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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Fine

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Speaker 1: from News Talk zed B.

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Speaker 2: Five o'clock This afternoon. Auckland f C coming to pay

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Speaker 2: visit or pay a visit to the Wellington Phoenix. Now

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Speaker 2: Nagasawa await run and two for the Phoenix. Two paid

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Speaker 2: came for Deep and you gonna ride with a powerful

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Speaker 2: header that might just have.

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Speaker 1: The Phoenix on track for their first bit of the season.

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Speaker 2: Man, that was a week ago. Wellington indeed picking up

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Speaker 2: their first one of the season, a two nil win

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Speaker 2: against Perth Glory at home. This afternoon, of course, against

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Speaker 2: Auckland f C. Let's bring in Wellington Phoenix defender Isaac Hughes.

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Speaker 2: Isaac a win away at Perth to follow a draw

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Speaker 2: in the first game of the season. So four points

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Speaker 2: from the first couple of games. How happy is the

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Speaker 2: side and how happy do you think the coaches are

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Speaker 2: with the performances in the first two matches.

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Speaker 3: I think it's a it's a mixed bag. I think

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Speaker 3: we felt like we played really well in that first

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Speaker 3: game and felt like we should have got all three points.

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Speaker 3: I think, you know, from both performances, we should be

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Speaker 3: sitting on six points. But I think, you know, we're

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Speaker 3: not panicking, We're relaxed. I think everyone's feeling that there's

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Speaker 3: a lot like we're doing well, but there's a lot

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Speaker 3: more to do. We have a lot more in us.

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Speaker 2: Do you think there were improvements between the Western United

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Speaker 2: game and what you did over in Western Australia against

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Speaker 2: Perth last weekend.

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Speaker 3: I think I think there was some improvement in maybe

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Speaker 3: the focus and some defensive elements. I think I think

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Speaker 3: on the ball against Perth, we still have ways to go.

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Speaker 3: You know. I think it's funny. I actually think we've

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Speaker 3: probably created better chances against Western United but scored one

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Speaker 3: less goal, So it's funny how that works. But I

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Speaker 3: think the mentality from the group was definitely everyone was

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Speaker 3: really switched on for the Perth game.

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Speaker 2: Sounds from your first couple of answers that you believe

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Speaker 2: there's still quite a bit of growth to come in

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Speaker 2: this and this team. I guess that's natural given effect

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Speaker 2: you've only had two games in the season, but you

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Speaker 2: feel like there's there's a much higher ceiling for this

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Speaker 2: team than what we've seen so far.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely, I think in I think there's a lot

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Speaker 3: of new players that are, you know, learning how to

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Speaker 3: play with each other. And I think when everyone clicks,

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Speaker 3: I think we're going to be a scary team to

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Speaker 3: deal with.

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Speaker 2: So you yourself, you've had well, you've played every minute or

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Speaker 2: the first two games of the season, just the four

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Speaker 2: starts in all of last season among your eleving appearances.

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Speaker 2: How much of you enjoyed being part of the starting

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Speaker 2: of living from the very start of the season.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's it's good. It's football is a lot more

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Speaker 3: fun when you've been instead of watching. But it's it's good.

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Speaker 3: It's it's good as well because being a probably to

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Speaker 3: be fair, last season, I was probably expecting that to

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Speaker 3: come into the team earlier than I did. But this

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Speaker 3: season and I've just been it's good to know that

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Speaker 3: I'm just like I'm going to be in the team

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Speaker 3: and well as things stand at the minute. So it

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Speaker 3: just gives me that like excitement and you know, I

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Speaker 3: get I feel like I'm in a rhythm now playing

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Speaker 3: a game every week and you know, I'm playing ninety

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Speaker 3: minutes week and week out. It just feels like a

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Speaker 3: good rhythm at the minute.

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Speaker 2: And you've been part of a three men central defense

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Speaker 2: with wing becks in the first couple of games if

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Speaker 2: you went to a flatback four, for example, Chief he's

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Speaker 2: been known to switch formations here and there. If you

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Speaker 2: were part of a back four, you'd be comfortable enough

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Speaker 2: with that as well.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, it makes no like, makes no difference to

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Speaker 3: me personally, like four or five. Obviously you have to

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Speaker 3: play slightly different. You have to defend probably a bit

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Speaker 3: more aggressively in the five, but yeah, I'm more than

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Speaker 3: comfortable playing in the four as well.

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Speaker 2: How much support have you been getting from Scott Wooton,

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Speaker 2: who's been around for a week while, how much supports

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Speaker 2: he given given you alongside in central defense?

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Speaker 3: A lot, A lot he gives. We had a couple

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Speaker 3: of preseason games where Scotty was out and I think

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Speaker 3: his absence was definitely noted. I think he just gives

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Speaker 3: just a sense of calm. It's not even like Scott.

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Speaker 3: Scott just makes everyone around him a better player, because

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Speaker 3: he gives you the confidence to do your job with conviction.

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Speaker 3: Whereas sometimes if if he's not there, you're not fully

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Speaker 3: sure if this is what you're meant to be doing.

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Speaker 3: But Scott gives you that confidence to do your job.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great way of describing it. And head

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Speaker 2: coach Jian Callower Telliano very well known for having faith

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Speaker 2: in young players. How does he let you know, Isaac,

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Speaker 2: that he has that confidence in you by starting me, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: well that's a that's a good that's a good start.

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Speaker 2: What about the words and and and the messages he

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Speaker 2: gives you?

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Speaker 3: He I think we're cheaply. What's good with he deals

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Speaker 3: with young players is he's not He creates an environment

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Speaker 3: where you feel confident to ask questions, which is actually unique.

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Speaker 3: You know, I'm not I'm not walking into training and

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Speaker 3: fearing for my life every day, so I'm able to

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Speaker 3: ask a question, and if I'm much on something, I'm

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Speaker 3: able to, you know, check in with the older players.

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Speaker 3: I think that when that communication is open, and you know,

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Speaker 3: when everyone in the group is very approachable, everything's clear,

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Speaker 3: and then my job's easy to do because I know

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Speaker 3: I'm fully sure of what I'm meant to be doing.

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Speaker 3: I think sometimes young players are not quite because they've

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Speaker 3: not been in the game as long and not quite

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Speaker 3: sure what they're meant to do, but they're always too

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Speaker 3: scared to.

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Speaker 2: Ask, right, But that's not the case here, which is uh, yeah,

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Speaker 2: that's a that's a great illustration of the way he

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Speaker 2: deals with you younger players. So it's a derby this afternoon.

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Speaker 2: There's a lot of hype around about this, mainly driven

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Speaker 2: by the fans and the media. To be honest, not

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Speaker 2: sure what it's like internally. But have you tried to

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Speaker 2: to downplay the hype of this derby or have you

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Speaker 2: tried to actually embrace it?

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Speaker 3: I think you for certain you have to not acknowledge

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Speaker 3: it's there. I think everyone knows that the big game.

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Speaker 3: I think there's no point pretending that it's not. You know,

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Speaker 3: we're likely going to have a bigger crowd in here

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Speaker 3: today than for normal home games. But and I think

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Speaker 3: obviously it's been the first you know, New Zealand professional

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Speaker 3: football derby in history is pretty exciting as well. But

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Speaker 3: I think at the end of the day, all that

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Speaker 3: doesn't really mean aithing when you get out there onto

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Speaker 3: the pitch. I think as long as everyone's focused on

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Speaker 3: their jobs, like I see no reason why it will

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Speaker 3: impact us.

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Speaker 2: Are they many players on the Auckland f C side

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Speaker 2: who you've played with or or against regularly in the

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Speaker 2: last couple of years, you know, at club level or

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Speaker 2: maybe in underage inter national sites.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I've played. I played with and against Jesse

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Speaker 3: Randall quite a lot. I played with him at the

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Speaker 3: Olympics and I played with him at lots of twenty

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Speaker 3: threes qualifiers, same with him with Liam Gillian, played with

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Speaker 3: and against him. I don't think I've actually played against

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Speaker 3: him yet because I've not played up from City. But

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Speaker 3: there's some there's a few of the names and faces

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Speaker 3: that like I may have played once or twice or

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Speaker 3: I do know, or like maybe they've come into training

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Speaker 3: Logan Rogerson. Rogerson for example, has trained with us a

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Speaker 3: couple of times. But yeah, a lot, a lot of

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Speaker 3: familiar faces, but it's no issue.

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Speaker 2: And the Alex Paulson, of course there's a familiar one.

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Speaker 2: He do you forgot No, I don't. I don't think

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Speaker 2: that they suggest anything. I mean, you know he's going

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Speaker 2: to be there. Is it going to be a bit

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Speaker 2: weird seeing him down the other end?

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Speaker 3: Nah, I don't. I don't think, Like, I don't think

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Speaker 3: it's going to be weird. Like we obviously know what

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Speaker 3: ap can do, we know what his strengths are, we

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Speaker 3: know what his weaknesses are, Like we're going to have

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Speaker 3: to try and exploit them on the week. We're gonna

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Speaker 3: have to try and exploit them today. But you know,

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Speaker 3: I don't think. I think it'll be nice to see

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Speaker 3: him after the game, but I don't think. I don't

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Speaker 3: think it'll be strange.

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Speaker 2: Now, brilliant And as you mentioned, big crowd and coming

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Speaker 2: for this one, how much energy do you take from

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Speaker 2: from a big home crowd in particular?

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Speaker 3: I think for me personally, the crowd helps me to

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Speaker 3: focus more. I think sometimes playing in a preseason game

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Speaker 3: in a stadium with no fans, it's the whole thing's

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Speaker 3: just weird. It's harder to focus. But in I think

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Speaker 3: bigger crowds just the more noise you just the nervous

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Speaker 3: systems more activated. I just find it easier to concentrate.

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Speaker 3: And I think it definitely it definitely for a lot

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Speaker 3: of players. Gives them that little bit more of an

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Speaker 3: edge to go into a big tackle or you know,

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Speaker 3: to make a big block.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well, big crowd coming in for a big game

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Speaker 2: this afternoon, Isaac, Thanks so much for taking the time

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Speaker 2: for a chat. All the best for the first ever

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Speaker 2: New Zealand professional football derby mate.

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Speaker 3: Thanks for the chat chats, baby.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Isaac, Isaac Hughes there on his way. By the

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Speaker 2: sounds of it, it might be a bit early. What

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Speaker 2: are we won? Seventeen? Game doesn't kick off till five o'clock.

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Speaker 2: Historic first ever professional New Zealand football derby seventeen year

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Speaker 2: old Wellington Phoenix going into the eighteenth season, actually welcoming

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Speaker 2: the A League's new boys Auckland FC to sky Stadium.

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Speaker 2: Great occasion in coming, so much bars I have to

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Speaker 2: say around about this game in the Capital crowd of

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Speaker 2: over twenty thousand, maybe even as high as twenty five

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Speaker 2: expected this afternoon, it could threaten the Phoenix's best ever

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Speaker 2: regular season attendance, which was just over twenty four thousand

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Speaker 2: when they returned after COVID twenty four thousand and change.

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Speaker 2: Turning up for a game then, so that could be

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Speaker 2: under threat. And several hundred, as I understand it, coming

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Speaker 2: from Auckland as well, a lot of traveling fans which

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Speaker 2: will be terrific. Now, as I mentioned that just before

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Speaker 2: the news before one, there may well be some people

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Speaker 2: and you might be one of these, who have divided

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Speaker 2: loyalties now about this game, particularly those of you in

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Speaker 2: Auckland who have supported the Phoenix all these years simply

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Speaker 2: because that's all there was. There was only the Phoenix.

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Speaker 2: Some of you may stick tight to that, stay with

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Speaker 2: your team, continue to support Wellington Phoenix from Auckland. But

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Speaker 2: others will say, well, now there's a team in my

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Speaker 2: city who I can go and see play every week.

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Speaker 2: I'm going to support them.

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Speaker 1: Now.

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Speaker 2: Either one of those two things is absolutely fine. App

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Speaker 2: It's not that you need my permission, but absolutely acceptable

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Speaker 2: entirely your chi of which of those two you choose.

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Speaker 2: But what is not fine, what is not acceptable, not

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Speaker 2: allowed is fence sitting. You have to choose stick or flip.

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Speaker 2: Football fandom doesn't allow you to support two teams playing

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Speaker 2: in the same league because when they play against one another,

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Speaker 2: you're faced with an impossible conundrum. So you've had a

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Speaker 2: couple of weeks to check out Auckland f C, to

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Speaker 2: weigh them up, to get a gauge on them. But

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Speaker 2: now the first Darby is here. You have to know

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Speaker 2: your colors to the mast. You have to choose are

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Speaker 2: you blue or are you yellow? Because you can't be both.

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Speaker 1: For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, Listen live

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Speaker 1: to news talks b weekends from midday or follow the

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Speaker 1: podcast on iHeartRadio,