kind of having that freedom
of mind to just be present in the new format
and not bring any any baggage.

Speaker 2 (40:07):
Work well, it was obviously working. Got a Plunket hild
hundred and a Ford Trophy hundred already this summer, so
clearly the method you're using is working very well. Chad, Hey,
great to get the chance to chat, do you. Thanks
for taking our call on match day. All the best
against CD in Lovely Nelson this.

Speaker 11 (40:21):
Afternoon, cool man, Thank you look forward to it. Yeah,
we look forward to it.

Speaker 2 (40:24):
To Chad. Chad Bows from Canterbury ahead of their game
against CD this afternoon. Six and a half to one
News Talks AB and weekend sport approaching one o'clock after
one A decent look at a league football Eric partlou
form a double champion with Brisbane rog going to run
an eye over the league thus far, and we're off
to the darts. Ben Francis breaking down the two semi

(40:46):
finals this morning at Ali Pelly is being made as
we speak, so we'll have some news of that in
our two o'clock news and we hope to catch up
with Nicholas Lamper and the tournament director shortly after that
to get his assessment of the drawer and of the
weaker head cheap as I hope it improves where the

(41:06):
wise up there. It seems to be a theme every year,
isn't it? That roof can't come quickly enough on the
tennis center there at Stanley Street. But we'll talk to
Nicholas Lamber in around an hour from now after the
draw has been made this hour the darts Man two
incredible semis well actually one incredible semi in one fairly

(41:27):
comprehensive when Luke Littler and Giwan van Fayne will play
in the final tomorrow morning, New Zealand time. Ben France
is our darts expert going to break that down for US.
Adam Peacock out of Australia A League Football shortly they're
enjoying themselves in the sunshine in Nelson where there's a
super Smash double header today CD against Canterbury. The Hinds

(41:51):
have just lost their first week at Briani Smith out
for a quick fire forty five of twenty five deliveries,
but in the eighth over Central started well. There's sixty
one for one. Sixty one for one against Canterbury who
are yet to win a game this season, which is
odd really, They've got a good team. But CD with
the early running there sixty one for one and the
eighth over. We'll keep our eyes firmly on that for you.

(42:15):
How numbers eight hundred and eighty ten eighty nine two
nine two for your text messages, Please get in touch
if the fancy takes you. Football's A League continues to deliver.
We're into round eleven of twenty six in the regular season.
In the men's competition, Auckland FC are top, but they
were beaten on New Year's Day at go Media Stadium

(42:37):
by Newcastle. How much more time will there be?

Speaker 5 (42:42):
None?

Speaker 2 (42:42):
Is the answer? New Year's day belongs to the new
Castle Jess. The ten Men Jess incredible really. Newcastle have
come to Auckland twice now in the last five weeks
and gone away with the three points on both occasions.
Auckland FC are still top of the table. Brisbane Raw

(43:04):
can go pass them into top spot if they beat
Wellington Phoenix tonight. That game kicks off at seven at
Cayo Stadium in Redcliffe, and Sydney FC can go past
Brisbane a few hours later if they can get three
points against Melbourne City at Amy Park. Now Melbourne Victory,
who were bottom not that long ago, or up to
fifth now after a three to two win over Perth

(43:27):
Glory last night. That is their fourth successive win. There
are just five points separating second from ninth on the table,
and even those teams occupying the bottom few rings of
the latter could jump into top six contention if they
were to find some consistency. Eric Partalohu was a two
time A League champion with the iconic Brisbane Raw side

(43:51):
of the early twenty tens. He played seventy nine matches
across three seasons with Brisbane, also had time at Melbourne City.
He played professionally in Scotland, China, Kuta, South Korea, Thailand
and India, and represented the Australian N seventeen side and
the Fall Soccer Ruse. He is now a highly respected
analyst in A League football coverage on our screens and

(44:14):
he joins us now, Eric, I'm not entirely sure we're
to start with so many talking points around the league.
Maybe we start on New Year's Day, Newcastle beating Auckland
FC three to one despite playing seventeen minutes of that
game with only ten men. What did you make of
the Jets defensive effort that day?

Speaker 12 (44:34):
Yeah, Pani, thanks for the introduction, mate, It's great to
talk with you. It's been a really interesting season so far,
hasn't it in the A League? And yeah, you wouldn't
have You wouldn't have bet your house on the Jets
going and getting two wins in New Zealand, would you.
But you know, it's it was a pretty pretty good
game in terms of a young Jets squad that's been

(44:57):
up and down and really like Marke Milligan's.

Speaker 3 (45:00):
Just been double downing.

Speaker 12 (45:02):
On his philosophy and I think that he's just you know,
sticking with the young guys and playing forward and playing
expansive and aggressive football, and some teams can figure them
out and some teams can't. And it just seems for
teams like Auckland they're having a bit of a stutter
at the moment and not being able to figure them out.

Speaker 3 (45:22):
But I love what I'm seeing from the A League. Planty.
It's been unpredictable and.

Speaker 12 (45:26):
There's been chaos at every corner and you can't predict anything.

Speaker 3 (45:29):
So it's been great.

Speaker 2 (45:31):
No, it certainly has, and I want to ask you
to predict anything, but we can talk I think in
general terms. Just before we get to Aukland FC. Newcastle
have both scored the most goals and conceded the most goals,
which is very rare combo. If they can tighten up defensively,
could they play finals football for the first time in
a long time.

Speaker 5 (45:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 12 (45:52):
I hope so for our sake because they are so entertaining.
But you know, like you said that, you know, losing
Sushnia to another club or going overseas at the back,
they're still had that little bit of inexperience. I'd love
to see maybe Mark Milligan gets somebody in the window
that could just show that up as a lot of
players coming off contract, I know from South Korea and

(46:15):
obviously Japan, so you know, watch that space. I reckon
that somebody might have to come in and steady this
ship because personnel wise they are such a young team
and Delianov needs a little bit more protection.

Speaker 3 (46:26):
We've seen him give.

Speaker 12 (46:27):
Away a couple of soft goals, but when you talk
about their midfield and the players they've got going for,
they're just not scared of having a go. And if
you remember last year under Rob stant And, I think
that was the season that they really got their chance
to mold and go out there and be who they
wanted to be. And this year they've got the legs
to carry them through from that experience. So yeah, it's

(46:50):
going to be interesting to see what happens in January.

Speaker 2 (46:52):
Piney do ORPENLYFC still appeal to you as a title
contender premiers last year, Look, this loss was off the
back of three wins. They still top as we said
here speaking today, do they still appeal as a title contender?

Speaker 5 (47:08):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (47:08):
Look, I think the best is yet to come.

Speaker 12 (47:12):
Sorry, I think for Auckland, they haven't shown us their
full full set of cards. You know, Gagermo MAI's been
in and out. I think he's maybe carrying something still.
You don't see him, you know, performing like he did
last year. Sacki has been in and out of the
team with injury and they're protecting him I think a
little bit longer and Pinaker as well. I don't think
they've got their settled eleven back line there just yet,

(47:35):
but you know, you've got players that have come in
like Lockiebrook who's just been I think, you know, top
two or three players in the competition. He's been outstanding
to watch and it's lifted the game of guys like
Jesse Randall, who's had the most shots on target as
well in the competition. I really like what I see
Verastrada still playing well. The core group is there and

(47:55):
Conicle will know that once he turns his corner and
gets a few more results than anything's possible.

Speaker 3 (48:02):
I actually tip them for the championship this year.

Speaker 12 (48:04):
I don't know if they'll be first part the posts,
but you can be sure that they'll be up there
or thereabouts.

Speaker 3 (48:10):
But yeah, the best is yet to come.

Speaker 2 (48:12):
I feel for Auckland, your former side or one of them.
Brisbane Raw Drifting for a few seasons. Haven't made the
finals for the last four campaigns, but if they wouldn't
to night against Wellington, which they should, they'd go top
for a few hours. Anyway, what have you made of
the change that new coach Michael Valcanus has brought to
Brisbane Raw?

Speaker 12 (48:30):
And I'd love to know that stat party. I'm going
to go and look for it now. When was the
last time Brisbane Raw we're top of an A League table?
It might have been, you know, a couple of seasons
ago and beyond, but yeah, I think, look, you either
love them or you hate them, and I think that
for a lot of the competition that it's the latter.
And you know, would we have preferred to see a

(48:51):
Brisbane Raw like last year that was just difficult to
watch at times and laying down and not having the quality?
I think the recruit when you've got to give a
lot of credit to the recruitment, that comes down to
Volcanos and the guys behind the scenes getting in the
certain time type of players that he wants to play
the way that he wants to play. Now, I don't
remember a team playing with this sort of style in many,

(49:15):
many years. I'm trying to think of teams like Melbourne
Victory in the past with Kevin Musket, aggressive type teams
that went out there and just did the business. But
if you look at some of their statistics last week
against the Mariners, they were outscoring the Central Coast Mariners
all the big metrics in terms of chances created, shots
on target, you know, final third entry. So they're not

(49:39):
just a one trick pony. And I think they have
a way of playing right now that I don't think
anybody's going to be able to match. Because it started
off in pre season. They put the microchip in there
and you know, decided that they're going to be physical,
they're going to outwork people and they're going to play
forward quickly. And when you start doing that and you
go out into a football pitch and try and compete,

(50:00):
and we saw it against Auckland FC, even when they
played across there. It was a really close game. They
gave him such a big fright as well. That gives
you a lot of confidence. And now you can say
it's the Mariners one week, and now at the bottom
you can say it's Wellington this week, that maybe they're
you know, struggling a little bit, but if they go
top of the table, I expect them to carry on

(50:20):
and continue in that top sort of two or three
zone for sure.

Speaker 2 (50:24):
We talked about the chaos of this league and the
up and down nature of it. Melbourne Victory had a
very challenging start to the season, just one win in
their first seven, a run of four games without even
scoring your goal, and now they're on a four game
winning streak. What has been behind the turnaround at Melbourne Victory.

Speaker 12 (50:42):
You can't just say it's been for Loupala and one
much of getting to full fitness, although it looks like
that when you watch it on Telly. But I think
for Arthur Dillars, who spoke to him last night, he
was just saying that it just comes down to hard
work and belief. And that's the thing about being in
a football club is that you know you've got to
sort of push your way through those tough moments. And

(51:05):
we've seen it time and time again in football. You've
got to keep your head down, working hard. The fixture
this didn't help them as well.

Speaker 3 (51:11):
Piney.

Speaker 12 (51:11):
I think you know now they're playing I think was
it seven or eight games in the next ten at
home that certainly helps you to be a bit more
grounded and for players light Mutter, they don't got to
travel away and maybe.

Speaker 3 (51:24):
Dilas have to protect him a little bit more.

Speaker 12 (51:26):
But yeah, you can say it's been Mutter the loople
coming into the side, which is len lifted players and
given them better chance creation for guys like.

Speaker 3 (51:35):
Santos for Vergos.

Speaker 12 (51:37):
Absolutely, but you have to remember now they look really
lightweight in their back line, so this is going to
be the challenge for them moving forward. They've lost Roderick Miranda,
Lachlan Jackson's not playing that to play with Jason Davidson
as a cent and a half last night, so maybe
they have to dip into the transfer market as well.

Speaker 2 (51:56):
So THEFC seems like ages since they last play the
top of the table players against Auckland postponed unfortunately. Are
they seeking but they did lose their last game to Newcastle.
How do you assist how Sydney f you're traveling?

Speaker 12 (52:11):
Yeah, very difficult because they, like you said, they haven't
played for a while and you just hope for their
sake that Joe Lolly's hamstring has recovered in that time.
I don't think it will have it looked as though
you retweaked it against the Jets. But yeah, the loss
of John Massana, the assistant coach, I think will be
felt and that space there for any coach will tell
you that if they lose their assistant coach to somewhere,

(52:33):
that's your day to day guy, that's your guy on
the training pitch, that's just you know, conveying your sort
of message. And I just felt at this at the
end there before the break for Sydney, they were starting
to fall off the pace and having a little dip
now and everyone will tell you when you come back
from a long break, you don't generally get off to
a good start, and you say, wow, these guys look

(52:55):
like they've never missed a trick and they're coming It's
usually at quite a slow start. So I'm expecting Sydney
maybe just to teeter and you know, struggle through a
couple of games, maybe a few drawers or are loss
here or there, and then I think the big key
for them is having that outlet. You've got two rays
on one side. We need to see more from Campethano

(53:16):
and kiss Pay.

Speaker 3 (53:17):
I think that's probably evident in.

Speaker 12 (53:19):
The way they've played the last couple of games they've
done a little bit better. But oakonn returning hopefully that
makes a big difference for them as well.

Speaker 2 (53:27):
Out West though Western Sydney Wanderers, who I actually had
preseason anyway, you know, up at the other end of
the table, sick and bottom despite a really good squad.
What's Hapniget Paramta.

Speaker 3 (53:39):
Well.

Speaker 12 (53:39):
I was at the game the other night covering it
as in a piney and it was it was a
strange feeling because you've got Alan s dadgits that's basically
he's just you know, he's trying to keep his job
as long as possible, like every manager. But I don't
buy into the statistics that are trying to keep him
in the job at saying that if it was an

(54:01):
expected goals table then that they'd be right at the
top because they've created a lot of chances.

Speaker 3 (54:06):
Yes, that's great, but.

Speaker 12 (54:07):
They haven't been putting the ball in the back of
the d I saw a definite shift when they played
the Mariners at home and then in the Sydney Darby.
I thought, here we go. They've turned the corner. They're
getting four, they're scoring goals. By all reports, they're going
to lose Alex Bonatti to the MLS, so again another
position on the pitch they'll be, there'll be a little

(54:27):
bit weakerings. He played every minute for them Panazopolis. You
know that he's great going forward and gives you that energy.
I just feel that, you know, putting Jy Rose in
there was fantastic and we loved that. You've got a
guy like Steven Ugarkovich who's been a winner in this competition.
He hasn't started the last four games, and I worry that,

(54:48):
you know, some players might be just starting to fall
off the wayside or falling out with the coach and
not getting maybe the opportunities.

Speaker 3 (54:55):
That they deserve.

Speaker 12 (54:56):
But if you look at the games you go, they're
doing enough to get to that final zone.

Speaker 3 (55:01):
They're just not scoring.

Speaker 12 (55:03):
And you know, how long can that continue before or
you make a really, really big change.

Speaker 3 (55:08):
And I did ask him Piney. I said to him
that you know.

Speaker 12 (55:12):
The pressure's on you, but how about you put more
pressure on your players, because that's that's the last point
of return. You have to now put more pressure on
the players to go and score. And he said, oh,
what's pressure? And you know we're under pressure every single
day but let me tell you, they'll be feeling it
across the Western Sydney.

Speaker 2 (55:28):
Indeed and Wellington Phoenix and during a challenging campaign, most
recently that five to one loss at Amy Park to
Melbourne victory Brisbane Raw tonight at what is likely to
be a hotbed at Cayo Stadium, Reid Cliff, What do
you predict for Wellington Phoenix for the second half of
the season.

Speaker 12 (55:47):
Yeah, looks It's funny, isn't it, Because last year we
were we were sort of blaming or you know, looking
at Wellington saying they were too boring last year playing
inside their own half and playing over the top for
barbarusis and it was very you know, score one and
try and keep the lead and it didn't work for them.
And then this year it's almost like he's going forward

(56:09):
too much and we're blaming him for squeezing the team
high and having more goal scoring chances. But the bottom
line is zero clean sheets versus Brisbane Raw's six.

Speaker 3 (56:21):
So you know, if you want to be at the
top end of the.

Speaker 12 (56:23):
Table, yes, it's great scoring goals, you've got to be
keeping clean sheets.

Speaker 3 (56:28):
And now we talked about this with Josh Olawayomi.

Speaker 12 (56:30):
He has saved them both the most big chances that
have been created for the competition. So he's saved eleven
big opportunities and two penalties as we know in that
derby game as well. But now with McLaren and in
goal the other night, I felt as though they should
have protected him a little bit more. Where does that
sit with that situation with the goalkeeper. But I think

(56:53):
the second half of the season, he's got to go
on a happy medium, hasn't he. He can't be just
going hell for leather high line squeezing. But the only
positive I'll give you at the end of this pine
is that they have scored in every game bar one
this year and that's a positive sign Army and so
as a piper, they've looked really, really strong in that
front line, so I think that was score goals.

Speaker 3 (57:15):
But they've got to tighten up at the.

Speaker 2 (57:16):
Back absolutely just to finish a big year for football,
both New Zealand and Australia off to the World Cup.
How optimistic Eric do you feel about the Sokkaroos and
World Cup year?

Speaker 3 (57:27):
Yeah, it's a great question. Depending on who.

Speaker 12 (57:30):
We get for the UEFA playoff is a big one.
I feel what we saw from Tony Popovich's squad getting
to the World Cup was superb and he played exactly
the right way that I think we need to play
as a.

Speaker 3 (57:45):
Nation and to our abilities and our skill sets. There's
no harm in playing that way.

Speaker 12 (57:50):
It just got to the stage we started playing friendlies
that people thought there's no risk in these games. Yet
we're still playing the same way and maybe being a
little bit too defensive. I worry for our chance creation
and boring goals. I think when you go to a
World Cup, yeah, you want to get through, and it's

(58:11):
a little bit it's a lot easier to get through.
I think it's that eight out of the twelve groups,
third place we'll get through.

Speaker 3 (58:18):
So you're really.

Speaker 12 (58:19):
Talking about getting getting three points. Three points should get
you through. So you're looking at those games and look,
the USA one stands out for me, it'd be great
to get that win against them. We lost to them,
of course in the friendly in November and October. It
was Yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing who we
get for that. The third team, So the fourth team, sorry,

(58:42):
but I don't know. I think with Australia we're always
excited We're always optimistic and I don't think we could
have asked for a better group if I'm being honest.

Speaker 3 (58:51):
No World Cup winners as well.

Speaker 12 (58:54):
That's the first time that's happened for us as well,
and you know in New Zealander there as well, which
is fantastic.

Speaker 3 (59:00):
So it's going to be early morning starts in June
and July.

Speaker 2 (59:04):
Absolutely well. We love your work, Eric, Thanks whats for
joining us, mate, really appreciate your analysis across news yelling today.

Speaker 3 (59:10):
Yeah, pleasure party, Thank you mate, No.

Speaker 2 (59:12):
Thank you Eric. Eric Partalu their former double A league
champion with Brisbane Raw and a vary astute analyst of
the game. Love is his input on the television coverage
of a league matches. So your double header for the
Wellington Phoenix today at Redcliffe Kyo Stadium in Redcliffe. So

(59:32):
normally Brisbane play their home games at sun Corp Stadium,
but they've taken this one to Redcliffe and have sold
it out, so due to be just a pressure cooker
for both the men and the women. The men's games
at seven, the women at nine forty five. The women
playing brilliantly. They've scored ten unanswered goals in the last

(59:53):
two matches seven nil and three nils, so they'll go
in full of confidence tonight. Emma Main incidentally is on
the show in the next hour. She's going to play
her fiftieth match for the women's team tonight. Got a
couple of goals in the last game, so she'll join
us for the men.

Speaker 5 (01:00:07):
Gee.

Speaker 2 (01:00:07):
It's been pretty hard YAKA for Wellington Phoenix fans in
recent times. Most recently as I mentioned to Eric, there
the five to one loss on Monday at Amy Park.
They'll have to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and
face a Brisbane side who know that if they win
they'll go at least for a couple of hours to
the top of the A League ladder. So that game
at seven o'clock tonight at Redcliffe. Auckland f C next

(01:00:30):
play on Monday evening at Campbelltown, up against MacArthur who
are very efficiently putting together a pretty decent season themselves.
So Auckland f C also looking to bounce back from
their loss on New Year's Day with a game against
MacArthur on Monday. To Nelson quickly coming towards the end
of the twelfth over the Central Hines one hundred and

(01:00:52):
five for one batting first against Canterbury in their Super
Smash match. You can add another boundary to that, No,
you can't. You can add another wicket to that. I
thought she got more of that, but it's actually turned
out to be a wicket. It's the danger of watch
on television the Hins one hundred and five for two
at the end of the twelfth over, still going along
at close to nine and over against Canterbury in the

(01:01:14):
Super Smash game in Nelson, which looks very pleasant to
weather wise today. When is it ever not in Nelson though,
one twenty nine, when we come back to the darts
we go. We've got our finalists of the World Darts Championship,
two of the young guns of World Darts going to
go head to head. Ben Francis, our darts expert, going
to break it down for us when we come back.

Speaker 3 (01:01:34):
Don't get caught off side.

Speaker 1 (01:01:36):
Eighty weekends for us with Jason Paine and GJ. Gunnhopes,
New Zealand's most trusted home builder News TALKSB.

Speaker 2 (01:01:45):
News Talks will be one thirty two. The World Dance
Championship final is locked in. Something he'd have been dreaming out.

Speaker 4 (01:01:55):
Since he was a Gandanvain's in the Wood Championship final.

Speaker 2 (01:02:01):
Dutch thrower Gwan van Vane through to the final, knocking
off former two champion Gary Anderson six to three in
their semi final. Fun Faye will play reigning champion Luke Littler.

Speaker 12 (01:02:14):
He's not prolific off doubles in the match, Lucas in
yet another World Championship final with the demolisson jobah Racer.

Speaker 2 (01:02:24):
Here was a demolition job Luke Littler storming to a
six to one victory in his semi against Ryan Searle.
Despite dropping the opening set, he reeled off six consecutive
sets to reach his third straight final. Our darts analysts
been Francis who joins us now, have we got the
best two players in the final?

Speaker 3 (01:02:44):
Yeah?

Speaker 13 (01:02:44):
Pay, I think based on the tournament and kind of
what we've seen in the world of darts in the
last few months, you'd definitely say yes. These have been
the two players that have been most than form. Luke
Letter of course, the reigning world CHAMPI won most tournaments
this year. Van Veen the reigning World Youth champion, and
he won the European Championship, which is considered like his
first big TV title this month ago.

Speaker 2 (01:03:07):
Is his rise, which I guess we can call meteoric.
Is it? Is it uncommon for a player of his
age too? I mean, I guess we've got Luke Littler
as our example. I mean, he's still a teenager, isn't he?
But is it? Where's fun thing come from? Has he
been promising to be this way for a while?

Speaker 13 (01:03:27):
Yeah, he's got a bit of an interesting story. For
the last few years. He's been someone that has, you know,
the saying, as it goes, is kind of knocking on
the door, just waiting for that real opportunity to really
break through. And he's been knocking, knocking, knocking for a
long time. Didn't break through just probably up until this
year where he's really showed his potential and he's really

(01:03:48):
taken every opportunity that has come his way. As I said,
he is the reigning World Youth champion, two time World
Youth champion, that is. And I think that what this
kind of says to me Piney is that I don't
want to say it's a changing into the garden Way
because it's probably not that extent, but this is going
to be the youngest ever final we've had for a

(01:04:09):
PDC World Darts champ. We've got someone who's a teenager
only eighteen years old. We've got someone who's twenty three,
twenty four years old. And it kind of shows now
that dart isn't just a sport for the fifty year
old man. Now it's a sport for the young guys,
because these are the young guys that are going to
be the future of the sport, and they're going to
be the ones that are can be dominating the years
to come. Even a guy like Luke Humphrey's of course
got knocked out and the quarters, he's still weal of

(01:04:31):
the young as well, and these are the faces that
we're going to be seeing for many years to come.

Speaker 2 (01:04:35):
Yeah, it's not just the future, is it. It's the present.
We are living in this world now where where young
players are coming through. Is this the way the sport
is hited? Are we less likely now to see the
likes of the veterans Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwin
and others. Are we less likely to see them go
deep into world championships now?

Speaker 13 (01:04:54):
Well, it's quite an interesting question, Poney, because with the
Wade Portaman has changed this here in terms of the
prize money, and that's same we've spoken about for the rankings,
with the prize money based on a two year format.
The world champion has actually really thrown up some massive,
massive changes to these world rankings. Van Been is now

(01:05:16):
going to be number three at least after the World Champs.
He's the throne. Michael van Gouin as the number one
Dutch player, who's been there since twenty twelve, so that's
fourteen years. He's kind of been holding on to that.
But I think you're always going to have these guys
like your Gary's, You're going to have your Michaels. As
long as they're around, they're going to be competing. But
you are going to see more and more young players,

(01:05:36):
especially over the next five to ten years, who are
going to really starting to probably take these steps and
dominate the top of the sporter. You know, Luke Letler
broke numerous records before he really cracked big time, and
there's young kids out there now that are obliterating his
records that he set. So when you think about that,
it's quite scary thinking of some of the young players
coming through, even some of the ones who are even

(01:05:59):
in their early twenties, that there's so much promise now
in the sport. There's a lot, there's lots of gain
from it now as opposed to just how it was
even fifteen twenty years ago. So it is definitely changing
and we are probably definitely going to start seeing more
young players dominating the sport. You know, probably comes down
to other things like the less responsibilities taking things like

(01:06:20):
let's say fitness for example, because you know, to play
darts competitively at a high level, you can't be a
beer drinker, cigarette smoker all the time. Now you need
to have your fitness and that's your mental fitness as well.
So there's so much more to it now as a sport,
and yeah, we're going to see a lot more young
guys dominating.

Speaker 2 (01:06:37):
The scoreboard says that Fanzine beat Gary Anderson's sixty three,
which seems convincing. But this was some match, wasn't it.

Speaker 13 (01:06:45):
Well that's the thing, and this is why the set
play becomes interesting because in terms of the legs, it
was actually only twenty two to Van been twenty to Anderson,
So that shows you how close of the game was that.
As we've seen with Van Veen in some of his
recent games, when the sets are gone to the fifth leg,
he has more often than not won them. He's won
those key moments, he's taken out those those tricky those

(01:07:09):
finishes that can be quite tricky where you need two
to three darts to take them out. So he has
really dominated that kind of area of the game. And
I think that is going to serve them well in
the final because I expect that we're going to see
many legs that do go to those fifth leg deciders.
And if you're holding throw, if you got throwed, then
you do have an advantage as you are producing those
kind of legs that he has been doing. We are throwing.

(01:07:31):
You know, you're eleven twelve darters against the throw, more
often than not you are going to come out on top.

Speaker 2 (01:07:36):
So Luket has been amazing. He's blitzed everybody. He's hardly
been tested, has he. He didn't drop a set in
rounds one, two and three. Rob Cross got a couple
of them. Then he's won five nil and six one
in his quarter and semi respectively. Could that have an
adverse effect in any way? Ben? He hasn't been put

(01:07:56):
under any pressure at all up till now.

Speaker 13 (01:08:00):
I personally think it will. To be honest, and it
sounds crazy to say that about the guy who's the
world number one, the reigning world champ, who's won pretty
much everything in the sport this year, But I personally
do believe that not being tested could play against him.
If you look at Van Veen, he's come through some
really tough games at Anderson one we just touched on
beating Luke Humphreys as well with another tricky one. Those

(01:08:22):
are just in the last couple of days, and I
feel like that should those moments come along, that he
will be ready for them. Against Gary Anderson, there were
a couple of wobbly moments, but that was more towards
the end when he probably knew that I've got this
in the bag. But you kind of get the feeling
and it will be interesting to see how Luke Letler
will react to being put in those precious situations because

(01:08:44):
he hasn't really been tested at all. As you said,
he lost the first set to that against Ryan Sell,
but it was on Ryan Sell's throw, so theoretically he
should have won the first set. And then whenever Ryan
Searle did let those opportunities slop away, where he should
have converted Loucal that it did pounce and capitalize, but
they were very few and far between, so I think

(01:09:05):
it will to be honest. But you know, it is
Luke Letler we're talking about. This guy is just with
three tunks scenarows in his hand. He can do some
magical things, so it will be it will be interesting
to see, but I think that could come back to
bite him because if Luke Litler does go on to win,
and he's probably had one of the more easier runs
to the to the title, I would say.

Speaker 2 (01:09:25):
Indeed, always some great storylines come out of World Champs,
And I just want to mention Ryan Searle, who was
well beaten by Luke Littler in there semi but he
battles a rare eye condition which results in blurred vision,
and I'm not sure that blurred vision is exactly what
you're after when you're trying to hit very small targets
on a dart board. But this has been an incredible

(01:09:46):
story and the raising of awareness and even the likes
of Paddy Power the betting company, jumping on board to
donate money. He's he's become a fairly popular player. Ryan Searle,
hasn't he.

Speaker 13 (01:09:59):
Yeah, look, he's someone who's been around for quite a
while and he's won I think off the top of
my head, he's won seven four Tour titles during his career,
so it's probably it's probably a surprise he's done as
far as he had but he has been around for
a few years. He has shown the capability. But as
he touched on with his blurred vision, you know, it's
incredible that you know he can do it. You think

(01:10:21):
about I don't know someone like myself, for example, who
I think. I've got pretty good vision and I struggled
at the border times, you know, but you know there
are times when you watch him play where he does
have to stop and ask what he has scored because
he actually can't see the board, and sometimes that can
affect his flow and his rhythm. With that that you
did touch on the stories that do come into the

(01:10:43):
world chance and this is definitely one and someone like
Ryan still now I don't know his exact ranking after
this tournament, but he's now someone would probably are going
to see a bit more often now because I believe
he has jumped inside the top ten. I believe, so
we will be seeing more of Ryan still in some
of these big tournaments, especially in twenty twenty six.

Speaker 2 (01:11:01):
All right, well, I've just brought up the latest tabs
one thirty eight Van Veen to eighty five. Where shall
I place my investment, Ben, So.

Speaker 13 (01:11:12):
It's strictly your investment, Piney, That's totally fine. Look, it
sounds ridiculous to kind of go against Luke Litler, but
I am leaning towards that way purely from the fact
just what we touched on before the fact that Van
Been has been tested a bit more during this tournament
and he's actually he's shown it. He's set up in

(01:11:33):
those moments, he's been taking out those those clutch finishes,
the ones that can be quite tricky. So I'm I
am personally leaning towards what is going to be deemed
an upset. But at the same time, I'm probably I
probably am going to be wrong on this one because
the way Luke Litler has been playing you, it is
stupid to get a bed against him because of how

(01:11:54):
good he has been. But I just get the feeling
that when it gets to some of the nitty gritty
moments that I don't I just don't know purely based
on how this tournament has been and I feel like
Van Veen has been steadily peeking towards the back end
of the year and he's at his peak now. And
I think to come away with a performance of that
against Gary Anderson, I think that says a lot because
I think had Anderson played anyone else, he comes out

(01:12:16):
on top of that game. I'm picking it upset well.

Speaker 2 (01:12:19):
I have been known to be stupid and my betting
choices in the past, so I'm look it wouldn't be
the first time. Thanks so much for your analysis, mate,
Ben Francis on the darts, Luke Littler and giaon Van
Vane going head to hit in the final Tomorrow morning,
seventeen away from two.

Speaker 1 (01:12:36):
The Voice of Sport on your home of Sport Weekend
Sport with Jason Pye and GJ. Gunner Homes New Zealand's
most trusted home builder News talks'd.

Speaker 2 (01:12:45):
Be coming up fourteen to two. Australian correspondent Adam Peacock
back with us for twenty twenty six to discuss sporting
matters from across the Tasment at around this time every Saturday.
Great to have you back, Adam. How has the year
started for you.

Speaker 5 (01:13:00):
Good Pioney.

Speaker 14 (01:13:03):
Has your heart right after that Auckland game.

Speaker 5 (01:13:05):
The other day.

Speaker 2 (01:13:05):
Incredible. Yeah, gee, I don't think I've seen anything quite
like that. But the A League continues to surprise us,
doesn't it an unlikely result for Newcastle, but a terrific
performance from them. Of course in your hometown, We've got
an Ashes Test to look forward to starting tomorrow. Before
we get to the Test itself. Osmond Kowaja has announced

(01:13:26):
his retirement from Test cricket. What will his legacy in
the Australian Test team be?

Speaker 14 (01:13:34):
Very much a guy who has done in his own way. Look,
he's not going to have the legacy of the greats.
He's not going to like the absolute greats of a
speaking in mythical status of the ability of a guy
like Ricky Ponting for instance. But he's certainly a guy
that's contributed over a very long time in a very
difficult period for frustrating cricket. When you know, he came into

(01:13:56):
the side when we were pretty much rock bottom, he
went in and out of the side and then he's
done it his ways, proven himself over a very long
time period of time and he spoke in his mind
about the whole range of issues which I dare say
now that he's retired, he's can only continue to and
double down on so fair play of the guy had

(01:14:16):
done it his way. And yet it's certainly not the
last will hear of him, but it's this week coming
as the last to see of him as an Australian Test.

Speaker 2 (01:14:25):
Cricket he certainly find. Yeah, he certainly fight a few
shots on his way out, didn't he. He said, among
other things, that as a Pakistani born Muslim, he believes
there's been a difference in the way he was reported
on compared to many of his teammates. Is that valid?

Speaker 14 (01:14:42):
Look, I can't speak for him because I can't tell
him how to feel commercially. I can't speak for anything
other than what my for instance, I talk about on
the Cricket podcast I do, or what I value as
good journalism in cricket and seeing it. I haven't seen that.

(01:15:02):
I certainly hope, I hope in goodness, I haven't come
across that. For instance, he said about his backspasm problems
over in Perth that there was a there was a
carry on that kind of had undertones of it wasn't
just about a backspasm, if you know what I mean. Now,
I looked at it and I kind of viewed it

(01:15:23):
as well. If you're having two backspasms in the day,
you've obviously got some underlying issue, and if you play
golf in the lead up to it, it's not going
to help. Now, that's just a plain medical fact. So
he maybe interpreted other matters of supporting it in another way,
which again, as I said at the top there, it's
fine and that he'll say he won't hold something with

(01:15:47):
him if he feels that he's been slidered in that way,
and that's fair enough. You can only applord the guy
for not hiding his true thoughts and speaking his mind.

Speaker 2 (01:15:58):
And often we don't particularly like it when our supports
people were Some people don't like it when our sports
people speak their minds. We just prefer, I think sometimes
that they went about their business of performing well for
their country. Where does the weight of public opinion lie?
Has he been a polarizing figure?

Speaker 14 (01:16:14):
Yeah, just on that first notion, it's interesting that politicians
are allowed to watch sport and comment on sport, but
it can't go the other way around. When we feel
that politicians are letting us down, you know, like where
the politicians were the adults in the room. So o
case you had noticed that, I hadn't noticed that. Sometimes
that's not entirely true. What was the second part?

Speaker 2 (01:16:37):
I just wondered whether he'd been a polarizing figure.

Speaker 14 (01:16:40):
Yeah, well on that basis, yes, yeah, absolutely, because people
will then look at him and go, well, I don't
care what you do about as a frigative, but don't
tell me that I'm this or on that or you
can't say that or yeah, absolutely he's a polarizing figure,
and I think he's comfortable with that.

Speaker 2 (01:16:55):
So the Fifth Ashist Tea starts in Sydney tomorrow. Any
chance we get a five day test or even one
that gets to the third day.

Speaker 15 (01:17:03):
Good news piny at Sydney and it's going to rain tomorrow.
But it has not rained in three months. Three months
there's been like just drought like conditions.

Speaker 14 (01:17:16):
The golf club that I play at like it is
like driving down a concrete hallway At the moment, the
ball just runs. However, day one you look at the
forecast and it's gonna have storms every two hours or
whatever like that. So nothing like a drought breaking Sydney
Test to kind of fill up the dams. Yeah, I

(01:17:37):
reckon we'll get the day fourth on the basis of
the weather, and I think the pitch will have a
little lesson in the MCG and also there will be
a natural adjustment and that is about oh well maybe
if the ball is doing a bit, maybe I can
adjust different ways. So yeah, I'd be very surprised if
we're done by Monday afternoon for our way.

Speaker 2 (01:17:55):
Any idea what the mindsets of the respective teams will be?
I mean that the Ashes are done. You know, Australia
has retained the Ashes. England got some pride back in
the Boxing Day Test of course to make it three
to one, Like will Australia be keen not to have
a three to two series result? Will England be deeply

(01:18:16):
motivated to make it that? What sort of mindset do
you expect from the two sets of players.

Speaker 14 (01:18:21):
Yeah, yeah, I think I'll be first, really first, and
for get kind of win the game so they won't
feel like a dead rather like Origin when orangein Soon
n Ill they both just rip into each other. So
I think in that respect it will still be an
ultra competitive Maybe I have the absolute edge on it,

(01:18:42):
and I think for England the motivation of three to
two is very much and we know how they think.
They'll probably take that back and go, yeah, we should
have won that whole series. Well, no, you were three
nil down and you lost a series of big moments
in those first three cases. Didn't deserve to even consider
winning the series on the basis of that. So yeah,
it'll be interesting to see how it's portrayed by the

(01:19:05):
English if they do get three two, I'll be for
far more fast. Not that, but say we go up
four to one, because tim personally, I'll be far more
happier if we go up for one and take that
series win that way.

Speaker 2 (01:19:16):
Indeed, Well, I hope you get some good golfing today
on those concrete like fair ways and then a bit
of rain tomorrow. By the sounds of it. Thanks for
joining us as always, Adam, we'll catch up again next Saturday.
Sounds good bye tack mane No, thank you mate. That
is Adam Peacock, a familiar voice to us. He as
our Australian correspondent, locked in again for twenty twenty six
around about this time every Saturday, bringing us the big

(01:19:37):
sporting issues and stories from across the Tasman seven to
two in Nelson, the Hines and the eighteenth over one
fifty four for four, so they've got their bonus point
from getting to one hundred and fifty and looking to
push on towards a very competitive total against Canterbury in
the women's Super Smash match. The means game to follow,
of course, at around four twenty five. Back in the

(01:19:59):
moment on Weekend Sport, the scoop.

Speaker 1 (01:20:02):
From the trag fields and the court on your homeo
sort Sports Jason Vine News TALKB.

Speaker 2 (01:20:09):
Four to two. After the News at two will catch
you up on some of the stuff you might have
missed with in case you missed it, Nicholas Lampre and
tournament director of the ASB Classic, on the draw which
in the last hour or so he has conducted for
the Women's ASB Classic. Qualifying continues today and tomorrow, with
the tournament proper starting on Monday. Elliot Smith will have

(01:20:30):
the full details of the draw in our Sports News.
Nicholas Lamper and after two and we'll hear the departing
thoughts of Usman Kawaja.

Speaker 1 (01:20:39):
It's the only place to discuss the biggest sports issues
on and after Fields. It's all on Weekend Sport with
Jason Pain on your home of sport US Talk.

Speaker 2 (01:20:52):
It's two o seven. Welcome into the show. This is
Weekend Sport on News Talk SIB. We don't stop through
the Christmas New Year period. We just carry on really
and there's a bit to talk before we hand over
to Adam Cooper after three four summer weekends. As you
heard during our Sports News, the draw has been made
for the ASB Women's Classic. We'll break that down with

(01:21:14):
Totema director Nicholas Lamper and shortly, Emma Maine is on
the show ahead of the Wellington Phoenix women's match against
Brisbane Raw tonight. It'll be her fiftieth in Wellington Phoenix Colors,
just the fourth player to achieve that and the next
women coming in pretty good form. Ten unanswered goals in
the last two games, so they're on a bit of

(01:21:35):
a high. Emma Maine. This out Wasmond Kawaja as well.
You might have caught this news. I'm sure you have
cricket fans that he will retire after the fifth Ashes Test,
which is scheduled to start tomorrow in Sydney. But of
a full circle moment for Usband Kawaja. He debuted at
the SCG and after a decade and a half in
the national site, in and out at various stages, he

(01:21:58):
will finish as a Test player after the fifth Ashes
Test in Sydney. He made some very interesting comment and
his press conference yesterday which i'd like to play out
for you. We'll keep eyes on live sport as well,
including the Super Smash in Nelson. You can get in
touch with us when you be like, oh, eight hundred
and eighty ten eighty is the phone number is always

(01:22:19):
nine two niney two is the text line. It never
changes and we've decided in twenty twenty six that we're
not going to change what we do after the two
o'clock news on weekend sport either. It's become a pretty
popular feature. Some people just tune in for this feature
and then they go and do something else. We're fine
with that. It's a good way to catch up on
some of the stuff you might have missed in case

(01:22:41):
you missed it. Starting in the A League, after conceding early,
Melbourne Victory came from behind to beat Perth Glory.

Speaker 10 (01:22:49):
As ASKI, oh, genre's done brilliantly.

Speaker 16 (01:22:52):
Here's Matta que Matta Santas and there was another costly giveaway.

Speaker 10 (01:22:59):
Brilliant playing from Denny Zenro and the Spaniard.

Speaker 3 (01:23:02):
With the assist for.

Speaker 4 (01:23:04):
The Brazilians second in many games.

Speaker 3 (01:23:07):
Well now they have that third.

Speaker 2 (01:23:09):
Goal mayor the margin of victory three too for Melbourne victory.
They win and increase their winning run to four straight games.
In the Premier League. Liverpool haven't been able to keep
in touch with the leaders, though.

Speaker 6 (01:23:20):
Liverpool supports urge in their team to get it in
the mixer year at kat Jack gets a week from
Woka four yet could be all cuts it out to
that will be the final action.

Speaker 2 (01:23:37):
It finishes nil nil Yeah Liverpool in Leeds with a
Nille drawer. It has Liverpool in fourth place, six points
behind Aston Villa, who are third in the Australian National
Basketball League. A big night the Kiwi Flynn Cameron leading
the Adelaide thirty sixers to a win over the Sydney
Kings and they're staring down the.

Speaker 6 (01:23:57):
Barrel head play outside of mcclod though, and Bryce Cotton
has got it against Malawatch.

Speaker 2 (01:24:01):
Kings have only committed one foul in his quarter. They
go to Cameron and he's better. Yeah, Flynn Cameron leading
the way with twenty five points in the eighty five
seventy nine win as they move well clear at the
top of the table. Still in Australia, the Brisbane Heat
have been beaten by the Melbourne Stars and a thriller

(01:24:22):
with an heroic knock from Max Bryant.

Speaker 3 (01:24:27):
To see they can't lose.

Speaker 11 (01:24:31):
After a slum start, Max Bryant's turned into a six
hitting monster.

Speaker 3 (01:24:36):
Bartlet and Bright.

Speaker 4 (01:24:40):
The New Beast Prothers get it done to Brisbane in
extraordinary circumstances.

Speaker 2 (01:24:46):
Yeah, the Brisbane Heat winning that one and Max Bryant's
forty eight from twenty six balls seeing them chase down
the one ninety five needed with two balls to spare
and Maddy Green providing a captain's knock to get the
Auckland Hearts a super smash win over the previously unbeaten
Wellington Blaze two back on the left.

Speaker 17 (01:25:04):
Side boundary but not full enough And that is Madi
Grand's half century here today. What a knock from the skipper,
came in with the side under a little bit of
pressure even though it was a load chase. She has
been fantastic this afternoon. Fifty one from fourty six to
her deliveries when.

Speaker 1 (01:25:25):
It's down to the line. You made a call on
eight hundred eighty Weekend Sport with Jason Pine News talksv it's.

Speaker 2 (01:25:33):
Our twelve past two. Venus Williams will meet fifth seed
Magda Lynette and a blockbuster first round matchup at the
ASB Women's Tennis Classic. Forty five year old Venus Williams,
handed a wild card into the tournament, has won her
previous two meetings against Lynnette, albeit both were ten years ago.
Top seed Alnas Fittelina faces world number seventy six Vivara

(01:25:57):
Gritcheva of France in the first round. Williams and Fittelina
have also confirmed they will link up as a doubles
combination for the to Ornament. They have already been set
down for the first session on day one. We're just
attempting to get in touch with tournament director Nicholas Lamperin
as far as the key wes are concerned. You might

(01:26:18):
have heard us report yesterday which is, you know, the
news of Lulusun. You know, really unfortunate news for Lulu
Sun and for the tournament itself that she will not
be able to take part. Monique bowrye is the only
key We in the field. She is up against Alice
Seedel of Belgium. Alice Sedel, I think is the in

(01:26:39):
fact she's from Germany, the eighty sixth ranked player in
the world, so you'd have to think that that will
will take something special from Moniq Bowry if she is
to somehow find a way to get past Alice Sedel.
But with a raucous home crowd behind her, who knows,
who knows? It may well be one of those where

(01:27:00):
you know, I mean, upsets happen all the time in sports,
So Monic Bowry flying the Kiwi flag qualifying can news
this weekend, but it feels unlikely that there'll be any
more kew Wei involvement unfortunately, just Monique Bowry by the
sounds of things, to fly the Kiwi flag. Nicholas Lamberan
with a number of other commitments that he has to

(01:27:21):
negotiate in order to get through today. It's the draws
done and then he's got to do all the other
logistics and we're just hoping that it'll be able to
take our call at some stage to run an eye
over the drawer. Emma Navarro is the fifteenth seed or
the fifteenth ranked player in the world, the second seed.
Here she's up against a British player Francesca Jones, and Fitzelina,

(01:27:47):
as I say, against Gritcheva in the first round. Fittelina
and Navarro seem as though they're on a collision course
to meet in the finals. Fittialena is fourteenth in the world,
Emma Navarro is currently the fifteenth ranked player in the world,
and then you drop all the way down to the
third seed at this tournament, Djovich, and she is in

(01:28:08):
the thirties currently in the world. So it feels as
though Switzelina and Navarro are the two likeliest finalists, but
things can change, and yeah, odd things happen at tournaments
of this type, especially early in the year, players looking
ahead to the Australian Tennis Open and how they might

(01:28:32):
prepare best for that. All of these players, or the
majority of the top seeded players anyway, will be heading
across to the Australian Open when that gets underway, so
they'll have to manage their way through this weather wise.
It's always a very interesting little side issue to the
tennis and Auckland, isn't it. That the weather can play

(01:28:52):
a part. And we're looking forward to the roof being
put on the Auckland Tennis Center, the center court. Anyway,
that investment has been confirmed by the sounds of it.
It might not quite be finished by next next year,
but twenty twenty eight, certainly it will be will be
a roofed center court. But I'm looking ahead to the forecast.

(01:29:13):
There's a bit of rain around today and tomorrow, but
from Monday, I'm looking at this at the long term
forecast here the seven day forecast and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
there's no rain in the forecast at all, which I'm
sure will be a huge relief for Nicholas Lamper and
who in the past. I mean, it's the one thing

(01:29:34):
you can't control, right. You can do everything in your
power to get things ready for the tournament, to secure
all of the best players, and the one thing you cannot,
you cannot negotiate for, is the weather. Nicholas Lamper and
joins us, Nicholas, I know you're very busy just on
the weather. You'll be delighted with the forecast. Hardly any

(01:29:55):
rain in the forecast at all beyond tomorrow.

Speaker 5 (01:29:58):
Yeah, Hi, Yeah, so far so good.

Speaker 18 (01:30:01):
You know, quality is starting this morning at eleven. I
think we just need to get through today because potentially
some showers, but I think from tomorrow onwards, the rest
of the week looks pretty good.

Speaker 2 (01:30:16):
The draw has been made. How happy are you with
the draw you've got for the women's tournament.

Speaker 18 (01:30:24):
Yeah, I think it's a very progressive draw. The top
seeds are protected in the first few rounds, but at
the same time got some interesting matchups with various Williams
coming back and playing the number five seed, and also
Alexandro he had at the number four seed, facing Donovikich

(01:30:44):
in the first round, who was a silver medalist at
the Paris Olympics.

Speaker 2 (01:30:49):
Can you just give us some insight into the draw procedure, Nicholas,
How does it all work?

Speaker 18 (01:30:55):
It's all based on ranking. So basically what we do
is we you have eight seeds which are positioned on
a particular line of the draw, and then all all
the rest is it's random, so we just pick the
numbers and they're being allocated from top to bottom.

Speaker 2 (01:31:15):
Elena Spittelina and Emmanavarro are your top two seeds. Do
they feel as though they're on a collision course to
meet in the final.

Speaker 18 (01:31:24):
I would think so, But at the same time, it's
you know, the first tooman of the year, and the
form and the level of preparation of players can can
really vary from you know, one player to the next one.
So I guess, you know, I would say if they
win their first two rounds, we could you know, potentially

(01:31:45):
see them, you know, going as far as the as
the final.

Speaker 2 (01:31:49):
How much do you enjoy having Venus Williams in Auckland.

Speaker 18 (01:31:53):
It's it's a massive joy for us. You know, she's
she's she's bigger than any of the players in the
tennis world. She's dedication at forty five years old. Is
is you know, never never heard of she? She's the
first one at the club in the morning when everybody
else is probably still sleeping. She's training early. She's then

(01:32:17):
at the gym and then she actually asked us yesterday
about playing doubles as well, so I can I can
announce you that she will be competing in the doubles
draw with Elena as Vitalina.

Speaker 2 (01:32:31):
Oh brilliant, so Venus Williams and Elena's Fortelena as a
doubles combination and it's it'll be something to look out for.
Have you've got Have you done the draw for the doubles.
I think you may have. They they're going to play
on Daiwana. They as a as a doubles.

Speaker 5 (01:32:45):
We haven't.

Speaker 18 (01:32:45):
We haven't done the draw for the doubles yet because
the signing deadline finishes tomorrow, but we know already that
will schedule Venue and Elena for the first doubles match
on on Monday during the day session.

Speaker 2 (01:33:02):
Outstanding Harmonic Barry the Kiwi a first round meeting with
eighty six ranked German Ella Seigel. Could she cause an
upset with a raucous home crowd behind her?

Speaker 10 (01:33:14):
I would love to think so.

Speaker 18 (01:33:15):
I think, you know, Monigue's got a got a big game,
and she's she's got what it takes to to be
those those girls ranking in the top hundred. You know,
last year she she wasn't far. She she was an
on really good form and I you know, I'm really
looking forward to see how much she's improved twelve months later.

Speaker 2 (01:33:33):
Fantastic. I know you've got other things to do, Nicholas,
but what does take up most of your time during
the tournament. You've got us to this point, the draws done,
the tournament's about to start, we've got qualifying. What takes
up most of your time during the tournament itself, I can't.

Speaker 18 (01:33:47):
Say, because it's it's so many different things that I
need to look after. We do get a lot of
requests from players in terms of, you know, what time
they can practice and things they can do in Auckland,
or what time they want to play the match or
so there's a lot of those requests that we need
to look after. We always spend a lot of time

(01:34:09):
also working on the on the schedule, just to make
sure it's fair and balanced normally for the players, but
also for the ticket holders between the day and the
and the evening sessions, and you know, just checking that
everything's running smoothly around the stadium, whether it's for our sponsors,
our fans, our broadcasters. So yeah, there's plenty to keep

(01:34:33):
me busy.

Speaker 2 (01:34:34):
I bet theros. Thank you for joining us at a
very busy time for you, Nicholas, all the best for
the next two weeks there at the ASP Classic.

Speaker 10 (01:34:41):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:34:42):
Thank Nicholas Lambor and tournament director. With the women's draw
done and that news there that the doubles combo that'll be.
That'll be one to watch Elena's Fittelina and Venus Williams
teaming up as a doubles combination and they will play
in the first session on day one. Venus Williams has
a tournament wild card of course into the singles, up

(01:35:05):
against fifth Magda Lynette in a blockbuster first round match.
Fitelina will face world number seventy six Vivara Gritcheva in
the first round. Emmenavarro as mentioned up against the British
player Francesca Jones. We will keep you right up to
date with all of the tennis action over the next
little while. Canterbury have begun their chase for one hundred

(01:35:26):
and ninety two to beat Central in the women's supersmash
match in Nelson. Gone along pretty nicely to start with
nineteen without loss on the second over. They're going to
have to go for it though, aren't they with nearly
ten and over. Requires big, big score to be chasing,
but they've begun pretty well. The means game to follow
at four twenty five this afternoon it's two twenty two.

(01:35:47):
We'll take great comeback. Check in with the Wellington Phoenix
women ahead of their match against Brisbane later on tonight.
Emma Main about to become the fourth player to play
fifty matches for the site. She'll join us in just
a moment.

Speaker 1 (01:35:59):
The Big Issues on and after Fields Call oh eight
hundred and eighty ten eighty Weekend Sport with Jason Fain
and Gunners New Zealand's Ice Trusted Hoe Milner News talk
to Baby.

Speaker 2 (01:36:10):
Two twenty five Bev on text. Jason, can you tell
us why Aaron Ratliffe isn't playing this year? I think
she is, Bev. I'm pretty sure that Aaron Ratliffe will
play the doubles at the at the ASP Classic. I've
just had a quick quick look around and it feels
as though I think Nicholas Lamper and said they don't
close off entries until tomorrow. She is a partner in

(01:36:31):
currently American Asia. Muhammad. I believe that they will be
playing in the doubles. We'll try and confirm that for you,
but thank you for your your inquiry. The Wellington Phoenix
Woman and actioning in tonight against Brisbane Raw and Redcliffe
striker Emma Main going to be the fourth player to
bring up fifty games for the Wellington Phoenix Women.

Speaker 19 (01:36:50):
Tamba, great speed centering pass Tamba Mahon and for the
setting up the afternoon. The main train has well and
truly arrived. Three goals Wellington Phoenix. It's a wonderful moment
for the visiting team.

Speaker 2 (01:37:04):
Yeah, good moment tonight too, form Main in your fiftieth game, Emma,
did you know that this milestone was coming up?

Speaker 20 (01:37:12):
I knew it was coming at some point.

Speaker 16 (01:37:14):
I didn't quite know when this season, but it's cool
that it's eventualized.

Speaker 20 (01:37:20):
Right after the new year.

Speaker 2 (01:37:21):
How much do you remember about your debut back end
of the twenty twenty two to twenty three season, you'd
come and as kind of an injury injury replacement. Were
you nervous ahead of your debut.

Speaker 20 (01:37:33):
Yeah, very nervous.

Speaker 16 (01:37:35):
I think it feels like a lifetime ago, but it
also feels like yesterday that it happened. I remember that
game very well, and yes, very nervous. I didn't know
what to expect. I didn't even know if I was
ready for the A League, but it was definitely the
start of something amazing for me, and I've really enjoyed

(01:37:55):
my time with the club.

Speaker 2 (01:37:57):
I seem to remember you came on and provide it
and assist straight away, So clearly you were ready for
the A leag Yeah.

Speaker 16 (01:38:03):
Yeahs for MILLI click. So it's definitely one a game
to remember for me. Yeah, I loved everyone a little bit.

Speaker 2 (01:38:10):
So as you approach game number fifty, how different a
player are you from the m A main who played
game number one for the Phoenix.

Speaker 20 (01:38:18):
Yeah, I think I've gained a lot more experience.

Speaker 16 (01:38:21):
I understand the A League a little bit more, and
also myself as a player. Over my time for the Phoenix,
I've definitely played a few different roles, whether that's striker
or winger. I think I've spent a little bit of
time and wing back at points when we've needed it.
So definitely just a little bit more experience and understanding
of the league and what's needed each game.

Speaker 2 (01:38:44):
You mentioned before that you weren't sure that you were ready.
Did there come a point where you thought, right, I
belong here. I feel comfortable at this level now.

Speaker 1 (01:38:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 16 (01:38:54):
I think in that first season, Paul Temple really gave
me the opportunity to shine out on the field. He
gave me a lot of starts in that season, and
after I think scoring your first goal for the club,
you start to feel like, Okay, I can definitely do this,
and I definitely belong here, and I can compete with
all these players that are at this top level. So

(01:39:16):
I think those were probably the moments when I felt
like I was ready to be in.

Speaker 10 (01:39:20):
The A League.

Speaker 2 (01:39:21):
And as younger players have come into the Wellington Phoenix environment,
have you found yourself playing a bit of a leadership role,
you know, even just giving advice to some of the
younger players coming into the environment.

Speaker 20 (01:39:33):
Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 16 (01:39:34):
Obviously I've been here for quite a while now, so
I think I have a little bit of experience and
knowledge to give that. At the same time, I'm also
always learning off them, especially like the players like Peer. Yeah,
other players who are coming through who just have that
freedom on the field. Sometimes I find myself watching them

(01:39:55):
and really trying to take things from them and put
it into my game, because those young players just play
with that freedom that you sometimes lose as an older player.

Speaker 2 (01:40:05):
So yeah, And of course you've done all of this
in your hometown. You know, You've played your junior football
at Upper Heart. It's ironic, isn't it. The Phoenix a
base now not far from where you first kicked a ball,
So you had time at Wellington United as well. How
special has it been to play for your hometown team professionally?

Speaker 16 (01:40:24):
Yeah, I think it's a really special thing and probably
not many people get to do it in their lifetime,
especially professional footballers, to play for their hometown. But it's
been really nice playing in front of my family and friends.
But I also think just creating that pathway for girls
in the Wellington region. You know, this fiftieth game will

(01:40:44):
be a big milestone for me, but also I think
Wellington football as well, it'll be a really nice, you know,
omen to them that of what can be done just
coming from little old Upper Hut, So it's really exciting
for everyone involved.

Speaker 2 (01:41:02):
I think, well, let's bring it to the present. A
couple of goals in Gay number forty nine for you
and the three nil went over Western Sydney on Tuesday,
your first goals of this season. Was that a weight
off in any way for you?

Speaker 20 (01:41:16):
Yeah, definitely a huge weight off.

Speaker 16 (01:41:18):
As a striker, you always want to be scoring and
after a few games you start to get a little
bit frustrated that you're not getting on the score sheet.
So especially when your team's winning a seven zeril game
and you're still not on the score sheet, so it
definitely was a weight off, but also a confidence booster
for me and great to see Samba get a couple

(01:41:39):
of assists as well.

Speaker 20 (01:41:40):
You know, she's really starting to shine in the league.

Speaker 16 (01:41:42):
So yeah, it was great for the team all round,
but it was nice for me to get on the
score sheet just on Somber.

Speaker 2 (01:41:49):
I mean, everywhere you go now there's this incredible Nepalese
support that turns out. I mean at Western Sydney the
other night, it just looked amazing. You know, what's it
like to have that new sort of you know, throng
of supporters. They're there to support her obviously, but by
extension you guys as well.

Speaker 16 (01:42:08):
Yeah, we talked about it after the game and it
felt like a home game for us. You know, we
had more supporters there than Western Sydney probably did, and
every time Sam gets the ball, the crowd just raws.
So it's awesome to have that support, and it's awesome
to see what she's bringing to the league. You know,
I don't think we've probably ever seen a player that's
had this much support across the league, so it's great

(01:42:31):
for our team. Yeah, and we've loved having that support,
especially in away games, you know, you don't always get that.

Speaker 2 (01:42:38):
So yeah, so ten unanswered goals in the last two games,
seven against Sydney FC, three against the Wanderers. Has anything
in particular change that has has caused this sudden flow
of goals.

Speaker 16 (01:42:52):
I think after the Perth glory game or that trip
that we went on, we really started to focus on crossing,
crossing and finishing. Not that we weren't focusing on it before,
but we put a lot of time on that. So
I think just after that we've started to really create
a chemistry between some of the girls. And now that
we're scoring goals, Yeah, they just don't seem to stop.

Speaker 2 (01:43:16):
Well that's a good thing. And also you're the best
defensive side in the competition as well, just four goals
conceded this season. Even as an attacking player. Do you
have a role to play in the defensive structure of
the site?

Speaker 16 (01:43:29):
Yeah, definitely. I think we've got a press that we've
all brought into as a squad. We all really know
our roles and how to execute that press. But also
as a defensive team, if formations change, if anything changes
on the field, we all have the core principles that
we you know, follow, so I think as a team,

(01:43:53):
as a squad, as a whole, Yeah, we're definitely are
feeling defensively sound and we always feel like one unit.

Speaker 2 (01:44:01):
And these two wins come off the back of a
couple of narrow away losses. But do you feel now, Emersa,
you've got a bit of a launching pad, but a
momentum to really make a run at this at this
top six in the new year.

Speaker 20 (01:44:12):
Yeah, I definitely think we've got a little bit of momentum.

Speaker 16 (01:44:14):
We were a little bit disappointed after the two losses,
but at the same time, we took a lot away
from them and we didn't change a whole heat, to
be honest, we just stuck together as a team. We've
got a great culture and I think that's starting to
show on the field, and we knew the goals were
going to come, and now that they're coming, hopefully they'll
just keep continuing to come.

Speaker 2 (01:44:36):
So so and away wins have been hard to come
by for this team. You've been around for a bit,
any anything you can put your finger on as to
why it's been so difficult to get to get wins
on the road.

Speaker 20 (01:44:49):
Not that I can think of.

Speaker 16 (01:44:50):
But to be honest, I just think the culture that
we have this year is just it's really accelerated this
team and put us on that next level. And I
think that's probably what's helping us get these ones. You know,
we're all friends and the team, we all actually really
enjoy spending time together, and I think that can be
the point of difference for winning teams and losing teams.

(01:45:10):
So I definitely think we've got to chalk a lot
of our chemistry and momentum.

Speaker 3 (01:45:16):
Up to that.

Speaker 2 (01:45:17):
And most of your professional career, of course, has been
under Paul Temple. He was the one who signed you
as a full time pro. A couple of years under him,
Beef Priestman this year, how much you're enjoying a change
of coach and working under Bev.

Speaker 16 (01:45:29):
Yeah, I think it's always good to change it up
and see what's out there, and you never know what
a new coach is going to bring and how they
approach things. But I think what she's done is she's
really got the teams buy into our whole game philosophy,
our principle. She's got a very clear idea of where
she wants us to go and how she wants us

(01:45:50):
to get there, and I think the whole team's brought
into that, so I think, yeah, she's done a great job.
It's been really cool to just see a change in
the momentum of our team. And yeah, hopefully we'll continue
to keep going up.

Speaker 2 (01:46:03):
Indeed, well, the back end of twenty twenty five was
very fruitful for the team. Let's up. Twenty twenty six
begins in the same way against Brucebane tonight on a
special occasion for you, Emma, with your fiftieth game for
the club. Thanks for joining us, mate and all the
best tonight. Awesome thanks Fanning, No, thank you, Emma Main
There fiftieth game for the Wellington Phoenix women tonight. They
are flying this team. After a I guess you'd say

(01:46:24):
an inconsistent start to the season where they had a
couple of draws at home in matches they probably could
have won, they picked up a first victory of the
season in round three. They went away to Australia and
lost two games over there, both by a goal to nil.
Both games they were well and truly in if you
look at the stats and in terms of the dominance

(01:46:44):
that they had, but weren't able to find the back
of the net. That wasn't a problem when they beat
Sydney seven nil and the damn burst and they continued
against the Wanderers last time out with a three nil win.
So looking to win three consecutive games. I believe that
will be the first time the Wellington Phoenix women have
ever won three straight games. They've only been around for
this is their fifth season. But yeah, under priests, they're

(01:47:07):
doing very very good things. And Samba, if you even
picked up on this story, she is Nepalese and she's
an absolute hero in Nepal. She is that country's all
time leading women's goalscorer and everywhere she goes in the
A League she has just got this incredible support. The
other night at Western Sydney there were more Western More

(01:47:30):
Phoenix fans than Western Sydney fans, and the vast majority
were Nepalese nationals who turned up to watch Samba and
just cheered her every move. You know, all she has
to do is bring the ball down, you know, just
do a sort of clever touch and they just go
mad for it. It's incredible. It's a great addition to
the A League having Samba and particularly having her in

(01:47:52):
Wellington Phoenix Colors three goals in the last two games
as well for her, so she is well and truly
up and running, up and running. The Canterbury Magicians and
Nelson as they chased one hundred and ninety two to
try and beat CD. They're forty nine for one and
the fifth over, so they are making a fairly good
start to their chase. Got to keep garn At around

(01:48:12):
nines and tens and over to get there. But a
very good and promising staff for Canterbury against the Central
Hines in Nelson. We'll take a break come back and
here's some of the parting thoughts. The very interesting parting
thoughts of Usman Kwaja, who yesterday announced that his final
Test match will be the one that starts tomorrow at
the SCG, the fifth Ashes Test. He's been around for

(01:48:37):
over fifteen years in the Australian national side, in and out.
I think he's been dropped eight times in that fifteen
year period, but keeps on coming back. This will be
the last hurraho the SCG tomorrow. Well, here, as I say,
some of his parting thoughts. When we come back here
on weekend Sport one.

Speaker 1 (01:48:55):
Grudge hold n Gage Weekend Sports with Jason Pain and GJ.

Speaker 3 (01:49:00):
Gunner homes New Zealand's lost trusted home. Milder News talks
to Bailey.

Speaker 2 (01:49:04):
Two forty one on Weekend Sport. Musmond Kawaja will retire
from international cricket after the fifth and final Ashes Test
against England starting tomorrow, leaving a legacy as Australia's first
ever Muslim Test cricketer. He's thirty nine now going to
pan up for the last time when the clash against
England gets underway tomorrow, ending months of speculation about his future.

(01:49:25):
It'll be his eighty eighth Test, culminating his Test career
where it began. He made his debut at the Sydney
Cricket Ground in twenty eleven, also against England. He held
a very very comprehensive retirement press conference yesterday, did Usmond Kawaja.
He was asked how long he's been thinking about retirement.

Speaker 21 (01:49:46):
A while in some respects, I guess the most frustrating
part for me was where there it's the media of
past players who would always particularly last two years, be
attacking me by retiring.

Speaker 22 (01:50:01):
It felt like attacking. It was disappointing.

Speaker 21 (01:50:05):
I mean, I retired anytime in the last few years.
I was happy to There was no issue. I was
still playing well. I was still motivated.

Speaker 22 (01:50:11):
If I think if I retired from internet cricket, I
still would have been playing cricket. We'd have been playing
Big Bash.

Speaker 21 (01:50:14):
It wasn't a motivation thing, but obviously Andy mckdnald and
George Bailey saw my value at opening and batting up
the top. It's the hardest pitch in the team, and
I kept putting myself out there for the team. I
was like, sure it even last year where we got
to Melbourne, I reckon you had Melbourne and I said,
and I sat down with Edie Recdonald's.

Speaker 22 (01:50:31):
We always have our little catch ups, and I said.

Speaker 21 (01:50:35):
To him, you know what, if, at any stage right now,
if you want me to retire, I will retire straight away.

Speaker 22 (01:50:41):
I have no issue. I'm not hanging on for myself.
And that was the most annoying things.

Speaker 21 (01:50:44):
I felt people were coming at me and I felt,
you know, they were saying I was selfish for staying on,
But I wasn't staying on for myself. I mean Andrew
Rednald c packed not bag but practically said no, I
want you to stay.

Speaker 22 (01:50:55):
We need you for Sri Lanka and World Test Championship.

Speaker 21 (01:50:57):
I want you to stay on and so I did,
And so it was never totally about me and glad
I did. I was the highest run scoring Sri Lanka,
and I rewarded him lots of ways, but that was
probably the most frustrating thing. So I've been thinking about it,
not wholly, but for a while in a lot of respects.

Speaker 10 (01:51:17):
And so.

Speaker 21 (01:51:19):
I guess moving into this series, I kind of had
an inkling in my head that this would be the
last series. I talked to Rachel about it a fair bit,
and I knew this big chance. I didn't leave the
door fully shut because I knew there was a chance
I could play on. I know Andrew Dot even to
the right to the very end when I told him
a few days ago. I mean, he was still thinking
about how I could get to India. So I'm glad

(01:51:41):
I get to leave on my own terms, with a
little bit of dignity and go out the seg where
I love. But I think the start of the series
was a pretty tough time, and then going into Adelaide
and then not being picked initially for the game, it
was probably a sign for me to.

Speaker 22 (01:51:58):
Say, all right, it's time to move on. I looked
at this.

Speaker 21 (01:52:01):
I did look at the schedule before the Ashes, and
I thought twenty games and a small pierce your time
with the six month seven month bragg. I thought, there's
a few, like I want to say, easier test matches,
but you know, test series that aren't scrutinized as India
or the Ashes. And I thought it's a good time
for a transition to happen there anyway. So I was
always looking forward, making sure that I left what I

(01:52:23):
felt like was the right time for.

Speaker 22 (01:52:24):
Me, but it was also the right time for Australian cricket.

Speaker 21 (01:52:26):
I was very aware of that, which is why I
got even more frustrated when I used to get attacked
in the media. But I think, yeah, it probably solidified
at Adelaide Test match, even though I came back and
scored runs and batting number five bee number four in
the middle order.

Speaker 22 (01:52:40):
Five, it's nice, it's a good fine. I'm not gonna lie.

Speaker 21 (01:52:44):
I just knew whether I scored runs or not, that
Test match didn't matter. And once I knew that, I
was like one hundred percent sure. I'm very retired.

Speaker 2 (01:52:51):
One of the other things that usmon Kawhaja addressed at
length was his claims that he was still subject to
racial stereotypes, arguing they had re emerged at the start
of the Ashes when he was scrutinized for playing golf
in the build up before sustaining backs spasms in the
first test. Here are some of Usmond Khwaija's thoughts on

(01:53:11):
the racial stereotypes he believed he is still subjected to.

Speaker 21 (01:53:19):
It's a good question. Let's just strip it all the
way back. I've I've always felt a little bit different
even to now.

Speaker 5 (01:53:31):
I am.

Speaker 21 (01:53:31):
I'm I'm I'm a color cricketer and the Australian cricket teams,
in my opinion, the greatest nationalist, that's our best team,
it's our nationalists.

Speaker 22 (01:53:38):
That it's our pride and joy.

Speaker 21 (01:53:40):
But I've also felt very different in a lot of respects,
different by the way I've been treated, different for how
things have happened.

Speaker 22 (01:53:49):
And I'll just go back.

Speaker 21 (01:53:51):
You know something that's been on my mind, probably from
the start of the series that I noticed which I
thought I kind of gone past before, and it was
when I did my back, I hurt my back, I
had back spasms, and it was something I couldn't control.
And the way I don't want to say you specifically,
but the way the media and the past players came

(01:54:12):
out and attacked me. I mean, I could have copped
it for two days, but I copped it for about
five days straight.

Speaker 22 (01:54:19):
And it wasn't even about my performances. It was about
something very personal.

Speaker 21 (01:54:22):
It was about my preparation and the way everyone came
at me about my preparation.

Speaker 22 (01:54:28):
And it was quite personal in terms of, you know,
things like he's.

Speaker 21 (01:54:32):
Not committed to the team. You know, he was only
worried about himself. He played this golf comp the day before.
He's selfish. You know, he doesn't train hard enough. He
didn't train the day before the game.

Speaker 22 (01:54:45):
He's lazy.

Speaker 21 (01:54:45):
These are the same stereotypes, the racial stereotypes I've grown.

Speaker 22 (01:54:48):
Up with my whole life.

Speaker 21 (01:54:49):
It's funny Rachel was reading all this. She's the one
who's told me that she was blowing up. I remembering
in the car next to her and I was just laughing,
and then she got even more angry, So why are
you laughing? I was like, these are the same racial
stereotypes I've been handling my whole life. I just thought
that the media and the old player and everyone else
had moved past him, But we obviously haven't fully moved
past him, because I've never seen anyone being treated like

(01:55:12):
that in the Australian cricket team before. For the performances, yeah,
but not for not for the uncontrollables. The way you
guys went at me. And you know, that was the
thing that disappointed me the most because I thought we
were past that, but there's still there's still a little
bit out there which I still have to fight every
single day, which is the frustrating thing for me. You know,
I can count I can give you a countless number

(01:55:33):
of guys who've played golf the day before and being injured.

Speaker 22 (01:55:36):
You guys haven't said a thing. No one else said
a thing.

Speaker 5 (01:55:38):
I can.

Speaker 21 (01:55:39):
I can give you even more probably responsive guys who've
had fifteen schooners the night before and then got it injured.

Speaker 22 (01:55:44):
No one said a word.

Speaker 21 (01:55:45):
That's all right, They're just being Aussie alaricians, right, They're
just being lads. So for me that was the frustrating part.
But when I get injured, everyone went at my credibility
and who I am as a person rather than Normally,
when someone gets injured, you feel sorry for him.

Speaker 22 (01:56:00):
You feel a little bit of remorse.

Speaker 21 (01:56:02):
You know, poor Josh Hazelwood or poor Nathan Lyon, he's
got an injured But you know, we feel really sorry
for them. We don't attack what happened to them. That
was the thing that's probably most sad about. And that's
what I've been dealing for a long time. I don't
talk about a lot, but I felt like I needed
to talk about it right here, right now.

Speaker 22 (01:56:19):
And I kind of know why.

Speaker 21 (01:56:21):
You know, I get nailed a lot of the times
over the last, particularly last two years. I understand that
I've talked about certain issues outside of cricket, which leads
me exposed, which a lot of people don't like. You know,
I still find it hard of when I say, you
know that everyone deserves freedom and that Palestinians deserve freedom
and equal rights. Why that is such a big issue,

(01:56:42):
But I get it. I put myself out there. Even
when we talk about Australian politics, and you know, we
get all these right wing politicians that are anti immigration
and anti Islamophobia, and I speak up against them.

Speaker 22 (01:56:57):
I know people don't love that, but I mean, I
feel like.

Speaker 21 (01:57:03):
I have to because where these are trying to divide,
create hate and trying to create animosity in the Australian community,
I'm doing the exact opposite. I'm trying to bring everyone together.
I'm trying to bring inclusivity into Australia. I'm trying to say,
I'm the Australian Muslim from Pakistan and I'm an Australian
cricket right and funnier who loves playing cricket, loves going

(01:57:24):
out and doing everything.

Speaker 1 (01:57:25):
That you do.

Speaker 21 (01:57:26):
I mean, if you talk about integrating into the country,
I mean I've got a white wife over there who
I love and cherish, and I've got half Australian half
Pakistani kids, and so that is very frustrating to me
at times.

Speaker 22 (01:57:43):
And I know what the older generation, I know what
people say about me.

Speaker 21 (01:57:47):
You know, stay in your spot, don't speak about topics
that you don't know. You know, you're just a cricket,
do your things whatnot. But you know, how do you
think it makes me feel when people talk about immigration
or they start attacking you know, Islam or Muslims for
everything that's going on. I am an immigrant in Australia.
I came here at the age of five. It's personal.

(01:58:07):
You start tacking my faith and my belief system, it
is personal. So I'm going to speak about that because
not many athletes do. And I understand why they don't
because look what happened.

Speaker 22 (01:58:17):
To me at the start of this year.

Speaker 21 (01:58:18):
I've got absolutely now And it wasn't that last year
when the Sheffield Shield stuff happened. I was one of
the few players that was playing Sheffield Shield and you
guys had a crack of me for missing a game.
You had plenty of my teammates who were not playing.
You didn't say a word to them. So for me, yeah,
I've been dealing with this stuff a long time and.

Speaker 22 (01:58:37):
You know, and for me it's not I know.

Speaker 21 (01:58:40):
I'm up here talking about topics and people are like, okay,
it was this year. He's playing that race card again.
I get yeah, yeah he don't, but don't gas like me,
like genuinely, I've but how many times have I helped
you in the last two years when you've been absolutely
nailed by security? You've been harassed by them at least
four times. I reckon I've helped you even pert this
year the security was on you. I was like, please

(01:59:01):
leave him alone. This stuff happens all the time, like
you just don't see it. I don't talk about it
Rachel season, so we just don't talk about it. And
then at the end of the day, I know people
were trying to nail me and get me down, but
you weren't part of my create so you have no
control of my fate. And that's only God that does
that and I respect that. So even though it hurt

(01:59:22):
and it sucked, I hold no angst against anyone in
this room or anyone who said anything to me. I'm
a guy who who just sees it moves on, and
I moved past. But I felt that I had to
bring this up. I didn't want to talk about this,
but I just want the journey for the next Usmin
Kuwaja to be different. I want you to treat him

(01:59:43):
or her all the same, not have racial stereotypes of
who they might be. Treat him with the same cloak
that you would treat any of my wholesome other cricketers
that I play with. And so for me, coming back
to your question, yeah, it's been a different journey and

(02:00:04):
I noticed that more than ever, particularly at the start
of this series and all the stuff going on, but
I'll never stop being who I am. I'm an Australian,
I love cricket and I'll continue to be the person,
oh no, the best person I can be.

Speaker 2 (02:00:26):
One of the more remarkable answers to a question at
a press conference that I can remember Osbond Kawaja bringing
the curtain down on his test cricket career at the
Sydney Cricket Ground where it all began for him fifteen
years ago. That test starts tomorrow. Seven to three.

Speaker 1 (02:00:44):
News Talks EB analyzing every view from every angle in
the Sporting World. Weekend Sport with Jason Pine all eighty
News Talks NB.

Speaker 2 (02:00:55):
Four to three. That's us, Adam Cooper after three, Andy,
we've got through the first show of the year. Congratulations
to us. What's our exersise world on us? It's not
a key we summer without catcher fire, So I've got
some getaway to see. Yes, that's the end of the show, mate,
wonderful seeing tomorrow, folks.

Speaker 1 (02:01:39):
For more from Weekends Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talks it be Weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.

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