00:00Look, I think it'll be completely different, like this will be like no league that I've
00:04played in.
00:05For one, I don't really know any of the guys on my team personally, I know them all sort
00:10of from playing against them.
00:12So I think there'll be, you know, a lot of challenges, a lot of different cultures and,
00:18you know, different languages.
00:20But it's also pretty exciting to see how many amazing players are in each team and, you
00:26know, what sort of hockey we can come together and play.
00:30Look, I don't actually know because I haven't really done it before.
00:33I think it will be difficult, but I think whatever team can do it the best and the quickest
00:39will probably be the most successful team in the league.
00:43You know, all the teams have the same amount of budget and, you know, everyone should be
00:47on a similar playing level.
00:49So that could be a pretty big advantage for whatever team can gel and create the greatest
00:56culture.
00:57Yeah, yeah.
00:58It's hard.
00:59But, you know, like I've learned a lot, I've grown a lot as a person and also as a hockey
01:03player.
01:04These are experiences that, you know, I'm so grateful that I've had and I've learned
01:08a lot from.
01:10And I think this one to India is going to be very different to them all.
01:14So, you know, this is going to be, it's going to be a challenge, but if it goes well, it
01:18will be very rewarding.
01:20Yeah, like hockey's not so big in New Zealand.
01:24When you're a kid, you want to play for the All Blacks and you want to be a rugby player.
01:29And nowadays, you know, the cricket team's doing very well.
01:31So everyone wants to be a rugby player or a cricket player.
01:35So for me, all my friends, you know, they sort of, they didn't really play hockey and
01:39there were pressures to play hockey throughout school.
01:45But you know, I saw a pathway into playing hockey and, you know, I didn't expect to be
01:52able to do this professionally, but now I can do it as a full time job and I'm really
01:57glad that I did go down this track.
02:00And I also like, you know, being able to encourage the youth to do this and, you know, know that
02:08there's a pathway for them if they would like to play hockey for a career.
02:11Yeah, that's a good question.
02:13I mean, firstly, financially, it's awesome.
02:16It takes a lot of pressure off because, you know, a lot of hockey players aren't on great
02:21budgets.
02:23So that will allow us to dedicate more time to being the best athletes we can be.
02:28But also, you know, just experiencing another culture.
02:32Typically, when I go to India, it's for three weeks.
02:34This time it's for six.
02:35So, you know, we'll really be submerged in it and, you know, I hope we get out and meet
02:41the fans and get to experience like a little bit more of that culture.
02:47And that's something that I'll take away with me for a long time.
02:49Yeah, like New Zealand's been very strong at hockey in the past.
02:52I think Rio we got fourth, London we might have done pretty well as well.
03:00So it's cool to see some of the New Zealand girls getting the acknowledgement they deserve.
03:05For me, like I would love to get down and watch some of the games and support my fellow
03:10Kiwis.
03:12But I think it's a great step forward for hockey worldwide to not only have the men's
03:16comp, but also, you know, for the women as well.
03:20I think young women would all love to be coming to India and playing here for six weeks.
03:25Yeah, look, everyone I've spoken to absolutely loved their time.
03:30You know, I think Nick Wilson might have won with the Runchie Rhinos and I think Simon's
03:34done pretty well as well with the Delhi Wave Riders.
03:37So, you know, they just said go there, go with an open mind, try and experience everything.
03:46You know, I guess you want to open up and try and take from it as much as you can.
03:51And I think in doing that, you probably give back a lot to the franchise and the team and
03:55the competition as well.
03:56Yeah, so I think on the short term horizon, the World Cup in Holland and Belgium will
04:01be an amazing tournament.
04:04So for me, that'll be the next thing that I'm focused on after the HIL.
04:09I'm also halfway through the season in Germany.
04:12We've got a great team there and we're currently top of the league, so it would be awesome
04:17to go back to Germany and, you know, maybe win the league there.
04:20And if we could do that in India, it would be a pretty amazing year.
04:24Yeah, so we have just started this new domestic competition in New Zealand and this is the
04:31first year.
04:32We haven't had one for a while, so it's a step in the right direction.
04:36We hope that we'll be able to get some international players come to New Zealand and that'll give
04:41a stepping stone into international hockey.
04:44Look, I think, you know, hockey's hard in New Zealand.
04:48We don't have a lot of funding, but if our players can go to Europe and we can go to
04:53India, we can be professional.
04:55I think that'll open up a few doors and, you know, I think that'll have the New Zealand
05:00team looking a bit stronger in the future.
05:03But, like for us, it would be great to get, you know, a medal at a World Cup or an Olympics
05:08and to follow that with a little bit more funding, because I think, you know, we probably
05:15don't have the support of the top teams at this stage, but that's also because we don't
05:20get the same results.
05:21So it is hard to get up there, but, you know, we have an ambitious country and federation.
05:27Look, it's really difficult.
05:29Currently there's only a handful of New Zealand players that are full-time professional, but
05:34even those guys study on the side.
05:36So, you know, a lot of us, we play hockey because we love the sport, firstly.
05:41We aren't playing it because we're getting a lot of money, but I think that also is cool.
05:47You know, we have a team that absolutely loves hockey.
05:49We love putting on the New Zealand shirt.
05:51So, you know, we're all passionate, we're all motivated to do our country proud.
05:58So I think that's one thing that sets the lower-ranked nations like New Zealand apart
06:03from the top.
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