Latest news with #Cotter
1News
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- 1News
Māori spirituality is part of family life in new TV show
A Māori family returns to a small North Island town after living in London in the bilingual and slightly supernatural TV show Dead Ahead. Writer and co-creator Scotty Cotter (Tainui, Fiji, Scottish) hopes the show will deliver plenty of laughs and also some insight into the Māori belief that our tūpuna (ancestors) walk "right next to us". "It's not seeing them, but having a sense of them there - that is what I really wanted to touch on - keeping them near us and keeping us connected with them," he tells Saturday Morning. Scotty Cotter as school principal Matua Kare in the new TVNZ+ series Dead Ahead. (Source: Supplied) Dead Ahead - launched on TVNZ+ - centres on the Wharekoa family; high-powered lawyer Kiri (Miriama Smith), her husband Matiu (Xavier Horan) and their kids Amiria (Mia Van Oyen) and Nate (Elijah Tamati). ADVERTISEMENT Cotter says he thought it would be hard finding a Māori boy with an English accent, but then Elijah Tamati - whose whanau also lived in London- walked into the room and nailed his audition. "[The kids in Dead Ahead] are just stunning. The future is bright with these two." Elijah Tamati as Nate in the TVNZ+ series Dead Ahead. (Source: Supplied) While it's a scary thing to write a TV show, Cotter says it was also really exciting to create a set of Māori characters with "all our flaws and our beauty and our crack-up-isms". "I wanted to create Māori characters who break the stereotypical mould, but also have authenticity." Starting out as a teen actor, Cotter's first introduction to New Zealand television was on the Māori learning programme Whānau, where he found a Māori woman "running the show". That was the late actor and director Nancy Brunning who became Cotter's friend and mentor. ADVERTISEMENT "I really felt her in the writing of [Dead Ahead], and I really felt her pushing me and guiding us." Nancy Brunning at the 66th Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin in 2016 (Source: AFP) Performing in te reo Māori plays with Brunning as a younger man, Cotter says he discovered the wairua (spirit) of words. "There's wairua in kupu (Māori words) - how we say it, how we feel it. It's not just blurting words out. You've got to put it in, feel it, hold it." Still on "that hikoi journey" of learning te reo, Cotter now studies online via Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. He hopes Dead Ahead will "gently introduce" te reo words and phrases to viewers who may not know them. "By the end of the season, hopefully they can understand and use kupu and te reo Māori in their everyday life." ADVERTISEMENT In the show, he attempts to show a "less Disneyfied" picture of Māori spirituality, including the role of kēhua (ghosts), which he sensed after his grandmother died. "The sense of not seeing tūpuna but having a sense of them there is what I really wanted to touch on. "It's my gentle way of showing people how we whakanoa [remove tapu from] ourselves." Fun fact: Saturday Morning presenter Mihi Forbes was Scotty Cotter's inspiration for the Dead Ahead character Meremereana (Kura Forrester) - an award-winning journalist who "just knows what's up". Dead Ahead was made with the support of NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho. Watch it on TVNZ+
The Advertiser
19-06-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
'I wasn't eye-gouged by Luai in Origin,' says Cotter
Queensland forward Reuben Cotter says he was not eye-gouged by Jarome Luai in State of Origin II, insistent he was just reacting to a shoulder from the NSW star. Luai was on Wednesday night hit with a grade-two contrary conduct charge for unnecessary contact with Cotter's face in a tackle during NSW's 26-24 loss in Perth. The charge came after Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga appeared to accuse Luai of a gouge in the lead up to a first-half scuffle between the teams. After Payne Haas dropped a ball and Cotter dived on it, Luai drove into the Maroons second-rower on the ground. His hand appeared to make contact with Cotter's face as the pair pushed each other off, before Ponga made a raking motion to sideline officials. Luai was placed on report, but cleared of a gouge by the NRL match review committee and instead hit with a $3900 fine - 13 per cent of his match fee. Afterwards, Cotter said he had no issue with the hand on his face. "I didn't get eye gouged at all," Cotter told AAP. "He just came in with his elbow or his shoulder, I'm not sure what he came in with. "I just stood up for myself, tried to push him off me." Cotter was sporting a heavy lump to his eye in the Maroons sheds after, but said that came from a clash with Liam Martin late in the game. Benji Marshall, Luai's coach at Wests Tigers, was initially concerned the contact with Cotter could have rubbed his co-captain out of Friday's clash with Canberra. "I was (worried) but I don't have to worry anymore. He got a fine so he'll be right to play," Marshall said. "I don't think it was intentional what he did. Anyway, that's not up to me anymore. That's been dealt with." Luai contacted Marshall after full-time to say he would be fine to face the Raiders as the Tigers fight to avoid a five-game losing streak. But the 28-year-old will need to be cleared by Tigers staff after the Blues land in Sydney at approximately 6pm on Thursday. "I'll tell you exactly the conversation. I said 'How'd you pull up?' and he goes, 'I'm good to go, coach, put me in'," Marshall said. "You've got to trust your senior players but at the same time, we'll get a medical done on him tonight when he gets back, massage, and see how he pulls up tomorrow. "We've got back-up options if he doesn't play and we've prepared all week like he's not going to play. If he does play, it's a bonus." Queensland forward Reuben Cotter says he was not eye-gouged by Jarome Luai in State of Origin II, insistent he was just reacting to a shoulder from the NSW star. Luai was on Wednesday night hit with a grade-two contrary conduct charge for unnecessary contact with Cotter's face in a tackle during NSW's 26-24 loss in Perth. The charge came after Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga appeared to accuse Luai of a gouge in the lead up to a first-half scuffle between the teams. After Payne Haas dropped a ball and Cotter dived on it, Luai drove into the Maroons second-rower on the ground. His hand appeared to make contact with Cotter's face as the pair pushed each other off, before Ponga made a raking motion to sideline officials. Luai was placed on report, but cleared of a gouge by the NRL match review committee and instead hit with a $3900 fine - 13 per cent of his match fee. Afterwards, Cotter said he had no issue with the hand on his face. "I didn't get eye gouged at all," Cotter told AAP. "He just came in with his elbow or his shoulder, I'm not sure what he came in with. "I just stood up for myself, tried to push him off me." Cotter was sporting a heavy lump to his eye in the Maroons sheds after, but said that came from a clash with Liam Martin late in the game. Benji Marshall, Luai's coach at Wests Tigers, was initially concerned the contact with Cotter could have rubbed his co-captain out of Friday's clash with Canberra. "I was (worried) but I don't have to worry anymore. He got a fine so he'll be right to play," Marshall said. "I don't think it was intentional what he did. Anyway, that's not up to me anymore. That's been dealt with." Luai contacted Marshall after full-time to say he would be fine to face the Raiders as the Tigers fight to avoid a five-game losing streak. But the 28-year-old will need to be cleared by Tigers staff after the Blues land in Sydney at approximately 6pm on Thursday. "I'll tell you exactly the conversation. I said 'How'd you pull up?' and he goes, 'I'm good to go, coach, put me in'," Marshall said. "You've got to trust your senior players but at the same time, we'll get a medical done on him tonight when he gets back, massage, and see how he pulls up tomorrow. "We've got back-up options if he doesn't play and we've prepared all week like he's not going to play. If he does play, it's a bonus." Queensland forward Reuben Cotter says he was not eye-gouged by Jarome Luai in State of Origin II, insistent he was just reacting to a shoulder from the NSW star. Luai was on Wednesday night hit with a grade-two contrary conduct charge for unnecessary contact with Cotter's face in a tackle during NSW's 26-24 loss in Perth. The charge came after Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga appeared to accuse Luai of a gouge in the lead up to a first-half scuffle between the teams. After Payne Haas dropped a ball and Cotter dived on it, Luai drove into the Maroons second-rower on the ground. His hand appeared to make contact with Cotter's face as the pair pushed each other off, before Ponga made a raking motion to sideline officials. Luai was placed on report, but cleared of a gouge by the NRL match review committee and instead hit with a $3900 fine - 13 per cent of his match fee. Afterwards, Cotter said he had no issue with the hand on his face. "I didn't get eye gouged at all," Cotter told AAP. "He just came in with his elbow or his shoulder, I'm not sure what he came in with. "I just stood up for myself, tried to push him off me." Cotter was sporting a heavy lump to his eye in the Maroons sheds after, but said that came from a clash with Liam Martin late in the game. Benji Marshall, Luai's coach at Wests Tigers, was initially concerned the contact with Cotter could have rubbed his co-captain out of Friday's clash with Canberra. "I was (worried) but I don't have to worry anymore. He got a fine so he'll be right to play," Marshall said. "I don't think it was intentional what he did. Anyway, that's not up to me anymore. That's been dealt with." Luai contacted Marshall after full-time to say he would be fine to face the Raiders as the Tigers fight to avoid a five-game losing streak. But the 28-year-old will need to be cleared by Tigers staff after the Blues land in Sydney at approximately 6pm on Thursday. "I'll tell you exactly the conversation. I said 'How'd you pull up?' and he goes, 'I'm good to go, coach, put me in'," Marshall said. "You've got to trust your senior players but at the same time, we'll get a medical done on him tonight when he gets back, massage, and see how he pulls up tomorrow. "We've got back-up options if he doesn't play and we've prepared all week like he's not going to play. If he does play, it's a bonus."
7NEWS
19-06-2025
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Reuben Cotter says he wasn't eye-gouged by Jarome Luai during State of Origin clash
Queensland forward Reuben Cotter says he was not eye-gouged by Jarome Luai in State of Origin II, insistent he was just reacting to a shoulder from the NSW star. Luai was on Wednesday night hit with a grade-two contrary conduct charge for unnecessary contact with Cotter's face in a tackle during NSW's 26-24 loss in Perth. The charge came after Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga appeared to accuse Luai of a gouge in the lead up to a first-half scuffle between the two teams. After Payne Haas dropped a ball and Cotter dived on it, Luai drove into the Maroons second-rower on the ground. His hand appeared to make contact with Cotter's face as the pair pushed each other off, before Ponga made a raking motion to sideline officials. Luai was placed on report, but cleared of a gouge by the NRL match review committee and instead hit with a $3900 fine. Afterwards, Cotter said he had no issue with the hand on his face. 'I didn't get eye gouged at all,' Cotter told AAP. 'He just came in with his elbow or his shoulder, I'm not sure what he came in with. 'I just stood up for myself, tried to push him off me.' Cotter was sporting a heavy lump to his eye in the Maroons sheds after, but said that came from a clash with Liam Martin late in the game. NSW players and coaches also defended Luai after the match, with the penalty against him contributing to an 8-0 first-half count against the Blues. Coach Laurie Daley opted not to comment on the lopsided count after the match, claiming he couldn't say what he really thought on the matter. But Blues captain Isaah Yeo conceded NSW had to wear some of the blame for the ill discipline. 'There were certainly a few we were shooting ourselves with and they're just penalties,' Yeo said. 'Some others were 50-50s. Some nights you get them and some nights you don't. 'But what you can't do is just go drop the ball in the next set when you've got the ball. 'You would obviously like that to be a bit more even, but we were our own worst enemies at times.'
The Advertiser
19-06-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Cotter says he wasn't eye-gouged by Luai in Origin
Queensland forward Reuben Cotter says he was not eye-gouged by Jarome Luai in State of Origin II, insistent he was just reacting to a shoulder from the NSW star. Luai was on Wednesday night hit with a grade-two contrary conduct charge for unnecessary contact with Cotter's face in a tackle during NSW's 26-24 loss in Perth. The charge came after Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga appeared to accuse Luai of a gouge in the lead up to a first-half scuffle between the two teams. After Payne Haas dropped a ball and Cotter dived on it, Luai drove into the Maroons second-rower on the ground. His hand appeared to make contact with Cotter's face as the pair pushed each other off, before Ponga made a raking motion to sideline officials. Luai was placed on report, but cleared of a gouge by the NRL match review committee and instead hit with a $3900 fine. Afterwards, Cotter said he had no issue with the hand on his face. "I didn't get eye gouged at all," Cotter told AAP. "He just came in with his elbow or his shoulder, I'm not sure what he came in with. "I just stood up for myself, tried to push him off me." Cotter was sporting a heavy lump to his eye in the Maroons sheds after, but said that came from a clash with Liam Martin late in the game. NSW players and coaches also defended Luai after the match, with the penalty against him contributing to an 8-0 first-half count against the Blues. Coach Laurie Daley opted not to comment on the lopsided count after the match, claiming he couldn't say what he really thought on the matter. But Blues captain Isaah Yeo conceded NSW had to wear some of the blame for the ill discipline. "There were certainly a few we were shooting ourselves with and they're just penalties," Yeo said. "Some others were 50-50s. Some nights you get them and some nights you don't. "But what you can't do is just go drop the ball in the next set when you've got the ball. "You would obviously like that to be a bit more even, but we were our own worst enemies at times." Queensland forward Reuben Cotter says he was not eye-gouged by Jarome Luai in State of Origin II, insistent he was just reacting to a shoulder from the NSW star. Luai was on Wednesday night hit with a grade-two contrary conduct charge for unnecessary contact with Cotter's face in a tackle during NSW's 26-24 loss in Perth. The charge came after Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga appeared to accuse Luai of a gouge in the lead up to a first-half scuffle between the two teams. After Payne Haas dropped a ball and Cotter dived on it, Luai drove into the Maroons second-rower on the ground. His hand appeared to make contact with Cotter's face as the pair pushed each other off, before Ponga made a raking motion to sideline officials. Luai was placed on report, but cleared of a gouge by the NRL match review committee and instead hit with a $3900 fine. Afterwards, Cotter said he had no issue with the hand on his face. "I didn't get eye gouged at all," Cotter told AAP. "He just came in with his elbow or his shoulder, I'm not sure what he came in with. "I just stood up for myself, tried to push him off me." Cotter was sporting a heavy lump to his eye in the Maroons sheds after, but said that came from a clash with Liam Martin late in the game. NSW players and coaches also defended Luai after the match, with the penalty against him contributing to an 8-0 first-half count against the Blues. Coach Laurie Daley opted not to comment on the lopsided count after the match, claiming he couldn't say what he really thought on the matter. But Blues captain Isaah Yeo conceded NSW had to wear some of the blame for the ill discipline. "There were certainly a few we were shooting ourselves with and they're just penalties," Yeo said. "Some others were 50-50s. Some nights you get them and some nights you don't. "But what you can't do is just go drop the ball in the next set when you've got the ball. "You would obviously like that to be a bit more even, but we were our own worst enemies at times." Queensland forward Reuben Cotter says he was not eye-gouged by Jarome Luai in State of Origin II, insistent he was just reacting to a shoulder from the NSW star. Luai was on Wednesday night hit with a grade-two contrary conduct charge for unnecessary contact with Cotter's face in a tackle during NSW's 26-24 loss in Perth. The charge came after Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga appeared to accuse Luai of a gouge in the lead up to a first-half scuffle between the two teams. After Payne Haas dropped a ball and Cotter dived on it, Luai drove into the Maroons second-rower on the ground. His hand appeared to make contact with Cotter's face as the pair pushed each other off, before Ponga made a raking motion to sideline officials. Luai was placed on report, but cleared of a gouge by the NRL match review committee and instead hit with a $3900 fine. Afterwards, Cotter said he had no issue with the hand on his face. "I didn't get eye gouged at all," Cotter told AAP. "He just came in with his elbow or his shoulder, I'm not sure what he came in with. "I just stood up for myself, tried to push him off me." Cotter was sporting a heavy lump to his eye in the Maroons sheds after, but said that came from a clash with Liam Martin late in the game. NSW players and coaches also defended Luai after the match, with the penalty against him contributing to an 8-0 first-half count against the Blues. Coach Laurie Daley opted not to comment on the lopsided count after the match, claiming he couldn't say what he really thought on the matter. But Blues captain Isaah Yeo conceded NSW had to wear some of the blame for the ill discipline. "There were certainly a few we were shooting ourselves with and they're just penalties," Yeo said. "Some others were 50-50s. Some nights you get them and some nights you don't. "But what you can't do is just go drop the ball in the next set when you've got the ball. "You would obviously like that to be a bit more even, but we were our own worst enemies at times."
Wales Online
18-06-2025
- Wales Online
Man found trying to climb back over Tunisian hotel balcony seconds before falling to his death
Man found trying to climb back over Tunisian hotel balcony seconds before falling to his death Gareth James Cotter, 29, was in bed after a day drinking when he said 'f*** this s** I'm done' and headed for the balcony, but a coroner concluded he did not intend to take his own life Tunisia's resort town of Hammamet (file picture) (Image: ANIS MILI/AFP via Getty Images ) A man died on an all inclusive holiday after falling from a hotel balcony, an inquest has heard. Gareth James Cotter, 29, had spent the day and evening of September 21, 2023, drinking at the Zodiac hotel in Hammamet, Tunisia, before he fell and sustained unsurvivable injuries. An inquest at Pontypridd Coroner's court on Wednesday heard how Mr Cotter's partner found him attempting to climb back over onto their fourth floor balcony before he lost his grip. Gareth's mother, Alison Cotter, described her son as a 'hardworking' man and talented sportsman. In a statement, read to the court by coroner Gavin Knox, she described how, as a boy, he represented his school in rugby, football and cross country and had hopes to become a professional footballer until he sustained injuries. She said he had qualified as a plumber and had established a successful business, which was booked up with customers ready for his return home from the tragic holiday. Mr Cotter, of Gelliwion Road in Maesycoed, Pontypridd, had been on holiday with his partner Kirsty Aubrey along with members of her family. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here Giving evidence in person she said that Mr Cotter had seemed 'emotional' while sober the day before the incident occurred. Article continues below She described him as 'tearful' and said he told her how much he loved her and appreciated members of her family being there for him. The following day Ms Aubrey described how they started drinking from around 12.30pm. She said she recalled her partner drinking 'top shelf' spirits, clarifying that he wasn't usually a big drinker but would consume alcohol socially on weekends. At around 5.30pm she said the pair went back to get changed for dinner with family, during which Mr Cotter continued to drink beers. After dinner she said they continued to drink alcohol at a hotel bar. She said she became 'concerned' about the amount he had drunk and suggested he should stop drinking, which he did not. At around 11.30pm she said they went back to her family's room where he continued drinking. She said by this point he was 'really drunk' and unsteady on his feet. She clarified that he was not being aggressive on this night, but that he took anabolic steroids while training at the gym, which could make him aggressive or emotional if he also consumed alcohol. Some time later they went back to their room to go to bed. At around 1am she said her partner said 'f*** this s** I'm done', left the bed and walked through the door of the balcony. She said there had been no arguments prior to this between Mr Cotter and anyone he had interacted with that day or evening. Ms Aubrey said she 'shot up' but by the time she got to the balcony Mr Cotter was on the wrong side of the balcony holding on and trying to climb back over towards their room. Sadly, he did not manage to climb back over and fell to his death on the pavement below. The inquest heard how a toxicology report carried out by Dr Alex Lawson revealed Mr Cotter had a blood alcohol level of 106 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood around the time of his death. In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the legal blood alcohol limit for driving is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. An alcohol reading of this level can affect people differently depending on their tolerance, but this reading would likely cause a reduction in inhibitions, ability to judge and react well to situations and `balance, it was heard. The inquest heard from Dr Daniel Hopkins who carried out an autopsy on Mr Cotter. He explained how it was the second autopsy after one had been carried out in Tunisia, for which he said there was no paperwork. He found Mr Cotter had 'extensive traumatic injuries', particularly affecting the head, which fitted with him falling from a height. He said these would have been 'unsurvivable'. He gave the medical cause of death as 'traumatic head injury'. Delivering his conclusion, coroner Gavin Knox recorded Mr Cotter's death as misadventure. He said: 'Mr Cotter fell from a height whilst under the influence of alcohol. Article continues below He said he was not satisfied that Mr Cotter intended to take his own life. He added that there was no evidence to suggest any foul play was involved. Mr Knox passed on his condolences to Mr Cotter's family.
