For the first time in their 17-year history the Southland Sharks will play in a home Grand Final at ILT Stadium Southland against the Wellington Saints on Sunday. Head Coach Jonathan Yim reflects on his second year in Invercargill, what it's meant for his career and what makes this squad so special.

Then his on-court general, point guard Rylan Jones tells us the incredible story behind his signing with the Sharks and just how close he was to not playing basketball again.

Before then, Logan, Nathan and Nick look at the Sharks' two finals victories, another memorable occasion (in every way except the scoreboard) at Stag Day and a remarkeable finish to our Southlanders' Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

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Former Stag player and coach Matt Saunders joins The Roar to chat through Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa's elevation to the All Blacks and just what he saw in the man to push his case so hard to Super rugby franchises two seasons ago. Plus we chat through how difficult he found watching last Stag season and what he's hoping for on Saturday for Stag Day.

Before then, Logan, Nathan and Nick look at the big sport stories of the past week, including the Sharks NBL Elimination Final, the likely look of the Stags on Saturday and an incredible honour for Cycling Southland president Julian Ineson.

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Invercargill has landed a major coup securing Freestyle Kings Live for its only New Zealand show at Rugby Park on December 5th. We chat with TEG Sport's Nathan Brown and rider and Invercargill local Callum Shaw to find out how this has happened and the spectacular event we are in for in December.

You can pre-register for discounted pre-sale tickets before Wednesday 29th here: https://www.freestylekings.com/invercargill-2026/. Tickets go on sale to the general public via Ticketek on Thursday 30th July.

Before then, Logan, Nathan and Nick chat through the big sporting stories of the week including the Southland Stags injury woes, club rugby's biggest boil-over of the year, preview the Southlanders in action at the Commonwealth Games and eventually get around to talking about the Southland Sharks and Benson Boys' international podium in Chicago.

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Got a Southland sporting story or just some general banter to share? Email us at [email protected] and come back here every week for more from The Roar.

Plenty to get into this week as we review a barn-burner of a Galbraith Shield Final which saw the Eastern Northern Barbarians triumph in a heart-stopping extra-time finale. We hear from winning captain Morgy Mitchell who confirmed that Saturday was his last game of rugby, his halfback Charlie Marsh who was won of the Barba's best and Pirates Old Boys' Greg Dyer moments after the final whistle.

Plus our special guest this week has been on our hit-list for a while now. Black Sticks hockey international Benji Culhane joins The Roar to chat through the sliding door moment which led him to become a regular fixture in the national side and life as a semi-professional hockey player.

Before then, Logan, Nathan and Nick also look at the Southland Sharks' short-handed win over the Nelson Giants and Kate Heffernan's emergence as world netball's top midcourters.

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It's Galbraith Shield Final Week. We take you into both camps with the two men who will captain their respective side's in Saturday's decider, Barbarians captain Morgan Mitchell and Pirates Old Boys' Greg Dyer. These are two great chats with two great rugby men. Both are coming to the end of their playing careers and both have great tales to tell heading into this weekend's decider.

Before then Logan, Nathan and Nick look at the big stories from another busy week of Southland sport, including last week's club semi-finals, Southland Boys High capping their South Island Boys Rugby campaign with a dominant second half performance and an international edition of your favourite segment "Wedding Watch."

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Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel netball coach Wendy Frew looks back at the 2026 season which saw her charges make it all the way to the Grand Final, the result of which still hurts! And in true Frew fashion she gives a very open and honest look at the frustration the netball community is feeling over the lack of clarity about the national league going forward.

Before then Logan, Nathan and Nick look at the big stories of the past week, includng the Sharks vital NBL win over the Canterbury Rams on Wednesday night along with this weekend's upcoming Galbraith Shield club rugby semifinals.

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The ILT Southland Sportsperson of the Year, Jacob Duffy, joins The Roar to talk about his experience in the Indian Premier League and what comes next after a history breaking calendar year in 2025.

We also hear from Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel defender Carys Stythe and coach Wendy Frew ahead of the ANZ Premiership Grand Final and chat through the Steel's elimination final victory, the Southland Sharks push towards the NBL Finals series and the crazy scenes around Southland rugby grounds on Saturday.

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Got a Southland sporting story or just some general banter to share? Email us at [email protected] and come back here every week for more from The Roar.

Plenty to get into this week including the Southern Steel's victory over the Canterbury Tactix to confirm a home Elimination Final in netball's ANZ Premiership and we review the 2026 ILT Southland Sports Awards and hear from winners Jacob Duffy, Jimmy Taylor, Jonathan Yim, the Southland Sharks and Julie O'Connell.

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Got a Southland sporting story or just some general banter to share? Email us at [email protected] and come back here every week for more from The Roar.

Rugby league in the south has been going from strength-to-strength over recent years, capitalising on the profile of the NRL and the NZ Warriors. Southland Rugby League's Development Officer (and sole staff member) Dominic Vercoe joins The Roar to look at his rugby league journey and at the secrets to the code's growth.

Before then Logan and Nick take a walk through a very busy two weeks of news, including the Sharks' nine-game winning streak and the resilience the Steel showed in beating the Stars following the loss of captain and cornerstone Kimiora Poi.
  
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Got a Southland sporting story or just some general banter to share? Email us at [email protected] and come back here every week for more from The Roar.

NZ U20 rugby representative Jackson Hughan joins The Roar to talk through his experience on tour to South Africa with the 2026 squad for the U20 Rugby Championship and on his tatse of NPC rugby with the Southland Stags last season.

Before then Logan, Nathan & Nick chat through the last week's sporting headlines including contrasting victories for the Southland Sharks and Southern Steel and the incredible line up of nominees for the ILT Southland Sports Awards.

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Got a Southland sporting story or just some general banter to share? Email us at [email protected] and come back here every week for more from The Roar.