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Speaker 1: Now joining me in the studio right now. Southern District's

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Speaker 1: coach Shannon Rasker, Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: How are you Yeah, good, good to have you in

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Speaker 1: the studio. And Captain Michael Bowden, Good morning to you, Michael. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: great to have you both in the studio. How are

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Speaker 1: you feeling ahead of the weekend?

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Speaker 2: No, feeling really good, looking forward to a great contest.

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Speaker 2: It's going to be a really good spectacle for the

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Speaker 2: community and hopefully both teams put on a really good

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Speaker 2: show for everyone that comes down.

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Speaker 1: What about you, Michael, feeling pumped?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, very pumped. I mean if we could play tonight,

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Speaker 3: I'll play tonight again.

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Speaker 1: So oh you would be right, Like you get to

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Speaker 1: the end of the season, you know you've made the

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Speaker 1: Grand Final, you'd be like, let's do this now.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, let's get to come and feeling over the whole

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Speaker 3: team at the moment. So more training tonight and we'll

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Speaker 3: be into it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah right, So how like, how do you feel like

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Speaker 1: the boys are feeling this week?

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Speaker 3: Boys are feeling good a lot of Well, it's a

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Speaker 3: good vibe at the club at the moment. You know,

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Speaker 3: we know I've got our last training session tonight and

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Speaker 3: the boys are sort of enjoying it more than stressing

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Speaker 3: or anything like that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and Channon in terms of the way they're gelling

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Speaker 1: together at training, like, is it all feeling like it's

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Speaker 1: going to come together for Saturday?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely. You know, we've been on in trajectory for

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Speaker 2: a long time. It hasn't been just the last eighteen rounds.

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Speaker 2: It's been a six month process where everyone's had to

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Speaker 2: buy in and they've been able to do it week in,

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Speaker 2: week out, and everyone gives up, you know a lot

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Speaker 2: of hours and a lot of commitment to be able

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Speaker 2: to get to this last moment and this is what

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Speaker 2: two great teams get to do and then put it

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Speaker 2: on show on Saturday.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's going to be a fantastic game. I mean

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Speaker 1: I've been at the foot of the last few weeks

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Speaker 1: just watching some of the physicality between all the different teams.

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Speaker 1: There is no doubt. I mean, hopefully the weather stay

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Speaker 1: is good, and if it does, it's going to be

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Speaker 1: fast paced and it's going to be physical, isn't it. Yeah?

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Speaker 2: Definitely. You've got two great sides out there that've got

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Speaker 2: very good skills. They've got speed across all areas of

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Speaker 2: the ground and they are physical. They both can tackle

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Speaker 2: very very well, So it's going to be a high

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Speaker 2: intensity game with a lot at stake.

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Speaker 1: Mate, you had four players in the top ten at

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Speaker 1: the Nichols Middle counch on Sunday night. I mean, does

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Speaker 1: that give a bit of insight into the depth of

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Speaker 1: your team at the moment.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's great. I think we've got very good team

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Speaker 2: balance across the whole park, and you know, have four

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Speaker 2: guys in the top ten, it's just a testament to

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Speaker 2: the depth of the guys that we do have playing

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Speaker 2: and they all bring something different to the game style

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Speaker 2: that we play. So you know it is going to

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Speaker 2: be a very hotly contested game, no doubt.

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Speaker 1: There's been a lot of talk about the mids, Lots

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Speaker 1: of talk about the ruck as well, Matthew Dennis and

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Speaker 1: Wyatt Ryan, along with Jed Anderson of course dominating in

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Speaker 1: the meads. What impact do you think they're going to have.

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Speaker 1: I mean, we spoke to Anthony Valagio just a few

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Speaker 1: minutes ago and he said that, you know, he does

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Speaker 1: think that's where the game is going to be one

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Speaker 1: or lost.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, both got powerhouse midfielders, you know, Maddie Dennis is

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Speaker 2: a colossus in the ruck, while Ryan's been able to

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Speaker 2: do that for most of the season. You've got Jed

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Speaker 2: Anderson's and Matt Shannon's and Jack Sextons running around at

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Speaker 2: their feet. But on the flip side, you've got Saint

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Speaker 2: Mary's who've got you know, AFL quality midfielders, and Connor

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Speaker 2: West and Dylan Land and the list goes on. They're very,

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Speaker 2: very powerful, so you know it's going to be a

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Speaker 2: very very hotly contested area of the ground. You know,

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Speaker 2: they both got a really great ball winning ability, but

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Speaker 2: they can also get on the outsides and really exploit

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Speaker 2: the opposition. So I think, you know, Anthony's right, I

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Speaker 2: think the midfield's going to be, you know, where it's

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Speaker 2: one and lost.

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Speaker 1: Michael, how do you guys kind of feel when you

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Speaker 1: look at that and when you look at the team

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Speaker 1: that you're taking on, do you think much about your

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Speaker 1: opponents or do you more just think about what you're

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Speaker 1: gonna do.

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Speaker 3: You definitely got to think about your opponents, you know

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Speaker 3: who you're matching up against, especially in a big game

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Speaker 3: like the Grand Final, but once you get out there,

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Speaker 3: it's kind of just it's just you're just going really,

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Speaker 3: you know, you're just playing footy.

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Speaker 1: Mate. Tell me it's been a massive season for you.

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Speaker 1: December last year you reached the incredible milestone of two

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Speaker 1: hundred games in the men's Premier League. How good would

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Speaker 1: it be to cap off the season with a Grand

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Speaker 1: final win as well? Or do you not want to

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Speaker 1: think that too far? Like too far ahead as yet?

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Speaker 3: I mean, any grand final win is a good win.

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Speaker 3: And just to tick off two hundred games this year,

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Speaker 3: it's been a great achievement and like the footy club

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Speaker 3: has been unreal. You know, I would have started playing

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Speaker 3: when I was twelve and here I am now about

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Speaker 3: twenty nine to turn thirty.

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Speaker 1: S Have you been with CROC since you were twelve?

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Speaker 3: Oh?

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Speaker 1: Mate, that's awesome, what a wonderful story. Yeah, that is

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Speaker 1: so unreal to hear that you've been there for that

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Speaker 1: period of time. Like you must feel bloody proud when

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Speaker 1: you put on the jersey then this weekend to go

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Speaker 1: and play in the Grand Final for the club that

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Speaker 1: you've been with since you were twelve years old.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's definitely a privilege, you know that, and the

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Speaker 3: club does so much for us and just to be

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Speaker 3: the one to put the jumper on and I guess

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Speaker 3: be the captain for the team this year. It's a

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Speaker 3: great privilege.

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Speaker 1: Oh that's a that's a nice bit of info there.

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Speaker 1: I mean, Shannon obviously you know that, but I think

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Speaker 1: that's and a lot of people out at the club

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Speaker 1: obviously would know that. But I think for the whole

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Speaker 1: of the Northern Territory it makes it a little bit

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Speaker 1: more special for you guys. Hey, definitely, yeah, mate, tell me,

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Speaker 1: I mean, how many years has it been since the

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Speaker 1: Crocs won a premiership?

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Speaker 2: So some districts. Last won the flag in the twenty

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Speaker 2: seventeen eighteen season against on the Wednesday night and was

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Speaker 2: a one point win against the dumb So it's been

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Speaker 2: a few years. We played in a grand final, a

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Speaker 2: losing Grand final to war Retize two seasons ago. So

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Speaker 2: we're looking forward to hopefully getting back on the winners

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Speaker 2: list and have the w after four hard quarters.

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Speaker 1: All right, any superstitions, anything special that you too were

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Speaker 1: going to be doing before the weekend.

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Speaker 2: It's business as usual for me. We are you know,

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Speaker 2: we've got twenty two blokes that we've got to make

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Speaker 2: sure we can control and make sure that the Energies

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Speaker 2: are spending the right areas and they just get out

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Speaker 2: and do their job, which they've been able to do

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Speaker 2: and achieve on multiple occasions this year. And they've been

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Speaker 2: challenged a long way, so hopefully there's one more challenge

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Speaker 2: that they can jump over the hurdle and be victors

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Speaker 2: at the end of the day.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, what about for you, Michael, not anymore.

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Speaker 3: It's just well, it's not another day, but this game's

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Speaker 3: special and I'm just trying to enjoy it.

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Speaker 2: Really.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's good. I reckon. Well, look, I hope you

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Speaker 1: boys do well, I know, no matter what too. Like

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Speaker 1: the thing that you note when you catch up with

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Speaker 1: all of you this morning, is it clubs in the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory when it comes to footy like, it's a

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Speaker 1: real community and you're part of something special. No matter

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Speaker 1: which club you're with, it is part of being part

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Speaker 1: of something really special. Lots of long term families, people

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Speaker 1: like yourself, you know, who've been at the club since

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Speaker 1: you're twelve years old. It is special and it's wonderful

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Speaker 1: then to actually make it to the Grand Final and

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Speaker 1: be there on Saturday for the big dance.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely it is great. You see the names like Bowden,

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Speaker 2: the Synonymous, the Valasios, the same areas it's been there

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Speaker 2: forever and that's what we play footy for. This town

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Speaker 2: is small and we all get together, but it's all

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Speaker 2: about the community feel and hopefully, you know, the community

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Speaker 2: get a really good spectacle from two great clubs.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, all the best on the weekend. I hope you

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Speaker 1: have a cracking game and can't wait to watch it

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Speaker 1: myself and see how it all goes. Thank you both

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Speaker 1: so much for joining me in the studio this morning.

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Speaker 1: Oh thank you Katie, thank you