Speaker 1: Now it's time for tensions that We're running high at
Penrith Panthers podcast presented by the Western Weekender thanks to
Penrith Toyota. Here's at Troy Dodds and Nathan Taylor.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to Tensions Running High, a Penrith
Panthers podcast presented by the Western Weekender. This is episode
sixty five. I'm Troy Dodds joined by Nathan Taylor. Hello Nathan,
Hello Troy, and we are the voice of Rugular League
in Penrith. We love talking all things Penrith Panthers. For
thirty five years, the Weekender has led the way in
Panthers coverage Here in Penrith. We've covered six premierships, the
biggest breaking stories and interviewed CEOs, coaches, chairman players. The
list goes on a big thanks to our sponsor, Penrith
City Automotive. Go and see Garth and the team get
yourself a new or used car from the people who
do it best on the agenda. Today, the Panthers are
back in action. We give our Las Vegas thoughts that
roof on Penrith Stadium and which player will be the
big breakout Penrith In twenty twenty six, So let's kick
things off because the Panthers are back in action Friday night,
Round one against the Brisbane Broncos. I think it's one
hundred and fifty nine days since that preliminary final loss
at sun Corp Stadium and we returned to the scene,
which is pretty fortuitous.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's right, Troy. It's hard to believe it's been
been that long between, you know, between Penwouth Panthers games,
and it's been such a long time since peneoth have
actually won a game too. We obviously missed them in
the trials that he can get to sneak home or win.
So hopefully after one hundred and fifty nine odd days,
we finally get some revenge, Troy. I know the Panthers
aren't really talking revenge, but for fans, we want to
beat those Broncos. Is Friday, well I have.
Speaker 2: And Cleary, Yeah, he was dismissing the revenge talk in
his press are on Monday, which you would expect him
to do. He's not going to talk up, he's not
going to Raynau or anything like that. But I'm sure
it would still be stinging and burning the other Panthers players.
So I have no doubt that that may not the
word revenge, but certainly some well at least some retribution maybe, yeah,
for sure for what happened back there. But as I
haven't said, well, they don't hand back the rings of
the trophy if you win. But we'll see what happens.
Now we're recording this late Tuesday afternoon. The team lists
have just dropped.
Speaker 1: They have.
Speaker 2: Now, is there any significant surprises in the Panthers list.
We've already got the word that Liam Martin wouldn't play
in Round one, both he and Liam Henry still battling injuries.
Speaker 1: Yeah, of course, so you're pretty much you're one to thirteen.
Is as expected. I'll just go through the back roller.
So the back roller is are going to be Scott
Sorenson and Luke Garner. So obviously Luke Garner will take
the role of Liam Martin, who is out with a
calf injury. It was confirmed yesterday a calf strain. I
don't think it's going to keep him up for too long.
Pretty funny how last week we're talking about acls with
some of these guys and just turns out they've just
got cuff strains. It's crazy. I think the bench is
the one that we are most interested in because obviously
it's now going to be a six man bench, right Troy,
instead of the usual four. So any of these six
players on Friday will get the call up, so I'll
run through them. So at fourteen you have Jack Cogger,
fifteen Lun Pattaya, sixteen Isaiah Papale, seventeen Kilani Going, eighteen,
Tom Jenkins, and nineteen Freddie Lassek. So at this stage
that's your that's your six that I ever can choose from.
But of course he's got Billy Phillips, Jack Cole and
Cioni Fanua floating around in jumpers twenty twenty one and
twenty two, which i'd imagine by kickoff he can sort
of switch around a few things, right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, it can still bring those And I don't
know if we're still at that the new rule now
of ninety minutes. They say they we're going to change that.
That was proposed nineteen minutes before kickoff, So we'll wait
and see what happens there. But yeah, that's the Yeah,
interesting how it's going to get used, Like if you
say that, you know you're just going to use your
fourteen through seventeen, which is probably the most likely scenario
I would think, unless obviously, you know, when you look
at that bat bench right, Jack Cogger, Lauron, Patayer, Isaiah,
Papalee Kala going to bench. But let's say Paul Ala
Moti pulls a hamstering in the fifth minute, then you
might be using Tom Tom Jenkins who's sitting there on
the So it will be, you know, and that will
happen throughout the year. There's going to be an injury
or a back in the opening minutes and that's going
to end up happening. So judging by that though, if
I was to go to playing Colony, going will be
a new Panther.
Speaker 1: He will, and he'll make his debut and he's only
played i think, one of the first great game with
the Warriors, so.
Speaker 2: They're obviously pretty impressed with him. So I'm not sure
what number we're up to in the in the list
I'm declaring it. Can we have this list on the
actual Panthers website.
Speaker 1: It's not there?
Speaker 2: Is that it's not there, and I've taken a few
photos of it club and at the club, so club
referring to it and it's a sad way to say it,
but if a panther dies, I have to look it
up and I find you find it on your phone
on my phone list. But yeah, if we could fix
that up, that'd be good. Or if it's there and
I can't find it, let me know. But but yeah,
Coloney going will be become a new Panther make his
debut on Friday night. Just interested in that Brisbane team
a little bit because they're going with Ben Hunting the fourteen.
Speaker 1: Okay, so you expecting hooker, did you?
Speaker 2: Or I just presume that maybe that's what they were
they were looking at. I'm not sure, but.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Ben Hunt in the World Cup Challenge they went
they didn't have Ben Hunt a hooker for that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, all right, so the plan, I mean, he'll
play plenty.
Speaker 1: Of They went with Corey Paiks in the in the
War Clup Challenge.
Speaker 2: So you'll played plenty of half back this year because
you can't imagine Adam Reynolds gets through the full season
without without having some some issues through sure, as expected
in what is his last season. Now I can confirm
I don't know you're looking at the phone version on
the NRL website. Ivan Cleary looks like he's out this week.
There is no coach for the Penrith Panthers, but Mike
Michael maguire is coaching the Broncos and no coach for
the pen.
Speaker 1: Sounds like I was Cup team as well, Troy, So
we'll talk about.
Speaker 2: That in the moment. So i'mn't clearly not making the
trip to Brisbane. According to the NRL. No coach for
the Panthers this week, but very buggy this website.
Speaker 1: And we still need the headshots for Freddie Lussk and
Billy Phillips as well. They're just still a wets at
the moment.
Speaker 2: For the Broncos. Ben Tolty No. Number sixteen.
Speaker 1: It must never have been in on photos.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like the school photo day absent at the
bottom of the school photos. But you know these. I'm
going to say the NRAL website probably hasn't had a
decent overhaul in some time. Might beig time probably.
Speaker 1: Looked like that for six or seven years.
Speaker 2: Probably has not, not quite as long as the weekends
websites look as it does. Maybe they've got the same philosophy.
It's working, then we leave it. But pew de lerors
on the NRL site. How do you see this game?
It'll be a big crowd and of course this is
the first time the Broncos back in front of their
home fans winning the title.
Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I think it's going to be you'd expected
to be a sellout. I'm not sure if it's sold
out already, but coming Friday eight pm, you'd imagine it
will be a sellout because it's sort of the first
time that Broncos fans get to see the premiers at home.
And Penrith is obviously a huge team and it's a
huge rivalry, so it's going to be a huge crowd.
But the Peoth fans, i'm sure will be enforced. There's
quite a few up in Queensland now, so I expect
them to be loud and proud at the game on Friday.
But yeah, obviously the Broncos are favorites with the bookies,
which they should be their premiers. They're playing at home,
there's no reason they shouldn't be. But yeah, I think
Peneth will be really up for this game. You'd have
to expect it's round one. They'll be desperate to get
off to a good start after what happened last year
and it was like a five and one start in
terms of the losses. So I think Penrith will be
right up for this one. But we yet to speak
twenty players this week, Troy, so hopefully we can do
that tomorrow, which is on Wednesday, and get the lowdown
on how they're feeling heading into Friday.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and look this one interesting too. You know, the
broncost pant has been scheduled for round one. I'm a
believer that you want to play the Premiers pretty early
in the season because they as we've seen with Penrith,
you can have a slow start when you're the defending Premiers.
You're coming off a disrupted preseason, often some overseas travel
world club challenge, obviously players who played all the way
through to October a good reason of course, but then
obviously had rep duties as well, so it's very disruptive.
And what Shane Elford said it to me once that
your first few games of the year actually kind of
become part of your preseason. So you know, it's a
long road twenty seven weeks, so you've kindly got to
accept that that first three weeks they're not trial games,
but they're part of your preseason. You're still trying to
get to where other clubs are kicking off, so it's
probably a good time to get them. Bit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, have been pretty successful in their first round up game.
I don't think they've won them more, but they've definitely
won most of them. Was the last year in Vegas
they won, remember that one. Some good memories from that game.
Then it all went downhill from there, so hopefully they
can they can turn things around this year.
Speaker 2: All right, Well, it's an eight o'clock kickoff Broncos Panthers
on Friday night sun Corpse Stadium, seven o'clock local time,
of course, but eight o'clock here in New South Wales
and it's on Channel nine, Foxtel and KO so you
can watch it everywhere. And it is of course the
second of a double header, but the Rooster's Warriors before that,
so it's actually a pretty pretty decent double header on
Friday night.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it should be great. And obviously Thursday night it
all kicks off with Power versus the Storm. We've seen
it in the courtroom this week with all the Zach
Lomax stuff and now they get to fight their way
on the field. So that's going to be a really
good match, I think.
Speaker 2: Yeah, just worth mentioning as well. Brendan p Cura not
there for Brisbane.
Speaker 1: Who's who's referee our game.
Speaker 2: Of season knee surgery? Yeah, there's no there's no referee.
Speaker 1: He memory roles don't announce that anymore on they put
it out on X but they used to send the email.
Speaker 2: Yeah they did, so they stopped doing nothing. Buzz blew
up about that. Yeah, age last year and yeah, I
don't look. I guess that was designed to be like, well,
you know, just take a little bit of attention away,
particularly when they've dropped a ref you know, kind of
makes it sort of obvious. Sure, but it is a
bit silly.
Speaker 1: People are going to find out the news anyway somehow,
of course, yeah.
Speaker 2: Of course, and you can see it. It's not up
there yet on the there's a website called NRL Media,
sorry website, a Twitter account X account called NRL Media
and that's where they put out a lot of this stuff. Now.
Speaker 1: But at this stage, we don't have any rest for
our game.
Speaker 2: No referee for our game at the moment, so I'm
guessing that grand Atkins and actually Cline we rested.
Speaker 1: From where they're still in Vegas or they're coming back
at least yah, still going.
Speaker 2: Back from Vegas. So they'll be rested and we'll have
a someone else with the whistle.
Speaker 1: And Blinda Sharp might get the call Veas, okay, so
she won't be available, so she.
Speaker 2: Won't be available. So yeah, so I don't know, we'll
see what comes of that, but look looking forward to
a Panthers Broncos. Great way to kick off the new season.
It's going to be a while before we see Penrith
in Sydney, at least Bathurst next week. As for our
home games, I think it's round four or something like that.
Speaker 1: Against the end of end of March.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so we're getting in some away travel before before
kicking things off. But yet looking forward to that one
on Friday night. I am tipping the Panthers to get
this one. I think they'll win by four points in
a close one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I think it'll be close as well.
I'm going to go Penrith by.
Speaker 2: Eight, okay, all right, Well I'd be more comfortable with
that by eight all right. Now. Of course, this is
round one continuing because we've had the Vegas games on
the weekend Newcastle twenty eight, North Queensland eighteen. Look, I
was really happy for Newcastle to win that one new
coach of course, justin Holbrook and you know they're fans
probably long suffering at the moment, and I had a
good win there. The Cowboys. All that did was heat
pressure on Todd Payton.
Speaker 1: I think you tip the night, so tell me what
you'll seek. It was like, what made you go for them?
Because most people went Cowboys?
Speaker 2: Yeah, look I just had this. I just had this
sneaking suspicion. You know teams that again we talked about
these teams that don't perform well in the trials, like
they get written off and everything else like that. But
I was thinking that, look you got Dylan Brown there.
I think Kaylen Ponger with a new coach, hopefully be
a bit more inspired. And I just there's something about
the Cowboys that didn't click despite having that pretty much
that same squad last year. So worries me about.
Speaker 1: They torched Penrith a few weeks ago. Was a real
Penrith team, but they put on some points of that side.
Speaker 2: So so yeah, no, no, I'm like, I'm stop the
comp now you're on top and a lot of them
and then the Bulldogs fifteen fourteen. Too many people focusing
on that grand Acans call lat in gold.
Speaker 1: W I missed this game because I was I was
doing an assignment. I was on assignment for work, so
I saw that the outrage online about the referees are useless.
They haven't changed.
Speaker 2: You know in the off season, call a stripping call
that obviously, what did that lead to? Well, it gave
the Dogs the field position to keep the winning field goal.
Speaker 1: Okay, so this happened in extra time?
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, but can we just declare that both sides
had ample opportunities to win the game in Golden Point.
I think those calls, like, I can live with those,
cause I know you probably say that if it's happen
the Penichy, you wouldn't You'll blow. I can live with
that stuff when it happens in the run of play
and you burnt your challenges, you know, a bunker blunder
is or I can't live with you because I'm like,
it's right there in front of you. How are we
getting this wrong? Calls on the run are going to
go your way and not go your way. The only
argument I will say is that maybe in Golden Point.
Should you get your challenges?
Speaker 1: I reckon you should. I'm just about to suggest that
should we activate another challenge for each team?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Look, I think that's got some merit because you
don't expect. Yeah, that's right to only play eighty minutes,
that's right. Yeah. Now, look, the NRL is touting that
it's the biggest sport on the planet basically because Las
Vegas has been such a hit. I think we saw
a slight increase in crowd some record TV ratings apparently for.
Speaker 1: We know, we know, these TV companies or the NRL
will skew results and things to make out they're never
going to go Crowds are down this year, folks. They're
going to find a way too. And we will never
know how many people were actually at Allegiance Stadium last week.
Speaker 2: But look, here's some of the stats. They're saying a
crowd of forty five, seven hundred and nineteen the most
attended NRL Las Vegas event so far, two point one
million fans tuned in from Australia. They're saying that's up
seven percent year on year. It was the number one
watched English Super League match of all time on Foxtel. Now, well,
that's going to happen because normally in the morning, exactly,
it was the number one watched Fox exclusive fixture featuring
either Newcastle or the Cowboys of all time, and it
was the most fixture between the Bulldogs and the Dragons
of all time. So look some good stats. This is
still great. I still, you know, and I was a naysayer,
and you know, we're not not a naysayer, more of
a I don't think that they could actually do this.
You know, we've heard about this before, you're going to Vegas,
So I'm not a naysayer in the concept, but I
didn't think it had happened. I can't believe there are
still naysayers like Peter fitz Simon's run another column on
the weekend blowing.
Speaker 1: Up or think I thought he was help. I thought
he was all for it. Now I think he was.
Speaker 2: No, No, he's not all four. He just thinks, oh yeah,
I guess they're doing a good job of it, but
he still thinks it's I still find it's all song
and dance and not yeah luck obviously, you.
Speaker 1: Know, maybe because I never went and I never got
to experience it live. But I just still I still
find it odd that we're doing this like for no,
at the moment, we haven't seen any American gain from it.
Like then, we weren't even showing it on the main channel.
Remember it was all this, Oh, they're showing on the
main Fox Sports.
Speaker 2: Channel last year, Yeah, but they didn't.
Speaker 1: Now this year was just on like the secondary channel
because apparently they wanted to show all three games and
didn't want people to change channels. But before that they
were quite happy to make people switch channels. I just
find it. I still find the whole thing a bit strange.
I like it. I think it's cool if they want
to parade it around to other places. It's just it's
so weird that they that they're doing it, and it's
what are they getting out of it?
Speaker 2: Well, I think now what we're getting out of it
is different than what we wanted to get out of
it initially. Now that what we're getting out of it
is a spectacular launch to a regular season. Now, let
me give you an example. The AFL season launches this weekend. Yeah,
have you heard much about the AFL apart from just
the usual AA the AFL is on and whatever else where?
Last week?
Speaker 1: You know, but we're in Sydney. We're not going to
hear much about the AFL here.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but I reckon that they would have heard plenty
about RUGUL League in Vegas in Melbourne.
Speaker 1: But are we tired of Vegas?
Speaker 2: Now?
Speaker 1: We're three years in?
Speaker 2: Okay?
Speaker 1: The first year I was I couldn't wait. Let's see
how this is going to look? They barely watched too
much of those games on the weekend because I'm used
to it.
Speaker 2: Now?
Speaker 1: Is there something else I.
Speaker 2: Think we go next year? I think, Look, I know
that the talk of Global Round and whatever. I still
think Vegas has to happen next year. I don't think
it's outstated, it's welcome just yet. I think it's getting there,
and I think year four will do it. But I
think you've got fan bases that went, while you've got
fan bases that haven't gone. I still think we can
go there. It's when you would have, like if Penrith
go a second time or something like that. I think
it's probably reached. Next You're not going to have like
if fifteen thousand, you know, NRL fans went there, Panthers
fans went there, They're not going to you know, fifteen
thousand are going to go back. For a lot of people,
that's once in a lifetime thing.
Speaker 1: Absolutely. But for next year, what we've got four more teams,
there's going to be two teams that haven't gone. Yeah,
so Perth and that will be if it's the Titans
or someone will mess.
Speaker 2: Out unfortunately, but they'll be part of Global Round probably.
Speaker 1: But then would you know how long the deal is?
Was it a four year or five years?
Speaker 2: Well I think it was a five year deal, but
I've been told that that's a pretty loose deal think
of the NRL.
Speaker 1: But Vegas love it. Of course, people are going into
the filling up, like forty five thousand people so to speak,
are filling up those hotel rooms. They're gonna want NROL
there as as long as possible, of.
Speaker 2: Course, And look it's a little bit like I've been
to Magic Round as well. You know, I expected when
I went last year, I I kind of didn't expect
that you'd walk out on the strip and you'd see
Rugby League people everywhere, because I was thinking, like Vegas
is massive, and you know, like I feel like we're
just going to be a little blip on the radar.
But it did. It felt like a magic round style feel,
and it's awesome. I do get what you're saying now,
like we go to a lot of expense and a
lot of effort to launch a regular Australian season in
another country.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I don't know. It's just I don't know.
It's weird. Now we've got to wait another week before
you get the rest of the games. It's it's an
interesting one.
Speaker 2: And of course now I think Quantus is flying to
Vegas directs now from next year.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, yeah, a few times a week.
Speaker 2: So maybe that's you know, that's proving then, is bumping
the interest in them.
Speaker 1: But you're never going to hear too much criticism from
the media because a lot of these media organizations get
invited to go through the NRL or their organizations will
pay these people to go, so they're going to love
going every year. Yeah, you're not going to get much criticism.
Speaker 2: And look, you know that I'm a fox man, but
I will say that I think the one disappointment here
is that that we don't have the whole day in
a free to wear environment, because I think that it
is a pretty great rugby league spectacular. I almost feel
the same something as about Magic Round, I'm like, like,
you know, the whole point of Magic Round is its
eight games. And yet if you're only watching Rergul League
on Free to Wear, well you can't watch eight of them. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
And I feel kind of the same about Vegas. But
Fox are pretty much from day one kind of owned Vegas.
They've declared they're the ones.
Speaker 1: Do we know what the what Nine got on Sunday
for their showing of.
Speaker 2: I'm yeah, I'm not sure what Nine pulled off. I
will say I reckon, you know whatever, I reckon. This
is a theory. I don't know if it's true. Nine
would benefit I reckon more than they ever had before
of people going to their broadcast after another because so
many people are streaming now before if you had your
normal traditional Foxtel, why would you go away from Fox.
But because she's streaming, like you go to nine, you
can get you know, pretty uninterrupted, there's no bufferying, there's
no thirty second delay. So Nine probably is picking up
a few streamers. Like my mum, for example, out there listening.
She has Ko, but she will watch Nine if after
a like even on a double on Friday night, she'll
watch the Rooster's Warriors on KO. That's what I did.
Speaker 1: That's exactly what I do. Except yeah, I've got the
Foxtel Foxtel now and straight onto the Channel nine.
Speaker 2: All right, now, let's say that Global Round does happen. Okay,
the question today, where in the world do you want
Penrith to play? Like Penrith could play anywhere in the planet?
Speaker 1: Cheeky question, this one.
Speaker 2: You're going to go, where are we going?
Speaker 1: Well, first off, I'd love to see them playing Penrith. Okay,
love the Panthers to be back in Penrith. It's been
it's been a while, but I don't know. I was
trying to think outside the box here, you know, if
it's alling specifically Penrith, I'd love to see them maybe
somewhere where there's a stadium in some sort of like
South America or somewhere in Asia where panthers are prominent
in that environment, you know, where they're in the trees
or in the jungles in these particular areas. So you've
got the panthers on the field, but there's also could
be panthers prowling around, you know, in the jungles of
wherever the panthers are native to that's cool. Or somewhere in.
Speaker 2: The Middle East.
Speaker 1: I think Troy, not because of what's happening over there,
but I think Dubai is one of the great, the great,
the great places to visit, and it'd be cool to
have Rugby League somewhere in a futuristic city like Dubai
in the middle of the desert. Like, that's pretty cool.
Speaker 2: Look, I'm actually going to go with Japan. You want
to go to Japan, I'd like to jump on the
plane to Japan and watch the Panthers go around in
Japan with all that.
Speaker 1: Well, I guess they like their rugby over there, so
they could probably find some sort of interest in it.
The Japanese, Yeah, they do it.
Speaker 2: I just think it'd be like a cool week to
go and see the boys as they you know, traps
around being tourists in Japan. Yeah, and then heading to because.
Speaker 1: I guess they've done the UK thing. They've gone to
England a couple of times for the World Club Challenge
and obviously in Las Vegas now, so you're trying to
find somewhere different.
Speaker 2: Yes, how good.
Speaker 1: About Panthers outside of the stadium. They could maybe you know,
you bring one in you know, on a leash or something.
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Speaker 2: Now, Nathan, you've obviously driven past Pena.
Speaker 1: Every day to works every day.
Speaker 2: You've seen the roof as it merged from the eastern
grand stand. Your thoughts on the roof and the stand.
Speaker 1: Yeah, look, it was it was interesting to see. Of
the last week, we've had a lot of rain in
the Penrith area, and you could actually see that that
roof going to use, you know, seeing what it was doing.
And it wasn't doing much, Troy. It was there was
at least half of that that grandstand was wet and
the other half was dry. I mean, give will take
a few rows. It wasn't a good look. You would expect,
you know, you would have hoped they could have had
the budget to extend that roof a little bit further
and just capture some more some more rows there. But look,
it's it's causing a lot of controversy out there. A
lot of people are very skeptical when they drive past,
and I'm sure they've mentioned to you, Troy that they're like,
how is this roof going to work in a modern
stadium in twenty twenty seven when it opens. You know,
it's it's doesn't look good enough, and you think they
would have found a bit more in the budget to
make a roof that would at least try and fit
the entire stadium.
Speaker 2: Well, Look, as we have said for some time, often
as the lone voices, you know, there were concerns over
this stadium from day one in terms of what we
are what we are going to get and whether it
was worth going through everything that we've gone through in
terms of replacement. I put out a post on x
last week which managed to cause some drama because I
I threw in there. When I put up it wasn't
raining at that point. This was a sun a sun post,
and it showed, you know, how much of the roof
actually covers people in the sun. And I said at
the end of the post, look, this is the stadium
that Labor is building and that we're going to have
regrets over this. And I was having a little bit
because people were saying I was politicizing the situation and
people were saying, well, hang on, the coalition announced this,
for example. So I've written a piece that by the
time people are listening to this, it's probably already gone
up on our website and is in the paper this week.
But I've written I guess I'm not calling it the
definitive sort of summation, but the big long form piece
on this stadium and the problems that I think we've
got and as part of it, and I wanted to
do this today. I wanted to go back to the
history politically and the money involved in this stadium and
why and I don't say this flippantly, why I think
labor have accidentally built this stadium. And here, So here's
let's go back. So in December of twenty twenty one,
you were at this announcement Dominic Perites then the premiere
he comes out to Penrith Park and announces there will
be a redevelopment of the stadium and he's throwing the
footy around with Yeah.
Speaker 1: I remember it was COVID times too, so we went
up to get too close to Dominiques in case the.
Speaker 2: Big announcements made. Now what is important at this point,
because I think this is forgotten. At that announcement, there
is no talk of three hundred and nine million dollars.
There's just there will be a redevelopment. Now, that's because
you'd be pretty foolish to say at that point when
you haven't even scoped the project or figured out what
you're going to do, that it's going to cost X.
So it's just there will be a redevelopment. Now in
twenty twenty two, three hundred and nine million dollars, And
this is where it all starts. Three hundred nine million
dollars is put in the budget for Penrith Stadium. Now,
I've spoken to people in the last few days who
said to me, look, the reason, to be honest, that
was put in the budget was number one. If it
wasn't in the budget, it was going to look bad
on the NMP Stewart airs, who there was a feeling
was going to be in a real fight for the
seat because you've an ounce something in twenty twenty one,
it's not in the next budget. You know, are you
actually telling the truth here? Also there was a feeling
that they wanted to protect that investment should they not
win the election. So there it was four hundred nine
million dollars, but that was never actually intended to be
the final budget for the project. It was just look,
this is where we're at, four hundred and nine million dollars,
and we see where it gets to. Then we fast
forward to the twenty twenty three election. Labor win the
election and Labor say, well, we are only on stadiums.
We are only spending what is budgeted and that is
three hundred and nine million dollars. Now, the problem is
that by this point in the process, the Liberal Party
had walked away from the redevelopment of Penris Stadium on
the current site. So the early scoping, in the early
suggestions had basically told them you're not going to get
value for money on the current site, like what you know,
you're very restricted in space and essentially you're just going
to kind of rebuild a better version of what you've
already got, which happens to be what we're doing now.
So with Cabinet approval Infrastructure, New South Wales began negotiations
with the Penish Showground and so emerged this this theory
of a fully enclosed stadium on the site of Penish
Showground that would probably be a thirty five thousand capacity
or something like that, and that the Perish Showground and
Paceway would be compulsorily acquired and the Paceway would be relocated.
Now I'm not going to get into get it to
the argument about the paceway and funding and whether that's
the right thing or not. What the key element out
of that is the Liberals had walked away from the redevelopment.
They would never I guarantee you, I've had it confirmed
from people within the Liberal Party. They were never going
to redevelop the current site. The time you got to
twenty twenty three, they had realized that can't happen now.
At the same time and I've gone back and checked,
Brian Fletcher, the CEO of the Panthers, tells the weekend
they're in twenty twenty three. Hey, if they're going to
redevelop the current site, it's four hundred and fifty million,
like that's where it needs to be. So in other words,
the government, the party in the government that announced the
project in the first place, had realized, geez, this isn't
going to work with three hundred and nine million dollars
and with the space and whatever. The redevelopment's not going
to work. We need another option, and they were very
far down the road in exploring that option. Panthers, the
other interested party, had realized the same thing, and it
basically said, well, we backed the other project, but yes,
if we're redeveloping the existing side, it's probably four hundred
and fifty thousand to make it smick. Somehow labor became
stuck on the three hundred and nine million and the
current site, and it was at that point that they
should have but we're never going to because it would
have been seen as a broken election commitment or whatever
else it was. At that point they should have said, well,
we can't deliver for three hundred nine million dollars a
stadium that is next level, is world class as they
keep calling it now. And that's why I say, I
feel like Labor accidentally built this stadium because they just
kind of went, well, this is the budget, what can
we get for this? And the other thing that I
want to want to say, And I know this will
be controversial amongst some Pena fans. I think Labor got
very lost in the whole keep both hills thing. I
know that Penra fans say they wanted to keep the hills,
and then Labor celebrated we're keeping the hills and all
this sort of stuff. But I actually think the desire
to keep the hills is somewhat overstated and was given
too much credence. And so when they decided, well, oh,
people want to keep the hills, they just became locked
in on okay, well we need to redevelop the two
grand stands. Now, there was a stadium sitting there as
the perfect example of what Penis should have, and that
is the new North Queensland Stadium, Because you would have
had a horseshoe situation a bowl still in terms of
grandstand at one end, and yeah, you could have kept
a hill at the other end, which was the apparent
desire of fans. But it's interesting that I sit here
and I think about every time I think about it,
and I think of another thing. So labor is redeveloping
grandstands to improve apparently the experience of people who sit
in the grandstands and improving the people who watch it.
Yet is accepting that some people want to sit on
a muddy hill with no comfort with people standing in
front of them and whatever else. And they're celebrating that fact.
They're celebrating that we're keeping the hills. But then we're saying, yes,
but we need to redevelop these grandstands. They're not good enough.
But they're not good enough, but these hills, they're they're great.
I'm just confused. I think they're confused. And I think
where we're actually going to going to end up at
the end of the day is with a stadium that
is nowhere near as good as it should have been.
And and we're seeing it now. You're seeing it now.
Look at the roof, for at that grandstand that Eastern
grand stand just looks cheap and nasty.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and there's going to be there's going to be
more as a construction keeps going this year, we're going
to see more and more things that we're going to
get weired out by, I'm sure as it slowly comes together.
Speaker 2: Well, someone said to me today, like, hey, like these
hills they're gonna look weird now, Like this is these
grandstands are double the size, yeah, the previous grandstand. And
it's like unless you actually do full re landscaping of
these hills, which as we understand it, they're not really
doing unless you change grading and so you do all
this stuff, it's just gonna look weird and we'll see
you all.
Speaker 1: They've kept all there, the existing signage up for where
responsib boards are, like they're they're all there. They're all
still staying. So you know they might they might landscape
the path or something, who knows, but you know, it's
it's pretty not very accessible because remember when sometimes it's
a really busy game and it's very hard to get through.
If you're parked at the Penn Square or something and
you want to walk to your seat in the west,
then you've got to do that that walk through the
hill area like it's just it's a it's a mess,
and that that can't come back, and well they're gonna
have those little tin seats at the front of the
little silver seats. Are they going to return?
Speaker 2: Like I mean, look, it's just I just I guess
where I'm at is as well, Like as I said,
it's it's not a world class upgrade. This is it's
not a stop trying to sell it to us like
it is. It's it's it's an upgrade on the cheap
And and I actually think it's it's almost embarrassing for
Labor that they will continue as they have to do.
They're going to continue celebrating these milestones at a venue
that the community is looking at going we don't like this.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think a lot of like not Penrith fans,
but just casual people in Penrith or residents in Penrith,
they don't really follow Rugby League or don't go to
too many Penrith games or have followed this saga. Like
even they they're saying like it's the same, like they
don't know intricacies, but they're like it's the same state
that they're rebuilding. Essentially, they see that one stand going
up and they're like, that stand was already there. Yeah,
and that is there's nothing new about it to the
to the normal, normal resident of Penrith, they're not really
seeing much of a difference.
Speaker 2: No, And don't get me wrong, right, there is going
to be that Western Stand probably will be a state
of the art situation because the corporate facility is there,
the media facility is there. Awesome, right that. I think
the Western Stand will be great. But it then does
pose the question did they did they really even need
to touch the Eastern Stand apart from maybe refurbing that
corporate area, although I will say they didn't have much
trouble selling those corporate boxes as they were right and
in fact, you had the right as a local business there,
you had the right to design the box up there
as much.
Speaker 1: As you want to signage on the outside of Yeah.
Speaker 2: So we had some cool designs in some of those
boxes which are now gone. And yeah, look that's that.
The steepness of that Eastern Grand Stand now the government
celebrates that, right, It says the steeper the better, basically
because you're viewing experience is better. You're close you feel
like you're closer to the action, and there's all this
weird research and status right that. Okay, if it's an
average person in front of you, like their chances of
blocking you now are almost zero because you know this
is great? But you know what interests me? Like two things.
Number one, did anyone really complain about their viewing? If
you sat in the grand stand before either the East
or the West, did you ever complain about your your
viewing experience?
Speaker 1: That's all we knew, didn't we like?
Speaker 2: But I don't think I never looked at that and went, well, yeah,
this is this is a disappointing, like this guy's in
front of me or whatever else, Like it was pretty
good for grandstands that were built a long time ago.
Pretty good, good enough I think to keep is I
guess what I'm saying. You're not bad enough to say
can you please knock this down and rebuild it steeper?
And the second part is that we've been going to
combat stadium in recent times.
Speaker 1: I sit higher up and you are one of the ones.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the amount of people that walk up and complain,
Like I'm not talking three or four people, I am
talking countless people who walk up and say this is ridiculous.
This is ridiculous. You almost don't want to go back
down and grab a beer or a pie because.
Speaker 1: That's a trick.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like, I don't know, I don't know fair, I
don't know what the governments and builders think, but I
don't think fans actually are all that thrilled with that concept.
So look, at the end of the day, will it
be better? Of course it will. We hope it will
be better. Bloody should be better. It's cost three hundred
nine million dollars. But is it the stadium that should
have got built?
Speaker 1: No way, No, And like you're stuck with it. Now,
what these stadiums, what thirty years? You've probably got a
lifespan on something like this. So that's been a stadium
mouth probably for our lifetime. I'm sure we'll not get
another one. I don't think we'll see another one in
our lifetime.
Speaker 2: No. I mean I spoke to someone today who is
pretty well entrenched in this saga, and he said to me,
he said, well, two things he said, because I said
to him, I said, well, the end of the day,
exactly what I said. Then I said, it'll be better.
You know. He's like, you know, what. I don't know
if it will be he said, look, of course for
summit will be. But he was like, if someone for
someone to match their experience from before to in twenty
twenty seven, an experience they're now paying probably a lot
more for they're playing through the nose for food, I
don't know if it will be a better experience. So
that was interesting and he made the point he said,
like in a few years time, let's say Pereth aren't
doing well, Like that's an expensive exercise to go through
for a team that's not doing well, and once players,
once fans start to drop off. You know, that's that's
a concern. And the other thing that that he was
sort of concerned about is that he's like I don't
think that when you build a stadium like that on
the cheap hills whatever else the concert thing and the
attracting other sports, like what's the what's the attraction? You know?
And when you think about, like what what is the
attraction for for for an artist to come out to
Penrith where only half of your seated options are covered.
There's what a hill? There's a hill at one ending
and stand on ber hill and watch the show or
the other hill. I don't know where they're planning to
put the stage, but it doesn't feel very attractive. And
then for other sports like okay, like the stadium, like
what was stopping the sports that are going to go
there go there before? Like what was stopping them? Because
the improvement is only got two and a half thousand
extra people, and the great like there's still two grandstands
and there's still two hills. It's the same thing.
Speaker 1: It's the same thing. You're right, so good deep dive there, Troy.
I know that's something you've you've obviously thought about for
for many many months, and it's good that we finally
get to be put it all on the into and
to action this week.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, I just think it's it's what a lot
of people thinking about. And I think unfortunately no one
is actually standing up and saying this from a public
point of view. There's no one from the Liberal Party.
There's no one coming out and saying, hey, we think
labor stuff this up. Panthers aren't coming out and saying hey,
we actually think we're not getting the best results here. Like,
no one is saying anything.
Speaker 1: And then when you go out and you ask the
government questions, whether it's you know, this week, you asked
them you know VI via email or you asked them
in person. It's it's hard to get a good response
from them as well in terms of you know, you know,
when we're going out there last year and asking about
how panther fight is it.
Speaker 2: Going to be?
Speaker 1: Remember that was the big thing we were talking about,
and I just laughed it off.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, no, Look it's look. All I can say
is told you so, told you so. If you are
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to the on field action and of course Panthers kicking
off on Friday night. Is there a player this year
that you expect to have an absolute breakout season that
will be the star of the show in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1: Star of the show. We've had a bit of a
think about this, Troy.
Speaker 2: Look.
Speaker 1: You could say the usual characters like yourn Ace or Dylan's,
but I think that those guys are always going to
be consistently good. You know, Brian to you know what
you're going to get from him. So I was trying
to think who's in for who's in for a big
year that we you know that's just due to really
take off. And I've got a couple of players that
I've got my eye on. Of course, there's there's obviously
Casey MacLean, which we know, you know, he's nineteen years old.
We know we had to get a great, you know,
second season in the nrole last year. He's coming into
his third year now I'm expecting big things from from
Casey this year. He's got named on the wing for
Penrith this week, and I just feel that, you know,
he's starting to really blossom and really emerges one of
the best centers in the game. It's it's obviously still
very early in his career, but we've seen what he's
been doing for New Zealand and you know, he's obviously
got his eye on a Blues jumper this year too,
so I think he could really take off. But I
also think base Ta Langey. Last year was obviously a
bit of a different year for him. He was in
a very new position, playing in five eighth after playing
in the centers at the Eels, and I just think
his combination with Nathan Cleary is going to get better.
He's going to get more confident. We saw glimpses of
his brilliance last year and I just feel like I
think he's ready to really take Jerome Lewis jumper once
and for all this year. So yeah, I go with
Casey McLean and Blaze to Lungey for for huge years
for Penrith.
Speaker 2: All right, well, yeah, I am going to go Casey
McLean as well in the sense that look a few
years ago, when we got rid of we can get
rid of, but when we allowed Stephen Crichton to walk
away in some tricky circumstances around. It probably got a
bit messy there in terms of offers and whatever else.
But we let him go partly because in you know,
the back of the heads of Ivan Cleary and Matt
Cameron was we think we've got one better and the
ceiling on Casey McLean is huge and I think this
is probably the big year for him, without without question.
I also think it's it's funny to say this, he's
played for Australia, but Lindsay Smith just re signed you know,
local product. I actually think, you know, he could be
in for a really big year this year. I think that,
you know, James Fisher Harris obviously leaving wasn't expected, so
it was kind of thrust into that a little bit
more earlier than we would have thought. This is the
right time for me, Yes, this is his time.
Speaker 1: He's twenty six. Yeah, he's had a couple of games
for Australia. Now he really should be being that lead
forward alongside Moses Leota this year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, And there will be of course, I'm sure
there'll be a surprise. There'll be a surprise here. It
comes out of the out of the work, all right,
Nathan time of the price is right, a budget increase
on the price is right. What so if you get
it right, which means I buy it for you of course,
and the price is right is where we jump onto
the Panthers shop and I go to Nathan with an
item and he has to get it right within fifty
cents yep. And if he does, then I will buy
him the item. And if he doesn't, early doesn't get
it so he gets it wrong. That's what you're going
to hear.
Speaker 1: Oh, that's our budget increase.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the budget we got. And if you get
it right, which you ay yet to hear yet, you'll
be hearing this all right, Okay, okay, we go all right,
So two items is always Nathan and we are kicking
things off with the Panthers Neon light. Elevate your mood
with the official pen with Panthers Neon Light. It's official
NRL merchandise. It's a PBC and Neon light with a
team logo. The Panthers logo is on it there. It's
thirty three centimeters by thirty three centimeters by one point
six thirty three. It's pretty big, yep. Got the logo
on the plastic base does require three triple A batteries,
which aren't included, right, they're not included.
Speaker 1: It's not a plastic base something you stick on your wall.
Speaker 2: No, no, no, not not something you'd stick on your wall.
It's it's something you'd probably put on your bedside table,
I guess.
Speaker 1: And it's a a neon light, like like the old
school neon.
Speaker 2: Yep, here you go there it is, oh.
Speaker 1: One of those Oh okay, no, I I was thinking
it was something else.
Speaker 2: So you can get that now at the Panther shop.
What do you think, I'm going to say.
Speaker 1: That's probably around the fifty five dollar mark.
Speaker 2: Troy fifty five, let's let's find out thirty. So that's
a bargain.
Speaker 1: That's pretty cheap.
Speaker 2: Yes, that's an absolute bargain. You should.
Speaker 1: I've actually got a neon light at home. It's a
little bit smaller than that. Well, it's a Panthers one,
and I think they sell them at the shopping centers
around Christmas time. That's they change colors and all that
sort of thing. But that's that's a pretty good deal, all.
Speaker 2: Right, well, Nason. Next up on the prices right today
is a Panthers hard cover notebook it's a great place
to keep notes or ideas for any Panther span. The
notebook features the current Panthers logo and the heritage logo
on the front cover. It's an A five hard cover notebook,
all right, six pages, okay, and it's got seven millimeters
ruled lines. It's double y bound, double y bound. It's great.
Speaker 1: It's just a note no patchessentially glorified notepad.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 1: There's no no diary, no dates or anything, just.
Speaker 2: Your notes for the day, just notes.
Speaker 1: But it's quite large. I was a four. A five
that's a little bit smaller than a four.
Speaker 2: What do you think you can you get this within
fifty cents?
Speaker 1: I reckon? That could be twenty five dollars, Troy.
Speaker 2: Okay, let's find out you're overstating things this week. It's
ten dollars ninety nine? Oh really, you can get that?
But ten I got the.
Speaker 1: Double spiral and you know the hard color.
Speaker 2: Would have show you members? Can it for nine?
Speaker 1: Can I have a look at it? Can you keep
that screen around other than you?
Speaker 2: It was that?
Speaker 1: That's just something. Yeah, that's yeah, that's probably worth what
it says. It's very hard, folks, because what people to
understand is I'm not seeing what these images look like.
I'm just going based on his description because he's got
the price on the screen, so I can't actually see
let's see what they look like. That makes it a
lot trickier.
Speaker 2: You might still you might get there for the end
of the season.
Speaker 1: I did get a good Panthers item overnight.
Speaker 2: Actually, would you get well?
Speaker 1: Because my birthday yesterday, my uncle Peter, he always gets
me a Panthers gift because he knows I like basketball
as well. He got me a fusion present, so Panthers
and the Panther shop is selling Panthers basketball jerseys. Really, yes,
so I picked up one of those and he had
the price on it still, So if you said that,
I would have known what it was, but I was, yeah,
that's that was a really cool gift. Actually, so combines
my two passions in one fusion.
Speaker 2: Very good. Well. Actually, last night I also got a
Panthers gift because we had the Panthers Player Partner night. Yes,
I didn't attend, but there was a little gift for
me and it's the sixtieth anniversary pin I saw that.
Speaker 1: Yes, I actually did get a sneak peek of that
before you came in today, Troy, and I was like, oh.
Speaker 2: Like those pins, Yeah, very good. And we've also got
signed jersey which is actually going to one of our
very proud clients, signed twenty twenty six hopefully Premiers jersey
I'm in there, and very nice little bits of other pieces.
But yeah, all the player partners were sorted out last night,
so I think everyone hopefully happy with their results. They
go all the way to nineteen this year.
Speaker 1: Wow, so that you get a few extras on there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, So I don't know if you how that
works really, because if you've ended up with nineteen, they
might not even run on the field.
Speaker 1: Well yeah, no, they might not get mentioned at all. Anyway,
I'm sure you mentioned any new new news on the
new South Wales Cup coach Troy.
Speaker 2: Of course, yes, we didn't go through that so yes,
so we all heard that there was going to be
you know, Matt eisenh Now there's a bit of confusion
over this because Matt Eisenheath of course is still in
the Panthers top.
Speaker 1: Thirty sward at the moment.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but there was some talk that he may actually
end up retiring and that he was going to coach
the new South Wales Cup team. Now, weirdly, we have
not seen any announcement about the new South Wales Cup coach.
In fact, you asked the club the other week and
they were kind of like, well, we don't have an
announcement to make.
Speaker 1: This was a week before the trial started and they
said we don't have a new South Walest Cup coach.
Speaker 2: Yes, indeed, now I believe Nathan, we've announced a team.
Have we announced a coach? Here's a question, you tell me, Well,
let me tell you we have not.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: So on Panthers Twitter today they put up the Jersey
Flag team and it says Scott Thompson has named his squad.
Then we put up the NRL team Ivan Cleary names
his first squad six. Then we put up the new
South Wales Cup team and it says the new South
Walest Cup squad has been named. So we do not
have a coach.
Speaker 1: This is the first time in Roagby League history that
a team is going to be running out in a
professional competition without a coach.
Speaker 2: Well it could be. I mean, so isn't Matt either
the coach?
Speaker 1: Is is he named in the Cup team at all?
Speaker 2: To play yes, no, certainly not.
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, no, Look I.
Speaker 2: Don't know what's going on there, but I don't surely
you can't go into a season without a coach.
Speaker 1: I know, like this is that is fastic honkers.
Speaker 2: Well, hopefully we get some clarification from that when you
when you see the team down there tomorrow and we
try and find out exactly what's happening. But yeah, there
is no new South Wales Cup coach named so wow,
good luck to them, haven't We don't have to get
a spray from any one a half time. Bring someone
in from the crowd. It's Mary's leagues.
Speaker 1: Maybe Ivan's is going to do both teams.
Speaker 2: He's probably cold. Maybe that's why he's not listed on
our website. Yeah, yeah, all right, wellok that is it
foratent to junn High. This week we no the footy
back goes. Our new episode's out every week. Visit Western Weekend,
that dot com dot a you follow us on all
the socials. Check out our print edition which is out
every Thursday, including the return of Extra Time this week
with some nifty new little features in there as well,
So make sure you check that out. I'm sure it.
Odd's Nathan thanks very much for joining me, Thanks True,
and of course thank you to our sponsor, Penris City
Automotive for joining us as well. We'll see you next week.
On tensions running high, go to the Panthers,