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

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Speaker 1: from Newstalk ZB.

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Speaker 2: Let's get you to the match venue. Michael Burgess from

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Speaker 2: the New Zealand Herald is at Allegiance Stadium. Can you

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Speaker 2: start off, maybe, Michael by painting a picture for us?

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Speaker 2: What is the venue like?

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Speaker 3: It's incredible, Piney, I'll be lucky to go to a

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Speaker 3: few stadiums in my career.

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Speaker 4: But this one it must be the best.

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Speaker 3: It's absolutely amazing, really really steep, grand stance and no

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Speaker 3: matter where you're sitting, the viewers incredible. The press box

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Speaker 3: luckout INSU from Vertigo. It's so high. I don't know

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Speaker 3: how many meters but you just way up in the

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Speaker 3: clouds up here. It's covered, but there's plenty of light

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Speaker 3: coming in. Just beautiful, a lot of fans in here.

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Speaker 4: We've just had.

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Speaker 3: The national champion University of Las Vegas cheerleaders performing, and

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Speaker 3: of course the Warriors aren't too far away, so it's

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Speaker 3: just a magnificent atmosphere.

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Speaker 4: It really is.

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Speaker 2: We heard from Slade Griffin earlier in the hour. He

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Speaker 2: talked about the dimensions the field being quite different or

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Speaker 2: slightly different from what they face in a normal NRL

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Speaker 2: game back here. Is that obvious that the field is narrower?

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Speaker 4: It is, Actually it was during the Captain drunk yesterday.

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Speaker 3: Went down on the field and had a look and

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Speaker 3: the sideline is really close to the Grandstown and the

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Speaker 3: concrete part. You don't want to be a winger today

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Speaker 3: getting pushed out.

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Speaker 4: Over the sideline. It could hurt. I think the field is.

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Speaker 3: About five meters narrower and about six meters shorter, so

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Speaker 3: that the blocks of ten meters are actually only nine

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Speaker 3: and a half meters.

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Speaker 4: But I think the width will obviously be the biggest difference.

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Speaker 4: You would you would think.

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Speaker 2: What sense do you get from the Warriors players, coach

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Speaker 2: Andrew Webster and others associated with the playing group, from

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Speaker 2: the media opportunities you've had since your time there.

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Speaker 3: They're in a good space. I mean, it's been a

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Speaker 3: long week. It had to be long week. They had

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Speaker 3: to ride earlier, they arrived on Saturday. But they're saying

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Speaker 3: all the right things. Las Vegas is the kind of

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Speaker 3: place that does drain you. You know, where you walk

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Speaker 3: out the door, there's just something to take your energy away.

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Speaker 3: They've been conscious of that, but Webster told me he's

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Speaker 3: happy with the training they've done, They've been pretty focused

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Speaker 3: since Monday. We're fully focused, so you know, I think

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Speaker 3: they're ready to perform. But that's the big question. The

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Speaker 3: game we've just seen between Wigan and Warrington was quite

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Speaker 3: obvious that the Warrington team had a bit of stage fright.

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Speaker 3: The occasion got to them that they didn't settle.

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Speaker 4: Down until well into the second half.

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Speaker 3: So that is one of the big battles today because

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Speaker 3: this is not your ordinary round one. You know, this

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Speaker 3: is unbelievable, isn't it to be here in Las Vegas,

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Speaker 3: in this stadium? And also just thinking about the fact

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Speaker 3: that this game is going out, this game, the Warriors

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Speaker 3: game is going out on free.

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Speaker 4: To air on the Fox Sports network.

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Speaker 3: In the United States, So that's I'm not saying you

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Speaker 3: was good at watching, but that's to one hundred and.

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Speaker 4: Twenty million households.

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Speaker 3: So if you start thinking about that as a player,

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Speaker 3: you know, it could distract you.

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Speaker 2: From a playing roster point of view. This is this

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Speaker 2: isn't on paper as strong a Warriors team as last season,

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Speaker 2: is it? But how do you receeize their ability to

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Speaker 2: perhaps do better than the team did last year? You know,

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Speaker 2: such high expectation last year wasn't delivered a bond. What

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Speaker 2: about the year?

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Speaker 4: I mean, the obvious concern this year is having no

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Speaker 4: Shawn Johnson. I mean, he couldn't have gone another year.

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Speaker 4: But the lack of experience as the halves is the

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Speaker 4: big one really.

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Speaker 3: Because their halves are so important over year and they'll

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Speaker 3: really miss adding although of course Fisher Harris is a

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Speaker 3: fantastic player, so that's sort of two obvious ones plus

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Speaker 3: Twur who the experience is gone. I do think, however,

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Speaker 3: they've got a bit of a better balance this year

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Speaker 3: across the team. I like Roger on the wing. I

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Speaker 3: think center actually never worked. I like Lea Tara at center,

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Speaker 3: the young kid, he could be really good. Some of

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Speaker 3: the young Fords coming through I think are ready now

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Speaker 3: after a couple of pre seasons, and Barnead and Fisher

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Speaker 3: Harris will be great leaders. So that there's things to like.

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Speaker 3: But it just really depends how they start. I think

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Speaker 3: it's the same with every Warriors season. The first six

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Speaker 3: or seven games. They've got to win a few and

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Speaker 3: get some.

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Speaker 4: Momentum otherwise it could be a long year.

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Speaker 3: You know, if they win today and they win one

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Speaker 3: of their first two games in Mount Smart then then

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Speaker 3: they're well placed.

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Speaker 2: Do they feel like favorites today?

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Speaker 4: I mean?

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Speaker 2: Or is it difficult to gauge that? With it being

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Speaker 2: such a unique occasion.

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Speaker 4: It's quite hard to gauge really mine.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think it's going to be a

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Speaker 3: tight game with the Raiders obviously did better last season.

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Speaker 4: Oh, here we go, We've got the national anthem. This

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Speaker 4: is great.

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Speaker 2: Well, we can't have your talking during that. We makee shure.

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Speaker 2: We let you go and enjoy the rest of the occasion.

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Speaker 4: But yeah, I think, I think, I think the Warriors

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Speaker 4: can certainly do it today. The Raiders are a beatable team,

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Speaker 4: but they are a good team.

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Speaker 3: They've got plenty of pace, They've got those big forwards,

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Speaker 3: so expecting a close one.

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Speaker 2: Good man, burge, go and stand for the star spangled banner.

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Speaker 2: Michael Burgess our man in Las Vegas. Read him at

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Speaker 2: NZ Herald dot co dot nz. He's done brilliant work

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Speaker 2: in the lead up with all sorts of color and

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Speaker 2: different storylines about the fans who have traveled. He's also

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Speaker 2: of been alongside the team, so you can read match

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Speaker 2: previews and all sorts of things, and then after the

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Speaker 2: game Today, you'll be able to read his analysis and

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Speaker 2: match reports etc. At enzidhrald dot co dot

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Speaker 1: Enz For more from Weekendsport with Jason Fine, listen live

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Speaker 1: to News Talk ZEDB Weekends from midday, or follow the

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Speaker 1: podcast on iHeartRadio