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Transcript

The Muster- Nick Bewley: Rugby Uncertainty Fills The Air · The Muster on Hokonui

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You think you're in control But that won't last that
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: long You thought you were the crown.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Honey, you... Welcome back.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: This is the muster on Hakanui. Nick Bewley joins us
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  Speaker 1: out of Newstalk ZB.
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  Speaker 2: Good afternoon, Nick. How's the week been?
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  Speaker 3: Hey, g'day, Andy. I'll tell you what, after the weekend
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  Speaker 3: from hell, from my sporting team perspective, I'm pretty relieved
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: to get to Friday. It was, yeah, pretty tough to
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: take Around Sunday with the Warriors, even though I have
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  Speaker 3: roots in the Deep South, I grew up in North
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  Speaker 3: Harbour and I'm based in Christchurch. That was a really
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  Speaker 3: tough one to take. In the NBC with Canterbury getting
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  Speaker 3: up just against Harbour, I play AFL and my dad's
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  Speaker 3: based in Tasmania and had a long affiliation with the
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  Speaker 3: Hawthorn Hawks who were beaten on the siren in the
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  Speaker 3: preliminary final. And my AFL team here in Christchurch lost. So, yeah,
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  Speaker 3: it was a horrendous weekend. But the sun came up
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  Speaker 3: and we move on. And, yeah, looking forward to this
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  Speaker 3: weekend and what's in store.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think the AFL is gaining any traction amongst
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  Speaker 1: New Zealand sporting fans?
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  Speaker 2: Or is it a case of it's over there?
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  Speaker 1: It's like getting New Zealanders to follow the NFL if
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  Speaker 1: you're not into it, I suppose.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm probably the worst person to ask, Andy, because
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  Speaker 3: I am a little bit immersed in the AFL world,
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  Speaker 3: but it certainly is nation. Look, we've got a four-team
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  Speaker 3: club competition here in Christchurch. That is good to see
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  Speaker 3: some new faces and guys who play a bit of
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  Speaker 3: rugby or rugby league, just keen to stay fit and
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  Speaker 3: active or be social. But yeah, I do speak to
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  Speaker 3: a couple of people running around the offices and they'll
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  Speaker 3: just stumble across the game on Sky and go, gee whiz,
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  Speaker 3: this is this is athletic, this is skillful, this is chaotic,
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  Speaker 3: all of the above. And certainly tomorrow, it is arguably,
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  Speaker 3: if not the biggest, one of the biggest days on
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  Speaker 3: the Australian sporting calendar with the magnitude of the crowd
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  Speaker 3: they'll get at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. And that's even
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  Speaker 3: considering two teams that are from outside Victoria and the
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  Speaker 3: Fremantle Dockers and the Brisbane Lions. So, I don't think
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  Speaker 3: it's probably cutting through and ever going to be too
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  Speaker 3: much bigger than what it is here in New Zealand,
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  Speaker 3: but I've certainly noticed over the last few years a
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  Speaker 3: few more people with more games on TV, a bit
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  Speaker 3: more social media. You can easily get highlights of a
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  Speaker 3: game pretty easily. The awareness is up a touch, that
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  Speaker 3: would be my read at least.
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  Speaker 1: What are your read into the situation with the NZR
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  Speaker 1: and these proposed changes to Super Rugby and the NPC?
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  Speaker 3: It's pretty tough, Andy, to get a read on exactly
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  Speaker 3: what's going to happen. Listening to Steve Lancaster, the New
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  Speaker 3: Zealand rugby boss, on Newstalk ZB with him, the people
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  Speaker 3: with CLN yesterday, I thought the salient point he made is,
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  Speaker 3: you know, yesterday that summit in Wellington was mostly a
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  Speaker 3: meeting of the minds. You know, there was never going
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  Speaker 3: to be a decision or a vote or anything like that.
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  Speaker 3: But he laid bare the financial position in terms of
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  Speaker 3: $ 66 million. That's a forecast loss over the next five years,
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  Speaker 3: a five-year period in which The British and Irish Lions
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  Speaker 3: tour New Zealand, arguably the biggest cash cow in rugby
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  Speaker 3: outside of a World Cup. So, look, Steve Lancaster said himself,
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  Speaker 3: they're not going to do nothing, which for me at
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  Speaker 3: least was encouraging because how many reports have we had?
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  Speaker 3: How many summits have we had with stakeholders with various interests,
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  Speaker 3: whether it be the provincial unions, the Super Rugby franchises,
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  Speaker 3: the Players Association and New Zealand Rugby Association? as the
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  Speaker 3: governing body. So it'll be fascinating to see exactly where
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  Speaker 3: it lands. I think out of all the options that
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  Speaker 3: have found its way into the media, the third option,
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  Speaker 3: one being pushed by unnamed provincial unions around blowing up
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  Speaker 3: Super Rugby and going at it alone with a New
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  Speaker 3: Zealand-centric or a super-powered NPC competition, it's certainly fascinating, but
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  Speaker 3: I find that the least likely to go ahead. I
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  Speaker 3: just can't see a situation now that we're 30-odd years
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  Speaker 3: down the line where, and particularly seeing the impact more
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  Speaker 3: at a higher level, all-black level, from isolation now from
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  Speaker 3: South Africa, that New Zealand rugby would consider moving away
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  Speaker 3: from a coexistence with Australia and the Pacific in terms
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  Speaker 3: of the Fijian draw. And I certainly think there are
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  Speaker 3: some merits to the discussion around amalgamation and some of
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  Speaker 3: the key centres like I'm here in Christchurch literally the
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  Speaker 3: Canterbury Rugby Union and the Crusaders are still in the
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  Speaker 3: same building but there's a lot of duplication in my
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  Speaker 3: view in terms of high performance marketing, commercial all this
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  Speaker 3: sort of stuff which could probably be scaled right, academies
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  Speaker 3: who does what and when so there's a lot of
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  Speaker 3: decisions to be made so this is an encouraging sign
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  Speaker 3: that hopefully in the next 6-12 months a decision is
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  Speaker 3: going to have to be made. Now, there's going to
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  Speaker 3: have to be compromise somewhere, and it feels like if
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  Speaker 3: you look at someone like David Kirk, who's come into
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  Speaker 3: New Zealand rugby as the president recently and shown how
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  Speaker 3: capable he is of making a difficult decision when you
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  Speaker 3: think about the All Blacks coaches at the beginning of
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  Speaker 3: this year, rather than the traditional path regarding the New
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  Speaker 3: Zealand rugby constitution where all the PUs and the Maori
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  Speaker 3: board all get a vote. I get the sense it's
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  Speaker 3: going to be David Kirk or Steve Lancaster going you
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  Speaker 3: know what this is best for rugby or best for
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  Speaker 3: us because we have to do something from a business
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  Speaker 3: perspective and someone isn't going to like it and they're
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  Speaker 3: going to have to suck it up otherwise like any
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  Speaker 3: business Andy you can't just keep losing money hand over
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  Speaker 3: fist something we'll have to give I don't know what
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  Speaker 3: that'll be but I'm curious to see where it lands
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  Speaker 3: in the next.
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  Speaker 1: Year Business is one thing but fan engagement is the
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  Speaker 1: other and that's the big one too Oh.
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  Speaker 3: Certainly, yeah. And look, I mean, I guess compared to
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  Speaker 3: where you are, Andy, down south, like I'm here in
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  Speaker 3: a market where we do have a Super Rugby team
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  Speaker 3: based here and an NBC team based here. And I
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  Speaker 3: think this year's been a little bit of an anomaly
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  Speaker 3: because we've also had a new stadium, so there's actually
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  Speaker 3: been significant interest in both teams. You know, the Canterbury
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  Speaker 3: NBC team have done really well to sell out the
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  Speaker 3: new stadium here. But I do see around the country how,
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  Speaker 3: you know, how much NPC teams mean to smaller regional
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  Speaker 3: areas like Southland, like Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Taranaki. You know,
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  Speaker 3: you can list off a few. Northland at the moment
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  Speaker 3: with the Ranfelli Shield versus Super Rugby as well. So
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  Speaker 3: it just feels like, to me at least, there is
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  Speaker 3: a lot of rugby. And I think there's certainly an
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  Speaker 3: argument to scale back a touch, certainly around the cost
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  Speaker 3: of the professional game, wherever... But, yeah, there's no doubt,
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  Speaker 3: you know, it's fan first. We hear all the time
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  Speaker 3: about fan-centric and tribalism and all these things. You just
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  Speaker 3: look at somewhere like the Warriors in terms of capturing
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  Speaker 3: an audience, that's certainly, you'd think, got to be at
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  Speaker 3: the forefront of whatever decision is made.
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  Speaker 1: Just on the Warriors, are they going to regret letting
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  Speaker 1: Metcalf go next season? Hmm.
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  Speaker 3: Uh... I think with Tanner Boyd to come back, I
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  Speaker 3: think the short answer to that is no. Look, I
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  Speaker 3: think they are lacking some X factor, though, and that
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  Speaker 3: was laid bare over the course of the finals. Losses
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  Speaker 3: to the Dolphins in the night, something outside of Tane
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  Speaker 3: Tua-Picky in the first game. I mean, heck, they scored
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  Speaker 3: three tries in two games, and all three of them,
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  Speaker 3: Tane's try in the Dolphins game, Lick is two in the...
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  Speaker 3: Knights game were pretty much all down to individual brilliance.
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  Speaker 3: So they're going to need something more than that going forward.
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  Speaker 3: They can't be over-reliant on one or two players. But
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  Speaker 3: the NRL is a tricky roster beast. Pretty much the
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  Speaker 3: roster is sort of set now unless something crazy happens
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  Speaker 3: between a player and a club somewhere else and there's
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  Speaker 3: a fallout situation like there was with Luke Metcalf and
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  Speaker 3: the Warriors earlier this year. So that's probably one of
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  Speaker 3: the big unknowns. Andy, this year at least, what was
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  Speaker 3: this Warriors team capable of? How did Luke Metcalfe stay
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  Speaker 3: on the field? How did Roger Tuivastashek stay on the field?
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  Speaker 3: But that's the world we live in, unfortunately, where injuries occur.
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  Speaker 3: We make exactly the same argument for the Newcastle Knights,
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  Speaker 3: who had their million-dollar man, Dylan Brown, on the sidelines
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  Speaker 3: for the second half of the season, and they've still
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  Speaker 3: found a way. So, look... There's also an argument to
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  Speaker 3: be made, too, that you don't want to keep a
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  Speaker 3: player who is unhappy. Personally, as a Warriors fan, I
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  Speaker 3: was pretty disappointed by how that all unfolded from the
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  Speaker 3: player perspective because I think if he just knuckled down,
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  Speaker 3: bided his time, proved his worth, he could have been
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  Speaker 3: anything at the Warriors.
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  Speaker 1: Hey, good on you, Nick. Always appreciate your insights. Really interesting,
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  Speaker 1: especially regarding the NZR.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: Cheers, Andy.
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  Speaker 3: Have a great weekend. Laugh out loud with Ag Proud,
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: because life on the land can be a laughing matter.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: Brought to us by Shearwell Data, working to help the
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: livestock farmer.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: This is relevant, given the way the weather's been.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: Always say yes to a quick 30-minute drink with your buddy,
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: because those 90 minutes could turn out to be the.
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: Best six hours of your life. Ain't that the truth?
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: Now, of course, once again, thanks to Beef and Lamb,
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: The Spring Shouts happening next week. Tokanui the 30th of September,
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: the Wednesday and Thursday the 1st at Central Pirates. Then
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: the following week at Wyndham and Blackmount. We'll push these
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: events as they're coming along. But there's a number of
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: events happening around the South as well. So make sure
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: you take the opportunity to get off farm and do
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: yourselves a favour.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: Go and have a catch up with someone.
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  Speaker 1: My name's Andy Muir. The Muster's brought to you by
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: Peter's Genetics. 5am tomorrow, the best of the Muster. This
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: podcast's going up shortly. Thanks to iHeartRadio.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: See you Monday. Up stags.