The Mike Hosking Breakfast Newstalk ZB

Dare I suggest that of all the wins we have seen this season, and there have been no shortage of them, that yesterday at Mt Smart, the first home game of the season, was the best of the lot.

Here's a fun stat: when the Warriors won three out of four in the early 2000's and then in 2018 we went to the final.

It's way too early to say that this time. Or is it?  

But you would have to be a miserable old sod not to be encouraged and uplifted by what we have seen so far this season.

By the way, in a note on sport in Auckland, as the Warriors played the Bulldogs and the Blues were playing the Force, the crowd size could not have been starker.

The Warriors had thousands of spectators and the Blues had a handful.

I know the Force aren't the Crusaders. But it is more than fair to suggest that the Warriors against anyone get a good crowd, while rugby has real issues of engagement.

Anyway, back to the Warriors.

We were behind for most of the game but even in saying that, we were there or thereabouts.

If you haven't followed the season closely, at all stages we have looked markedly better than we have in years.

The recruiting and Coach Webster's influence has made a material difference and what a joy it is to watch.

I mentioned Shaun Johnson last week and I mention him again because he is the player of old.

He is clearly the bloke who thrives in the right environment because what he did yesterday, and so far this season, is what we once saw on a regular basis before it all went a bit pear-shaped.

Another positive - some of the mistakes we made earlier in the season, the simple stuff like dropping the ball, seemed to have been fixed. We were solid, reliable, consistent, good in defence and good when we had the ball.

Ultimately, when you look at things like momentum we, at all times, looked like the side that was more likely to make some sort of breakthrough.

Check the table because we are right up there. So far this season we are the real deal and there is very little to not be thrilled about.

How about we call it?

This is our year.  
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My working theory for this year's election was re-enforced Saturday night in New South Wales.

My working theory for the October election here is that the damage for Labour is done.

Chris Hipkins can burn as much policy as he wants and the media can write about him being more popular than the predecessor over and over. The key is, the damage is done and the rot has set in.

You have a recession, you have crime touching each and every one of us, you have the myriad of problems we have discussed and debated over and over again.

Essentially, the Government has been found out to be useless and time has killed them.

Time kills all Governments eventually. It just depends how good you are as to how much time you get.

In New South Wales on Saturday night Chris Minns won by a mile and yet, for the past few weeks, the polls had told us it was neck and neck.

There was a general sense that the coalition was out of time, that they most likely would not win.

But most pundits, based on polling, were predicting a close Labour win as a minority Government, with the help of the Greens or Teals or Independents needed.

It didn’t come to pass and the polls were wrong, which goes to my theory, like here, the decision was made. Polls are irrelevant - what you might say is not what you might do.

People subconsciously decide what's right and what isn't, what's working and what isn't.

Gladys Berejiklian was run out of office on a trumped-up charge of some crooked behaviour, a verdict, by the way, that still hasn’t been returned. The replacement was OK, but he wasn’t Gladys.

The state is beset with all sorts of mess including endless public transport issues and essentially people decided, and decided a long time ago, when they next got a chance to send a message, they would.

And they did.

On Saturday night Labour piled across the line with room to spare.

The close race wasn’t close, the polls weren't right. The same thing, my gut says, has and is happening here.

Read the polls if you want, fall for the headlines if you like.

But here's my bet - come Saturday night October 14, the same story will unfold here.

We have already decided and the poll on the night won't be anywhere near like the polls you see at the moment.
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A free week away - but with a catch

More than 50 people are being fed, watered, and housed in the small west coast community of Okarito this week, as part of this year’s GorseBusters working bee.

Those who attend will get to work in helping remove rubbish and invasive weeds from the town's coastal wetlands.

Organiser and local business owner Barry Hughes says that while the environment has greatly improved three years on, the communal and social value has become just as important.

He says it's a social event with musicians, talks, quizzes, and even a marriage in 2022 for a couple who met there the previous year.

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The US town of Rolling Fork has been utterly devastated by a deadly tornado.

At least 26 people have died in Alabama and Mississippi, dozens are injured, and thousands of homes have been destroyed after the storms surged through the states.

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that there were trailers flipped over, mangled cars, and buildings torn open with residents inside.

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Nearly 15-million-dollars has been paid out in the three months since the Government hiked the dental grant.

In December the annual amount jumped from 300 dollars to one-thousand.

The number of people accessing the fund has doubled to nearly 20-thousand.

Dental Association spokesperson Rob Beaglehole says that the high uptake highlights a huge amount of pain, suffering, and untapped need.

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National says that the Posie Parker rally wasn't a good look for New Zealand.

Thousands protested Parker's planned speaking tour over the weekend.

Scuffles broke out at Saturday's Auckland rally in Albert Park, and Parker called it off after having tomato juice poured over her.

Green MP Marama Davidson —who was in the crowd— was hit by a motorcycle and required medical attention.

National Leader Chris Luxon told Mike Hosking that they believe in the right to protest, but also in the right to free speech.

He says that from coverage he's seen, the vast majority of people were peaceful but throwing liquid on someone is intimidating behaviour.

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