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Speaker 1: The worst kept secret. Got to deal with this in

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Speaker 1: NRL is confirmed. Papua New Guinea is going to get

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Speaker 1: the new team. But boy is this riddled with politics.

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Speaker 1: The deal is designed quite explicitly to keep P and

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Speaker 1: G away from any military deals with China, and so

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Speaker 1: the Aussie is going to pump six hundred million dollars

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Speaker 1: into pay for it and joining me now is Australian

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Speaker 1: columnists on Sport Peter fitz Simmons, h.

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Speaker 2: Peter Morning, Heather, peterfit Simons. But it's okay.

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Speaker 1: I'm so sorry, Peter. I actually did wonder about that. Hey, listen, Peter,

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Speaker 1: how do you feel about the NRL being used for

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Speaker 1: geopolitical politics?

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Speaker 2: It's very interesting. Wow, that is extraordinary amount of money,

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Speaker 2: of tax tax dollars. On the one hand, it's clever

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Speaker 2: because I've been to P and G many times. I've

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Speaker 2: booked the Cocada track and the fact I in one

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Speaker 2: believe that I told them I was through I know

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Speaker 2: mal Malinga and they were stunned. I mean, the level

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Speaker 2: of enthusiasm of the people of PNG for rugby league

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Speaker 2: is like nothing I've ever come across. You know what,

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Speaker 2: I love rugby key with you love rugby, I'm sure

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Speaker 2: I love cricket, but in PNG they are obsessed with

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Speaker 2: r L, with rugby league. And so the cause in

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Speaker 2: the contract, which says that if PN does any any

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Speaker 2: security pact with China then the deal off is clever,

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Speaker 2: clever way of doing it, even though a couple of

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Speaker 2: weeks ago the Foreign Minister of PG said no, no, no,

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Speaker 2: this has nothing to do with it's all just with

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Speaker 2: rugby league. Well, it's everything to do with China. So

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Speaker 2: I don't know where the idea came came from. But

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Speaker 2: on the other hand, was it really necessary? What that matterwards?

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Speaker 2: That's the discussion point in Australia at the moment.

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Speaker 1: What about just the quality of the team and what

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Speaker 1: the impact on the NRL is going to be. I mean,

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Speaker 1: do you expect this team to be any good?

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Speaker 2: I expect the raw athletic talent. I mean, when you

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Speaker 2: see we've had a few P ANDNG players over the years,

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Speaker 2: they are wonderusly talented, you know, like they are very athletic,

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Speaker 2: very strong people. I would suspect that the team. I mean,

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Speaker 2: last night I was talking to Ian Winnings, former Wallaby

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Speaker 2: winger who ended up playing with pan and you know,

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Speaker 2: the way it works in Japan, of course, is that

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Speaker 2: the Japanese national team they have what Egypt up and board,

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Speaker 2: but it's more than the springkling I am coming from elsewhere.

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Speaker 2: I would respect that the team will have a lot

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Speaker 2: of players from Australia, perhaps England, perhaps in Zealand, offspring

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Speaker 2: than initial term. In the long term, you know it

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Speaker 2: goes as well as I suspect will Well, I think

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Speaker 2: i'd more than more.

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Speaker 1: Peter, thanks for getting up. I really appreciate thanks for

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Speaker 1: getting up as early as you did to have chet

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Speaker 1: to us. Peter it Simon's Australian correspondent and apologies for

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Speaker 1: the quality of that line. For more from the Mic

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Speaker 1: Asking Breakfast, listen live to News Talks at B from

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Speaker 1: six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.