Latest news with #Pete
NZ Autocar
a day ago
- Automotive
- NZ Autocar
2025 MG HS Essence Long Term
Having awarded the MG HS our Value Car of the Year award recently, it's been good to get a few more miles behind the wheel of this family SUV. And we'll get a few more over the coming months, having just started a long term relationship with it. What bagged the HS its award was not just its price vs spec credentials, but that it is also an honestly competent family SUV for the money. There are few compromises here. The ride is particularly pleasant for the grind around the suburbs. MG has come a long way, and in a short time in this regard. Where the previous generation models had both an underwhelming bump absorption and so-so roll control, this HS goes well. It favours ride comfort, soaking large bumps and speed humps without crashing into the bump stops like the old models did. But it's also got a better idea of roll control in bends too. The 1.5T engine gets into its torque quickly, the lag off the line minimal in the context of daily commuting. The take up of power from the dual-clutch transmission is refined when manoeuvring around slowly (parking and the like). And provided you give the brake pedal a quick pump when you're on an incline, the hill starts are smooth as well; that's not always a given with twin-clutch devices. The gearlever action is straightforward too, and quick acting when moving from R to D. What most buyers will appreciate is the overall refinement here; the trans is smooth, both the engine noise and vibrations are muted and road noise is acceptable. The interior quality has taken a big step up. The HS doesn't feel made to a price point, not too plasticky in other words. And without any odd odours emanating from the interior either. While the seat lacks a tilt adjustment for the squab, it is nice and soft while maintaining good support. Yes, the safety minders do go on; the overspeed warning chime would be slightly more tolerable if it just dinged once instead of thrice. And I'll try Pete's advice regarding the driver monitor and see if taping over it does work long term. These are some of the many features on the long, long specification list, the fitout good value for the $42,990 asked for this Essence grade variant. That's the top spec, but you can nab the ZS Vibe for just $36,990, outstanding value in 2025 for a family friendly SUV. That comes with dual 12-inch screens, CarPlay and Android Auto, a smart key, electric driver's seat adjustment, parking camera and the MG Pilot Safety Suite which includes active cruise control. But the $3K needed to upgrade to the mid-spec Excite is money well spent. Here you get 19s, synthetic leather, nav, the 360 surround camera and the iSmart app. The Essence has even more with a big panoramic sunroof, wireless charger, powered seats on both sides with heating too, a power tailgate, better audio and privacy glass. And in 2025, that's a lot of SUV for the money, especially when considering the 10-year warranty that MG offers. MG HS Essence$42,990 / 6.9L/100km / 156g/km 0-100 km/h 9.15s Engine 1496cc / IL4 / T Max power 125kW Max torque 275Nm Transmission 7-speed twin-clutch / FWD Weight (claimed) 1599kg
1News
2 days ago
- Sport
- 1News
Ryan Satterthwaite's family urge people not to take part in viral tackle game
The family of a 19-year-old who died after playing an impromptu tackle game based off a competition popularised on social media is urging people not to take part in the events. Ryan Satterthwaite suffered a serious head injury while playing a game based on the controversial craze with friends in Palmerston North. He died in hospital on Monday night. Events, where participants compete in full-contact collisions without protective gear, had gone viral on social media and raised concerns about concussion and brain injury. Pete Satterthwaite, Ryan's uncle, told 1News that Ryan and his friends were looking for "harmless fun" when they decided to play the game. "Something tragic has eventuated from it," he said. Pete said the events Ryan and his friends were imitating were 'utter stupidity'. ADVERTISEMENT Ryan Satterthwaite, 19. (Source: 'Don't do it, it's utter stupidity. It seems like a bit of harmless fun, and as a teenager, I probably would have been doing the same thing with my friends, but no one gives any thought to the consequences," he said. 'They can have all of the medical supervision they like. They can have all the tackling practice that they like, but nothing is going to prevent serious injuries from happening." Pete said Ryan's family wanted people to know that run it style games were unsafe. 'The ultimate goal is to hurt the person in front of you, run over the top of them to achieve your goal, and if you're doing it for money, no one is going to be thinking about the consequences of your actions. 'You're leading with your body, you're leading with your shoulder, you're leading with your head. 'If you're a rugby player or a league player, you get the opportunity to run around somebody, your body is conditioned to take the tackles, to do those sorts of things. I don't know what the organisers were thinking when they thought we could put it in a controlled environment.' ADVERTISEMENT A man takes a tackle while participating in an Auckland RUNIT event. (Source: Photosport) He said that even with disclaimers not to try the game at home, its viral nature meant people would always recreate what they saw. "Someone is going to try this at home or at the beach, in the backyard, or at a park. Someone's gonna do this, someone's gonna get seriously hurt. Ultimately, Ryan has paid the ultimate price." Following the 19-year-old's death, tributes have been flowing for Ryan. 'The support from his family and all his friends, I mean, was amazing. And just to see the amount of young people at the hospital giving the family support, giving Ryan support, blew me away," Pete said. Two 'trials' were held in west Auckland recently as part of the Australia-based Runit Championship League competition. A prize of $200,000 was advertised for the winner of the final. ADVERTISEMENT Trusts Arena has since said it will not host any more events following safety concerns. 'There is no way to do this safely' – advocate Stacey Mowbray of Headway said Ryan Satterthwaite's death was an 'absolute tragedy' but wasn't surprised it happened. (Source: 1News) Stacey Mowbray, chief executive of brain injury support group Headway, called Satterthwaite's death an 'absolute tragedy', but wasn't surprised it happened. She called the activity 'dangerous by design', and said it was 'glamorised, glorified, intentional violence'. 'There is no way to do this safely." She blasted the organisers of the Run It Straight events. ADVERTISEMENT 'I know the organisers are saying that they're doing it under controls, but when you're asking two people to intentionally clash at each other, there's no way to do it safely. 'This death is on them. It's shocking. The idea that they have any protocols that protect people from this type of impact is not true. Whether it's done in 'controlled' environments or in the backyard, it makes no difference. 'They knew people were going to copy, that's part of what makes a social media trend go viral, which is what they wanted.' She called on athletes and others who were influential in the space to speak out against the events. 'Their voices are the ones that our young people are going to be listening to.' A man takes a tackle while participating in an Auckland RUNIT event. (Source: Photosport) Pete Satterthwaite expressed similar feelings. ADVERTISEMENT 'I am hoping that out of this, we'll get some All Blacks, some rugby league players to stand up and express what a dumb idea that this particular game is,' he said. Mowbray said the activity carried a risk of 'immediate brain injury' or death for the participants. Headway also had concerns about concussion. 'You don't need to be knocked out to be concussed. On the night we saw knockouts, we saw wobbly legs, but you can have delayed symptoms for days, up to weeks. 'We just want to highlight that's not the only risk.' She said it was upsetting that the activity was being compared to sports like rugby and rugby league. 'It is not the same. 'Of course, there are risks in contact sport, but these sporting organisations and codes have done a huge amount of work responding to the research over many years to try to reduce the risk.' ADVERTISEMENT In a statement to 1News yesterday, RUNIT, the organisers of the Runit Championship League events, called Satterthwaite's death "tragic news". "Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Ryan. "Any contact sport like boxing, martial arts or combat-style activities should only be held in highly controlled environments, which include professional medical supervision and support." It said all RUNIT events followed established protocols, which included the screening of participants for suitability, strict guidelines around where and how to tackle (between the shoulders and hips only), as well as having medical support and assessments both during and after competition. "We do not encourage any copying of the sport as it should only be done under the strict conditions outlined above in sanctioned RUNIT events."
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Uncle of 'Run It Straight' victim calls for events to be canned
The uncle of the teenager who died while playing a version of the game 'Run It Straight' is calling for the 'Run It' events to be cancelled. Ryan Satterthwaite, 19, died after suffering a catastrophic head injury while playing a version of the game that's trending on social media. Ryan's uncle Pete Satterthwaite told Morning Report he had been told it was a "very freak accident". He said when he saw Run It in the news, he thought it was a "stupid idea and nothing good is going to come of it, and someone is going to get seriously hurt". But Pete said he didn't think it was going to be his nephew. 19-year-old dies playing controversial tackle game "These young people are influenced by social media and what they see, and in all honesty if I was his age, I would have probably been doing the same thing," He said something needed to change, and called on those with influence to get young people thinking about their actions. "Us saying something on social media is not going to make these young people change their minds or think about their actions or anything like that. "But if we have some social media influencers, like some All Blacks, some rugby league players, coaches, that sort of thing, that these people idolise and look up too, maybe that is going to prevent another accident." He said Ryan's family wanted the message to get out there that the game 'Run It Straight' was not safe. "In that game... the ultimate aim is to hurt your opponent, run over the top of him, you know, you're leading with your shoulder, leading with your head, what did the organisers think was going to happen. "Regardless of whether they have medical staff on sight and everybody has a test, it's still the most stupid thing I've ever seen." Tributes and support for Ryan and his family flooded the hospital. "I don't think I've had that many friends in my entire life, let alone the number of friends that were up at the hospital trying to support him and his family," Pete said. "That was a testament to the young man he was." Pete said Ryan's friends were "not good". "Everyone's sort of feeling it, not just the family but his all his extended friends, his local company... but there's nothing you can do and there is nothing you can say," he said. Police said it was an unspectacular tackle that led to the tragedy. Manawatū area commander Inspector Ross Grantham said Ryan's head didn't collide with his friend's and didn't hit anything hard during the tackle. "It's the movement that has caused this injury. "This is one of the most important things for our young people, it is that simple, it is that easy to create an injury which can be fatal." An expert in sports science and injury prevention at AUT said the Run It craze was reckless and she also wanted it banned. Professor Patria Hume told Morning Report the game was not something New Zealand should be proud of. She said people needed to understand the high risks. "The forces are five times more than a typical rugby tackle. You have two people who are running towards each other and trying to impact each other with full force, but on a rugby field you have the ability to evade that force." She compared the force risks to the whiplash in a crash. "With forces it doesn't have to [have head contact], if you think about whiplash in a car accident... you are secured by your seatbelt but your head whips forward, your brain moves inside your skull which causes damage to the brain." Education about the risks was important for people to decide 'Run It' was not an activity they should do, Hume added. Last night an Auckland stadium announced that safety concerns meant the end to any more 'Run It Straight' events. Australian-based Runit Championship League ran trials last week at West Auckland's Trusts Arena with $200,000 advertised for the winner of the final. Trusts Arena interim chief executive Lynette Adams said the decision to cancel followed overwhelming concern about the event's high-risk.
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Uncle of 'Run it' game victim calls for events to be canned
The uncle of the teenager who died while playing a version of the game 'Run It Straight' is calling for the 'Run It' events to be cancelled. Ryan Satterthwaite, 19, died after suffering a catastrophic head injury while playing a version of the game that's trending on social media. Ryan's uncle Pete Satterthwaite told Morning Report he had been told it was a "very freak accident". He said when he saw Run It in the news, he thought it was a "stupid idea and nothing good is going to come of it, and someone is going to get seriously hurt". But Pete said he didn't think it was going to be his nephew. "These young people are influenced by social media and what they see, and in all honesty if I was his age, I would have probably been doing the same thing," He said something needed to change, and called on those with influence to get young people thinking about their actions. "Us saying something on social media is not going to make these young people change their minds or think about their actions or anything like that. "But if we have some social media influencers, like some All Blacks, some rugby league players, coaches, that sort of thing, that these people idolise and look up too, maybe that is going to prevent another accident." He said Ryan's family wanted the message to get out there that the game 'Run It Straight' was not safe. "In that game... the ultimate aim is to hurt your opponent, run over the top of him, you know, you're leading with your shoulder, leading with your head, what did the organisers think was going to happen. "Regardless of whether they have medical staff on sight and everybody has a test, it's still the most stupid thing I've ever seen." Tributes and support for Ryan and his family flooded the hospital. "I don't think I've had that many friends in my entire life, let alone the number of friends that were up at the hospital trying to support him and his family," Pete said. "That was a testament to the young man he was." Pete said Ryan's friends were "not good". "Everyone's sort of feeling it, not just the family but his all his extended friends, his local company... but there's nothing you can do and there is nothing you can say," he said. Police said it was an unspectacular tackle that led to the tragedy. Manawatū area commander Inspector Ross Grantham said Ryan's head didn't collide with his friend's and didn't hit anything hard during the tackle. "It's the movement that has caused this injury. "This is one of the most important things for our young people, it is that simple, it is that easy to create an injury which can be fatal." An expert in sports science and injury prevention at AUT said the Run It craze was reckless and she also wanted it banned. Professor Patria Hume told Morning Report the game was not something New Zealand should be proud of. She said people needed to understand the high risks. "The forces are five times more than a typical rugby tackle. You have two people who are running towards each other and trying to impact each other with full force, but on a rugby field you have the ability to evade that force." She compared the force risks to the whiplash in a crash. "With forces it doesn't have to [have head contact], if you think about whiplash in a car accident... you are secured by your seatbelt but your head whips forward, your brain moves inside your skull which causes damage to the brain." Education about the risks was important for people to decide 'Run It' was not an activity they should do, Hume added. Last night an Auckland stadium announced that safety concerns meant the end to any more 'Run It Straight' events. Australian-based Runit Championship League ran trials last week at West Auckland's Trusts Arena with $200,000 advertised for the winner of the final. Trusts Arena interim chief executive Lynette Adams said the decision to cancel followed overwhelming concern about the event's high-risk.
West Australian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- West Australian
How Pete McDonald & Howie Croft at Wedgetail Brewing made Australia's best beer: a stunning dark lager
Tucked in a quiet corner down the back streets of Mandurah, no one would assume that Wedgetail Brewing is home to Australia's best beer. But it's official: One of Mandurah's best-kept secrets is officially home to the country's best beer — a dark lager that snagged the champion Australian beer trophy at the Australian International Beer Awards, the world's biggest annual beer competition, earlier this month. Pete McDonald and Howie Croft opened Wedgetail Brewing about 18 months ago and the taproom has quickly become a favourite among locals. But the recent success at the AIBAs proved what locals already knew: the beers Howie and Pete and producing are something special. It's a far cry from the shed on head brewer Howie's property, where the pair first began experimenting with homebrews. 'Our first beers were probably pretty ropey,' Pete laughed. 'Typically with home brewing, you start off with kits, a lot of the work is done for you, it's cheap alcohol at first, and then you start getting the hang of it, and with a lot of learning and reading, you realise there's a bit more to it.' The duo met while working in WA's north decades ago and decided to take the plunge and open the taproom after Howie was made redundant. The brewery's name comes from the Wedgetails the pair would encounter while flying choppers over the Pilbara. The winning beer in question, the dark lager, is something Howie says he's been working on for a decade. The dark lager is served looking as one would expect but the taste is a surprise. It has all the best tasting notes of a dark lager: coffee, malt, and chocolate. But it leaves the drinker with none of the worst elements, no overwhelming bitterness and none of that fullness that discourages a second pint. The dark lager didn't just take out the top gong at the AIBAs but also best independent beer and best dark lager. Surprisingly, though, the brewery's newly crowned 'best' beer isn't the founders' favourite. 'Mine is the IPA. I keep going back to that, it's an older style traditional IPA and that's maybe my roots, I suppose,' Pete said. 'Mine's the draught, it's quite refreshing,' Howie added. The venue is always busy and has been embraced by the community. 'This place wouldn't exist without them; we would have fallen flat on our face without that support,' Pete said. Currently, the only way to drink a beer outside of the taproom is to fill up a growler, but the pair recently invested in a canning machine and are hoping to begin selling their products in local bottleshops soon. 'We'll get our heads around that, and we'll be canning our own product directly,' Pete said. 'It'll be a lot more flexible, a lot more efficient and cheaper. So watch this space, we'll be coming out with cans too.' Wedgetail's hearty pub grub is also a standout, with young gun head chef Rhys Hura passionate about matching the quality of the beer to the food. There's a roaring oven producing delicious wood-fired pizzas and Rhys hopes his steak sandwich will make the finals in WA's best steak sandwich awards. 'I've taken all the aspects of what makes a good steak sanga and reinvented it as something that's different, but also quite modern,' he said. 'We chose Scotch fillets because with the fat content, it renders down and comes apart really easily. 'There's a green tomato relish, which I made to be like a normal tomato relish, but green tomatoes have less tartness and less acidity than red tomato does.' Rhys also uses the beer to flavour the food, with the darker beers going into the sauce on the ribs, the wheat beer in the fish finger batter and the barrel-aged beer being used to make ice cream. The pair hope to have more success at the upcoming Perth Royal Show and have entered the dark lager, the double red ale and the draught. 'So we're hoping that the product will perform again,' Pete laughed. Erskine's Boundary Island Brewery also earned a trophy for best traditional India pale ale with its The Deckie IPA, and King Road Brewing in Oldbury took home prizes for two of its King Road Short Stay Series beers: the American pale ale and NZ Cryo.
