How important is that piece, not only to you as an individual, but I guess to the squad more widely that yeah, you know, you connect back to what it means to wear the Kiwis jumper and what it means to, you know, Kiwi and New Zealand Rugby League?

Yeah, definitely.

The, that definitely means a lot.

Obviously, yeah, like you said, you gotta get your, your stuff right on the field.

But I think for, um, you know, the boys and the staff at Kiwis, they kinda take care of off-field resting, kinda let it happen.

I suppose there's, you know, we get heaps of old players, ex-players come and, you know, share their stories, and we get to kinda connect to our history, which I think it's a cool thing as well.

Obviously led by Captain Fish.

But just International Rugby League, you know, h- what does it mean to you? How, I guess, excited do you get by not only playing International Rugby League, but in a Rugby League World Cup?

What have you seen from him this year?

Um, honestly, I think it's just kind of, he's flourished into, you know, the role that not just the team needs, but he wanted to be as well.

Kind of, you know, he runs a little bit more, he does, he gets control of it, but I think he's kind of, you know, just opening up to, you know, playing how he wants to play.

You know, there's obviously, we've got our structures, we've got what we need to do, but, you know, he does best, you know, when he's just looking, looking and playing what he sees.

So it's kind of, it's cool to be a part of that, you know, be on the outside of that couple of tries, it often does help as well.

How did that translate into returning to Penrith and NRL footy?

Yeah, I suppose, you know, you get to gain a fair bit of confidence from that.

You know, I'm very lucky and grateful enough that, you know, Loz did give me the call and the opportunity to, you know, even sit on the bench, let alone get on the field.

How was your State of Origins experience? I know you only got the one game, the 23 minutes, but how was that experience for you, Case?

Honestly, it was probably definitely a childhood dream come true.

When the rule did get announced that, you know, if you live there, you can play.

So kind of that little inner child of me kind of, you know, blew up.

You know, getting on the field for the 23 minutes, like you said, it was like, Still such a surreal moment.

Just kind of grateful enough to be in the conversation to go on to camp, let alone play.

So it's kind of still such a pinching moment now.

You told us about playing for New South Wales, but the ability, and you did it again at a very young age, to represent New Zealand, Casey, and what that meant for you and your family.

I, I know you only got the, the one game, the 23 minutes, but how was that experience for you, Case?

No.

Honestly, yeah, it was probably definitely a childhood dream come true.

You know, when the, when the rule did get announced that, you know, if you, if you lived here you can play, um, so kind of that, that little inner child of me kind of, you know, blew up and, you know.

Suppose getting on the field just for the 23 minutes, like you said, is like, still such a surreal moment.

Just kind of, kind of grateful enough to be in the conversation to go into the camp, so let alone play.

So yeah, just kind of still such a pinching moment now when I'm thinking back to it.

And what that meant for you and your family.

How was your State of Origins experience? I know you only got the one game, the 23 minutes, but how was that experience for you, Case?

Honestly, yeah, it was probably definitely a childhood dream come true.

You know, when the rule did get announced that, you know, if you live there, you can play.

So kind of that little inner child of me kind of, you know, blew up and, you know, getting on the field for the 23 minutes, like you said, it was like, Still such a surreal moment, just kind of grateful enough to be in the conversation to go on to camp, so let alone play.

So it's kind of still such a pinching moment now and I'm thinking back to it.

You told us about playing for New South Wales, but the ability, and you did it again at a very young age, to represent New Zealand, Casey, and what that meant for you and your family.

Yeah, no, again, like I said, it's still like a, such a surreal moment to be able to, you know, put my last name on the back for, you know, not just myself, but my family, you know, kind of the sacrifices and all that they've made for, not just myself, but, you know, my siblings as well.

So kind of, I'm just grateful enough to have the opportunity to, you know, be able to represent them, my family back home as well.

Can you describe sort of what this bill would encompass if it were to go through?

Yeah, so what this bill is going to do is take what they have been doing at Bonneville Dam since, I want to say 2008, which they have been removing sea lions at the dam during that time frame, however many years that is, quite a few.

And this is going to expand that throughout the entire Salish Sea.

So all of Washington waters will now be ground for removing or killing of seals and sea lions.

This could lead to a pretty indiscriminate pulse.

It would include three different species, harbor seals, California sea lions, and stellar sea lions.

And that truly is unprecedented for the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

But what else are we talking about? As some of the real issues when it comes to salmon recovery.

Yeah.

And that's a medical condition that seals had to be euthanized for in rehabilitation facilities before our colleagues in Canada figured out a way to potentially treat this.

So they shared that at a scientific conference, and we went, "Hey, we have cases like that.

Let's see if we can treat our cases, too." And now we've got a scientific study that's spanning from BC all the way down the coast and over into Connecticut.

Mm-hmm

...

but looks healthy.

I still think there's so many things that you can't tell by just looking at them, that you should just call, just to be on the safe side.

So that obviously means that if named tomorrow, you'll be there and right to wear that blue jersey again.

Yeah, hopefully so.

Um, you know, obviously just leaving, you know, lots with that decision.

Uh, but then yeah, a- again, just grateful enough to be a part of that crew, you know, just for one game and, yeah, just hopefully it comes again.

What a great win by the club.

Yeah, 100%.

Um, you know, I suppose, you know, Origin boys come back, you know, Skippers and Vunza, you know, they're a big boost to this team, but I think it's also the boys, you know, trying to, you know, lift for them as well, you know, do, just do their job and, you know, they do it real well.

Casey, could you believe it when you had to get called into the game so late?

No, I don't think...

I was kind of just sitting there, just seeing what happened, and I thought he got off already, and then heard my name get called, and then, you know, the nerve struck, and it was just, yeah, it happened.

How was it out there, those final few minutes? So frantic, you had plenty of possession, you were coming home strong, and Teddy jumps up above everyone, gets the game winner.

Oh yeah, honestly, he's, you know, now he just got told he's the third most capped blue in history, so, you know, special reps to him, and, you know, I was lucky enough to front row seats for that catch.

So, you know, just seeing that end up, you know, in the flesh there, it's kind of so special.

Casey, could you believe it when you had to get called into the game so late?

No, I don't think...

I was kind of just sitting there, just seeing what happened, and I thought he got up already, and then heard my name get called, and then, you know, the nerve struck, and it was just, yeah, it happened.

You were coming home strong, and Teddy jumps up above everyone, gets the game winner.

Oh, yeah, honestly, he's, you know, now we just got told he's the third most capped blue in history, so, you know, special reps to him.

And, you know, I was lucky enough to run receipts for that catch.

So, you know, just seeing that end up, you know, in the flesh there, it's kind of so special.

Will you guys spend a bit of time kind of talking about how you can come together and think about this as a long-term goal come the end of the year?

I suppose you could look at it like that, but at the end of the day, just you've got to do one job at a time.

You know, those boys...

Those boys that are, you know, representing New Zealand, I suppose they'll have that in the back of their mind, but they've got to do this job first, you know.

There's no, you can't really think too far ahead of yourself.

So it's just, you know, keeping in the moment, you know, not getting, staying present, not just getting out, thinking about things that will happen eventually.

How was that for you? And, you know, like going through pretty impressive display from you and the Kiwis.

Yeah, no, it was unreal.

Will you guys spend a bit of time kind of talking about how you can come together and think about this as a long-term goal come the end of the year?

I suppose you could look at it like that, but at the end of the day, just you've got to do one job at a time.

You know, those boys...

Those boys that are, you know, representing New Zealand, I suppose they'll have that in the back of their mind, but they've got to do this job first, you know.

There's no, you can't really think too far ahead of yourself.

So it's just, you know, keeping in the moment, you know, not getting, staying present, not just getting out, thinking about things that will happen eventually.

How was that for you? And, you know, like going through pretty impressive display from you and the Kiwis.

Yeah, no, it was unreal.

Jesse, what does the family aspect to you mean when it comes to putting on any jersey and going out there and playing football?

No, it's unreal.

Yeah, it's a big part of probably the reason why I'm still, why I'm playing.

I think especially for this New Zealand jersey, I think it's just to, you know, be able to represent, you know, where I come from and especially my family back over here kind of allowed me to, didn't have the opportunity to grow up in New Zealand.

So this is probably how I think I can repay them back.

But it's just, yeah, it's a big thing for me.

You know, it helps me drive to be where I am today, I suppose.

So how good has he been in this group, and do you enjoy working with him?

Jesse, what does the family aspect to you mean when it comes to putting on any jersey and going out there and playing football?

No, it's unreal.

Yeah, it's a big part of probably the reason why I'm still, why I'm playing.

I think especially for this New Zealand jersey, I think it's just to, you know, be able to represent, you know, where I come from and especially my family back over here kind of allowed me to, didn't have the opportunity to grow up in New Zealand.

So this is probably how I think I can repay them back.

But it's just, yeah, it's a big thing for me.

You know, it helps me drive to be where I am today, I suppose.

So how good has he been in this group, and are you enjoying working with him?