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Speaker 1: But by Thursday, surely we should just be talking about sport,

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Speaker 1: particularly when the AFL season here in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: is about to kick off. And joining me on the

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Speaker 1: line right now is AFL t CEO Sam Gibson. Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you, Sam.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. Thanks for having me.

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Speaker 1: Oh mate, great to have you on the show and

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Speaker 1: great to see that foot is back kicking off? Is

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Speaker 1: it tomorrow night.

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Speaker 2: At East Tomorrow night? We've got the national comp out

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Speaker 2: of the way and we can get into the ChFL now.

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Speaker 2: And what bitter way to kick off than Grand Final

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Speaker 2: rematch War's Saint Mary's down at Garden's Oval.

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Speaker 1: Oh, that'll be an absolute cracker, no doubt about it.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, Look it'll be. It'll be a more competitive match

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Speaker 2: in the AFL Grand Final.

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Speaker 1: Actually, yeah, ended up the old AFL Grand Final, didn't

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Speaker 1: The Cats, you know, just thump them.

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Speaker 2: But it was a bit of a surprise. I thought

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Speaker 2: I thought of very closer than that. But I think

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Speaker 2: that's I think that's four Grand finals in a row

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Speaker 2: that have been a bit of blowout in the national competition,

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Speaker 2: so you know, hopefully we'll get some close ones in

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Speaker 2: the future.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt and I'm sure that well with the

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Speaker 1: NTFL it will be closer, much closer matches. Mate, how

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Speaker 1: did the launch go last night?

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Speaker 2: Look, yeah, we haven't launched the season formerly yet, but

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Speaker 2: obviously been working with their clubs and stakeholders pretty closely

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Speaker 2: for the last couple of months to set things up.

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Speaker 2: And there's been a lot of well not a lot

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Speaker 2: of change, but certainly some changes in the competition this

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Speaker 2: year with PINT coming into the Men's Premier League and

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Speaker 2: Tee Wee joining up with Tracy Village in the formation

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Speaker 2: of a Women's Premier League team. So got a lot

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Speaker 2: of work done with people over the last couple of

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Speaker 2: months and we're it's excited, but it's almost upon us.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, hey, talk me through Pint coming into the Men's

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Speaker 1: Premier League and you know what sort of has to happen,

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Speaker 1: I guess from from your perspective in terms of supporting them,

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Speaker 1: you know, to make sure that as they integrate into

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Speaker 1: into the Premier League that it all goes quite smoothly.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, it hasn't just happened overnight. It might have

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Speaker 2: been in the Women's Premier League for a number of

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Speaker 2: years and have actually won one of those competitions, which

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Speaker 2: probably shows you know, how well they are set up

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Speaker 2: as a club. We step through a pretty sort of

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Speaker 2: rigorous process with them around you know, how they how

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Speaker 2: they structured up as the club, and their financial sustainability

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Speaker 2: and you know, their plans into the future around you

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Speaker 2: on and off field sorts of things, and what what

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Speaker 2: sort of became pre you apparent to us that was

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Speaker 2: that you know, as a club, they're really they're really

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Speaker 2: quite good, They're quite professional, They've got a lot of

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Speaker 2: good stuff in place, and and you know, we've provided

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Speaker 2: them with some some point concession the player point concessions

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Speaker 2: this year which will which will hopefully help them be

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Speaker 2: really competitive. So you know, we're pretty confident in them,

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Speaker 2: you know, based on the least profile they have and

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Speaker 2: what they do off the field, and.

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Speaker 1: Is it a pretty important step do you reckon four

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Speaker 1: pint in the sense that you know you've sort of

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Speaker 1: got juniors coming up through the ranks and when it

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Speaker 1: comes to those pathways within a club.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, junior pathways is one of the things were really

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Speaker 2: honed in on with them, and they've done a lot

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Speaker 2: of work in the last few years in creating os

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Speaker 2: kick and tens and twelve and these sorts of things.

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Speaker 2: And you know, as you know, like you if you're

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Speaker 2: playing at a club and you know they're they're sort

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Speaker 2: of their top level, isn't the premier level? That can

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Speaker 2: sort of create a little bit of uncertainty for people

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Speaker 2: and family. So you want to be able to see

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Speaker 2: your pathway, be it be it directly with that club

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Speaker 2: or in conjunction with another. So you know, for Pints

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Speaker 2: to round out the pathway into the Premier League. Now

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Speaker 2: that will give their sort of better juniors a bit

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Speaker 2: of hype that they can continue.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, hey, I'm talking through that change that you mentioned

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Speaker 1: as well. When it comes to the women's competition, which

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Speaker 1: team was that?

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Speaker 2: So seawhere have come in. What we've actually been able

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Speaker 2: to achieve is a complete alignment between the men's and

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Speaker 2: women's Premier League competitions, so all of the teams are

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Speaker 2: now the same, which on game. They create this opportunity

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Speaker 2: for our clubs to have Premier League men, Premier League reserves,

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Speaker 2: and Premier League women all sort of playing in and

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Speaker 2: around each other, which it's like footy down south. It

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Speaker 2: creates this great opportunity for clubs to do what they

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Speaker 2: do best. Which has created these great social environments for

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Speaker 2: their people. So part of that is, yes, Tea were

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Speaker 2: joining forces with Tracy Village to come into the comp

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Speaker 2: petition for the first time, and we're really confident that

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Speaker 2: it's obviously a bit of elite for tee wee football

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Speaker 2: having not been involved in the competition. It's a good

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Speaker 2: It was a good competition with Tracy Village to ensure

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Speaker 2: that the pathway remains for their women. You know from

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Speaker 2: all reports, I've got a few bit of talent between

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Speaker 2: between the two of them running onto the park this weekend,

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Speaker 2: So that's that's a really exciting addition to the to

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Speaker 2: the women's pathway.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that sounds awesome and one of the other big

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Speaker 1: things obviously that seems to be happening. I guess it

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Speaker 1: always does, but there seems to be some massive names

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Speaker 1: this year, some fantastic players coming to take part at

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Speaker 1: different times throughout the season in the men's Premier League.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it does seem to happen a year in year

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Speaker 2: out that we probably haven't had what we've had this

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Speaker 2: year in the past. For Gary Ablet to be committed

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Speaker 2: to coming up and playing at least game in mid

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Speaker 2: November is he is pretty spectacular. I mean he'd be

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Speaker 2: one of the best players of the modern era to

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Speaker 2: play the game nationally and you know, in conjunction with

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Speaker 2: you know, his ex teammate Mattie Stokes and playing with

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Speaker 2: Eddie Betts and a few other x AFL players as

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Speaker 2: part of the Palmston team who will play Saint Mary.

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Speaker 2: He's on a on a Friday night at how I

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Speaker 2: mean that that gives me the competition a real shot

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Speaker 2: in the arm. And whilst it's not a you know,

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Speaker 2: he's not going to be around all year and we

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Speaker 2: won't see him on Grand Final day, I would think that,

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Speaker 2: you know, at the same time, nationally he gives the

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Speaker 2: competition a shot in the arm and then then roped

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Speaker 2: down into the grassroots for juniors and local players to

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Speaker 2: be engaging with these sorts of players is really good

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Speaker 2: for them as well.

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Speaker 1: Sam, Let's talk about about those juniors and about the

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Speaker 1: grassroots stuff. When do the juniors kick up and how

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Speaker 1: are those numbers looking?

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Speaker 2: Yes, kick off in a few weeks and we're just

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Speaker 2: finalizing with the clubs the their sort of junior team entries.

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Speaker 2: Look it, it's been a massive growth area for us

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Speaker 2: for the last few years, in particular in the in

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Speaker 2: the girls space, women and girls football across the territory, sorry,

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Speaker 2: across the top end, austraen eighty five percent in the

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Speaker 2: last two years. Wow, you know, and that the majority

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Speaker 2: of that has been through the junior and youth grade.

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Speaker 2: So you know, our big challenge now is trying to

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Speaker 2: find enough grounds and improving the venues that we have

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Speaker 2: and supporting our club volunteers who who make it work

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Speaker 2: for them. And you know, with that growth coming through,

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Speaker 2: it's you know, it's a tough gig that they have

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Speaker 2: week in wake out to make it happen. And we're

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Speaker 2: playing football six days a week now, which you know

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Speaker 2: is quite unique. But you know that that's that's great

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Speaker 2: for the game, it's great, great for the future game.

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Speaker 2: But you know we've got to make sure that we're

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Speaker 2: investing in it appropriately as well.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's massive, I mean an eighty five percent increase

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Speaker 1: in the last few years. That like, that's phenomenal when

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Speaker 1: you talk about young girls picking up a football and

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Speaker 1: deciding to play.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well it's great, it really is. And obviously the

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Speaker 2: afl W nationally has has been great for shining the

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Speaker 2: light on what women can do in our game, and

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Speaker 2: then a lot of work is done, you know by

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Speaker 2: seeing it's clubs over the last probably five or so

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Speaker 2: years to set the pathways up and you know, the

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Speaker 2: structures to enable that. You know, we've got you know

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Speaker 2: a number of territory girls playing in that competition now,

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Speaker 2: and you know there's a fever bit of talent through

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Speaker 2: the ranks. So we're going to see you know, that

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Speaker 2: started start to really inject itself into the national competition

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Speaker 2: and and you know, I think we're we're about across

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Speaker 2: the territory as a percentage of our player registrations, it's

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Speaker 2: about thirty five percent now who are women and girl.

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Speaker 2: So's that's a really high percentage when you consider the

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Speaker 2: history of the game.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, how wonderful. I think it's fantastic to see. And

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Speaker 1: I know that we've had some of our umpires from

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory doing phenomenally well around the nation as well.

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Speaker 2: Yeah we have. Yeah, it's another pathway. I think that

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Speaker 2: that we need to celebrate. And you know, having three

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Speaker 2: upires now officiating the l W competition over the last

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Speaker 2: few weeks, I mean, that's that's fantastic and you know

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Speaker 2: what a great experience that they're all pretty young. You

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Speaker 2: know what a great experience for them to travel down

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Speaker 2: and associate at the highest level at at Marvel Stadium

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Speaker 2: or brought down in Adelaide, and you know they bring

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Speaker 2: that back to the territory for this season and hopefully

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Speaker 2: inspire a few others to you know, take on what

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Speaker 2: can be pretty challenging role. As I'm pouring again.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, all good stuff. Will Sam Gibson, the af l

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Speaker 1: NTC are really good to catch up with you this

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Speaker 1: morning and and speak further about what is going on

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Speaker 1: this year or this season, I should say, when it

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Speaker 1: comes to footy. No doubt we'll talk again over the

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Speaker 1: coming weeks. Thanks, good on you, Thank you,