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Speaker 1: Now, if you've been listening to the show over the

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Speaker 1: last couple of weeks, we have been certainly trying our

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Speaker 1: best to keep you up to date with the Territory

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Speaker 1: Stingers and how they're going over there in kl as

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Speaker 1: they took part in the hockey. It's been pretty awesome

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Speaker 1: to hear about. And joining us in the studio to

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Speaker 1: give us a bit of a wrap up on how

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Speaker 1: it's all gone. Is the CEO of hockey here in

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory, Jason Butcher, Good morning to.

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Speaker 2: You, morning, Katie. How are you?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? Very well? Had been all go mate.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we got back last night and we've still got

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Speaker 2: a few flying in today, so hasn't fully wrapped. But yeah,

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Speaker 2: very challenging, but an amazing experience and something that's going

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Speaker 2: to set us up really strongly for the future.

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Speaker 1: I think. So talk our listeners through how both teams

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Speaker 1: landed in the end.

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Speaker 2: So both teams missed finals by a percentage I think.

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Speaker 2: So boys drew three games that they had sort of locked,

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Speaker 2: so that was a bit of an experiencing I suppose,

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Speaker 2: and the girls had three chances to get a result

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Speaker 2: in their last three games and couldn't quite get over

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Speaker 2: the line. So yeah, we made mistakes and there's little

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Speaker 2: things just experience, and we're talking earlier. We haven't played

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Speaker 2: in competition for seven years, so there's a whole range

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Speaker 2: of things that sit inside that lost experience. But that's

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Speaker 2: why we went there so absolutely well.

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Speaker 1: And it's i mean seven years to not have that

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Speaker 1: kind of competition is a long time. I mean, we

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Speaker 1: talk a lot about various different sports and the fact

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Speaker 1: that so many different states, you know, they're competing every weekend,

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Speaker 1: every month so often, and that's I suppose what makes

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Speaker 1: it difficult for territorians in some way. But that's really

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Speaker 1: what you're trying to change, isn't it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And that's absolutely what it's all about. So we

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Speaker 2: knew that was coming, probably underestimated the I guess the

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Speaker 2: institutional like the breadth of the little things that you

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Speaker 2: take for granted that we're sort of working through that

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Speaker 2: would be automatic for a team that competes year and

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Speaker 2: year out. So there's a lot of lessons there which

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Speaker 2: we grew really quickly through and you know, next year

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Speaker 2: that's going to hold us in great stead. So already

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Speaker 2: looking forward to.

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Speaker 1: That, how did the teams go, like in terms of

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Speaker 1: jelling after like you said, you know, not competing at

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Speaker 1: a level like that for seven years and then getting

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Speaker 1: across there you're traveling overseas. I mean a lot of

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Speaker 1: the players would know each other but may not have

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Speaker 1: actually played in a team together for a while.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Well we've been working towards this for three years,

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Speaker 2: as you know, Festival of Hockey. The boys started this

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Speaker 2: in twenty twenty two. I think we played the thunder

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Speaker 2: six in a one off game at Perth. So the

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Speaker 2: groups know each other, they're our players. They play each

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Speaker 2: other each weekend in club competition, but flying to another country,

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Speaker 2: living in hotels together the day and day out, communication, recovery, tension, selection, rotation,

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Speaker 2: there's a million things that change the dynamics, I guess.

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Speaker 2: So they're all lessons learned.

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Speaker 1: How both the teams feeling. They're still feeling pretty good.

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Speaker 2: How you feeling, Yeah, I feel really positive. Like my

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Speaker 2: experience is a bit different. So I sort of knew

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Speaker 2: what was coming, and you can tell people and you

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Speaker 2: can educate them, but until you get there and get

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Speaker 2: the scars yourself, it's a difference between knowing what's coming

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Speaker 2: and actually understanding it. Looks like so that whole competition

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Speaker 2: experience has just been massively invaluable. I'm very proud of them.

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Speaker 2: They're very tired, but they did a great job.

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Speaker 1: I bet they are now in terms of, you know,

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Speaker 1: in terms of the level of competition over there as well,

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Speaker 1: was it really fast paced? What was it like?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a great question. We knew that the competition

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Speaker 2: was good. Malaysia and are recognized top country in the world.

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Speaker 2: And what we sort of walked into though, is and

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Speaker 2: we're part of this building block for them, is it's

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Speaker 2: becoming an Asian super league. So one of the top

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Speaker 2: men's teams had eight starting eleven Pakistani internationals. There was

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Speaker 2: about eight Indian players. There was players from Korea, Japan,

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Speaker 2: two ex Kuokobara's Black Sticks. So everyone's topping themselves up

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Speaker 2: with firepower. So we've walked into this growing league that's

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Speaker 2: not the Malaysian Hockey League. It's becoming an Asian super League,

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Speaker 2: which is very exciting, but it's the competition. Some of

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Speaker 2: the hockey was unbelievable.

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Speaker 1: So what's next for this thing is from your pis,

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Speaker 1: are you know, are you keen to get back there

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Speaker 1: again next year? What's the plan?

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Speaker 2: Yes, we have a four year agreement with them, which

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Speaker 2: is a time frame which potentially and maybe even hopefully

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Speaker 2: will extend after that, so that gives us a building

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Speaker 2: block to build our program over that period of time.

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Speaker 2: And obviously, excuse me, there's a lot of lessons learned

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Speaker 2: this year, so it's going to be a fast learning curve.

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Speaker 2: We're still pushing towards what is the need to look

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Speaker 2: like for us to be back into Hockey one. So

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Speaker 2: that's I don't think there's a timeline on that, but

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Speaker 2: this Malaysian experience is part of that, yep. And we're

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Speaker 2: currently negotiating what we do with Festival of Hockey, which

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Speaker 2: at this stage potentially will look like bringing Malaysian groups

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Speaker 2: here to play instead of Hockey One teams, which would

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Speaker 2: be super exciting for our local community.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it'd be a wonderful thing. I mean, would it

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Speaker 1: mean though that there needs to be some work out

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Speaker 1: there at Marara. Have we got everything that we require

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Speaker 1: infrastructure wise?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, We've got some serious works that are over the

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Speaker 2: next six months, which all the stakeholders are aware of.

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Speaker 2: We've got the Oceana Cup in the first week of September,

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Speaker 2: so it doesn't get bigger than that. We've got World

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Speaker 2: Cup qualifiers coming to Darwin, Australia versus New Zealand, so

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Speaker 2: Black six Hockey rows Coocobars. So there's a fair bit

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Speaker 2: of work to do for that. That'll lead into Festival hockey,

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Speaker 2: so the place will be perfect by then, and then

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Speaker 2: we're looking at. Part of our discussions or my time

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Speaker 2: in Malaysia was talking to their leadership around us changing

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Speaker 2: our schedule to make it a bit easier for us,

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Speaker 2: but also having home games. So in a perfect world,

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Speaker 2: we play some home games, have a week off and

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Speaker 2: then go to Malaysia next year.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, So just changing things up a little bit

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Speaker 1: more and benefiting the Northern Territorial a little bit more.

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Speaker 2: That was always part of the plan and the original agreement.

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Speaker 2: We just struck it with not much time up our

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Speaker 2: sleeve as venture. So yeah, that would be exciting for

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Speaker 2: local fans. They can see us play against those teams

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Speaker 2: and it'll make it life a bit easier for us

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Speaker 2: as well.

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Speaker 1: Which sounds like there's a lot happening when it comes

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Speaker 1: to hockey in the Northern Territorial. I mean, even I'm

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Speaker 1: assuming that there's I think I mean, I think a

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Speaker 1: couple of my young friends in training up to go away.

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Speaker 1: I reckon soon ish potentially some.

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Speaker 2: Of those young under sixteen national championships as soon, and

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Speaker 2: then straight after that the under twenty one championship. So

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Speaker 2: the first part of the season is pretty top heavy.

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Speaker 2: And you know, we start our premier league and our

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Speaker 2: club competition in about five weeks as well, so that

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Speaker 2: membership drive and all those things will start within will

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Speaker 2: this week basically, and our clubs are already starting to

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Speaker 2: get ready.

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Speaker 1: With everything that is going on with hockey and with

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Speaker 1: you know, with the Stingers going away, going across to Malaysia.

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Speaker 1: Are you seeing an increase in numbers? I know that

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Speaker 1: you haven't. You know, it probably hasn't quite started yet,

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Speaker 1: as you said a few weeks away, but are you

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Speaker 1: seeing a really increase in participation in hockey in the

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Speaker 1: Northern territory.

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Speaker 2: So the only thing we have, I guess to really

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Speaker 2: measure that is the come and try hooked in hockey

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Speaker 2: stuff and the indoor program. So that's been really strong

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Speaker 2: the numbers there, and when you consider we took sixty

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Speaker 2: odd of our best players away from the indoor comp

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Speaker 2: and that hasn't hasn't blinked. It's still run at the

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Speaker 2: same level, so those signs are all really strong. The

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Speaker 2: conversations with our presidents of the clubs is that they're

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Speaker 2: getting new inquiries and junior members that are looking to

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Speaker 2: play this year. So we're optimistic and confident that extra

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Speaker 2: visibility and that story is starting to get people curious

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Speaker 2: about what hockey's doing and maybe that's a good place

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Speaker 2: for them to be with their family. Well.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, and when people can see those pathways, I think

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Speaker 1: it's a really wonderful thing for the young ones, for

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Speaker 1: those that are already playing, for those that are thinking

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Speaker 1: about playing, it is a really good thing.

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Speaker 2: The aspirational piece is massive. I've always believed in that

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Speaker 2: really strongly. And it's not about everyone playing for the

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Speaker 2: Stingers or playing for Australia, but it's about having those

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Speaker 2: dreams and being part of something or belonging to a

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Speaker 2: sport which has that as a pathway. And then whether

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Speaker 2: you're just cheering on or supporting and you know the players,

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Speaker 2: or you've got a young kid aspiring to be a

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Speaker 2: part of that, that's what sports should.

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Speaker 1: Provide absolutely well. Jason Butcher, the SEEO of hockey here

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory. Thank you very much for joining

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Speaker 1: us this morning after getting off the plane last everyone's tired,

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Speaker 1: I'm guessing yeah.

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Speaker 2: And thank you to our community and everyone in the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory. The support's been massive. We're really I guess

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Speaker 2: we're really proud of what we have done on behalf

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Speaker 2: of everyone, but we're also really grateful for the support

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Speaker 2: and everyone getting behind us. So thank you all.

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Speaker 1: Good stuff and well done to the Stinger is the

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Speaker 1: men's and women's sides. You know, it's a phenomenal effort

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Speaker 1: heading overseas and competing at that level and coming all

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Speaker 1: the way from the Northern Territory to get to Malaysia

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Speaker 1: to play. It's a big step.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, a big step. Our new home KL for three

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Speaker 2: weeks ago.

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Speaker 1: Good stuff. Good on your books. Thank you,