Tension's Running High E93 - Everyone is out of touch!

WEBVTT
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Let's all hear.
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It for the Panthers. We know how to play the game.
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Side by side we'll stick together to uphold the Panthers' name.
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Hear the barricades all shouting. Hear them shouting one and all.
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All the premier ships that came forth with the Panthers on.
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The Now it's time for Tensions Running High, a Penrith
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Panthers podcast presented by the Western Weekender, brought to you
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by Penrith City Automotive. Here's Troy Dodds and Nathan Taylor.
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Hello, everyone, and welcome to Tensions Running High, a Penrith
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Panthers podcast presented by the Western Weekender. This is episode 93.
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I'm Troy Dodds, joined by Nathan Taylor. Hello, Nathan.
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Hello, Troy.
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We are the voice of rugby league in Penrith. We
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love talking all things Penrith Panthers for 35 years. The
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Weekender has led the way in Panthers coverage here in Penrith.
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We've covered six premierships, the biggest breaking stories and interviewed CEOs, coaches, chairmen, players.
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The list goes on. A big thanks to our sponsor,
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Penrith City Automotive, the only place to buy a car.
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On the agenda today, the Panthers through to another preliminary final.
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Nathan Cleary escapes suspension, but what's going on with that
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foot injury? Finals crowds in the spotlight and the members'
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memento being axed. A whole heap more as well. Let's
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get on with it, and Nathan, I think we should
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start with your namesake, Nathan Cleary. Yes. Of course, he's
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now the big talking point of the finals. There's always
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a story around the finals and an injury or a
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suspension or something like that, and he almost had both
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this week. We escaped the suspension issue. I think that's
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been all said and done, but this injury... um is
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is a bit of a concern um let's start with
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the official statement from panthers we first knew something was
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wrong obviously during the game dylan edwards took the uh
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the last uh goal kick um and there was some
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vision of nathan sort of expressing that he had a
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foot problem yeah played it down afterwards but of course
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he had scans on on monday what have they revealed.
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Yeah, Troy, so just before 6pm on Monday, Panthers released
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a medical update, which is quite rare for them because
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we don't often hear injury news from the Panthers.
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It's the worst fun getting their money's worth.
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That's right. That's right, they'll be very happy. So when
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that came through on Monday evening, we were all quite surprised,
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but I guess it's Nathan Cleary, so they have to
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tell the world something because otherwise they'll get inundated with calls.
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So basically they said, Penrith Panthers can provide the following
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injury update regarding halfback Nathan Cleary. Cleary sustained a stress-related
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bone issue in his foot during Sunday afternoon's qualifying final
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victory over the Sydney Roosters. Cleary will continue to be
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assessed and monitored by the Panthers medical team.
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Very detailed there, obviously. Very vague indeed. And look, we've
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talked about this before. I don't mind the Panthers being vague,
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I guess, in this case because there's a a bit
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to go before the game, and they're probably still going
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to continue to do assessments. But they were careful not
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to use the word fracture. Now, this is where it's
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got to be confusing, because if there is a fracture,
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then we're talking Dylan Edwards-style 2021, but we're also talking
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players who've been out for big periods of time as
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a result of that. But they didn't say fracture. So
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we don't actually know if it's a fracture or not.
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The word issue could be very broad.
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Yeah, of course. And I mean, you know, they could
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have just said, yeah, he contained a foot injury, but
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at least they gave a little bit more you know,
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insight as to what the actual problem was. You remember
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a few weeks ago when Isaiah heard his pec, they
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never said anything about it. They said it was a
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pec injury. We ended up finding out it was a rupture.
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And he's still out there and playing, and that's amazing
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news for Isaiah. But, yeah, with Cleary, I think the
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good signs were, Troy, that he continued to play on
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in the game, obviously kicked the field goal. He was
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probably feeling a bit of pain throughout the entire game
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because Ivan went on the radio the other day and said,
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you know, it's just, over time this is probably just
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worn out. He's just wearing his feet out, I guess.
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He's running, he's kicking, he's doing all sorts of things.
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But he finished the game, he went around and met
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with fans, did his media commitments, you know, was celebrating
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in the sheds with the team's song after the game.
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So all signs indicate that, you know, obviously not ideal,
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but he's toughing it out and that's what you'd expect.
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I think it's great that we've got the week off
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this weekend because, you Had we not, it probably would
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have been 50-50 whether he would have played or not.
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But having an extra two weeks of sort of rest
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and recovery, I think would do him the world of good.
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What we understand from a few different sources, but also
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Ivan's conversation on SCN during the week, is that Nathan's
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probably going to be pretty limited at training in the
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next little while. A lot of it's going to be mental.
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But he'll probably be in a moon boot as well,
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as we understand it. Now, of course, Dylan was in
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that moon boot as part of the 21 grand final game.
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lead up as well.
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The difference with that year is it was COVID, so
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we didn't see it. It was probably hanging around the
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resort wearing the moon boots, so we're pretty undercover with that.
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Now, are you going to declare Nathan Cleary will play
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next Sunday at Coors Stadium? Absolutely.
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I don't think there's any shadow of a doubt. I
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think he's... I've always said this, and I feel like
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Penrith fans know this, but the wider media don't. Nathan
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Cleary is probably one of the toughest players to ever
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play this game in our era. I mean, the amount
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of injuries he's had, the shoulder reconstructions, the bunged shoulders
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a few years ago when he won us a grand final,
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the hamstrings, the... You name it, he's had an injury-plagued career,
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and it's unbelievable what he's been able to do because
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he's toughed it out. Players will not, you know, if
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this was maybe a round three game, sure, Ivan might
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rest in for a couple of weeks. But this is
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preliminary finals. This is when you get up and actually
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stand up and deliver. And, you know, he played the
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rest of the game. He didn't have to get carted
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off and, oh, I can't walk on my foot. Like,
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I think there's no doubt in the world that he
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will be there next Sunday.
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The NRL physio, Brian Sini, he was on SEN during
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the week as well. And he was saying he would expect, yes,
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Nathan Cleary would be able to play with this injury.
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He can't really needle it. Well, he can needle it,
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but it doesn't really help much in terms of the thing.
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But he, interestingly, which not many people have mentioned, he
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said he would rate him almost no chance of playing
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in the World Cup.
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So that's Cleary and Yeo both out of the World Cup,
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he's saying.
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Potentially. He just said, look, that is something that they're
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going to need to address it. So whether you let
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him go through a World Cup campaign with that injury
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still sitting there would be big questions.
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I think Nathan would be, you know, of course, he'd
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love to play in a World Cup at home, but
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I think he'd be... He'd probably be fine. As long
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as he can play this final series and win another premiership,
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I think the World Cup would be secondary to him
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for sure. All right.
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Well, we do expect Nathan Cleary to play, but let
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me just throw you the hypothetical. All right. Go for it.
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If he doesn't, can Penrith win the preliminary final without
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Nathan Cleary? That would mean Jack Cogger... back from suspension,
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plays at halfback.
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Yeah, absolutely they can.
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All right, there you go.
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I know, and everyone's saying they can't. People are saying
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they can't win the premiership, but how do you know?
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This is a team that's won four premierships, and most
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of them were there through the entire run. Yes, Nathan
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Cleary's critical, and I'd bet my house that if he's there,
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Penrith are probably going to win it all, but to
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say that they've got no chance, even just to win
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the prelim, like, come on.
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Yeah, I think, look... As we know at Penrith, it's
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a lot about the system. So I agree. I think
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we'd win a prelim and we'll talk about that and
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some more reasons about why we think of that a
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little bit later on. But that is the latest on
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Nathan Cleary. As we mentioned, a bit of a sigh
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of relief on Monday too when he was only charged
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with a grade one for that contact on Hugo Savala.
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So therefore, just a little fine for Nathan. Can you
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believe the outrage? Of course, it's Nathan Cleary.
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So you're going to get, haters and you're going to
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get people that are going to make out that it
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was a bigger deal than what it was because they
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want him suspended because they know if he's not there
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then there's chances of winning a premiership dip so did.
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I see dean ritchie say i could have broken his
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leg Oh.
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Mate, Jimmy Smith said it was one of the worst
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things he's ever seen on a football field.
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We were letting this go a couple of years ago.
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For 104 years, that was fine.
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I know. He was trying to go for a charge down. Absolutely,
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he was. He clipped him. Zavala didn't even fall over
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to begin with. It was so silly. I think, you know, penalty, Shaw, Sinbin, yeah, okay,
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punish us during the game, but... I'm glad the match
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review committee had some sense and realized, hey, we've seen
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players do this before and we've let them off.
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Yeah.
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This is the same situation.
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And it's interesting what you just said there about the penalty.
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I actually think in most of these cases, unless there
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is some serious intent, the penalty is sufficient. Absolutely. During
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the game.
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Yeah.
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Because, you know, some of the, like, and we've seen,
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they're very consequential penalties. Remember that one with Harry Grant
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a couple of years ago was the most basic of touches. Yeah.
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So again, in rugby league, we've taken it to the
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nth degree and we're looking at things in slow motion.
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Oh yes, he's clipped him there. I get we've got
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to protect the kicker, but it's not the equivalent of
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getting suspended for high tackles and dangerous throws and all
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of that. Penalty sufficient because it's a pretty consequential penalty
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in the game given the penalty is where the ball lands.
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That's right. And it was just the Roosters, you know,
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bad luck that their kicker missed the goal.
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Yeah, might have changed everything.
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And so they could have went up 14-12 and then
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come in at the halftime with, up against 12 men
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like they stuff that the roosters like unlucky for them
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but um yeah thankfully you know Nathan it was clear
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and now we just got to pray and hope that
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uh the foot's okay and.
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Credit to Hugo Savala for not sort of staying down
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in you know pretend pain that um that we might
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see some players do at times because we know how
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the NRL reacts to things like that if they would
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have thought there was an injury.
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And he was the one that kicked the goal, wasn't he?
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Yeah, he kicked the goal. Maybe he was a bit
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rattled from Nathan's massive hit on him. But yes, talking
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of that, Penrith threw to a seventh straight prelim. They
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held on to beat the Roosters by a famous scoreline,
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19 points to 12 on Sunday afternoon at Combank Stadium. Look,
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it was probably a little more nerve-wracking than we expected
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it to be. The Roosters certainly took Penrith right to
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the end.
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Yeah, they certainly did. I mean, we saw about a
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month ago these two sides come together and it was close.
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So you sort of knew it wasn't going to be
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a blowout Penrith's way. Penrith's side got better for this game.
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So did the Roosters. But yeah, like I was on
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the edge of my seat right until bizzare. Managed to
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get that incredible try at the end, which, you know,
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obviously just the sense of relief. I'm sure the whole
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crowd felt that. You could tell Biza felt that. The
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way he celebrated Dylan Edwards, you know, taking three minutes
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to kick the goal. It was just like, I think
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everyone just needed to calm down there because it was
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tense throughout. The Roosters were up by 12-6 at a
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point in the game.
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So it was.
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It was one of the great finals wins, I think, Troy,
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for Penrith.
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Yep, and there's been some good ones over the Roosters
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over the years. Yeah, just a game that came down
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to moments. I think Trent Robinson said that about Penrith
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taking opportunities. So, obviously, Nathan Cleary, the field goal, Hugo
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Savala missing that penalty goal, and then, of course, Daley Cherry-Evans. Bizarrely,
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in my opinion, it's almost like we forced the Roosters
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into trying to go for the one point. Cleary went
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for it earlier than you probably would normally go, but
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he had that great run from Leota that obviously just
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set it up for him. But, um you know it
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sort of forced the roosters to go oh we need
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to match this where i would have just kept going
250
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for the try if i was the roosters but.
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I couldn't believe he missed because cherry evans he's pretty
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good field goal kicker like he's probably more than anyone
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in the competition like he's clutch when it comes to
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winning games from field goals or whatever so for him
255
00:11:28.289 --> 00:11:30.929
to miss like a pretty easy shot but by looks
256
00:11:30.990 --> 00:11:34.169
a thing for him it would have been yeah um lucky.
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00:11:34.250 --> 00:11:36.639
Yeah no absolutely and look the week off will obviously
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be really important for uh for the Panthers. They've got
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a few niggling injuries, and I've been clear he's got
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some decisions to make, of course, whether Lugana, who's got
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to be the most unlucky player he suffered another injury
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um in the in the lead up to um to
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the game on the weekend so that's all blaze delonghi
264
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coming to the centers of course made his uh return
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to first grade and then crucial.
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Moment i know how things work out yeah.
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Um you know whether that plays a part in blaze's
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uh future at penrith who knows but yeah i've got
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some decisions he's got jack cogger coming back into the
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team as well we're going to figure out what to
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do there um i.
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Think i this is what i would do if i
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was ivan So if Ivan, you're listening, this is my opinion. Obviously,
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00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:17.340
Nathan's going to play. I'd keep Jack Cole there because
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I think that partnership's working well. I wouldn't punt. Jack
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00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:22.809
Cole's done nothing wrong. Like, why are we not... He's not,
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00:12:22.909 --> 00:12:23.149
you know.
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00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:27.240
Flashy by any means he's he's done pretty well since
279
00:12:27.259 --> 00:12:30.580
he's taken that spot since um you know Jack Cogger's
280
00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:32.639
been out so I'll keep him there I put Cogger
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on the bench at number 14 they didn't use Freddie
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00:12:34.860 --> 00:12:37.750
Lustig the other day at all so keep him there
283
00:12:37.789 --> 00:12:40.610
get him coming on for Mitch Kenny if you need
284
00:12:40.629 --> 00:12:42.169
want to give Mitch Kenny a rest I mean Billy
285
00:12:42.190 --> 00:12:44.750
Scott probably won't be needed I dare say but That'd
286
00:12:44.769 --> 00:12:47.190
be my sort of way I'd manage the halves.
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Plus, it also allows you that if, for some reason,
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the prelim ended up being a blowout, you can bring
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00:12:51.350 --> 00:12:53.909
Nathan off and, you know, rest him up for the
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00:12:53.929 --> 00:12:56.809
grand final, and then you've got Jack Cogger there. Two
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00:12:56.870 --> 00:12:59.090
things that you just mentioned there too, by the way,
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or one thing you mentioned and another that I'll just
293
00:13:01.779 --> 00:13:05.100
re-push my point on this. The Dylan Edwards kick that
294
00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:07.940
took forever, like, you know, a bit of, you know,
295
00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:11.399
gamesmanship and funny about that. But isn't it amazing that
296
00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:14.250
in the NRL how we're so... intricate on things, we're
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00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:16.230
looking at things in slow-mo and whatever, that we just
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00:13:16.370 --> 00:13:19.399
kind of let that occur sometimes. I think, why don't
299
00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:22.639
we just have a set time? Like, if you haven't
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00:13:22.659 --> 00:13:25.899
kicked it within 45 seconds, say, of the try being scored,
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00:13:25.940 --> 00:13:28.059
it's just time off no matter what. I think we
302
00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:29.740
let it go to a minute or a minute ten.
303
00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:32.139
Before we do it now. Because you're allowed to, right?
304
00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:33.980
He was allowed to take as much time as he
305
00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:36.799
wanted because he knew the referee would eventually blow the.
306
00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:38.820
Yeah, so why don't we have a set, just a
307
00:13:38.870 --> 00:13:41.629
proper set thing? You know what? Why does the clock
308
00:13:41.690 --> 00:13:43.490
even continue to run down when we take the kicks?
309
00:13:43.909 --> 00:13:45.029
Oh, you think they should just stop the clock?
310
00:13:45.049 --> 00:13:46.070
I'm happy for it to stop the clock.
311
00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:46.960
Really?
312
00:13:47.139 --> 00:13:49.480
Stop the clock after a try and the clock resumes
313
00:13:50.419 --> 00:13:52.000
once the try, because we're wasting a lot of time.
314
00:13:52.019 --> 00:13:53.419
Oh, the games would be gone for two hours at
315
00:13:53.470 --> 00:13:55.710
some games, you know, especially the blowout games. You'd be
316
00:13:55.750 --> 00:13:56.750
there all day.
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00:13:57.090 --> 00:13:58.570
And my other point is, I think we had another
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00:13:58.610 --> 00:14:00.690
incident where we're looking at things in slow motion with
319
00:14:00.730 --> 00:14:03.620
fingertips in the air. If you come down with the ball,
320
00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:05.419
the ball's yours. That should be the rule.
321
00:14:05.659 --> 00:14:08.590
No matter how many hit someone along the way. No
322
00:14:08.610 --> 00:14:10.909
matter what happens up there, no matter what we're doing. Really,
323
00:14:10.929 --> 00:14:11.950
you want that just to be fair game.
324
00:14:12.070 --> 00:14:13.429
If you come down with the ball, we've got on you.
325
00:14:13.809 --> 00:14:14.669
That should be the rule in my opinion.
326
00:14:14.690 --> 00:14:15.830
Well, that should have been the rule to begin with.
327
00:14:15.850 --> 00:14:17.190
I don't think we can go back to that now.
328
00:14:17.210 --> 00:14:17.460
Probably not.
329
00:14:17.470 --> 00:14:18.649
Because people would just freak out.
330
00:14:18.669 --> 00:14:20.600
Probably not. But the Pandas are through and they will
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00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:23.559
play the winner of the Warriors and the Knights. And
332
00:14:23.580 --> 00:14:26.740
we expect that game to be on the Sunday afternoon
333
00:14:27.179 --> 00:14:29.480
at a core stadium. It definitely can't be on the Friday.
334
00:14:29.500 --> 00:14:33.200
But I guess there's a... Minor chance of the Saturday,
335
00:14:33.220 --> 00:14:35.259
but we expect the New South Wales Cup and the
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00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:36.120
league grand finals.
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00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:38.100
Penrith are playing in both of those games as well
338
00:14:38.139 --> 00:14:41.059
on the Saturday. So I can't imagine the club having
339
00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:43.240
to choose. They've got the same coaching staff for a
340
00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:45.100
lot of things. I can't imagine them having to choose
341
00:14:45.139 --> 00:14:47.460
between which games do we go to, you know?
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00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:49.879
If in a perfect world, and I don't think we're
343
00:14:49.899 --> 00:14:51.879
in a perfect world to be able to switch schedules around,
344
00:14:52.700 --> 00:14:55.100
but I would be switching this situation and I'd be
345
00:14:55.139 --> 00:14:58.610
having the lower grade grand final day at Combank on
346
00:14:58.629 --> 00:15:02.159
the Sunday. Yep. and the other prelim on the Saturday
347
00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:04.899
night and just give the team... The NRL team should
348
00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:09.059
have an extra day to prepare for... So we're going
349
00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:11.379
to let one grand final team have an extra two
350
00:15:11.419 --> 00:15:12.360
days of preparation.
351
00:15:12.460 --> 00:15:15.539
Yeah, well, that's true. We'll have Dolphins or whoever they
352
00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:17.419
come up against, we're going to get an extra two days.
353
00:15:17.500 --> 00:15:20.759
Extra two days of preparation. And when we say preparation,
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00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:22.980
this time of year, it's a lot harder. You've got
355
00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:24.779
a lot more commitments and a lot more other things
356
00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:27.259
that the NRL... The Pandas or the Warriors are going
357
00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:29.250
to jump straight, or the Knights, are going to jump
358
00:15:29.299 --> 00:15:33.389
straight into media opportunities on that Monday morning, grand final.
359
00:15:33.110 --> 00:15:34.870
Launches, all of that sort of stuff. Daily M middle
360
00:15:35.049 --> 00:15:35.269
as well.
361
00:15:35.289 --> 00:15:38.950
Daily M that week, like, I think we could switch
362
00:15:38.970 --> 00:15:41.509
those around. And would anyone really care that we move
363
00:15:41.730 --> 00:15:43.570
New South Wales Cup and Jersey flag to the Sunday?
364
00:15:44.149 --> 00:15:44.879
No, I don't think so.
365
00:15:45.620 --> 00:15:47.860
At the moment, if Penrith's New South Wales Cup team
366
00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:49.919
win the grand final, they're going to have more preparation
367
00:15:49.980 --> 00:15:53.019
for the state cup than the Pandas NRL team will
368
00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:53.960
have for the grand final.
369
00:15:54.139 --> 00:15:54.419
Yeah.
370
00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:55.500
Like, that's a bit ridiculous.
371
00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:55.600
Yep.
372
00:15:56.070 --> 00:16:00.289
Now, Nathan, I've got a couple of emails following the game. Now,
373
00:16:00.309 --> 00:16:03.919
podcast at westernweekend.com.au. And this will partly lead us into
374
00:16:03.960 --> 00:16:06.399
our finals crowd discussion as well, which has been probably
375
00:16:06.419 --> 00:16:07.580
the big talking point of the week.
376
00:16:07.779 --> 00:16:08.059
Okay.
377
00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:10.899
The first one actually is about you, Nathan. Me? And
378
00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:13.879
our colleague, Peter Lang. What have we done? Otherwise known
379
00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:15.000
as Lang on League.
380
00:16:15.019 --> 00:16:15.909
Okay.
381
00:16:16.899 --> 00:16:20.100
And it's actually from Emily Chait, who's a journalist here
382
00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:22.419
at the Western Weekender. And Emily actually sat with you
383
00:16:22.460 --> 00:16:22.960
at the game.
384
00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:26.039
Yes, she was in a bind and wanted to go
385
00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:28.620
and didn't have anyone to go with. So she decided
386
00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:30.970
to tag along with me and my family, yes.
387
00:16:31.149 --> 00:16:33.929
Yep, all right. Well, she's... provided, I guess, what you'd
388
00:16:33.950 --> 00:16:34.669
call a review.
389
00:16:34.690 --> 00:16:35.549
A review.
390
00:16:35.629 --> 00:16:36.909
Of the experience.
391
00:16:37.149 --> 00:16:38.909
She said she had a great time, Joey.
392
00:16:38.929 --> 00:16:40.789
Oh, no, I think she did, but she just thought
393
00:16:41.210 --> 00:16:43.570
that our listeners may like a bit of an insight
394
00:16:43.730 --> 00:16:46.389
into what it's like watching a game with Nathan. Okay,
395
00:16:46.529 --> 00:16:49.440
all right, this will be good. Now, she says, during
396
00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:51.340
Sunday's final between the Panthers and the Roosters, I got
397
00:16:51.379 --> 00:16:54.059
to experience watching a game with Nathan Taylor and Peter Lang.
398
00:16:54.100 --> 00:16:57.220
I've heard stories. about how they get during a finals game.
399
00:16:57.259 --> 00:16:59.019
I mean, I think Pete's the same in round seven,
400
00:16:59.059 --> 00:17:02.129
but anyway. But you really can't describe what it's like
401
00:17:02.169 --> 00:17:06.079
unless you've experienced it for yourself. Things started well with
402
00:17:06.119 --> 00:17:08.759
Marto getting across the line. There was positive energy coming
403
00:17:08.779 --> 00:17:11.859
from the pair. Then Robert Toye crossed to level the scores.
404
00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:15.460
The energy dipped, but things were relatively chill. Marky Mark
405
00:17:15.509 --> 00:17:17.630
then took an intercept for a try. That's when I
406
00:17:17.690 --> 00:17:20.109
saw the cracks starting to appear.
407
00:17:20.150 --> 00:17:20.930
Here we go.
408
00:17:21.029 --> 00:17:23.609
It began with Nathan losing his mind over the skill
409
00:17:23.630 --> 00:17:26.670
of Marky Mark. The commentators would be loving this, he said,
410
00:17:26.690 --> 00:17:29.809
while taking another sip of his gin and tonic. Spent
411
00:17:29.809 --> 00:17:30.309
16 bucks on that.
412
00:17:30.369 --> 00:17:30.670
I did.
413
00:17:31.130 --> 00:17:34.079
Dylan Edwards then leveled the score and calm was restored.
414
00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:36.779
Then Nathan Cleary hits the legs of Savala and gets
415
00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:39.680
sin binned. At halftime, Nathan couldn't stay in his seat.
416
00:17:39.859 --> 00:17:42.769
He had to walk off his nervousness. Pete stayed put,
417
00:17:42.829 --> 00:17:44.750
but he was waxing lyrical about how the Roosters were
418
00:17:44.769 --> 00:17:47.490
going to tear us apart in the 10 minutes Cleary
419
00:17:47.529 --> 00:17:50.109
was off. From the beginning of the first half right
420
00:17:50.130 --> 00:17:52.309
through to the Cleary field goal, there was negative energy
421
00:17:52.349 --> 00:17:55.390
emanating from Nathan and Pete. It was palpable, Emily says.
422
00:17:56.410 --> 00:17:58.210
Cleary then hit the field goal and the pair could
423
00:17:58.250 --> 00:18:00.589
see a glimmer of hope, but still it didn't stop
424
00:18:00.609 --> 00:18:03.549
the negative energy. More hope shined through when DCE missed
425
00:18:03.569 --> 00:18:06.329
his field goal, then Bizza took an intercept and scored
426
00:18:06.670 --> 00:18:09.359
underneath the post. It was like the cloud of negative
427
00:18:09.380 --> 00:18:12.349
energy surrounding Nathan and Pete lifted and the sun was
428
00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:15.289
shining again. Yes. They started throwing out lines like, never
429
00:18:15.349 --> 00:18:18.069
in doubt. We always had this. But if you asked
430
00:18:18.089 --> 00:18:20.730
them 10 minutes earlier, we were destined to lose. And
431
00:18:20.750 --> 00:18:24.589
the final siren sounded. Peter, like Clark Kent, ripped off
432
00:18:24.650 --> 00:18:27.589
his suit and turned into Superman. For three minutes, he
433
00:18:27.609 --> 00:18:30.259
was giving it to nearby Roosters fans. It was like
434
00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:32.220
Pete was on top of the world. For such a
435
00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:36.319
mild-mannered man, Pete was a fire-breathing dragon. Yes. He got
436
00:18:36.380 --> 00:18:38.460
let out for a few moments when the Panthers won.
437
00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:40.500
You don't want to be a fan of the opposition
438
00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:42.740
when he lets loose. No way. All in all, an
439
00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:44.640
experience I won't forget. Yeah.
440
00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:46.279
Well, there you go. I wish we could sell tickets
441
00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:47.700
next year to come sit with me and Pete.
442
00:18:47.740 --> 00:18:48.740
Well, that's a great idea.
443
00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:50.440
It would be a great experience, yes.
444
00:18:51.009 --> 00:18:52.690
Was that pretty accurate, you think? It was.
445
00:18:52.769 --> 00:18:55.390
It was pretty accurate. I did leave at halftime because
446
00:18:55.410 --> 00:18:58.250
I met up with an old colleague at Combank Stadium,
447
00:18:58.329 --> 00:19:00.369
and I was actually late to my seat back, Troy.
448
00:19:00.390 --> 00:19:02.829
I was probably about three minutes late, but it wasn't
449
00:19:02.890 --> 00:19:05.069
just to de-stress. I'll just put that on the record.
450
00:19:05.609 --> 00:19:09.690
Yeah okay there you go now.
451
00:19:09.910 --> 00:19:12.210
Jenny Clay has also sent us oh she hasn't watched
452
00:19:12.250 --> 00:19:13.059
me at the game either.
453
00:19:12.930 --> 00:19:15.039
Did she now she has gone on about crowds and
454
00:19:15.059 --> 00:19:16.859
we're going to talk about crowds Jenny said I thoroughly
455
00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:19.019
agree with your assessment of why the crowds were down
456
00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:21.400
at Combank this is a a column I wrote during
457
00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:23.759
the week. I tried to buy tickets 30 minutes after
458
00:19:23.779 --> 00:19:25.279
they went on sale for members and found that the
459
00:19:25.380 --> 00:19:29.349
only ones that were available were high up in Bay 215.
460
00:19:29.349 --> 00:19:31.619
That's a good bay, by the way. Not good for
461
00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:33.950
older people getting up the stairs, though, but we wanted
462
00:19:33.970 --> 00:19:35.829
to support Penrith. Later in the day, there were better
463
00:19:35.910 --> 00:19:39.109
ones in 214, but I'd already spent my money. I
464
00:19:39.150 --> 00:19:41.630
couldn't get anything in the lower bays at that time either.
465
00:19:42.069 --> 00:19:44.150
Members should get the first pick of the good seats.
466
00:19:44.250 --> 00:19:46.410
They've been the ones who forked out good money to
467
00:19:46.450 --> 00:19:49.450
support their team come what may then on saturday afternoon
468
00:19:49.490 --> 00:19:51.210
a friend was trying to buy tickets and the website
469
00:19:51.230 --> 00:19:53.299
wouldn't allow sales to go through it did later in
470
00:19:53.319 --> 00:19:56.059
the evening but people had given up trying i noticed
471
00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:58.019
the same thing when the grand final tickets went on
472
00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:01.920
sale i always buy them first day in 409 thereabouts
473
00:20:01.940 --> 00:20:04.579
but this year there was nothing available except in the
474
00:20:04.619 --> 00:20:07.180
corners or really high up i think the bays have
475
00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:11.309
also been held back or put aside for NRL travel packages. Theoretically,
476
00:20:11.329 --> 00:20:13.289
the grand final is already sold out because you can't
477
00:20:13.309 --> 00:20:15.579
buy tickets at the moment. The cost is also exorbitant.
478
00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:18.440
That's a couple of season memberships. The TV is looking
479
00:20:18.539 --> 00:20:21.579
pretty good at the moment. Now, that leads us into
480
00:20:22.140 --> 00:20:25.279
this discussion around crowds, which has been the big talking
481
00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:29.240
point of the weekend. The crowds last weekend. Now, I
482
00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:33.619
don't want to give myself a pat on the back, but... Hello,
483
00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:38.470
I told you so. 28,152 for Souths and the Knights.
484
00:20:38.829 --> 00:20:40.730
People are saying the Panthers crowd was the most disappointing
485
00:20:40.750 --> 00:20:43.200
of the weekend. I actually think that is the worst
486
00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:44.500
crowd of the weekend. Really?
487
00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:46.220
Even though that was the biggest crowd?
488
00:20:46.500 --> 00:20:53.079
South Sydney fans, in their first final since 2022... a
489
00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:56.140
team that 80,000 people marched through the city for because
490
00:20:56.180 --> 00:20:58.839
they were so critical to rugby league, at a venue
491
00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:02.180
they all want to apparently go home to, 28,000 people,
492
00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:04.380
and most people will tell you that they were mainly
493
00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:06.539
Knights fans. So Bunnies fans just decided.
494
00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:08.160
I think they played it at the wrong venue, Troy.
495
00:21:08.180 --> 00:21:09.619
They should have just played it where they were meant
496
00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:10.009
to play.
497
00:21:10.069 --> 00:21:14.789
Absolutely. 26,000 were the Warriors. That was obviously a great result. 17,429
498
00:21:14.789 --> 00:21:18.650
for Sharks Cowboys at Allianz, should have been at Shark Park.
499
00:21:19.130 --> 00:21:23.349
And 22,000 for Panthers Roosters was definitely disappointing. But what
500
00:21:23.789 --> 00:21:26.210
has really got my goat up this week is the,
501
00:21:26.619 --> 00:21:29.319
what I would call, fan-shaming that has been happening from,
502
00:21:29.819 --> 00:21:32.660
I guess, the main rugby league journos as they've been
503
00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:36.160
writing away and appearing on Triple M and SCN and
504
00:21:36.200 --> 00:21:41.140
Fox League and everywhere else they appear. Yeah. We all
505
00:21:41.180 --> 00:21:44.880
know that there's obviously deep issues around ticket prices and
506
00:21:44.920 --> 00:21:46.680
all of that. But all of that stuff seems to
507
00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:49.450
just get a little fleeting mention. Oh, yeah, ticket prices. Apparently,
508
00:21:49.490 --> 00:21:51.130
that's a bit of an issue. But why aren't the
509
00:21:51.150 --> 00:21:54.250
fans turning up? There's no excuse. I've kept hearing that.
510
00:21:54.269 --> 00:21:56.269
There is no excuse. And yet, there are a lot
511
00:21:56.289 --> 00:21:59.490
of excuses. I just think these journos need to get
512
00:21:59.509 --> 00:22:03.079
off their arses and actually... Where's the deep dive been
513
00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:06.519
into why they didn't go? Instead of just fan-shaming everyone, oh,
514
00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:08.509
you didn't go... You know, you should be going to
515
00:22:08.549 --> 00:22:11.230
support your team. Where has the deep dive actually been
516
00:22:11.670 --> 00:22:14.160
as to what went wrong last week? Because if you
517
00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:17.059
actually got out and spoke to fans, you might actually
518
00:22:17.099 --> 00:22:19.140
have some answers to the things you're battling on and
519
00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:19.680
whinging about.
520
00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:22.359
Yeah, 100%. I think a lot of these journos, as
521
00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:26.039
we know, they're media accredited. As we are, Troy, we
522
00:22:26.059 --> 00:22:28.549
could obviously just scan our media pass and go up
523
00:22:28.569 --> 00:22:31.069
to the corporate media box and watch a game. But
524
00:22:31.170 --> 00:22:34.250
that's exactly what the journos do. Except for we, we're
525
00:22:34.289 --> 00:22:38.160
also massive fans of So we're on there on Ticketmaster
526
00:22:38.220 --> 00:22:40.599
on Monday morning and buying our tickets with the rest
527
00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:43.430
of you guys. So that's the difference between us as
528
00:22:43.490 --> 00:22:47.549
journos and the mainstream journos who are going to games
529
00:22:48.049 --> 00:22:50.630
for work purposes or even not for work purposes, where
530
00:22:50.650 --> 00:22:53.069
we're just going for free. So they're out of touch
531
00:22:53.289 --> 00:22:54.690
with the common fan.
532
00:22:54.710 --> 00:22:55.430
That is exactly right.
533
00:22:55.450 --> 00:22:57.809
They haven't bought, they haven't jumped on a Ticketek line
534
00:22:57.869 --> 00:23:00.480
or Ticketmaster line for months. A very long time.
535
00:23:00.500 --> 00:23:02.279
If I could just put a little asterisk, and I
536
00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:03.759
know I don't like to give you too many raps,
537
00:23:03.819 --> 00:23:05.299
and he's not even really in the media anymore, but
538
00:23:05.339 --> 00:23:09.430
Buzz Rothfield has legitimately had a Sharks membership up there
539
00:23:09.470 --> 00:23:11.309
in the ET stand for many years, and I think
540
00:23:11.349 --> 00:23:13.230
board finals, all of that sort of stuff. So Buzz
541
00:23:13.269 --> 00:23:15.930
is probably an exception, but you're 100% right with the others.
542
00:23:16.190 --> 00:23:18.680
They're out of touch. Yeah. When was the last time
543
00:23:18.740 --> 00:23:21.220
a David Riccio or Brent Reid sat on Ticketmaster in
544
00:23:21.259 --> 00:23:23.259
that queue on a Monday morning at 10am and then
545
00:23:23.299 --> 00:23:26.000
got the shock of the $ 124 or whatever price it
546
00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:26.900
is that comes up at you?
547
00:23:27.380 --> 00:23:30.140
I'd say probably never. They've been doing this for two
548
00:23:30.180 --> 00:23:34.579
decades or more, these guys. They probably have never done it.
549
00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:38.329
Did you see a single story this week in all
550
00:23:38.369 --> 00:23:41.569
these complaints and then all last week where a journo
551
00:23:41.829 --> 00:23:44.910
went to the NRL and actually got some comment as
552
00:23:44.950 --> 00:23:46.349
to why the prices were that high?
553
00:23:46.650 --> 00:23:46.750
No.
554
00:23:47.589 --> 00:23:50.930
Oh, interesting. So quite happy to battle on about fans,
555
00:23:50.970 --> 00:23:53.009
but didn't even go to the NRL and say, look,
556
00:23:53.029 --> 00:23:57.089
can you give us some insight into the ticketing prices? Because,
557
00:23:57.250 --> 00:23:58.710
and look, don't get me wrong, I think there are
558
00:23:58.769 --> 00:24:03.559
other reasons people aren't going. And yes, rugby league fans
559
00:24:03.710 --> 00:24:06.130
are notorious for finding a reason not to go to
560
00:24:06.150 --> 00:24:09.460
the footy, maybe as opposed to AFL fans who find
561
00:24:09.480 --> 00:24:12.769
a reason to go. But the ticket prices, they were
562
00:24:12.809 --> 00:24:16.869
a big issue. Best seat in the house or decent seats,
563
00:24:16.990 --> 00:24:20.099
well over $ 100 for most of the games last weekend,
564
00:24:20.130 --> 00:24:23.180
or all of them, including the Panthers-Roosters game. When you
565
00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:26.380
throw in, either you're buying a couple of tickets as
566
00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:29.220
a couple, which a lot of people would go as
567
00:24:29.259 --> 00:24:31.380
a couple, so that's a couple of hundred bucks out
568
00:24:31.460 --> 00:24:32.319
of the budget.
569
00:24:32.500 --> 00:24:34.900
Was for me.
570
00:24:35.059 --> 00:24:37.579
Family, you bring kids along, all that sort of stuff.
571
00:24:38.059 --> 00:24:42.750
It's a very expensive afternoon out. And so, I don't know,
572
00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:45.339
I just think that We need to do something about
573
00:24:45.380 --> 00:24:46.640
these prices. They're ridiculous.
574
00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:48.200
And didn't you find the funny thing, I think it
575
00:24:48.220 --> 00:24:51.319
was on the Friday game, or Saturday game, sorry, how
576
00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:55.480
Allianz announced that we'll do half-priced chips. Just at that
577
00:24:55.539 --> 00:24:58.529
game only. Not the other football games that are run
578
00:24:58.549 --> 00:25:01.130
by the NRL or Venues New South Wales. Just that
579
00:25:01.170 --> 00:25:05.829
game only. Half-priced potato chips, which wouldn't cost that much
580
00:25:05.910 --> 00:25:08.529
anyway to make. They're going to cut those. But everything
581
00:25:08.589 --> 00:25:11.490
else will keep an exorbitant triple the price.
582
00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:11.670
Yeah.
583
00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:14.279
Just as a thing and the other thing I like
584
00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:16.279
too how the NRL came out sort of later on
585
00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:18.410
in the week and even I think they're starting to
586
00:25:18.470 --> 00:25:22.130
now like these family tickets for like $ 59 like patting
587
00:25:22.170 --> 00:25:24.130
themselves on the back because they're giving tickets away in
588
00:25:24.190 --> 00:25:27.279
the very nosebleed top corners of the stadiums and like
589
00:25:27.319 --> 00:25:29.980
yep kids will love it up there like We've done
590
00:25:30.049 --> 00:25:31.650
our job, like... Yeah.
591
00:25:31.690 --> 00:25:33.690
This is the thing with that. The whole, like, tickets
592
00:25:33.730 --> 00:25:36.269
from $ 29 and they end up being the worst.
593
00:25:36.329 --> 00:25:38.549
Well, yeah, and the $ 29 is often for, like, kids'
594
00:25:38.589 --> 00:25:40.250
tickets and it's double for adults.
595
00:25:40.829 --> 00:25:43.529
Yeah, and just, look, it is just... It would be
596
00:25:43.569 --> 00:25:45.890
literally like Macca's saying, you know, food here for 50
597
00:25:45.890 --> 00:25:47.519
cents and it ends up being the ice cream cone.
598
00:25:47.559 --> 00:25:50.079
I mean, like, it's... Like, yes, you do have it.
599
00:25:50.579 --> 00:25:52.400
But that's not really why we want to go. We
600
00:25:52.420 --> 00:25:54.000
want something more decent than that.
601
00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:56.960
People are saying, like fans, because fans have been sounding off.
602
00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:59.309
You were on X a lot over the weekend. You
603
00:25:59.349 --> 00:26:01.430
were posting a fair bit. And a lot of fans,
604
00:26:01.750 --> 00:26:05.170
they're on the train. They understand. They're expressing their anger
605
00:26:05.190 --> 00:26:08.920
at the NRL that, at the ticketing companies. A lot
606
00:26:08.940 --> 00:26:11.470
of people are saying that people are scared to criticise
607
00:26:11.490 --> 00:26:14.269
Volandis because they might not get their Vegas trip paid for.
608
00:26:14.529 --> 00:26:16.589
Well, we've never had a Vegas trip paid for. In fact,
609
00:26:16.869 --> 00:26:19.569
Penrith went in, what, the second year of Vegas? And
610
00:26:20.009 --> 00:26:21.950
I paid for my airfare and ticket.
611
00:26:22.029 --> 00:26:22.809
Yeah, you did.
612
00:26:22.829 --> 00:26:26.410
There was no free ticket for me. Now, also, the
613
00:26:26.430 --> 00:26:28.470
food and beverage prices are an issue too because I
614
00:26:28.490 --> 00:26:32.970
know that people can say, hey, just don't, you know,
615
00:26:33.009 --> 00:26:34.410
bring your own food or don't drink there or whatever.
616
00:26:34.430 --> 00:26:37.549
But hang on, like, We're trying to encourage people to
617
00:26:37.609 --> 00:26:39.230
not stay at home and watch it on TV. So
618
00:26:39.269 --> 00:26:42.029
you want, therefore, an experience at the game. And part
619
00:26:42.049 --> 00:26:45.549
of that experience might be your kids grabbing some hot
620
00:26:45.589 --> 00:26:47.750
dog or you having a beer or a couple of
621
00:26:47.769 --> 00:26:52.339
beers or whatever it might be. And we're talking $ 15,
622
00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:55.200
$ 16 for a beer or for a bourbon or whatever.
623
00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:59.039
And you're talking, what, $ 9, I think, for a Cornetto.
624
00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:00.259
$ 9 for a Cornetto.
625
00:27:00.299 --> 00:27:01.339
They're like $ 2 at the servo.
626
00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:01.440
Yep.
627
00:27:01.460 --> 00:27:01.839
Like, these are.
628
00:27:05.589 --> 00:27:09.250
This is reasons people are staying away and you can't
629
00:27:09.289 --> 00:27:09.789
blame people.
630
00:27:09.910 --> 00:27:12.789
And not to mention, Troy, if that game was at
631
00:27:13.170 --> 00:27:15.250
the new Penrith Stadium, we would have sold that out.
632
00:27:15.369 --> 00:27:15.569
Sure.
633
00:27:15.910 --> 00:27:17.349
Even if it was at the old Penrith Stadium, we
634
00:27:17.369 --> 00:27:19.210
would have sold it. Not just because the crowd numbers
635
00:27:19.259 --> 00:27:23.240
were low, but Penrith fans live in Penrith. Like, we
636
00:27:23.299 --> 00:27:25.720
all come here, we know this stadium. That game would
637
00:27:25.740 --> 00:27:27.880
have been sold out in the first couple of days,
638
00:27:27.940 --> 00:27:30.660
I dare say. You know, obviously, CommBank was $ 30, 000. So,
639
00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:34.220
we're $ 8, 000 off from a sellout, so to speak. But
640
00:27:34.259 --> 00:27:36.200
you took an interesting photo and you put it up
641
00:27:36.339 --> 00:27:39.769
on social media of the Western Grandstand, which is the
642
00:27:39.829 --> 00:27:43.609
corporate section over at CommBank Stadium. And it was empty.
643
00:27:43.910 --> 00:27:46.289
Yeah, it was empty. So, the corporate area was half
644
00:27:46.349 --> 00:27:49.609
empty on Sunday, no question about that. Now, you've probably got, what,
645
00:27:49.650 --> 00:27:51.630
only five or six days to sell that, and they're
646
00:27:51.650 --> 00:27:53.910
expensive tickets. And because the NRL is selling it, and
647
00:27:53.930 --> 00:27:58.029
there's no, I guess, incentive for Penrith to sell it.
648
00:27:58.190 --> 00:28:01.210
I know Penrith did send stuff out to their corporate partners,
649
00:28:01.230 --> 00:28:03.900
so they must have an allocation. But it's a very
650
00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:06.200
late decision to be making to be spending $ 400 or
651
00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:09.740
$ 500 on corporate ticketing. So what was interesting is that
652
00:28:09.819 --> 00:28:14.019
you've got a half-empty corporate stand, yet the NRL reserved...
653
00:28:14.079 --> 00:28:17.079
Eastern Stand best tickets for families and friends. Like, why
654
00:28:17.099 --> 00:28:19.680
can't we send a lot of them into the corporate areas? Like,
655
00:28:19.960 --> 00:28:22.000
a venue like Combank, this is the floor of Combank.
656
00:28:22.420 --> 00:28:25.720
The whole West is reserved for corporates and family and
657
00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:27.220
friends and whatever, and yet we get to finals time
658
00:28:27.240 --> 00:28:28.660
and we say, oh no, we'll also have the best
659
00:28:28.680 --> 00:28:32.069
seats on the Eastern Stand as well, thanks. Yeah. Which
660
00:28:32.109 --> 00:28:34.150
is ridiculous. The other thing as well, of course, is
661
00:28:34.450 --> 00:28:36.890
the travel involved. And this is why I have no
662
00:28:36.930 --> 00:28:39.730
problem with Sharks fans actually not going. Because as I
663
00:28:39.769 --> 00:28:44.470
said last week, I think that 10 years ago, we
664
00:28:44.789 --> 00:28:49.029
went away from all the finals being at big stadiums,
665
00:28:49.470 --> 00:28:52.490
back to home stadiums for this exact reason, because we
666
00:28:52.509 --> 00:28:55.430
were having these issues. The NRL had the perfect excuse
667
00:28:55.470 --> 00:28:57.400
to say, you know what, let's just sell out Shark Park.
668
00:28:57.740 --> 00:28:59.960
It's the Cowboys. We're not going to get that many
669
00:28:59.980 --> 00:29:03.000
more at Allianz. Instead, they went through probably four times
670
00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:06.279
the effort in promoting the game, half-price chips, as you mentioned,
671
00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:08.420
and all of that, to get an extra, what, 2,500
672
00:29:08.420 --> 00:29:12.160
people there, if they actually got that. And the thing that,
673
00:29:12.779 --> 00:29:15.799
People keep forgetting, again, the same journos who are whinging
674
00:29:15.859 --> 00:29:19.000
about crowds. Yes, Shark Park is a shithole, right? We
675
00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:21.240
all get it. But it's a shithole that people want
676
00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:23.000
to go to. The fans want to go there.
677
00:29:23.019 --> 00:29:23.940
The fans do, yes.
678
00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:26.200
They want to go there. So what we've got is
679
00:29:27.059 --> 00:29:29.509
the fans want to go there in week one. No
680
00:29:29.549 --> 00:29:31.769
dramas about later, but week one they want to go there.
681
00:29:31.890 --> 00:29:34.869
The players want to play there. The CEO wants to
682
00:29:34.910 --> 00:29:38.950
play there. Everyone wants to go to Shark Park except
683
00:29:38.990 --> 00:29:41.059
the journos who aren't going to the game anyway and
684
00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:43.460
the nrl yeah they're.
685
00:29:43.119 --> 00:29:46.019
The only but they got a bit lucky there cronulla
686
00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:49.539
because if that was a another sydney team what would
687
00:29:49.559 --> 00:29:51.079
you have done of course maybe you've got to make
688
00:29:51.099 --> 00:29:53.299
decisions that was st george and cronulla you can't play
689
00:29:53.339 --> 00:29:56.170
that shark park i think you can I still go
690
00:29:56.210 --> 00:29:58.150
back to the fact that it's week one.
691
00:29:58.730 --> 00:30:01.670
And yes, it's an elimination game, so you could be out.
692
00:30:01.950 --> 00:30:03.369
But there's every chance you're not going to be out.
693
00:30:03.410 --> 00:30:06.190
You've got week two and three and a grand final.
694
00:30:06.539 --> 00:30:10.420
But you're still shutting out like a possible 50,000.
695
00:30:10.420 --> 00:30:10.880
Shut them out.
696
00:30:11.319 --> 00:30:12.160
You want them shut out.
697
00:30:12.180 --> 00:30:16.160
Shut them out. What an atmosphere that you provide. And
698
00:30:16.180 --> 00:30:17.640
you know what? They can come in week two and
699
00:30:17.680 --> 00:30:18.579
they can come in week three.
700
00:30:19.269 --> 00:30:20.049
If you're alive.
701
00:30:20.069 --> 00:30:23.009
If you're alive, sure. But we've proven time and time
702
00:30:23.049 --> 00:30:25.730
again that this week one sort of issue, it's just
703
00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:29.039
not quite there. You know, it's not getting you the
704
00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:31.700
audience that you think you can get.
705
00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:34.200
What other grounds would be under consideration where they would,
706
00:30:34.279 --> 00:30:36.609
and I would probably move it, probably Leichhardt. The old
707
00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:38.029
Leichhardt would have got Brookvale as well.
708
00:30:38.049 --> 00:30:39.529
Yeah, I mean, I don't think the Tigers never would
709
00:30:39.569 --> 00:30:41.089
have said we want to play at Leichhardt.
710
00:30:41.109 --> 00:30:44.819
They would have done a Combank situation. Yeah, you're right. Brookvale, definitely.
711
00:30:44.839 --> 00:30:48.089
Brookvale, definitely. Dolphins would have to go to Suncorp.
712
00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:50.490
They're going to Suncorp anyway.
713
00:30:50.670 --> 00:30:53.490
Yeah, but I just think that sometimes you've got to be.
714
00:30:53.529 --> 00:30:54.809
I think we would have been under a bit of
715
00:30:54.930 --> 00:30:56.190
trouble this year, potentially.
716
00:30:56.230 --> 00:30:56.769
Yeah, maybe.
717
00:30:56.849 --> 00:30:58.529
If we were at the old Penrith Park, what would
718
00:30:58.549 --> 00:31:00.589
they have done? They would have gone, you've got the Roosters,
719
00:31:00.730 --> 00:31:01.869
we should play at a bigger stadium.
720
00:31:01.910 --> 00:31:04.150
Maybe. The other thing as well is, yes, we need
721
00:31:04.190 --> 00:31:06.470
to have a look at the Ticketmaster situation. So I
722
00:31:06.509 --> 00:31:08.289
mentioned this last week, but I then tried to do
723
00:31:08.329 --> 00:31:13.769
it again On Friday, because some $ 49 ticket deal came out,
724
00:31:13.829 --> 00:31:16.670
because we always put cheaper ticket deals on later in
725
00:31:16.690 --> 00:31:16.910
the week.
726
00:31:16.930 --> 00:31:17.630
Later in the week, yeah.
727
00:31:17.650 --> 00:31:21.009
Real fans have already bought their tickets. And I said, okay, look,
728
00:31:21.289 --> 00:31:23.529
my sister and whatever, she might want to go. I'll
729
00:31:23.569 --> 00:31:26.769
see if I can get this $ 49 family pass. But again,
730
00:31:26.910 --> 00:31:29.609
as we discussed on the podcast last week, it blocked
731
00:31:29.670 --> 00:31:30.390
me from doing that.
732
00:31:30.630 --> 00:31:31.279
Because you already had an egg.
733
00:31:31.289 --> 00:31:33.509
Because I already had eight tickets to the game. Now,
734
00:31:33.569 --> 00:31:35.650
I don't know when this started, because I understand the
735
00:31:35.730 --> 00:31:37.369
eight per transaction.
736
00:31:37.470 --> 00:31:37.609
Yeah.
737
00:31:38.099 --> 00:31:40.259
When did it start that I can't buy, on behalf
738
00:31:40.299 --> 00:31:41.559
of someone, another four tickets?
739
00:31:41.579 --> 00:31:43.720
Is it a ticket master? Did this happen under Ticketek?
740
00:31:43.740 --> 00:31:45.700
Well, I asked the NRL, and the NRL said that
741
00:31:45.720 --> 00:31:47.779
there's a limit of eight tickets to the event.
742
00:31:48.519 --> 00:31:49.660
To the event only.
743
00:31:49.700 --> 00:31:53.039
So if I had a group of 30 people that
744
00:31:53.099 --> 00:31:55.160
I wanted to take to the footy, sorry, you can
745
00:31:55.180 --> 00:31:56.940
bring eight of them. 22, we don't want their money.
746
00:31:56.960 --> 00:31:59.319
That's crazy. They're literally saying we'd rather the empty seats.
747
00:31:59.950 --> 00:32:01.039
He would rather the empty seats.
748
00:32:01.059 --> 00:32:02.920
But what's the reasoning behind it? So you don't hog
749
00:32:03.019 --> 00:32:05.500
the whole stadium to yourself? Are they kidding themselves?
750
00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:10.460
These stadiums are huge. Bizarre. Absolutely bizarre. And look, there's
751
00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:12.539
one other ironic part I wanted to mention, and this
752
00:32:12.619 --> 00:32:17.779
might be a broadcast rights issue. I'm not sure. I
753
00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:20.259
know that Fox can't be in the ground as far
754
00:32:20.339 --> 00:32:25.200
as interviews and things like that, but the media is
755
00:32:25.240 --> 00:32:28.359
sounding off about... You know, people not going to the game.
756
00:32:28.420 --> 00:32:30.759
Fox League called the Penrith Roosters game from the studio.
757
00:32:30.819 --> 00:32:31.200
Did they?
758
00:32:31.339 --> 00:32:32.039
They did indeed.
759
00:32:32.059 --> 00:32:33.500
I didn't know that.
760
00:32:33.579 --> 00:32:36.259
Now, let's give them a pass for the finals because
761
00:32:36.279 --> 00:32:39.740
of maybe broadcast rules or whatever. Fox League do this,
762
00:32:39.839 --> 00:32:42.960
as we know, regularly throughout the season. So, the biggest
763
00:32:43.019 --> 00:32:45.680
broadcaster in rugby league paying billions of dollars for the
764
00:32:45.740 --> 00:32:47.589
rights can't be bothered to go to the footy, but
765
00:32:47.609 --> 00:32:48.869
will criticize fans for not.
766
00:32:48.809 --> 00:32:51.009
Going to the footy. That's quite funny, yeah.
767
00:32:51.029 --> 00:32:53.500
Like, come on, you know. Anyway, I think we need
768
00:32:53.539 --> 00:32:57.059
to stop the fan-shaming and do some proper investigations, and
769
00:32:57.079 --> 00:32:58.720
maybe the NRL needs to have a really good look
770
00:32:58.759 --> 00:32:59.759
at how they do all of this.
771
00:32:59.779 --> 00:33:01.759
Well, let's see. Obviously, we're not going to be buying...
772
00:33:01.660 --> 00:33:03.579
We didn't buy any tickets this week to games, but
773
00:33:03.640 --> 00:33:06.019
we're going to be buying tickets the following week. So
774
00:33:06.059 --> 00:33:09.740
let's see what areas are opened up come Monday morning
775
00:33:09.779 --> 00:33:10.440
at 10am.
776
00:33:11.039 --> 00:33:13.480
It'll be the same old dramas, I'm sure, because nothing
777
00:33:13.500 --> 00:33:16.299
seems to change. All right, this September, there has never
778
00:33:16.339 --> 00:33:18.579
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795
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stocks last. Visit greatwesternkia.com.au or windsorkia.com.au. Great Western Kia and
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Windsor Kia, two locations, one great price for your next Kia. Terms, conditions,
797
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and eligibility criteria apply. Now, Nathan... Do you remember the
798
00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:32.340
commemorative magazines we put out a few years ago?
799
00:34:32.360 --> 00:34:35.030
Yeah, I sold a couple at the Perth Markets once.
800
00:34:35.090 --> 00:34:36.570
You did? Three Pete and the Fourth?
801
00:34:36.590 --> 00:34:36.659
Yes.
802
00:34:36.710 --> 00:34:39.809
Well, there's some big news. Three Pete is back in stock.
803
00:34:39.869 --> 00:34:40.289
How?
804
00:34:40.449 --> 00:34:43.429
A very limited number of copies. We found a box
805
00:34:43.550 --> 00:34:44.210
out in the store.
806
00:34:44.230 --> 00:34:44.969
You're kidding me.
807
00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:46.820
So that's back in stock.
808
00:34:46.840 --> 00:34:47.360
And the Fourth is.
809
00:34:47.340 --> 00:34:50.739
Still available as well. So head to westernweekend.com.au slash shop.
810
00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:53.639
That experience, by the way, has been improved too. And
811
00:34:53.659 --> 00:34:57.559
you can go on there and get those great commemorative magazines.
812
00:34:58.119 --> 00:35:00.079
So can you come in and buy some, Troy?
813
00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:02.360
You can still come into the office and get them.
814
00:35:02.380 --> 00:35:03.420
We'll take some cash in hand.
815
00:35:03.460 --> 00:35:06.170
With 3Pete, I would get on the website and book
816
00:35:06.190 --> 00:35:09.170
that because there's very limited copies available of 3Pete. But
817
00:35:09.190 --> 00:35:17.030
head to westernweekend.com.au slash shop. Now, Panthers memberships for 2027.
818
00:35:17.030 --> 00:35:18.909
Do you remember the days when it was like November
819
00:35:19.010 --> 00:35:22.000
when we'd release memberships? Now we're doing it. I always
820
00:35:22.019 --> 00:35:25.000
find it curious. We're doing it, and maybe this links
821
00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:27.400
back to our previous discussion, we're doing it at the
822
00:35:27.699 --> 00:35:30.500
time when Penrith fans are actually spending the most money.
823
00:35:30.920 --> 00:35:31.559
During the finals.
824
00:35:31.579 --> 00:35:33.380
During the finals. We say, you know what, let's put
825
00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:37.179
the memberships on sale. But Panthers have teased that memberships
826
00:35:37.219 --> 00:35:39.849
are on sale. They are actually already on sale. Available
827
00:35:39.869 --> 00:35:42.989
to look at online. If you do a few little
828
00:35:43.010 --> 00:35:44.969
clicks here and there, you can see it. Panthers know that,
829
00:35:45.010 --> 00:35:49.039
by the way. They're not hiding away from that fact. Now,
830
00:35:49.099 --> 00:35:51.840
what is interesting about memberships is a few points I
831
00:35:51.860 --> 00:35:54.420
want to make. People are going to complain about pricing.
832
00:35:54.579 --> 00:35:56.619
We know that. I think that there is an increase.
833
00:35:57.300 --> 00:35:59.510
You do have to... It'll look like a bigger increase
834
00:35:59.530 --> 00:36:02.090
than it actually is because there's more games at Hello
835
00:36:02.110 --> 00:36:03.690
World than there has been at ComBank for the last
836
00:36:03.769 --> 00:36:07.030
two years. You've got to remember, at ComBank in the
837
00:36:07.090 --> 00:36:10.110
first year, I think there was only eight games. Because
838
00:36:10.150 --> 00:36:16.260
we had Vegas, Mudgee, Bathurst, Suncorp. This year we had nine,
839
00:36:16.300 --> 00:36:18.360
and next year it's back to ten at Hello World.
840
00:36:18.380 --> 00:36:21.619
So there is a discrepancy in price there. I will
841
00:36:21.659 --> 00:36:24.480
say this, pricing and value is subjective. So I think
842
00:36:24.500 --> 00:36:28.019
we generally leave that out of the conversation, other than that, yes,
843
00:36:28.059 --> 00:36:30.300
there is an increase. I know partners are going to
844
00:36:30.340 --> 00:36:34.199
tout that general admission membership is cheaper. Yes. Of course
845
00:36:34.260 --> 00:36:36.599
it is, because you are going from a seat... At
846
00:36:36.659 --> 00:36:37.940
ComBank to the hills.
847
00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:38.860
To standing on the hills.
848
00:36:38.880 --> 00:36:39.539
To standing on the hills.
849
00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:40.239
Yeah.
850
00:36:40.260 --> 00:36:45.289
So, okay. But you are going to a poorer experience. So,
851
00:36:45.809 --> 00:36:47.570
you know, let's not give them too much credit for that.
852
00:36:48.070 --> 00:36:50.630
But I'm a good person. One thing that's interested me
853
00:36:50.670 --> 00:36:53.429
more so is you've been looking too, Nathan, at the inclusions.
854
00:36:53.670 --> 00:36:56.489
Of course, yes. It's always exciting to see what you
855
00:36:56.510 --> 00:36:59.050
get when you pay your $ 600 because you just don't
856
00:36:59.070 --> 00:37:00.579
want to just get a seat. You want to get
857
00:37:00.840 --> 00:37:03.219
a whole goodie bag, you know? Of course.
858
00:37:03.460 --> 00:37:06.599
And, you know, you want things that sort of, I guess,
859
00:37:06.719 --> 00:37:08.940
make you feel part of the team, part of the
860
00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:12.829
membership experience. And over the years, Panthers have done all
861
00:37:12.869 --> 00:37:15.590
sorts of different things. They've had the packs where you
862
00:37:15.849 --> 00:37:18.130
didn't really get to choose anything, but you got your hat.
863
00:37:18.449 --> 00:37:22.809
maybe a scarf all sorts of different things um you
864
00:37:22.889 --> 00:37:25.369
went through you went through a weird period where you
865
00:37:25.449 --> 00:37:27.849
had this a member plus store which is what's happened
866
00:37:27.869 --> 00:37:30.570
the last couple of years where you got 75 in
867
00:37:30.610 --> 00:37:32.449
value if you had one of the top team memberships
868
00:37:33.320 --> 00:37:36.519
um and that had like a bunch of different merchandise
869
00:37:36.579 --> 00:37:39.000
on it um you could personalize some of it all
870
00:37:39.019 --> 00:37:41.340
that sort of stuff um i thought that was terrible
871
00:37:41.360 --> 00:37:43.239
in the first year and actually not too bad in
872
00:37:43.260 --> 00:37:45.909
the in the second year But next year, we are
873
00:37:45.969 --> 00:37:51.639
going to a $ 30 Panther Shop voucher. No other merch. So,
874
00:37:51.659 --> 00:37:54.139
there is no member's hat. There is no scarf. There
875
00:37:54.199 --> 00:37:54.840
is nothing.
876
00:37:54.860 --> 00:37:55.440
No sticker.
877
00:37:55.659 --> 00:37:58.340
There is no sticker. There is nothing that, in fact,
878
00:37:58.380 --> 00:38:00.159
says 2027 member.
879
00:38:00.219 --> 00:38:01.119
You remember.
880
00:38:01.199 --> 00:38:03.300
It's a $ 30 voucher to put towards something that will
881
00:38:03.320 --> 00:38:05.280
probably cost more than $ 30. Probably something.
882
00:38:05.480 --> 00:38:06.559
Yeah, exactly right.
883
00:38:06.639 --> 00:38:10.920
In the Panther Shop. Also... The dumping of the physical
884
00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:12.039
membership card.
885
00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:13.639
This is the one that's upset me the most.
886
00:38:13.780 --> 00:38:16.840
It is gone, that card. Now, I had a look online.
887
00:38:17.349 --> 00:38:20.429
I reckon you could, you sell me 20 cents, but look,
888
00:38:20.449 --> 00:38:23.449
I think because there is some personalization on it, it's
889
00:38:23.469 --> 00:38:25.670
probably going to cost you 50 cents to a dollar
890
00:38:25.710 --> 00:38:28.889
to produce these cards. And I did see an email
891
00:38:28.969 --> 00:38:31.300
back from Panthers to a fan who was complaining about it.
892
00:38:31.650 --> 00:38:34.170
Panthers have said they're going to a more sustainable option.
893
00:38:34.630 --> 00:38:36.170
Oh, they're thinking about the environment, are they?
894
00:38:36.469 --> 00:38:41.230
Indeed. Okay. And so, therefore, the membership card is gone.
895
00:38:41.269 --> 00:38:42.789
You'll have a digital wallet.
896
00:38:43.389 --> 00:38:46.719
So, sustainable as in... They've been noticing these... So, you
897
00:38:46.739 --> 00:38:48.659
said the other day when you left Comeback Stadium, the
898
00:38:48.699 --> 00:38:50.559
whole family just chucked their things in the bin.
899
00:38:50.719 --> 00:38:52.760
So, I reckon Andrew Hill and Matt Cameron have witnessed
900
00:38:52.780 --> 00:38:54.500
that and said, we've got to top these cards.
901
00:38:55.099 --> 00:38:58.800
Well, they've seen this in the streets. They're just chucking their... Well...
902
00:38:59.010 --> 00:39:00.269
Isn't that funny? It's going into the drains.
903
00:39:00.409 --> 00:39:03.210
We all know the truth is most people keep those cards.
904
00:39:03.309 --> 00:39:03.630
They do.
905
00:39:03.889 --> 00:39:06.190
And wearing them around town or around the stadium is
906
00:39:06.230 --> 00:39:08.469
like a, you're wearing like a medal, like a badge
907
00:39:08.489 --> 00:39:11.849
of honor. Like you feel proud that you're a season
908
00:39:11.889 --> 00:39:14.230
ticket holder and you wear it on the train. Like
909
00:39:14.269 --> 00:39:16.210
I know people that got on the train at Penrith
910
00:39:16.230 --> 00:39:17.849
and they'll wear it the whole way. And it's like,
911
00:39:18.329 --> 00:39:20.719
it's something that you can, yeah, you feel proud that
912
00:39:20.739 --> 00:39:22.920
you're a member. But now if you're saying they're not
913
00:39:22.940 --> 00:39:25.559
going to have these cards available or lanyards and you
914
00:39:25.579 --> 00:39:27.619
just have it on your phone, like no one's going
915
00:39:27.639 --> 00:39:28.619
to know if you're special or not.
916
00:39:29.170 --> 00:39:31.880
And I know. that, I think for some reason, Panthers
917
00:39:31.900 --> 00:39:36.000
have forgotten about this. They've forgotten that the experience of
918
00:39:36.039 --> 00:39:38.710
being a member is actually more than the seat. It
919
00:39:38.789 --> 00:39:41.969
is actually, yeah, the flex of, hey, you got your ticket,
920
00:39:42.010 --> 00:39:44.289
but look at this. I'm a member and I'm a
921
00:39:44.349 --> 00:39:46.489
proud member. And you only have to, exactly what you said,
922
00:39:46.510 --> 00:39:47.630
you only have to see the amount of people that
923
00:39:47.670 --> 00:39:48.889
actually do wear it around the neck.
924
00:39:49.090 --> 00:39:49.849
Yeah.
925
00:39:49.889 --> 00:39:52.219
The amount of people who wear that member's cap with
926
00:39:52.239 --> 00:39:54.420
Pride every year. For a lot of people, the cap
927
00:39:54.500 --> 00:39:57.900
is important. For others, I'm like, I don't need 28 caps.
928
00:39:58.900 --> 00:40:01.599
And I get the Panthers will argue, exactly, we can't
929
00:40:01.739 --> 00:40:03.840
please everyone. But I don't know who you're pleasing with
930
00:40:03.860 --> 00:40:06.880
this at all. You're dumping the membership card. I've had
931
00:40:06.900 --> 00:40:10.050
a look at other clubs. Most other clubs still have
932
00:40:10.070 --> 00:40:12.710
the physical card. But also, most other clubs are doing
933
00:40:12.750 --> 00:40:15.769
a lot more. I actually think we'll do a look
934
00:40:15.809 --> 00:40:17.889
of it when all of the memberships come out for
935
00:40:17.909 --> 00:40:19.769
all the clubs. But so far, I've looked at clubs
936
00:40:19.789 --> 00:40:24.320
like the Cowboys, the Titans. The inclusions in their membership
937
00:40:24.340 --> 00:40:27.340
packages are like blow these out of the water. And
938
00:40:27.380 --> 00:40:31.920
we are a premiership winning club in an incredible era.
939
00:40:32.920 --> 00:40:33.679
Proud to be a member.
940
00:40:33.699 --> 00:40:35.320
Plenty of cash is coming through at the club at
941
00:40:35.340 --> 00:40:35.559
the moment.
942
00:40:35.579 --> 00:40:37.260
You should be proud to be a member. You should
943
00:40:37.280 --> 00:40:39.300
be able to display it. And we are actually saying,
944
00:40:39.340 --> 00:40:42.659
you know what? We do not care. for you to
945
00:40:42.719 --> 00:40:45.519
show you're a 27 member, because there is literally nothing
946
00:40:45.820 --> 00:40:47.619
that we'll have on a 2027 member.
947
00:40:47.760 --> 00:40:51.179
Are you saying they're out of touch, Troy, over at Panthers? Yeah,
948
00:40:51.239 --> 00:40:52.780
you know what, I'll say they're out of touch, Nathan,
949
00:40:52.820 --> 00:40:53.519
because are you a member?
950
00:40:53.780 --> 00:40:54.039
Yes.
951
00:40:54.380 --> 00:40:55.159
Were you asked about this?
952
00:40:55.599 --> 00:40:55.820
No.
953
00:40:56.019 --> 00:40:58.989
Nor was I. So I will say you have to, yeah,
954
00:40:59.030 --> 00:41:02.050
you are out of touch, Panthers, because you have not
955
00:41:02.090 --> 00:41:06.409
actually consulted your members about, not a single question, hey,
956
00:41:06.489 --> 00:41:07.929
what do you think if we didn't have the physical
957
00:41:07.949 --> 00:41:11.170
membership card? Not a question. hey, what do you actually
958
00:41:11.269 --> 00:41:13.889
want in terms of a membership? Do you want a pack?
959
00:41:13.909 --> 00:41:15.489
Do you want to be able to choose your own thing?
960
00:41:15.510 --> 00:41:18.679
And also, hey, if you want to choose your own thing,
961
00:41:18.699 --> 00:41:22.239
do you reckon you'll need more than $ 30? Because you're
962
00:41:22.260 --> 00:41:23.659
not getting much for $ 30.
963
00:41:23.460 --> 00:41:25.079
So how has this gone from $ 75 to $ 30? I
964
00:41:25.139 --> 00:41:30.960
have no idea. And the majority of us are paying
965
00:41:31.019 --> 00:41:34.280
more as well, so are these seats at Hello World
966
00:41:34.300 --> 00:41:36.099
going to be that much more expensive?
967
00:41:36.380 --> 00:41:37.980
And also, $ 30 in a shop, by the way, that is...
968
00:41:40.349 --> 00:41:44.139
This is at retail value that already has profit, I imagine,
969
00:41:44.639 --> 00:41:46.340
built into the item you're buying.
970
00:41:46.380 --> 00:41:46.619
Yeah.
971
00:41:47.119 --> 00:41:48.639
So, you know, if you buy a cap and that's
972
00:41:48.659 --> 00:41:50.159
going to cost you 50 bucks or whatever it's going
973
00:41:50.179 --> 00:41:51.599
to cost you, they're already making a profit on that.
974
00:41:51.659 --> 00:41:54.480
Now they're taking your $ 30 voucher from your membership. There
975
00:41:54.500 --> 00:41:58.119
was part of that as well. Exactly. And we talked
976
00:41:58.179 --> 00:42:00.690
last week about the other issue, which I noticed a
977
00:42:00.730 --> 00:42:03.349
few fans have now picked up on, in the whole
978
00:42:03.389 --> 00:42:06.630
lease your seat concept. In that Panthers will actually double dip.
979
00:42:06.670 --> 00:42:09.900
They will take the... money from that if you um
980
00:42:09.980 --> 00:42:11.539
can't make a game and you want to resell your
981
00:42:11.579 --> 00:42:13.980
seat they will take the money from that um and
982
00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:15.980
you'll get a merchandise voucher to again.
983
00:42:16.019 --> 00:42:18.659
So say your seat's worth a hundred dollars for instance
984
00:42:18.760 --> 00:42:21.340
yep so someone will out there will buy your your
985
00:42:21.380 --> 00:42:23.599
seat to sit with pete or me if pete can't
986
00:42:23.619 --> 00:42:27.599
go pete sells his seat um so the club will
987
00:42:27.639 --> 00:42:29.659
get 100 essentially they might have to use some fees
988
00:42:29.679 --> 00:42:32.579
to ticket master or whatever and then they will give
989
00:42:32.800 --> 00:42:35.239
me $ 30, is that correct?
990
00:42:35.610 --> 00:42:37.969
Well, I don't know if it's $ 30 or more, but
991
00:42:38.010 --> 00:42:41.489
it's a voucher. Right, okay. Maybe it's the equivalent amount,
992
00:42:41.730 --> 00:42:44.150
but why can't I just get the money?
993
00:42:44.230 --> 00:42:45.110
Why can't we get the cash?
994
00:42:45.670 --> 00:42:47.889
Yeah. I'm going to give you some research, Nathan.
995
00:42:48.369 --> 00:42:48.530
Okay.
996
00:42:48.730 --> 00:42:51.190
Would we argue, and look, this might be research you're
997
00:42:51.210 --> 00:42:52.650
going to need to do over a few weeks because
998
00:42:52.670 --> 00:42:55.170
the memberships might not be on sale yet. The biggest
999
00:42:55.349 --> 00:42:59.809
membership success story in Australian sport is AFL membership. Yes.
1000
00:43:00.510 --> 00:43:04.139
Let's see if AFL have dumped the lanyard. And let's
1001
00:43:04.179 --> 00:43:08.230
see what, as an AFL member, you get in packs.
1002
00:43:08.309 --> 00:43:10.369
And also if you still get the lanyard. And the
1003
00:43:10.409 --> 00:43:12.570
thing that makes you, as you walk through the streets
1004
00:43:12.610 --> 00:43:14.690
of Melbourne, it's a great sight. If anyone's ever been
1005
00:43:14.710 --> 00:43:17.789
there on a weekend, you know, heading towards the MCG
1006
00:43:18.389 --> 00:43:21.409
and the lanyard. Because it's funny, we're talking about something
1007
00:43:21.429 --> 00:43:23.869
that is, it's really mild. I get it. Pandas will argue,
1008
00:43:23.889 --> 00:43:25.530
and I totally get it. You are mainly buying a
1009
00:43:25.550 --> 00:43:28.889
membership to be a season ticket holder. But this is
1010
00:43:28.909 --> 00:43:31.449
the thing. Pandas are actually sending this back to being
1011
00:43:31.469 --> 00:43:34.519
a season ticket holder. We've done all this work in
1012
00:43:34.719 --> 00:43:36.739
rugby league to be like the AFL and be like, no, no,
1013
00:43:36.760 --> 00:43:38.179
you want to be a member. You want to feel
1014
00:43:38.199 --> 00:43:41.630
like you're a member. You're proud of being a member
1015
00:43:41.670 --> 00:43:44.349
of the club. This is just essentially a glorified season
1016
00:43:44.369 --> 00:43:46.050
ticket holder. It's nothing more than that.
1017
00:43:46.210 --> 00:43:47.639
And it's unlikely, I don't know, we don't have any
1018
00:43:47.679 --> 00:43:50.800
confirmation yet, but if this is a digital card, if
1019
00:43:50.840 --> 00:43:53.900
this is potentially a digital voucher, is this just all
1020
00:43:53.920 --> 00:43:56.000
going to come through an email? Like, are they not
1021
00:43:56.039 --> 00:43:58.500
going to be waiting for Australia Post to send out
1022
00:43:58.539 --> 00:44:01.500
your packs? Because there's probably no need for it, really.
1023
00:44:01.519 --> 00:44:04.210
Another big point. So, obviously, it was always great when
1024
00:44:04.230 --> 00:44:06.989
you got the pack at home to see what's in there.
1025
00:44:07.010 --> 00:44:09.050
There might be some surprises. But in addition to that,
1026
00:44:09.489 --> 00:44:11.530
Christmas presents for kids.
1027
00:44:11.789 --> 00:44:14.289
They even had, like, voucher booklets in there for local
1028
00:44:14.349 --> 00:44:16.280
businesses that would sponsor the Panthers.
1029
00:44:16.409 --> 00:44:18.599
If you get anything, that's all you'll get is that
1030
00:44:18.659 --> 00:44:19.179
voucher book.
1031
00:44:20.059 --> 00:44:21.320
If that exists still.
1032
00:44:21.360 --> 00:44:23.159
I don't know. If that exists, yeah. Well, it did
1033
00:44:23.179 --> 00:44:23.619
last year.
1034
00:44:24.159 --> 00:44:26.840
Yeah, but this is sort of the physical membership cards.
1035
00:44:27.639 --> 00:44:30.960
And look, there is absolutely no reason when we talk, say,
1036
00:44:30.980 --> 00:44:32.559
venues in New South Wales and all of that, there
1037
00:44:32.599 --> 00:44:35.079
is absolutely no reason for that card not to exist
1038
00:44:35.099 --> 00:44:37.500
because it exists now at ComBank. We use it right now.
1039
00:44:37.820 --> 00:44:39.460
Yeah, so you're not saying that they're going to have
1040
00:44:39.480 --> 00:44:41.820
turnstiles there that are just going to accept your phone
1041
00:44:42.030 --> 00:44:42.510
to scan.
1042
00:44:42.630 --> 00:44:43.150
No, no.
1043
00:44:43.170 --> 00:44:45.630
They should be able to scan physical tickets as well.
1044
00:44:45.809 --> 00:44:46.550
Yeah, we have them now.
1045
00:44:46.710 --> 00:44:46.909
Yeah.
1046
00:44:47.230 --> 00:44:51.699
So, yeah. Look, I just think that I'm... As I
1047
00:44:51.719 --> 00:44:55.579
compare it to other clubs and Penrith as a premium club,
1048
00:44:55.980 --> 00:44:59.199
and I look at it and I'm like, geez, that's
1049
00:44:59.280 --> 00:45:01.599
a real step back, I think, in terms of.
1050
00:45:01.739 --> 00:45:04.579
And if you don't want your physical, that's fine. You
1051
00:45:04.599 --> 00:45:06.679
have a digital option. We do now. I think everyone
1052
00:45:06.719 --> 00:45:09.639
does have a digital option now. They get sent. That's okay.
1053
00:45:09.659 --> 00:45:10.079
Have both.
1054
00:45:10.260 --> 00:45:13.519
Yeah. But even just the membership packs, to not have
1055
00:45:13.559 --> 00:45:16.070
that in a real quality....
1056
00:45:17.239 --> 00:45:17.880
Just, yeah.
1057
00:45:17.940 --> 00:45:18.909
That's really disappointing.
1058
00:45:19.949 --> 00:45:22.909
And you're aware, so we think we're Diamond members, Troy,
1059
00:45:22.929 --> 00:45:24.269
so we'd be paying the $ 600, right?
1060
00:45:24.269 --> 00:45:24.590
$ 600, yeah.
1061
00:45:25.170 --> 00:45:27.750
So we get the $ 30 voucher. Yeah. What do general
1062
00:45:27.789 --> 00:45:30.389
admission fans get?
1063
00:45:30.469 --> 00:45:31.130
A $ 30 voucher, Nathan.
1064
00:45:31.150 --> 00:45:31.230
Okay.
1065
00:45:32.030 --> 00:45:32.670
Thanks.
1066
00:45:32.730 --> 00:45:33.030
Checky.
1067
00:45:33.289 --> 00:45:35.130
So, yes, there is no difference. And also, one of
1068
00:45:35.170 --> 00:45:39.650
the great failures of Panthers, and this is, you know, yes,
1069
00:45:40.070 --> 00:45:42.449
we love Panthers. We sit here because we love Panthers.
1070
00:45:42.489 --> 00:45:44.170
But one of the great failings has been that they've
1071
00:45:44.230 --> 00:45:48.090
never figured out a way to to honour your level
1072
00:45:48.110 --> 00:45:50.610
of membership, but your tenure of membership. There are people
1073
00:45:50.690 --> 00:45:53.300
out there who've been members of Panthers for 40, 45 years. Yeah.
1074
00:45:53.679 --> 00:45:56.480
They get nothing in addition to someone who just becomes
1075
00:45:56.539 --> 00:45:57.079
a member this year.
1076
00:45:57.099 --> 00:45:57.460
Yeah, right.
1077
00:45:58.260 --> 00:45:59.070
And that's disappointing.
1078
00:45:59.199 --> 00:46:00.889
That's disappointing, yeah.
1079
00:46:00.909 --> 00:46:04.090
The other point is, too, we're coming back to a
1080
00:46:04.349 --> 00:46:09.530
stadium that isn't ours. We're a tenant, so the experience
1081
00:46:09.590 --> 00:46:11.050
is kind of going to be different. So you would
1082
00:46:11.090 --> 00:46:13.829
have thought that in the first year back, Panthers would go, well,
1083
00:46:14.030 --> 00:46:15.949
let's at least ramp up the membership side of things
1084
00:46:15.989 --> 00:46:18.719
to make that a... a much better experience.
1085
00:46:18.800 --> 00:46:21.019
Yeah, your first year back at Penrith Park, make it
1086
00:46:21.059 --> 00:46:24.500
a special, you could have a whole commemorative special range,
1087
00:46:24.539 --> 00:46:26.780
like these are the members that stuck by us at
1088
00:46:26.800 --> 00:46:28.199
ComBank and they've returned.
1089
00:46:28.539 --> 00:46:28.719
Yep.
1090
00:46:28.840 --> 00:46:30.340
Have something a little special from you guys.
1091
00:46:30.679 --> 00:46:34.199
I'm a member at a core stadium, like a core
1092
00:46:34.219 --> 00:46:35.179
stadium member.
1093
00:46:35.320 --> 00:46:35.460
Yep.
1094
00:46:35.699 --> 00:46:38.860
And you still get the physical tickets. Yep. And I
1095
00:46:38.900 --> 00:46:41.780
don't see why you shouldn't. And that's, you know, a
1096
00:46:41.820 --> 00:46:42.179
good thing.
1097
00:46:42.199 --> 00:46:42.940
Absolutely. Absolutely.
1098
00:46:43.570 --> 00:46:44.989
Anyway, hopefully.
1099
00:46:45.150 --> 00:46:47.590
Someone out there is listening. Hopefully someone is listening.
1100
00:46:47.610 --> 00:46:49.190
I know the Masked Panther is on to this this
1101
00:46:49.269 --> 00:46:51.510
week as well. He's going to give that a mention. Good.
1102
00:46:51.530 --> 00:46:53.250
The other finals this weekend, let's have a quick chat
1103
00:46:53.269 --> 00:46:57.449
about those. So Roosters-Sharks on Saturday night at Allianz Stadium.
1104
00:46:57.469 --> 00:46:59.969
So we have no Friday footy. Who are you tipping
1105
00:46:59.989 --> 00:47:00.369
in this one?
1106
00:47:01.170 --> 00:47:03.690
Yeah, well, look, it's... I don't know, it's hard to
1107
00:47:03.710 --> 00:47:08.170
get excited about weekends for footy when your team's not involved.
1108
00:47:08.230 --> 00:47:10.639
But look, Roosters-Sharks, I mean, I can only really comment
1109
00:47:11.420 --> 00:47:13.619
on how good the Roosters were. I thought they probably
1110
00:47:13.639 --> 00:47:16.599
would have beat any other team that weekend apart from
1111
00:47:16.639 --> 00:47:19.280
coming up against Penrith. So the Sharks, you know, they
1112
00:47:19.489 --> 00:47:23.170
did well against the Cowboys. Obviously, having Braden Trindle back
1113
00:47:23.210 --> 00:47:27.670
helped them massively. I think they looked a completely different team. But, yeah,
1114
00:47:27.690 --> 00:47:30.630
I think the Roosters at their home ground at Allianz
1115
00:47:30.650 --> 00:47:33.150
Stadium and just what they did, you know, hanging in
1116
00:47:33.210 --> 00:47:35.030
with Penrith right to the end last week, I think
1117
00:47:35.050 --> 00:47:36.730
that'll put them in good stead. So I think the
1118
00:47:36.750 --> 00:47:37.469
Roosters will get through.
1119
00:47:37.820 --> 00:47:39.199
Yeah, I think the Roosters will get through as well.
1120
00:47:39.239 --> 00:47:43.380
I think the Sharks, look, that was the worst game
1121
00:47:43.900 --> 00:47:47.079
of the weekend, the Sharks-Cowboys game. Nothing in that Sharks
1122
00:47:47.119 --> 00:47:49.360
performance said that they're going to go further than this week.
1123
00:47:49.429 --> 00:47:51.670
In saying that, the Roosters have now lost, what, five
1124
00:47:51.869 --> 00:47:52.630
in a row? Four in a row?
1125
00:47:52.650 --> 00:47:53.989
Four in a row. Four in a row.
1126
00:47:55.739 --> 00:47:59.900
They've been just not getting there. The mental impact of that,
1127
00:47:59.940 --> 00:48:02.280
I'm not sure. But I think Trent Robinson will be
1128
00:48:02.300 --> 00:48:04.139
able to get them up. So it's Roosters for me.
1129
00:48:04.710 --> 00:48:09.389
Warriors Knights on Sunday afternoon. As you know, I've been
1130
00:48:09.409 --> 00:48:10.489
off the Warriors bus.
1131
00:48:10.869 --> 00:48:11.230
Yes.
1132
00:48:11.750 --> 00:48:13.969
I'm going to hop back on. I'm going to hop
1133
00:48:14.010 --> 00:48:16.079
back on because I think they will get past the
1134
00:48:16.119 --> 00:48:21.630
Knights at a sold-out Eden Park on Sunday afternoon. In
1135
00:48:21.690 --> 00:48:25.590
saying that, we've got to stop underestimating the Knights because
1136
00:48:26.110 --> 00:48:29.900
they have absolutely every chance of causing a boil over.
1137
00:48:30.280 --> 00:48:32.940
But I just think the Warriors will pick themselves up.
1138
00:48:33.019 --> 00:48:35.840
They'll win. But I actually think that the emotion of
1139
00:48:35.880 --> 00:48:39.440
winning that will probably strip them of a chance of
1140
00:48:39.480 --> 00:48:40.719
winning the prelim. Okay.
1141
00:48:40.739 --> 00:48:42.869
Well, look, Troy, I'm going to go complete opposite. I
1142
00:48:42.909 --> 00:48:46.429
was thinking Warriors, this whole... sort of leading up to
1143
00:48:46.590 --> 00:48:47.730
this week. But I'm going to go to the Knights.
1144
00:48:47.929 --> 00:48:50.050
I saw their team name yesterday. I think it's a
1145
00:48:50.050 --> 00:48:53.170
pretty good-looking team. They did well to– we didn't tip
1146
00:48:53.190 --> 00:48:55.869
them against South last week. We thought South, Charles Mitchell,
1147
00:48:56.170 --> 00:48:58.329
Wayne Bennett, too good. They're going to get through. But
1148
00:48:58.630 --> 00:49:00.730
the Knights surprised everyone, and they won that. And I
1149
00:49:00.769 --> 00:49:03.789
think they've got some really experienced players in there, as
1150
00:49:03.809 --> 00:49:07.969
well as obviously some younger guys, like the Fletchers of
1151
00:49:08.010 --> 00:49:10.190
the world. But they've got Gay Guy. They've got Frizzell.
1152
00:49:10.210 --> 00:49:13.469
They've got Ponga. I just think those sort of guys
1153
00:49:13.510 --> 00:49:16.780
are going to– be really good in big games because
1154
00:49:16.800 --> 00:49:18.969
they've played a lot of big games throughout their career
1155
00:49:18.989 --> 00:49:21.550
so Warriors at Eden Park, while it's going to be
1156
00:49:21.610 --> 00:49:23.699
sold out, it's not Mount Smart. It's a little bit
1157
00:49:23.739 --> 00:49:26.199
different to what they're used to. So I don't know.
1158
00:49:26.519 --> 00:49:28.079
I think I'd like to see the Knights win and
1159
00:49:28.139 --> 00:49:29.900
us play the Knights next weekend.
1160
00:49:30.639 --> 00:49:33.079
And if that all happens, do you actually see anything
1161
00:49:33.139 --> 00:49:36.260
else other than a Dolphins-Panthers grand final? I mean, do
1162
00:49:36.280 --> 00:49:36.719
either of those.
1163
00:49:36.739 --> 00:49:37.460
Yeah, I do. I do.
1164
00:49:37.809 --> 00:49:38.469
Yeah, okay.
1165
00:49:38.730 --> 00:49:41.190
Well, can the Dolphins really make it? Can they beat
1166
00:49:41.210 --> 00:49:43.679
the Roosters, for example? I mean, they can. They beat
1167
00:49:43.699 --> 00:49:45.900
them twice this year. They just beat them recently, but
1168
00:49:45.920 --> 00:49:48.679
this is at Suncorp. So they could do it. You're right.
1169
00:49:48.699 --> 00:49:50.659
It'd just be surprising, wouldn't it?
1170
00:49:50.679 --> 00:49:53.599
It would be incredible to have a Dolphins-Panthers grand final.
1171
00:49:54.000 --> 00:49:56.320
I reckon the NRL, the last thing they would want
1172
00:49:56.719 --> 00:49:58.500
is probably a Dolphins-Panthers grand final.
1173
00:49:59.010 --> 00:49:59.730
Yeah.
1174
00:49:59.809 --> 00:50:04.489
The Dolphins don't have a massive fan base. There's no
1175
00:50:04.550 --> 00:50:07.510
question about that. Plus, you've got to then make the trip.
1176
00:50:08.150 --> 00:50:10.409
And the Panthers fans, like, I think that, and this is,
1177
00:50:10.449 --> 00:50:12.710
I guess, dating back to our other conversation earlier, which
1178
00:50:12.750 --> 00:50:16.269
I think has been not talked about enough. If you're
1179
00:50:16.289 --> 00:50:20.230
a Penrith fan, you've spent so much money on football
1180
00:50:20.250 --> 00:50:23.070
tickets over the last six or seven years. In fact,
1181
00:50:23.110 --> 00:50:25.760
take away your mortgage. Going to watch the Panthers is
1182
00:50:25.780 --> 00:50:27.940
probably your biggest expense. I reckon it costs more to
1183
00:50:27.960 --> 00:50:29.880
watch the Panthers every year than your home insurance and
1184
00:50:29.900 --> 00:50:32.480
your car insurance and your car rego. If you're going
1185
00:50:32.500 --> 00:50:35.050
to three finals games, grand finals and all of that,
1186
00:50:35.570 --> 00:50:38.050
there's another reason why Penrith fans potentially aren't going to
1187
00:50:38.070 --> 00:50:40.750
week one. But then you look at the grand final
1188
00:50:40.809 --> 00:50:43.590
and you go, if you're a middle-of-the-road Penrith fan, so
1189
00:50:43.610 --> 00:50:47.150
you're obviously super passionate, you're going to go. Casuals, you're
1190
00:50:47.170 --> 00:50:49.789
either going to go or not go. Middle-of-the-road... You might
1191
00:50:49.829 --> 00:50:51.860
actually go, you know what? I've been to two or
1192
00:50:51.880 --> 00:50:54.059
three grand finals now. I've experienced it. I'm happy to
1193
00:50:54.139 --> 00:50:56.699
have a home grand final. So I actually think, yeah,
1194
00:50:56.739 --> 00:51:03.110
Penrith Dolphins would be the toughest sell. It might not
1195
00:51:03.170 --> 00:51:07.889
sell out. Imagine Warriors in a grand final or Knights
1196
00:51:08.090 --> 00:51:09.829
or something like that. They're the teams that you'd want
1197
00:51:09.869 --> 00:51:10.130
in there.
1198
00:51:10.570 --> 00:51:13.429
Yeah, look, so pending everything goes our way, so Penrith.
1199
00:51:13.730 --> 00:51:18.309
Panthers roosters would think would... That should do well, you'd think.
1200
00:51:18.329 --> 00:51:18.530
Yes.
1201
00:51:19.210 --> 00:51:20.699
It didn't do well last weekend, but.
1202
00:51:20.739 --> 00:51:23.300
No, but it's a different kettle of fish. It's a
1203
00:51:23.320 --> 00:51:24.940
different kettle of fish. And also, a lot of grand
1204
00:51:24.980 --> 00:51:27.760
final tickets have already been sold. So they already... What
1205
00:51:27.780 --> 00:51:28.099
do you reckon?
1206
00:51:28.119 --> 00:51:28.780
What, 20,000 have been sold?
1207
00:51:28.840 --> 00:51:30.760
I don't know how that works. They go on sale
1208
00:51:30.820 --> 00:51:31.940
and then they go off sale.
1209
00:51:32.320 --> 00:51:35.219
But they sell them to everyone, like all the members
1210
00:51:35.239 --> 00:51:35.860
throughout the year.
1211
00:51:35.880 --> 00:51:37.570
This is the other thing that I think... Can we
1212
00:51:37.619 --> 00:51:40.349
sort this out differently? What do you want? Well, I
1213
00:51:40.369 --> 00:51:41.989
don't know. Why is it off sale now? Why can't
1214
00:51:42.030 --> 00:51:42.590
it just be on sale?
1215
00:51:43.460 --> 00:51:47.199
Because maybe they're just keeping those.
1216
00:51:48.280 --> 00:51:52.980
Absolutely still hold competing team base available. But if I
1217
00:51:53.019 --> 00:51:54.260
want to buy a great... If I want to give
1218
00:51:54.300 --> 00:51:56.940
the NRL right now $ 350 or whatever it's going to
1219
00:51:56.980 --> 00:51:58.579
cost me, I don't think I should be able to.
1220
00:51:59.059 --> 00:52:00.860
So you're saying you can't go on there right now.
1221
00:52:00.780 --> 00:52:01.960
And buy a ticket? No, I had a look at
1222
00:52:02.000 --> 00:52:03.760
it yesterday. Right. No, no, no, it's unavailable.
1223
00:52:03.780 --> 00:52:06.119
And that's unavailable until we know the opponents?
1224
00:52:06.199 --> 00:52:08.260
I think it's until we know the opponents, yeah. And
1225
00:52:08.280 --> 00:52:10.639
I'm just like, why? And then we're going to go
1226
00:52:10.679 --> 00:52:15.110
through the crap of that actual week Like, this doesn't
1227
00:52:15.130 --> 00:52:15.969
make a lot of sense to me.
1228
00:52:16.329 --> 00:52:19.309
And there was a thing that came out a couple
1229
00:52:19.329 --> 00:52:21.989
of weeks ago from the NRL, our media organisation, and
1230
00:52:22.030 --> 00:52:25.710
they listed the fans from clubs that already bought grand
1231
00:52:25.750 --> 00:52:28.329
final tickets. I think the Warriors are right up there.
1232
00:52:28.650 --> 00:52:29.469
Yeah.
1233
00:52:29.510 --> 00:52:30.909
I think we were quite up there too.
1234
00:52:30.929 --> 00:52:33.110
But, I mean, if you're a Warriors fan, I'm guessing
1235
00:52:33.130 --> 00:52:35.710
you've probably already booked your flights and you're probably coming anyway.
1236
00:52:35.730 --> 00:52:36.670
You're probably confident.
1237
00:52:36.829 --> 00:52:40.440
But you're coming anyway. Like, if the Warriors don't make it,
1238
00:52:41.210 --> 00:52:43.050
you can't, like, you've already got your fly.
1239
00:52:43.070 --> 00:52:44.469
You're going to have a lot of Warriors fans in
1240
00:52:44.489 --> 00:52:45.429
the crowd then.
1241
00:52:45.449 --> 00:52:45.750
That's it.
1242
00:52:45.769 --> 00:52:46.449
For no reason.
1243
00:52:46.699 --> 00:52:47.050
I think you will.
1244
00:52:47.070 --> 00:52:47.820
Because they're not making it.
1245
00:52:47.820 --> 00:52:48.699
I think you will.
1246
00:52:48.880 --> 00:52:49.639
They're not making it.
1247
00:52:49.860 --> 00:52:54.099
Well, hopefully not. It is time for Rugby League recommendations. And, Nathan,
1248
00:52:54.119 --> 00:52:56.679
you know what? I'm turning mine into advice this week.
1249
00:52:57.000 --> 00:52:57.559
Good. That's okay.
1250
00:52:57.579 --> 00:53:00.820
Advice to Penrith fans. I've gone with stop being a
1251
00:53:00.880 --> 00:53:02.579
keyboard wanker. Not a keyboard warrior.
1252
00:53:02.599 --> 00:53:03.079
A wanker.
1253
00:53:03.099 --> 00:53:05.590
A keyboard wanker. The amount of, and you know what?
1254
00:53:05.699 --> 00:53:07.409
I'll put this into real life. Stop being a real
1255
00:53:07.449 --> 00:53:11.619
life wanker as well. The amount of criticism from people
1256
00:53:11.699 --> 00:53:14.690
who I feel like have no idea about referees in
1257
00:53:14.710 --> 00:53:21.070
particular and refereeing decisions in rugby league in general is ludicrous.
1258
00:53:21.170 --> 00:53:23.920
And these weird accusations, and I think people believe this,
1259
00:53:24.619 --> 00:53:29.070
that it's a rort, that it's all set up. that,
1260
00:53:29.110 --> 00:53:33.150
you know, the fix is in. Yep. And I'm like, okay,
1261
00:53:33.230 --> 00:53:35.510
if you're a Penrith fan and you're saying this, have
1262
00:53:35.550 --> 00:53:37.480
a look at the last seven years. Do you really think...
1263
00:53:37.360 --> 00:53:40.099
You've had a pretty good run, Penrith fans. If you're
1264
00:53:40.179 --> 00:53:42.639
any other fan and you're like, ah, they're setting it
1265
00:53:42.679 --> 00:53:45.599
up for Penrith again, the last thing the NRL would
1266
00:53:45.639 --> 00:53:48.039
want is Penrith to actually be in the grand final
1267
00:53:48.059 --> 00:53:49.940
and to do all this again. The last thing they
1268
00:53:49.980 --> 00:53:52.460
would want. If the fix was actually in, Nathan Cleary
1269
00:53:52.480 --> 00:53:53.659
would be suspended right now.
1270
00:53:53.679 --> 00:53:54.099
That's true.
1271
00:53:54.119 --> 00:53:56.409
Because that would be what the NRL wants. When you
1272
00:53:56.489 --> 00:53:59.809
actually break it down and you actually look at it properly, yes,
1273
00:53:59.849 --> 00:54:03.170
there's some clangers with referees. None of them are standing
1274
00:54:03.210 --> 00:54:06.219
offside more for your team than the other team. It's
1275
00:54:06.280 --> 00:54:10.420
not actually happening. Hold back. Stop being an idiot. Stop
1276
00:54:10.460 --> 00:54:12.960
being a keyboard wanker. Stop being a real-life wanker. Just
1277
00:54:13.019 --> 00:54:15.199
enjoy the game. And accept that sometimes your team is
1278
00:54:15.219 --> 00:54:16.139
not as good as the other team.
1279
00:54:16.280 --> 00:54:18.980
Yeah, and the thing with Penrith, right, and we've seen
1280
00:54:19.219 --> 00:54:21.769
a lot of iterations of Penrith Panthers teams over the years,
1281
00:54:21.809 --> 00:54:23.730
this current group or the group over the last few
1282
00:54:23.750 --> 00:54:27.829
years They're very smart, like IQ-wise. Just very smart. They
1283
00:54:27.849 --> 00:54:30.409
know how to... Not say flaunt the rules, but they
1284
00:54:30.670 --> 00:54:33.730
know what to do. Absolutely, which is a coach's job. Exactly.
1285
00:54:34.309 --> 00:54:36.449
For a pure example, Dylan Edwards the other day, just
1286
00:54:36.489 --> 00:54:39.329
taking his sweet-ass time, taking a kick right in front.
1287
00:54:39.650 --> 00:54:41.889
He knew that that clock would have to tick down
1288
00:54:41.929 --> 00:54:43.869
to a certain point before the ref would blow it.
1289
00:54:44.269 --> 00:54:49.300
That's just smart. They're just smart players. So they're not cheating.
1290
00:54:49.420 --> 00:54:50.739
They're just, you know.
1291
00:54:52.190 --> 00:54:54.409
Playing within the rules, but right on the edge. So
1292
00:54:54.429 --> 00:54:56.550
they know what they can get away with. That's a
1293
00:54:56.570 --> 00:54:58.929
smart football team. Your team's not smart.
1294
00:54:59.320 --> 00:55:02.440
And the suggestion that the referees are on the take
1295
00:55:02.500 --> 00:55:03.519
and they're all over this place.
1296
00:55:03.840 --> 00:55:05.679
And Melbourne used to be a smart football team back
1297
00:55:05.719 --> 00:55:08.280
in the day. And they had Cameron Smith and Cooper
1298
00:55:08.300 --> 00:55:10.659
Cronk and all those players. And Billy Slater, they lived
1299
00:55:10.699 --> 00:55:11.320
like that too.
1300
00:55:12.090 --> 00:55:15.269
It's ridiculous. Stop being an idiot. You look like an idiot. Yeah,
1301
00:55:15.409 --> 00:55:16.969
you do. You look like an absolute idiot if you
1302
00:55:17.030 --> 00:55:20.449
are on this, oh, this decision, that wasn't a forward pass.
1303
00:55:20.489 --> 00:55:22.369
And you know what? They probably got it wrong, but
1304
00:55:22.409 --> 00:55:24.989
it wasn't because, you know, there was a brown paper
1305
00:55:25.030 --> 00:55:28.190
bag given to a referee before the game. It's actually ludicrous.
1306
00:55:29.030 --> 00:55:30.429
What's your recommendation this week, Nathan?
1307
00:55:30.710 --> 00:55:34.280
Yeah, well, obviously... Yeah, it was quite good, actually.
1308
00:55:34.300 --> 00:55:36.019
It was.
1309
00:55:36.039 --> 00:55:37.579
I think my wife bought it for me, so that
1310
00:55:37.599 --> 00:55:41.230
was nice of her. Obviously, with Penrith not playing this week,
1311
00:55:42.070 --> 00:55:44.610
we've got a little bit of time to chill out
1312
00:55:44.650 --> 00:55:48.340
at home, watch the games on the weekend when you
1313
00:55:48.380 --> 00:55:51.980
want on TV, because I can't imagine any Penrith fans
1314
00:55:52.099 --> 00:55:54.219
are going to any of the games this weekend. But
1315
00:55:54.440 --> 00:55:58.239
I reckon this is the perfect time for you guys
1316
00:55:58.320 --> 00:56:02.860
out there in Pantherland. to decorate your houses, decorate your
1317
00:56:02.880 --> 00:56:07.150
businesses like it's Christmas time. Don't wait until grand final
1318
00:56:07.170 --> 00:56:08.750
week to do it because by the time you do it,
1319
00:56:08.829 --> 00:56:10.809
the grand final is here. Like, let's do it now
1320
00:56:11.030 --> 00:56:14.250
while we've got the weekend off. You're going into a prelim. Like,
1321
00:56:14.269 --> 00:56:17.090
I've already got my Nathan Cleary head looking out my window,
1322
00:56:17.159 --> 00:56:19.400
like at my house. It's been like that for about
1323
00:56:19.440 --> 00:56:22.420
a month now. So, yeah, if you've got old streamers
1324
00:56:22.480 --> 00:56:25.619
or any sort of pamper heads or whatever hanging around
1325
00:56:25.659 --> 00:56:28.280
from previous years, pull them out now, buy some more.
1326
00:56:28.820 --> 00:56:31.219
Get in early so then, you know, people aren't getting
1327
00:56:31.260 --> 00:56:32.780
in at the last minute and they're sold out at
1328
00:56:32.800 --> 00:56:35.820
the party shops, balloons, you name it. This is the time.
1329
00:56:35.880 --> 00:56:37.320
This is the weekend to do it, Troy.
1330
00:56:37.340 --> 00:56:39.320
Now is the time. Yes. Yep, I agree with you.
1331
00:56:39.389 --> 00:56:42.969
And send us pictures, if you like. Yeah, send us pictures.
1332
00:56:42.989 --> 00:56:44.389
We'll share them on our socials.
1333
00:56:44.429 --> 00:56:47.809
Yep, podcast at westernweekend.com.au. All right, well, there it is.
1334
00:56:48.090 --> 00:56:50.349
No game this week for the Panthers. We'll sit back.
1335
00:56:50.369 --> 00:56:51.829
Who knows what we're going to do on Friday night.
1336
00:56:51.869 --> 00:56:52.630
No Friday night footy.
1337
00:56:53.130 --> 00:56:54.670
I think there's an NRLW game on, isn't there?
1338
00:56:54.690 --> 00:56:56.690
There is, actually. The NRLW finals kick off. I think
1339
00:56:56.710 --> 00:56:58.869
the Tigers play on Friday night, so you can watch that,
1340
00:56:58.969 --> 00:57:00.610
but no NRL on Friday night.
1341
00:57:00.650 --> 00:57:01.329
No NRL, that's true, yes.
1342
00:57:01.349 --> 00:57:03.889
So I don't know what we're going to do. We're
1343
00:57:04.110 --> 00:57:07.449
going to watch probably the NRLW and the Sydney Swans.
1344
00:57:07.489 --> 00:57:08.130
I'll watch them go around.
1345
00:57:08.150 --> 00:57:09.449
So what, were you going for the Swans? I see
1346
00:57:09.469 --> 00:57:11.949
you've got your Pullman water bottle here from your friends
1347
00:57:11.989 --> 00:57:13.760
at Pullman. Does that mean you're going for the Swans
1348
00:57:13.880 --> 00:57:15.050
on the weekend?
1349
00:57:16.139 --> 00:57:17.539
No, I'm going for the Swans, yeah.
1350
00:57:17.699 --> 00:57:18.019
Really?
1351
00:57:18.039 --> 00:57:22.010
I'm going for Fremantle. Yeah, look, Fremantle are a bit of.
1352
00:57:22.010 --> 00:57:23.219
Because I'm a Giants fan, so I don't give a
1353
00:57:23.280 --> 00:57:23.900
shit if the Swans make.
1354
00:57:23.840 --> 00:57:25.849
It or not. A sentimental favourite, Fremantle. I guess they've
1355
00:57:26.289 --> 00:57:29.889
never won the comp. They obviously finished minor premiers. But yeah,
1356
00:57:29.909 --> 00:57:33.050
I think the Swans have come, looked through a lot
1357
00:57:33.070 --> 00:57:34.690
of adversity at the back end of the year, and
1358
00:57:34.710 --> 00:57:35.860
I think it'll be good if they can.
1359
00:57:35.869 --> 00:57:37.070
Self-inflicted adversity.
1360
00:57:37.750 --> 00:57:42.369
Self-inflicted, allegedly, because there was still no police charges.
1361
00:57:42.429 --> 00:57:45.050
I think they're putting on a hold for the grand final, Troy.
1362
00:57:45.070 --> 00:57:47.070
Well, the police have said, well, wait till the grand final.
1363
00:57:47.309 --> 00:57:49.010
Someone asked me about this the other day, and I'm like,
1364
00:57:49.030 --> 00:57:49.900
that's all I can think of.
1365
00:57:51.070 --> 00:57:53.230
Interesting. All right, well, that is it for Tensions Running
1366
00:57:53.250 --> 00:57:57.190
High this week. New episodes out every Wednesday. Visit westernweekender.com.au.
1367
00:57:57.210 --> 00:57:59.309
Follow us on all the socials. Check out our print
1368
00:57:59.329 --> 00:58:02.389
edition as well, out every Thursday. Download the Western Weekender
1369
00:58:02.550 --> 00:58:05.219
app on Google Play or the Apple App Store. I'm
1370
00:58:05.239 --> 00:58:06.619
Troy Dodds. Nathan, thanks for joining us.
1371
00:58:06.639 --> 00:58:07.119
Thanks, Troy.
1372
00:58:07.400 --> 00:58:09.579
And thanks to Penrith City Automotive too for their sponsorship.
1373
00:58:09.739 --> 00:58:11.659
We will see you next time on Tensions Running High.
1374
00:58:12.079 --> 00:58:19.840
Go the Panthers. Bye.