The Examiner’s Ben Hann, Brian Allen and Josh Partridge unpack and discuss the sports news across Northern Tasmania.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Hello one and all, and welcome to another episode
00:09 of the Pressbox, episode 41 today.
00:11 I'm joined once again by Josh Partridge and Brian Allen.
00:15 Rob's still walking across every inch of Tasmania,
00:18 so he is still away.
00:20 On today's episode, we have the Tasmania Jackjumpers,
00:23 we've got Cricket North, and we've also got the MTFA
00:26 with their new fixtures, but first of all, Brian Allen.
00:30 How was your weekend being a Swifty?
00:33 - Yeah, it was fantastic, mate.
00:35 Yeah, we went on Friday night, and yeah,
00:39 obviously that was the first night of her Melbourne shows,
00:42 and I guess, yeah, I was really jealous of Ed Sheeran
00:47 playing at the MCG last year, and just to watch that
00:51 from afar and see that he got about 100,000 people
00:54 to the G, it doesn't really matter who's playing,
00:57 you just wanna be there, and Melbourne just absolutely
01:01 lapped it up, like, there was everyone in their outfits
01:05 around the city across the three days,
01:09 there was all this buzz just flying over,
01:11 or I'm sure it was for everyone traveling to Melbourne.
01:14 Then the concert itself, like Taylor Swift's
01:18 just high quality from start to finish,
01:20 like, I reckon her voice, like, her talking voice
01:24 might not have even been 100% 'cause like,
01:26 she's having to work so hard, but like,
01:29 I reckon when she was talking, I was like,
01:31 oh, I reckon she's, you know, her voice is a little harsh
01:36 or something, you know, it's not 100%,
01:38 but then she just sings beautifully
01:40 and goes through the different genres so well,
01:43 and yeah, just like the way she's able to adjust,
01:47 so I was really impressed by that,
01:48 and it was just like, just being there was like,
01:52 all the cheering, like there's parts where she just gets
01:55 everyone to cheer for like 10 minutes straight,
01:57 and just like, when you have 96,000 people,
02:01 it's like, kind of, you know, that deafening sort of
02:05 screaming that, and it's the stadium,
02:08 or I think you could feel like the stadium,
02:11 the MCG shaking a bit, and that was just so cool
02:14 to be a part of, and there was like a bit of a lighting,
02:17 spectacular with these wristbands
02:21 that they gave you on the way in, so yeah,
02:23 it was so good to be a part of, and it was, yeah,
02:26 like obviously I'm sporty and everything,
02:28 and been to the G in so many ways over the years,
02:33 whether it be fully or otherwise,
02:34 and to go for such a spectacle like this was awesome.
02:38 - Yeah, 100%, the Pressbox home of all things Taylor Swift.
02:41 We will get on to the sport now, though,
02:44 Josh and I had a rather quiet weekend, it must be said,
02:47 although we'll kick off with the Jackjumpers,
02:50 so I spoke with Christine Finnegan,
02:52 who is the CEO of the Tasmanian Jackjumpers, yesterday.
02:56 Following the announcement that they'll be playing
02:58 Illawarra next Wednesday, the 28th of February,
03:02 at 5.30 p.m., doesn't sound ideal,
03:05 having a game that early on a weeknight.
03:08 It is a little bit different for Launceston
03:12 Jackjumpers fans, it's a day off, public holiday,
03:15 because of the Launceston Cup,
03:16 but then that also produces another issue
03:18 where people are going to be at the Launceston Cup,
03:20 they won't be able to go to the game.
03:21 I did speak to Christine about that,
03:23 she said, "Nothing we can do about it,
03:24 "but work with Tas Racing,
03:26 "there's going to be a big screen up at the races,
03:29 "so that won't be an issue."
03:31 That sounds like it's all going to be fine.
03:33 But the bigger thing that came out of my conversation
03:36 with her was, just sort of speaking about,
03:39 obviously there's an election coming up,
03:41 this is when sporting codes like to try
03:42 and put their requests down,
03:45 and their requests, major requests,
03:47 is to improve the Silver Dome.
03:49 This is what she said, she said,
03:51 "Part of the agreement of bringing an NBL team to Tasmania
03:54 "was that we would upgrade the facilities of the Silver Dome,
03:57 "and should the facilities get the upgrade
03:59 "they actually require to get it to the standards
04:02 "that other teams and ourselves expect to play in,
04:05 "then we'll be taking finals games to Launceston
04:07 "in the future."
04:09 I wonder what you, as a boy, think.
04:10 I think that's, should that be a true thing
04:14 that she's saying, massive.
04:15 - Yeah, it is, I suppose.
04:17 The only really final stuff that we've had here
04:19 was when UTAS hosted the AFL stuff during COVID.
04:22 So, to have a national code converge on Launceston
04:26 for arguably some of the biggest games of the season
04:29 would be unbelievable.
04:31 - Yeah, I think it's another step as well
04:33 to helping that brand of the Duck Jumpers
04:35 that they really want to be seen as an all-Tasmanian team.
04:39 How much would that help aid that cause of failure
04:42 to get an improved Silver Dome?
04:44 - Yeah, I've reported on this across the last two years.
04:48 The Silver Dome is obviously,
04:50 it's not the idea for the Jack Jumpers
04:54 and they haven't had a great record here either,
04:58 but I suppose that doesn't really matter.
05:00 It's just about feeling comfortable in the venue
05:01 and feeling like it's suitable for,
05:04 they get to settle out crowds
05:06 and there's such an appetite up here
05:10 for basketball that's real.
05:13 I don't, yeah, it's not like it's just a craze
05:17 that's lasted one year.
05:18 It's been sustained over three years now.
05:20 So, I think, yeah, if we can offer a proper facility,
05:25 it can only be a good thing.
05:27 Sounds like the Jack Jumpers want to come up here
05:30 and share these games, the big games.
05:33 - Right, 100%.
05:35 We will move along, though.
05:36 The next piece of chat I suppose we're going to talk about
05:39 is Cricket North.
05:41 Josh, you covered it this weekend.
05:43 How was it, you obviously had the buy in your own cricket,
05:46 so how was it being able to watch Westbury and South,
05:51 sorry, Westbury and Barbara kicking it out?
05:53 - Yeah, it's usually Brian's baby.
05:55 Well, not actually, he's got one of those himself,
05:58 but he handed the Cricket North sporting side of things
06:01 to me this weekend.
06:03 So, both Westbury and South Launceston
06:06 are really on top of their games at the moment.
06:08 Westbury are on top thanks to James Tyton.
06:10 He scored 135 his first century in Cricket North,
06:14 although he said he scored one in England,
06:16 which didn't really matter, was his words.
06:18 And he gave some really good quotes when I talked to him.
06:22 He said, "It means a fair bit.
06:24 "There's a lot of good players,
06:25 "especially in this competition,
06:26 "that probably haven't scored 100."
06:28 So, he was really honest and kind of open
06:30 about what it meant to him,
06:31 especially he's someone that grew up at Westbury
06:34 and then went away to La Trobe for a couple of years,
06:37 and he said he just needed to grow up a bit
06:38 and kind of find himself outside of the Westbury environment.
06:41 And now he's back in his third year at Westbury
06:44 and he's having, obviously, a pretty good time.
06:45 So, fantastic for Turtle Tyson
06:48 to be able to put one of those together.
06:50 And then across at South Launceston,
06:53 young 16-year-old Lockie Taylor.
06:55 He scored 76 and put his side in a strong position.
06:58 And it's obviously always a fantastic part of our job
07:01 to see young kids really excelling at the top level.
07:05 And he's got a fantastic family around him too,
07:07 like his dad, Anthony, coached Lonnie and South Lonnie
07:10 and all that kind of thing.
07:11 And his mum, Lauren, actually taught me at high school.
07:13 So, they're a fantastic crew
07:16 and it's brilliant to see Lockie doing well
07:19 at the top level.
07:19 - Yeah, 100%.
07:20 And I suppose, with those individual performances in mind,
07:24 how do you see the state of play going into the second half?
07:26 - Yeah, so especially in that South Lonnie game,
07:29 they declared, they put themselves
07:32 in a pretty aggressive position
07:33 and then they got the big wicket of Lonnie Captain Cam Lynch
07:36 towards the back end of the day.
07:37 So, Lonnie are one for one chasing.
07:40 I think it was late 280s or something like that.
07:42 So, they're really on top.
07:44 And Westbury, obviously, anytime someone scores 100,
07:48 it really puts them in a dominant position.
07:49 So, they're sitting nicely going into day two.
07:53 - Right, and our third agenda item of the day is MTFA.
07:56 They announced their fixtures for all four senior competitions
08:00 under 18 still being figured out as we speak.
08:03 Now, my biggest takeaway from the day,
08:06 from the announcement was,
08:08 the amount of Friday night fixtures
08:09 women's football is getting.
08:11 Obviously, now with the 14th team,
08:13 St. Pat's coming to the competition,
08:16 I think there's probably been a bit of a contingency plan
08:19 to ensure that all these games get played
08:22 and there's not too much stress on clubs
08:25 to be able to put on four games a day, stuff like that.
08:28 So, I understand why they've done it.
08:31 There were, obviously, the Women's Gala Day,
08:36 held at Scottsdale.
08:37 What do you think about how big that is, I suppose,
08:39 for the club and for the community?
08:41 - Yeah, it's massive.
08:41 I mean, to have all of those games in the same place
08:45 and to be able to use two grounds at once
08:46 in the same venue is fantastic.
08:48 It's gotta be an absolute hub of activity
08:50 and it's gotta be so many people going through,
08:53 not just the Scottsdale footy facility,
08:55 but the community as well.
08:57 It's gotta be fantastic.
08:57 Cottage Bakery is gonna get an absolute workout, I think.
09:00 - Yeah, 100%.
09:01 And I suppose seeing a fixture just makes you more excited
09:04 for the footy season coming ahead.
09:05 - Yeah, it's coming so quickly.
09:07 Like, AFL starts on, I think, March the 7th.
09:09 We've got the pre-season clash coming up here
09:13 in early March between Hawthorne
09:15 and the Western Bulldogs at UTAS.
09:17 Yeah, that's gonna be really good.
09:18 Like, the Bulldogs have been, you know,
09:21 consistent the last few years.
09:22 They've been up there and then the Hawks
09:24 are always improving.
09:25 So, yeah, that'll be a good one for us in Monceston
09:30 to get to.
09:31 - Yeah, 100%.
09:32 I think that's all the time we have
09:33 for this week's Press Box.
09:35 Thank you for joining us once again.
09:36 We will see you next week.
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