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Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks. It'd be

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Speaker 1: follow this and our Wide Ranger podcasts now on iHeartRadio.

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Speaker 2: Awful news for Warriors fans today because sadly Mitch Bonnette,

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Speaker 2: the inspirational co captain of the team, said that set

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Speaker 2: he's going back to Australia at the end of this

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Speaker 2: season on compassionate grounds. It's like Griffin's an assistant coach

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Speaker 2: for the Wise and he joins us now to discuss Slade.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the show. So how big a hole is

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Speaker 2: this going to leave the club?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? Thanks having me on.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, look, it's a sad day but for the club

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Speaker 4: obviously Mitch has left a huge impression on everyone here,

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Speaker 4: but obviously everyone knows the reason. So the club's fully

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Speaker 4: supportive of him and it's given him clarity he spoke today,

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Speaker 4: so it's taken a weight off his shoulders. You could

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Speaker 4: imagine what he's carrying. So yeah, just really happy for

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Speaker 4: him to make that decision.

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Speaker 3: Can move on.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the final details on the situation with his child

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Speaker 2: none of our business, but they've been given compassionate leave

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Speaker 2: him rightly. So it's just like you've experienced this through

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Speaker 2: your career if a player doesn't want to play for

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Speaker 2: the club or can't stay at the club, you're hardly

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Speaker 2: going to stop him, ay you.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, Look, which has given us so much over his

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Speaker 4: time here, so we'll be remembering him for that. He'll

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Speaker 4: always be an old boys, one of very few captains

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Speaker 4: of the club. So he's going to leave, you know,

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Speaker 4: huge booster, Phil, if you want to say, But look,

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Speaker 4: we still have one more year with him.

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Speaker 3: He spoke very.

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Speaker 4: Passionately about what he wants to do this year, so yeah,

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Speaker 4: we're just really looking forward to sending him off.

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Speaker 3: Now.

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Speaker 2: You don't want to think about replacements right here right now,

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Speaker 2: but that's got to be at the front of mine

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Speaker 2: for yourself. Well, be everybody else that the prop stock

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Speaker 2: coming through. Is it healthy enough at that level?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, people above my pay grade get to make those.

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Speaker 3: Come on, you.

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Speaker 2: Must have an idea, mate, you're on the weeds with

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Speaker 2: them all.

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Speaker 3: It's the one position. We're actually pretty fortunate at the moment.

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Speaker 3: We've got some great young forwards coming through.

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Speaker 4: You've obviously seen a few playing as of late, and

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Speaker 4: there's a few more coming through, a couple of young ones.

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Speaker 4: So yeah, it's probably the one position our Pathways is

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Speaker 4: doing a really good job developing as far as.

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Speaker 2: What kind of presence this player will have to have.

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Speaker 2: They don't want to be a mirror image of Mitch

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Speaker 2: if they can. Is there any style if you can

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Speaker 2: have styles of props going forward?

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Speaker 4: Oh, look, everyone's going to be their own player. A.

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Speaker 4: He's very hard to replace, Like he's the Australian front

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Speaker 4: rower origin player. You know he's Yeah, he was a

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Speaker 4: perfect player for us.

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Speaker 3: You know what. He's always been known for having a

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Speaker 3: bit of talent and flair.

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Speaker 4: But Mitch come over and he's always valued hard work

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Speaker 4: and he's a very tough player. So he's been awesome

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Speaker 4: for our young kids. People wouldn't see it, but he's

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Speaker 4: helped them believe in themselves. He obviously has a really

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Speaker 4: good connection with the young guys. He gets around all

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Speaker 4: the all the young Fords and yeah, he just he

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Speaker 4: values all that hard work. So that's how we've kind

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Speaker 4: of changed our identity behind blokes like him.

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Speaker 2: Now I get the feeling like first change Fasher Harris there.

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Speaker 2: It's probably the first to arrive, the last to leave,

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Speaker 2: and what he does off the park is as instrumental

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Speaker 2: as actually what he does on the field.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, man, when he's just a competitor, whether it's

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Speaker 4: cards or on the field, he's he's an ultra competitor.

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Speaker 4: He's got very high standards and you don't get where

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Speaker 4: he's got without having that. So he's been awesome for

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Speaker 4: us obviously on the field when we're training, and that's

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Speaker 4: obviously well we've improved, and he's likely to stick around.

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Speaker 2: I mean, again, above your pay, Gray, but you'll keep

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Speaker 2: picking him as long as he's fit right into the

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Speaker 2: end of the season, of course.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I can't wait to get him back.

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Speaker 4: He's he sacrificed a lot of his off season while

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Speaker 4: everyone else was away on holidays to be around the

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Speaker 4: physios and train really hard to get his knee right.

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Speaker 3: So he's been back on the training field, back in

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Speaker 3: the drills.

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Speaker 4: So yeah, I don't know exactly what round, but there'll

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Speaker 4: be a huge inclusion when we can get him back

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Speaker 4: out there.

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Speaker 2: They am saying possibly round four if it's taken a

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Speaker 2: wild metcalf as well, taking a while, but I'm presuming

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Speaker 2: you need these guys back one. No Risks taken Slade.

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Speaker 3: No, of course not.

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Speaker 4: I've been there by myself and you know, like a

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Speaker 4: it's a nine twelve month injury, so one week here

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Speaker 4: or there. You're not going to sacrifice all that work

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Speaker 4: you've put in just to get back one week earlier.

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Speaker 3: So yeah, we'll make sure he's ready to.

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Speaker 4: Go when he is, and again he'll only be better

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Speaker 4: for the extra time, So yeah, you want to make

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Speaker 4: sure they're ready to go.

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Speaker 2: We're joined by Slade Griffin. He is the assistant coach

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Speaker 2: of the Warriors. I'm looking here to the start of

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Speaker 2: the season a week and a half away now. The

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Speaker 2: excitement must be palpable, Slade. So many pre seasons and

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Speaker 2: I don't know what you've pushed these guys through over

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Speaker 2: the last couple of months, but I'd be dying to

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Speaker 2: get out there and bashed body.

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Speaker 3: He's one there.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I think they're looking forward to tackling someone else

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Speaker 4: apart from their teammates. Look, yeah, we probably didn't play

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Speaker 4: as well as we would have liked in certain areas

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Speaker 4: where we've defended well one day and attacked well the Knicks.

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Speaker 3: But we're just looking, yeah, to build on that. You know.

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Speaker 4: Getting to play our first game at go Media stadiums

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Speaker 4: always a buzz, So yeah, we're really excited just to

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Speaker 4: run back out in that atmosphere, especially after all.

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Speaker 3: The hard work I've put in.

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Speaker 4: Every inn Old club say have worked hard and are

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Speaker 4: excited for the new season, but yeah, we really are,

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Speaker 4: and we had a lot of young kids get some

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Speaker 4: good experience.

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Speaker 3: So yeah, there's good buzz right now.

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Speaker 2: As far as what he's done with going back now

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Speaker 2: to the departing Bunny on off the park, is there

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Speaker 2: any players that you think have really taken a shine

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Speaker 2: to him and really improved under his under his tutelage

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Speaker 2: if you will?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, like I mostly young Fords if I'm honest, like Tennis, Doyles, Smiffs,

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Speaker 4: Jacob Labor and Leka.

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Speaker 3: Probably Demetric would be the biggest one.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, he's an alpha Barney like he isn't scared of anyone.

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Speaker 4: He's and he just you know, walking behind someone that

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Speaker 4: leads that way. He helps him believe in themselves and

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Speaker 4: they're not scared of anyone when they got him around them.

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Speaker 4: So he's really taking those guys under his wing.

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Speaker 2: You just called him an alpha. I love that sees

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Speaker 2: everything about him. Is he going to keep the co captaincy?

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Speaker 2: You didn't take that off him? Right? Ah?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I wouldn't assume so. But that's where he's cool.

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Speaker 4: But I could dare say I wouldn't expect him to know.

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Speaker 2: No, because he's the kind of player that people look

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Speaker 2: up to in that space and anything else we need

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Speaker 2: to know about pre season. Their slate, things going. Okay,

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Speaker 2: you're a week and a half out. What Brewster's first

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Speaker 2: up Friday night at go media going to be huge?

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Speaker 2: Everything's shaping well, you can't tell me, please, No, one's

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Speaker 2: broken down, haven't they.

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Speaker 4: No, hopefully might get another couple back from the trials

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Speaker 4: that were missing. So yeah, Lork Rooster's I've hadded a

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Speaker 4: few players. Obviously, they've got DC there now. They're a

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Speaker 4: very strong team, power team, big athletes, very well coached,

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Speaker 4: so you know they're going to be a really hard

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Speaker 4: game to kick off the season. But yeah, anytime we

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Speaker 4: get to play at home, the boys really relish it.

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Speaker 4: So you're really looking forward to getting back out there

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Speaker 4: here in the drums beating and yeah, just get back

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Speaker 4: into some footy.

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Speaker 2: And finally, Slayton, thanks so much for joining us here.

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Speaker 2: When you look at the value they place and mitched it,

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Speaker 2: these players don't need another reason to try and win

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Speaker 2: a title, do they They don't need another driver, but

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Speaker 2: this has got to sit back as being one of

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Speaker 2: the biggest ones they have, telling me that the faith

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Speaker 2: and the trust and the respect they have for your

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Speaker 2: alpha male, it must give them a wee bit more

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Speaker 2: to go. We want to send you out as a champion.

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Speaker 3: Yet yeah, no, you hit the nail on the head.

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Speaker 3: That's yeah.

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Speaker 4: It's very emotional today Mitch talking to the boys and

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Speaker 4: he doesn't usually show that side, but he does deep

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Speaker 4: killy kid deeply for the club. And when someone's you

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Speaker 4: know that honest and tight like with the boys here,

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Speaker 4: you can just feel how much they want to see

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Speaker 4: them off on a high note. And even the way

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Speaker 4: he spoke like he's he's all in this year. So yeah, there,

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Speaker 4: there's not much better motivation than when you're trying.

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Speaker 3: To do it for someone you care about.

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Speaker 2: And on that we'll get on with it. It's like

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Speaker 2: really looking forward to that of the season, not only

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Speaker 2: for the NRL, but of course for your men as well.

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Speaker 2: Dare I say it up the words

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Speaker 1: For more from News Talks, there'd be listen live on

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Speaker 1: air or online and keep our shows with you wherever

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