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Triple M Rocks Footy NRL

The Journos Grill Charlie Over PNG Trip, Paul Gallen v James Bracey! And Should Meninga Do More For Perth?

06 May 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What insights did Charlie White gain from his trip to PNG?

0.757 - 11.461 Charlie White

Triple M footy lives on, listener. Thanks to McDonald's and Ream Hot Water. Triple M NRL Daily for Liquorland. Legendary. Choose to drink wise.

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12.504 - 12.724

Here we go!

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13.936 - 23.19 Adam Pengilly

The NRL is on Triple M. And we've got all the goss. Behind the scenes news on and off the field. From press conferences to inside the locker rooms.

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23.331 - 28.96 Unknown

I love being a part of it. I'm learning to feel real at the moment. It's a tough game to play.

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28.98 - 33.126 Adam Pengilly

Massive responsibility. Very, really good chance. On Triple M, this is NRL Daily.

33.983 - 44.902 Charlie White

Welcome to Triple M NRL Daily on your Wednesday, which means the journos edition. It's Charlie White here. I'm joined by two of my favourite journalists in rugby league. The great Adam Pengelly, the great Danny Wydler.

44.922 - 48.468 James Bracey

How are you, boys? Charlie, I thought we might have had Maroon hosting today.

49.469 - 53.216 Charlie White

After your little holiday. My jaunt. What are you calling it? Junket?

Chapter 2: How did Paul Gallen and James Bracey's debate unfold on 100% Footy?

53.276 - 63.576 Danny Weidler

I heard junket. I've got a new name for you. You've been going around being labelled Channel 7 Charlie. Yeah. I think it's Chief Charlie now, don't you? Yes. Chief Charlie is in the house.

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63.757 - 64.298 Liam Martin

I like that.

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64.518 - 81.253 Charlie White

Yeah. It was cool, though. We flew over Monday morning and got back late last night. It was a good trip. Well, tell us about it. I don't want to hear the good trip. Yeah, it came about very last minute. So Chammy called me on Thursday night. We were in here doing Women's State of Origin. He called me and I said, oh, mate, what's doing?

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81.273 - 94.179 Charlie White

And he said, do you and Jimmy want to come over to Port Moresby and check it all out? And I was like, oh, mate, sure. Let me ring Jimmy. Sussed it all out. Went along over and we got to see everything behind it. And you took other podcasters with him as well. They did, yeah.

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Chapter 3: What are the challenges faced by the Perth Bears in the NRL?

94.199 - 104.701 Charlie White

So the Hello Sport guys were there, which is Tom and Eddie and Levels were all there with Willie, Justin Horrow and Lukey, their producer there, who's a guru. Their producer's a gun.

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105.543 - 116.265 James Bracey

Super smart move from Chammy to do that, by the way. Yes. It's... a really intelligent way to approach things. And it just goes on the back of everything he did with the Jerome Buller stuff. Really smart.

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116.285 - 118.49 Charlie White

Yeah, Jerome Luai. Yeah, just moment.

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119.472 - 121.857 James Bracey

Sorry, Luai. I've got Buller on the mind.

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121.877 - 138.643 Charlie White

Yeah, we all got Buller on the mind. He's creamy. But no, it was an amazing trip and we got to see everything. So we got to see the airways facility where they're all going to be living. So they've got, it's just a hole in the ground basically right now where they're building their apartments. But you can see the facilities and everything that's there.

138.663 - 152.624 Charlie White

We saw, we went down to the beach and, you know, a lot of the local kids came and played footy and Justin Horrow and Willie Mason were out there with Jimmy Graham playing footy with the local kids. Jamie was there as well. Chammy was out there taking pictures. It's funny. Selfies of himself? Yeah, well, it's funny.

152.665 - 157.012 Charlie White

The kids come up to you and ask you to take a selfie with them because they don't have a phone.

Chapter 4: How does Mal Meninga's role impact the future of the Perth Bears?

157.052 - 160.458 Charlie White

So they want you to take a picture with them on your phone. Right. Yeah.

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160.538 - 161.139 Liam Martin

What happens to that?

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161.539 - 179.072 Charlie White

It's just on your phone, like nothing. But they just want to be, I guess, get the picture, but they haven't got their own phone, a lot of them. Mate, it was interesting you had about – 500 kids down there playing, and there was one footy. There was kids just doing, they were doing a thing called a 15-minute bronco, whereas you just keep doing a bronco as many as you can.

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179.212 - 183.24 Charlie White

That's the 1.2-kilometer test. Yeah, but you just keep it going, basically, for 15 minutes.

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183.52 - 186.286 James Bracey

I saw some of the scenes. It looked really good.

187.528 - 205.812 Charlie White

On the ground, how was it? Mate, for me, it's kind of like going to Bali. Like, it's a... Well, you're a singlet having bin tans and getting in blues? No, that's not my version of Bali. But it's kind of like there's... It's Bali, I guess, without the beach club party element to it. But it's a third world country.

205.832 - 215.729 Charlie White

Like, there's, I mean, a lot of poverty there and you drive around the streets and there's a lot of poverty. But then you're in this... which is very sheltered from that. Like in terms of safety for the players.

215.749 - 216.691 Danny Weidler

Did you feel safe? Completely safe.

Chapter 5: What was the significance of Latrell Mitchell breaking his media ban?

216.711 - 224.623 Charlie White

Did you feel safe? 100% safe. For me, for these players, they're going to be safer than players living in Sydney because they've got these security guards with you everywhere you go.

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224.643 - 225.645 James Bracey

So you have security wherever you go.

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225.665 - 243.439 Charlie White

You have security with you everywhere. Are you wearing your watch? Are you carrying your wallet? Oh, I didn't take my watch over just because I just didn't. I'm just leaning up to it. It's such a fancy watch. Yeah. Exactly. I didn't- 20 grand watch on Charlie's wrist. No, that's not true at all. That's a lie. No, it's a lie. Mate, it's like a $50 watch, $500 watch maybe.

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243.459 - 249.092 Charlie White

No, but yeah, it's completely safe. But it's safe because you're in that privileged position.

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249.232 - 250.475 James Bracey

It's safe because you've got a security guard.

250.495 - 250.936 Charlie White

Exactly.

251.036 - 253.682 James Bracey

Okay, so could you hop in the car and go for a drive?

253.662 - 260.55 Charlie White

If you're a player, I don't think you would, no. Can you go anywhere? As a player, I think you'd probably want to stay in the secure environment.

Chapter 6: How are player contracts affecting the recruitment strategies in the NRL?

260.57 - 276.787 Charlie White

You could definitely go out. You saw what we did, went down to the beach, but everyone sort of mobbed them because they're superstars. Like you go to the airport and the airport security is asking for selfies. Like everyone is rugby league mad. They're obsessed with it all. Go for a swim at the beach? I didn't go for a swim because I just had some pants on, but you could go for a swim there.

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276.807 - 277.508 Charlie White

Yeah, it's clean, yeah.

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277.688 - 280.952 James Bracey

So what about getting a bite to eat? Can you go out for a bite to eat?

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280.932 - 297.473 Charlie White

Well, there's restaurants within these resorts. Yeah, so there's a yacht club where all the players are going to be members of, this yacht club. In your city? No, that's outside. So that's where you get the car down. It's on the water there and you can get a view of the sunset. Mate, it's beautiful. Like it depends what you want as a footy player.

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297.453 - 308.849 Charlie White

If you're worried about the safety side of things, don't be worried about that at all because it's safe and there's enough to do. But what do you actually want to do as a footy player? Do you want to maximize your earning potential in your short career? Well, then go to PNG and do that.

309.129 - 320.545 Charlie White

But if you're a guy who loves his lifestyle, maybe lives in the Gold Coast, plays the Titans, loves living on the beach and having that relaxed lifestyle, maybe it's not for you. Like it all depends on who you are. And if you're a single – Young single bloke?

Chapter 7: What are the implications of tax-free contracts for players in PNG?

320.565 - 338.133 Charlie White

If I was single, I would not be going there because you're sort of in this – in condensed environment, whereas if you're single, you want to be able to go out and mingle and, you know, meet people and you can fly to Cairns, 45-minute flight to Cairns, but, like, I reckon it more suits families with young kids.

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338.434 - 344.163 James Bracey

So, and now for declaration, do you guys pay your way? No. Do you have to speak positively about it?

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344.203 - 352.477 Charlie White

No, mate, we can say whatever we want. Like, I mean, like I just said, if I was single, I probably wouldn't do it because... You know, like you don't – it's a bit too controlled an environment for me.

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352.617 - 372.731 James Bracey

So Zach Bailey's over there for nine, right? Yeah. Nine paid for him to go. Yeah. Because he wanted to be able to file independently and do everything, you know, for his own bat. And for the pictures I saw from his story, I feel like he did a couple of really nice stories about it, including with Willie Peter's wife as well over there. She's there now.

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373.212 - 373.292

Yep.

373.272 - 395.649 James Bracey

And, uh, she was talking glowingly about it. But when I was looking at the pictures of the facilities at the hotel and the actual place, I was thinking, uh, it's, it's not great. I mean, that was my, I mean, I'm looking from afar and, but I thought, I don't think I could be there forever. for two weeks, let alone two years. What was it like in there?

395.809 - 400.415 James Bracey

In terms of facilities, do you mean like the swimming pool? I mean, it looks old.

400.736 - 405.042 Charlie White

Yeah. Well, I guess the apartments they're going to be in are getting built, so they'll be brand new.

Chapter 8: What future developments can we expect for the PNG rugby league team?

405.062 - 410.669 Charlie White

They'll be state-of-the-art, brand new apartments. The... The gym isn't amazing. They've got a gym.

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410.829 - 411.69 James Bracey

Isn't or is.

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411.71 - 413.132 Charlie White

Isn't. It's a nice.

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413.172 - 414.093 James Bracey

But the players will get their own.

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414.113 - 422.923 Charlie White

Yeah, exactly. They'll have a center of excellence. But more for the partners and, you know, it's an okay gym. Tennis court looked a bit. Tennis court was fine. Pool. Pool's fine. There's a couple different pools.

423.303 - 425.926 James Bracey

Fine, but could you be there for more than a few nights?

427.367 - 438.812 Charlie White

I could be, but I don't think I'd be the right person to. I love my life back in Sydney. So I wouldn't, I don't really care. Once you earn a certain amount of money, As long as you can pay your bills, everything else, it doesn't really change your life, does it?

438.833 - 440.354 James Bracey

You're not a man of expensive tastes.

440.414 - 446.542 Danny Weidler

No, no. How big is the actual place where they're going to stay? Like in terms of land size?

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