The Examiner’s Rob Shaw, Josh Partridge, Brian Allen and Ben Hann unpack and discuss the sports news across Northern Tasmania.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Welcome to episode 32 of the Pressbox,
00:10 the Examiner's Weekly Sportscast.
00:12 We're back up to four this week.
00:14 Welcome back, Brian.
00:15 Congratulations on the arrival of Olivia Maeve.
00:18 If you think you're fed up with the content of nappies,
00:21 wait till you see what we've got lined up for you.
00:24 Congratulations, mate.
00:25 - Thanks, Rob.
00:26 Yeah, it's been the most wonderful
00:27 last three weeks of my life,
00:29 and for Georgia as well, so thanks, no worries.
00:33 We've got plenty of cricket coming up this week,
00:35 but we're gonna begin by talking about
00:36 the major announcements that were made
00:38 in sporting circles in Tasmania last week,
00:41 mostly by the Tasmanian Institute of Sport.
00:42 I wrote a column about it in today's paper,
00:44 and went down to Hobart,
00:46 and there were two or three functions on down there,
00:48 which I attended each one,
00:50 and it was interesting to hear
00:52 what the different athletes had to say.
00:54 The first one was the announcement
00:56 of the scholarship holders for the year.
01:00 Jack Hale, the sprinter, had a major speech in that.
01:04 Then there was the TIS Champions Club's inductions,
01:07 Georgia Nesbitt and Richie Porte were the two inductions.
01:11 Jack Penny and the late Ian Davies
01:14 were then inducted into the Sporting Hall of Fame,
01:16 which is a similar sort of body,
01:18 and then Ariane Titmuss won
01:20 her third Tasmanian Athlete of the Year award,
01:22 so it was interesting hearing,
01:23 although they're all from completely different sports,
01:26 I heard from most of them,
01:28 and they all had a very similar message to say
01:30 about what it's like coming from Tasmania
01:33 and then competing on the national and international stage.
01:35 I was just gonna share the one comment from Richie Porte,
01:37 which I thought summed up what everyone had to say,
01:40 and that's that, he said,
01:41 "People are quick to punch down Tasmanians,
01:43 "but being from Tassie,
01:44 "we do have to work a little bit harder
01:45 "than everybody else to get to the mainland
01:47 "and then the rest of the world."
01:49 And he was speaking to all these young scholarship holders,
01:51 and he said, "So if anybody ever tells you
01:53 "it's a disadvantage being from Tassie,
01:55 "just stick it right up them."
01:57 Which is typical Richie,
01:58 but it did kind of sum up the theme of the engagements.
02:01 - It's quite funny that you've got
02:03 an international sportsman talking about that as well,
02:05 but it happens obviously even just nationally
02:06 within our sports as well, like with the AFL.
02:09 As soon as Colby McCurtry and all those boys got drafted,
02:11 they went, "Oh, well, he's gonna go back to Tassie
02:13 "in a couple of years."
02:14 And it was really interesting to see his response
02:16 where he said, "No, I'm sticking with North Melbourne
02:18 "as much as I can," obviously, a couple of weeks in,
02:21 but it's interesting that it doesn't just happen
02:24 in our own backyard,
02:25 obviously it happens internationally as well.
02:26 - Yeah, and I'm interested in you guys,
02:28 as mainlanders that have moved down to Tasmania,
02:31 how do you see the ethos of Tasmanian athletes
02:35 in terms of how, the phrase "punching above their weight"
02:38 is now banned, it's too much of a cliche,
02:40 but how do you think they cope with competing?
02:43 - I think you probably think of a few specific sports,
02:46 at least I do anyway,
02:48 when you think of Tasmanians coming through nationally.
02:50 Obviously, cricket's probably been the main one
02:52 in years gone by,
02:53 but I suppose, yeah, someone like Ariane Titmuss
02:57 and Ricky Ponting both coming from Launceston,
03:00 like it's, they're two arguably the greatest sporting players
03:04 Australia's ever produced.
03:05 So, yeah, I suppose Tasmania,
03:08 just that it's known always to love their sport
03:12 and to always be able to produce,
03:13 even with the lack of population size.
03:16 - What about you, Brian,
03:17 you've interviewed quite a few Tasmanians,
03:18 how do you find it?
03:20 - Yeah, I think it comes down a lot
03:21 to the population size type thing,
03:23 like I love Matty Richardson,
03:26 former Richmond player and admired him growing up
03:29 and I love Ricky Ponting as well,
03:32 like as a Victorian growing up in the Albury-Wodonga area,
03:36 which we'll get to mention later,
03:37 but I think you probably always thought like
03:41 if someone was from Tasmania,
03:43 it was kind of unusual because,
03:45 basically because of the population
03:47 of being a smaller place.
03:48 So, I guess having been lived here now
03:53 for a couple of years,
03:55 like it's interesting,
03:57 we get a lot of the Jack Jumper sort of dialogue
04:00 and coach Scott Roth often talks about
04:02 the sort of the grit and grind
04:04 of having that chip on your shoulder
04:06 and punching above your weight.
04:09 And yeah, I guess it sounds a bit cliche,
04:12 but I think it's a mentality
04:13 that a lot of people buy into,
04:15 in real life.
04:18 And so, there's, yeah, what Richie's saying,
04:21 I think that's a mentality that you can't fake,
04:24 that you can't fake,
04:25 that you'll, I don't know,
04:27 disadvantage is a hard word,
04:28 but seemingly, you know, overcoming odds.
04:33 It's a real thing and I think that it's motivating,
04:36 isn't it?
04:37 - It's a chip on your shoulder kind of thing, isn't it?
04:38 And as Tasmanians, when we,
04:41 when athletes go to these national carnivals,
04:43 they seem to have this chip on their shoulder
04:44 that people think is just because they're from Tasmania,
04:47 they're gonna be easy beats or whatever
04:48 and it's obviously proven that it's always not the case.
04:51 - Yeah, and a few of you have mentioned cricket
04:53 and let's talk about the next generation
04:55 of Tasmanian cricketers.
04:56 What's been happening in cricket in North Lothar?
04:58 - Yeah, so we had young Riverside youngster,
05:01 Ben Kidd, come out and score his first
05:04 A-grade hundred on the weekend.
05:06 And he smacked them.
05:07 He hit 105 off 98 balls and 19 of those were fours.
05:12 His first eight scoring shots were all fours as well,
05:14 so he reached 32 only having hit fours.
05:17 And yeah, he's only, I think it's 19.
05:21 He made a 60 on debut when he was 15
05:24 and then he'd been playing cricket for a little bit,
05:27 had a year off and since coming back,
05:29 he's come back into the A-grade kind of set up this year
05:33 at Riverside and kind of shown what the Blues
05:36 have always seen in him,
05:37 that he's going to be someone for their future.
05:40 And it wasn't just in the cricket North
05:43 where there were some big scores this week.
05:44 In the TCL, Tristan Weeks scored 145,
05:48 Jonte Manktelow scored 104,
05:51 and with the ball, Longford's Kieran Davey took six for 22.
05:55 So there were some big scores
05:57 and some good bowling performances
05:58 all around in Launceston this weekend.
06:01 - Ben, you know Ben Kidd, what's he like?
06:03 - Ben, yeah, he's really quietly spoken.
06:05 He'd hate the idea that we're even talking
06:07 about him right now.
06:08 He's the sort of fella, you know,
06:11 he's obviously on the back page.
06:12 That was, I was the one taking the picture,
06:16 I was just for reference.
06:17 It was like pulling teeth.
06:19 Did not want to go anywhere near the camera,
06:20 but I think that makes it even more rewarding for him
06:23 that, you know, he's this really sort of quietly spoken,
06:26 sort of quiet character who then, you know,
06:29 gets the chance to shine on this really big stage.
06:31 - Yeah, and moving on to other cricketing success,
06:35 tell us about the Under-19 Nationals.
06:36 - Yeah, absolutely.
06:38 Tasmania have been playing up in Aubrey Wodonga's,
06:41 Brian mentioned before, for the Nationals.
06:44 Two and two through their group stages,
06:46 so finals start on Wednesday.
06:48 It's being recorded on a Tuesday.
06:50 And yeah, it's been quite positive, I think, for Tasmania.
06:55 They've been in every contest except for one against WA.
06:58 They got a hold of them, but like the most recent game
07:01 against Queensland, who went four and O,
07:03 clearly the best team in the comp,
07:05 they took them to the very last over.
07:07 So it was a really good game.
07:08 I'll just go through the Northern talent.
07:11 So far at the tournament.
07:14 So Aidan O'Connor, start off against ACT
07:17 with a 63 ball ton, came in when Tasmania were up five
07:21 for 120, 130, and with Zach Curtin,
07:25 just absolutely monstered them.
07:27 It was quite something to watch.
07:29 He then followed up with a 71 yesterday.
07:33 So he's in really good batting nick.
07:35 Lockie Clark of Mowbray took three wickets
07:38 in that first game as well.
07:39 So he's produced with the ball pretty much every game.
07:42 I think, yes, that was the first time
07:42 he didn't take a wicket.
07:44 Tom Dwyer will be looking to, he's not been bad.
07:48 He's got 15, 27, 29, and 19.
07:52 So a start every time,
07:53 just hasn't been able to quite go on with it.
07:55 You hope for his sake,
07:56 he can get a big score on the board.
07:58 And then Ollie Knowles, who it's his first tournament
08:00 alongside Lockie, has got scores of six and 16,
08:04 was made to wait for his debut.
08:05 So hopefully he'll get a chance in the finals as well
08:07 to do something special for him and for Tassie.
08:11 - And you're familiar with these venues, aren't you, Brian?
08:13 - Yes, yeah, yeah.
08:14 I've been growing up playing cricket
08:15 in the Albury-Wodonga area.
08:17 So yeah, it's a strong, sort of a sporting place.
08:22 So it's, yeah, I was reflecting on your article,
08:24 like it's interesting, like the place you come from.
08:28 And I really liken here to Albury-Wodonga, actually.
08:32 It's probably a similar population size,
08:35 like near enough to that 100,000.
08:38 Sport mad, it's definitely hotter there.
08:43 So that affects things.
08:45 I like the, I guess, the overall cooler summer here
08:50 and that sort of thing.
08:52 But yeah, it's really interesting living here
08:54 and having grown up there.
08:56 And I see a lot of similarities in sports,
08:59 particularly one of them.
09:00 - Yeah.
09:01 And finally, moving on, we've got the BBL kicks off next week
09:04 and it starts in Launceston, Ben.
09:06 You're our man there.
09:07 - Yes, yes.
09:09 Yeah, so the Big Bash itself gets underway
09:12 on Thursday night, I believe.
09:14 So the Sixers will have already played a game
09:15 once they come down to Launceston
09:17 on Monday night, 7.15 p.m. be there.
09:20 So the Hurricanes, obviously, one of these two franchises
09:25 that are yet to win a BBL.
09:27 So they'll be really desperate to,
09:29 not only that, but get a tune out of an import
09:30 for once in their history.
09:33 So pretty much the imports to watch for this game,
09:37 Sydney have their familiar faces of Tom Curran
09:39 and James Vince, both English imports.
09:42 The Hurricanes have brought in some new faces,
09:44 Sam Hain and Chris Jordan, both are English.
09:47 And then you've got Corey Anderson,
09:49 who is a Kiwi international.
09:50 I think the Hurricanes usually always are quite a good team.
09:56 I think that's the disappointing thing for Hurricanes fans
09:58 is that they've always been quite a good team.
10:00 They just haven't been able to get that final win.
10:03 But the Sixers are the second best franchise
10:07 in the competition's history.
10:09 So it will be a great game.
10:12 - Sounds like the problems are taken over.
10:14 - Yeah, yeah, to everyone's displeasure.
10:18 - Yeah, we'll go with that.
10:19 - Steady, steady.
10:21 - No, it sounds good.
10:22 And so next week we'll have a report on that game
10:24 and how everything went.
10:25 I think that's it for this week.
10:26 Thanks for tuning in.
10:27 See you next week.
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