October 10, 2025 • 5 mins
The last Auckland NPC team standing, Counties Manukau is faced with a huge task.
They’re travelling down south to take on the number one seed Canterbury in the fourth quarter final this Sunday afternoon.
They started rough, losing their first five games but turned it around, winning five on the bounce and scoring at least 48 points in each of the last four games – including a massive win against Tasman last night to lock themselves into the playoffs.
Dalton Papali'i is playing number 8 on Sunday afternoon for the Steelers, and he spoke with D'Arcy to preview the match.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldgrave from News Talk SEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Let's talk about County is now taking on Canterbury, the
number one seed. The game is on Sunday afternoon. Pretty
rough start, five games on the bounce, losing and then
they turned around and got it sorted out, with the
berg average now nearly fifty odd points the last handful
of games. Dalton pupel Lee joins us. Now he's playing
number eight on Sunday afternoon for the Steelers. Let's talk
(00:32):
about there. Good a Dalton.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I'm good.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I've got Bathurst tomorrow. I'm stoked. I've also got Rugby tomorrow,
Canterbury taking on Counties. I'm kind of torn between two.
You're a petrol head. This must absolutely get you not
being able to watch Bathurst till the end.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
It is tough, but it is a quarter finals, so
I guess I can miss it four days.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Hit recordinate watch the whole lot when you get home
after securing victory, right, because that's the whole idea. As
a cantab, I don't want to see it happening, but
it's caught a fine of football. Now anything can happen right.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
One hundred percent, mate, And it's finals footy and we've
you know, we I know from playing finals footy that
anything can happen, so I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Where are the holes, if any in this Canterbury defense?
Where do you look to being them back? Split them
in half?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Yeah, that's the thing. You know, the number one seed
for a reason. They're They're a good team all over
the park, so it's it was hard to sort of,
you know, try to pick them apart, but you know,
we we're sort of going to try and match fire
with fire, so you know they can play the full
eighty plus. So we just know that if we just
stick to our game, more focus on our game, because
you know, when we when we're on, you know, we
(01:40):
can light it up for anywhere. So it's more a
bit of a focus point on ourselves and you know,
seeing if they can react to what we can what
we are showing.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
So yeah, with the team, you're moving positions, you're riding
in the boot, which is not your usual place of work.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Is it. Yeah, it's not. I It's been a while
since I've been here. I think last time was probably
my first or second year Blues that I played there
just to have a game at eight. But yeah, it's
been a while, but I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
What do you bring to the eight roll? What does
have to change from your open side role. I'm sure
it's only subtle. You're a big body crushing people, that's
the whole idea. But where else do you have to
you know, what do you actually have to do to
make it effective?
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Oh, I'd always the Hoss has been coming in, Hoskins,
he's been coming in and helping out. But I just
told him it's actually pretty chill. You know. You get
to be a bit more lazy on the sides on
the field, you know, walk around a bit, you know,
So it's nothing too bad.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
If coach, here's this mate, you're in a pilot trouble.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
You know that the differences, I think you get a
bit more carries, you know, as you can see, you know,
I'm looking at how the eight players. I've played a
lot of games with Hoss and sort of trying to
pick his brains, and he's been helping out heaps. So no,
I think it's just I've played the last probably two
weeks at eight, and I think it's just more ball
(02:57):
carries and you know, you're just a little bit more
involved in the decision making around the ball playing stuff,
but not really not really anything big change.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
You kind of want to replicate what happened when you
rolled Tasman. Maybe defensively you want to be slightly better
than that, but that was quite the turner. I don't
have anyone peck you to beat Tazm, but you did.
So what do you take from that game? It can
reapply tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I think, like I just said before, I think it's
just more focusing on what we're good at. You know,
like we have looked at our defense and try to
fix up the holes there. But you know, when we've
got so much talent and talent in this team that
you know, when we're firing and all cylinders, we're pretty
hard to stop and we can score from anywhere. So
it's probably just more just still trying to figure out,
you know, how we can go go into the game
(03:45):
and be firing.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
So yeah, I suppose we're scoring that much points that
the defense is one thing, but as long as you
score more than the opposition, and as you said, you've
got you guys are averaging like over fifty points a
game for the last month. It's insane.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Yeah, to be honest, it's sort of called me off
Guardia as well. But yeah, to go from zero and
five to start the season to then flick a switch
and when our first game and then started roll teams,
you know, with that many points, it's it's just a
credit to the coaches here, the staff, and specially the boys.
You know, Yeah, we're going into games, you know, we've
(04:21):
got to feel like we've got to chip on our
shoulder and we're feeling good. So yeah, well you.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Turn it around after Taranaki gave you a bath. I
think before that, who did you get beaten by? Was Otago?
I think had all the fun and games here and
then it righted and turned Was there one big key
to that besides being right embarrassed? Was it the fact
that you were playing your blues neighbors in North Harbor?
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah, I think it was. And to be honest, North
Harbor was a good team. They've lost only a couple
of games by a point or two, so I think,
you know, to get that win and sort of give
us confidence back into you know, the season, it was
huge for us. And then after that when everything suspects
for itself. Now we've been bloody or bloody awesome.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
So yeah, who else your lost because obviously you don't
have the husk fighting around. You got any other walking
wounded out there? Dulton.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Oh, we've got a few boys that are banged up.
But that's where you get. At the end of you know,
NPC season or any professional season, you know you're gonna
have a boys, you know, trying to play through you know,
small injuries and all that. But that's just the way
it is. And you know, if you get if you
lose a man like Hoss and that, which you know,
and we've lost other boys, you know, overseason ending injuries,
it's just the next man up. That's the way. It's
(05:34):
the way it isn't the way it's always going to be.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
For more from the All Sport Breakfast with Darcy Watergrave,
listen live to News Talk Said Be on Saturday mornings,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldgrave from News Talk SEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Let's talk about County is now taking on Canterbury, the
number one seed. The game is on Sunday afternoon. Pretty
rough start, five games on the bounce, losing and then
they turned around and got it sorted out, with the
berg average now nearly fifty odd points the last handful
of games. Dalton pupel Lee joins us. Now he's playing
number eight on Sunday afternoon for the Steelers. Let's talk
(00:32):
about there. Good a Dalton.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I'm good.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I've got Bathurst tomorrow. I'm stoked. I've also got Rugby tomorrow,
Canterbury taking on Counties. I'm kind of torn between two.
You're a petrol head. This must absolutely get you not
being able to watch Bathurst till the end.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
It is tough, but it is a quarter finals, so
I guess I can miss it four days.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Hit recordinate watch the whole lot when you get home
after securing victory, right, because that's the whole idea. As
a cantab, I don't want to see it happening, but
it's caught a fine of football. Now anything can happen right.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
One hundred percent, mate, And it's finals footy and we've
you know, we I know from playing finals footy that
anything can happen, so I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Where are the holes, if any in this Canterbury defense?
Where do you look to being them back? Split them
in half?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Yeah, that's the thing. You know, the number one seed
for a reason. They're They're a good team all over
the park, so it's it was hard to sort of,
you know, try to pick them apart, but you know,
we we're sort of going to try and match fire
with fire, so you know they can play the full
eighty plus. So we just know that if we just
stick to our game, more focus on our game, because
you know, when we when we're on, you know, we
(01:40):
can light it up for anywhere. So it's more a
bit of a focus point on ourselves and you know,
seeing if they can react to what we can what
we are showing.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
So yeah, with the team, you're moving positions, you're riding
in the boot, which is not your usual place of work.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Is it. Yeah, it's not. I It's been a while
since I've been here. I think last time was probably
my first or second year Blues that I played there
just to have a game at eight. But yeah, it's
been a while, but I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
What do you bring to the eight roll? What does
have to change from your open side role. I'm sure
it's only subtle. You're a big body crushing people, that's
the whole idea. But where else do you have to
you know, what do you actually have to do to
make it effective?
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Oh, I'd always the Hoss has been coming in, Hoskins,
he's been coming in and helping out. But I just
told him it's actually pretty chill. You know. You get
to be a bit more lazy on the sides on
the field, you know, walk around a bit, you know,
So it's nothing too bad.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
If coach, here's this mate, you're in a pilot trouble.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
You know that the differences, I think you get a
bit more carries, you know, as you can see, you know,
I'm looking at how the eight players. I've played a
lot of games with Hoss and sort of trying to
pick his brains, and he's been helping out heaps. So no,
I think it's just I've played the last probably two
weeks at eight, and I think it's just more ball
(02:57):
carries and you know, you're just a little bit more
involved in the decision making around the ball playing stuff,
but not really not really anything big change.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
You kind of want to replicate what happened when you
rolled Tasman. Maybe defensively you want to be slightly better
than that, but that was quite the turner. I don't
have anyone peck you to beat Tazm, but you did.
So what do you take from that game? It can
reapply tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I think, like I just said before, I think it's
just more focusing on what we're good at. You know,
like we have looked at our defense and try to
fix up the holes there. But you know, when we've
got so much talent and talent in this team that
you know, when we're firing and all cylinders, we're pretty
hard to stop and we can score from anywhere. So
it's probably just more just still trying to figure out,
you know, how we can go go into the game
(03:45):
and be firing.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
So yeah, I suppose we're scoring that much points that
the defense is one thing, but as long as you
score more than the opposition, and as you said, you've
got you guys are averaging like over fifty points a
game for the last month. It's insane.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Yeah, to be honest, it's sort of called me off
Guardia as well. But yeah, to go from zero and
five to start the season to then flick a switch
and when our first game and then started roll teams,
you know, with that many points, it's it's just a
credit to the coaches here, the staff, and specially the boys.
You know, Yeah, we're going into games, you know, we've
(04:21):
got to feel like we've got to chip on our
shoulder and we're feeling good. So yeah, well you.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Turn it around after Taranaki gave you a bath. I
think before that, who did you get beaten by? Was Otago?
I think had all the fun and games here and
then it righted and turned Was there one big key
to that besides being right embarrassed? Was it the fact
that you were playing your blues neighbors in North Harbor?
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah, I think it was. And to be honest, North
Harbor was a good team. They've lost only a couple
of games by a point or two, so I think,
you know, to get that win and sort of give
us confidence back into you know, the season, it was
huge for us. And then after that when everything suspects
for itself. Now we've been bloody or bloody awesome.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
So yeah, who else your lost because obviously you don't
have the husk fighting around. You got any other walking
wounded out there? Dulton.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Oh, we've got a few boys that are banged up.
But that's where you get. At the end of you know,
NPC season or any professional season, you know you're gonna
have a boys, you know, trying to play through you know,
small injuries and all that. But that's just the way
it is. And you know, if you get if you
lose a man like Hoss and that, which you know,
and we've lost other boys, you know, overseason ending injuries,
it's just the next man up. That's the way. It's
(05:34):
the way it isn't the way it's always going to be.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
For more from the All Sport Breakfast with Darcy Watergrave,
listen live to News Talk Said Be on Saturday mornings,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!