my prediction: J Thrush,late withdrawal
Printable View
my prediction: J Thrush,late withdrawal
Not sure my heart health is up to this…. What the what!
Since when have we had a 2 out of 3 start to a season. Go. FORCE
Off topic, slightly.....
Poor Italy and Wales. Damon Murphy main ref.
:offtopic:
Five weeks or so till next home game and after today’s win I reckon our season will be over!
Tonight’s game had some awesome rugby played but none by the Force. I find it so hard to understand that after 17 years we still have this ingrained desire to kick the ball away every time we are (as tonight) lucky enough to be gifted it!
A win is going to give everyone a chance to spin this into a great game but we were bloody lucky.
Overall I’m very disappointed at the way the Force are playing. Simon Crone was made out to be the biggest and best thing that’s happened to the Force well so far nothing has changed. I know lots of new faces (possibly to many) but you would have thought by now they would be starting to gel, know how to catch a ball, tackle and some players who have specific jobs like throwing the ball straight would be able to do that especially if they are being paid a bloody great retainer by the Wallabies.
With this new head contact ruling I can’t see much future for the game if all you have to do as the ball carrier is to swerve into an unsuspecting fielder and head but him and he will get red carded. It’s crazy and like last week it gets rescinded which does nothing for the team that was down a man for some tmo who wants to protect his job.
Rant over.
Well, I'm as frustrated as anyone with the kicking, particularly when not in your defensive red zone and moresoe when in theirs. Then there's the quality of the kicking. Crikey!! Do any of them practice this under pressure?
I'll not be critical of the D. I thought Moana threw quite a lot at them last night and they mostly had it covered. Scrambled pretty well at times too.
The variations on attack from week 1 were missing. Being more conservative might be a reaction to last week? In any event good teams (in both codes) win consistently based on sound D & in reality we are not a settled line-up as yet,
That's twice they have stayed in the grind and got the chokkies when well behind on the scoreboard. Past Force teams rarely did that & the Rabble have franked the form form week 1. So I'm still hopeful of climbing higher on the ladder.
So I guess you're right SNOB someone is spinning this to a positive. Maybe. :)
PS. I hope the coach has sent one of his minions to have a word to Rory Arnold about a short term loan deal.
Despite the route to 18 a piece …..I said to my partner with 5 to go it’s now about who has the will to win this … Force did ….particularly with 2 off the park …. Huge positive!
Now that the heart rate and blood pressure are back to acceptable levels, its time to access what happened last night.
We had just come off an absolute shellacking from the Reds, lost both enforcers Williams and Wells, asked Thrush to again step up, flew RWV at the last minute to join a team he had never even met, asked Kunzele to again play out of position at outside centre and had a growing injury list, leaving a squad pretty light in most positions. The odds were stacked against us, despite pundits making out this was a game to be won.
Down 0-7 after thirty seconds another blow out was on the cards.
However, these boys put together an extraordinary defensive effort. For the second home game in a row we kept the opposition to only three points each time in the second halves, besides being on the wrong end of a number of tries in each first half. This takes some doing.
Yes, the attack was not great and we kicked the ball much too much and often aimlessly, but defensive effort fatigues you and we probably did not make the best decisions.
As a number of posts have already said these were the games we used to lose in the past.
RWV stepped in and stepped up, great game under the circumstances. Hegarty was cool and calm and played an exceptional game and must remain the flyhalf going forward. Stewart was dogged in defense. Fines showed some of the old spark and fire, needs to find it consistently now. Ryan McCaully was massive when he came on. Kalapu just keeps trying and trying, did not even want to go off despite being injured. Thrush was Thrush. The heart and sole of the team just like Hodgo. Pulu showed why we have to keep him injury free and on the field. Horton despite his small stature is a grafter in the Tessman mould, liking him more and more each outing. Medrano I think had angry pills for that last scrum and just about won it on his own.
That last three minutes will be remembered in Force folklore.
Engaging with the players, fellow fans and family and friends of the players to savor that win at the end on the field was what being a part of the sea is all about, long may it continue
We won a game that we would have lost 10 times out of 10 in the past so I'm taking that as a positive.
Unfortunately mate Hegarty contributes a lot to our negative play. We scored and straight after the kickoff under no pressure whatsoever kicks it into touch! Just plain dumb, the lads must love defending. 17 years we’ve been playing the same shit.
For 15- 16 years we’ve had 6 members in our group, we’ve now got zero renewed because we’ve got no interest in watching negative attacking like that.
I have to disagree, kicking the ball into touch after receiving the kick off is a pretty stock standard rugby move. What you don't want is for the team to kick it straight back to one of the other team's players or the team to try run it from their own 25 and lose possession giving the opposition an opportune attacking opportunity.
Some realistic expectations are warranted:
• New head coach
• New coaching panel (except Oz)
• 15 player changes from last season
• Youngest squad the WF has had
• Serious contribution to getting Wallaby eligible players back for a RWC year while keeping others in country.
• Coach preparing a new game plan and players working on the skills to implement it.
• Have won two games that they probably lost last year
• Blooding Academy graduates from last year.
All the above speak for themselves.
Travelling back from OS. Looking forward to watching a Stan replay tonight.
Be patient grasshoppers.......
PS. I hear that the WFW had a good trial showing against the SA development squad and a big score.
Must have been a pleasing effort with a handfull of new players who have only just arrived.
PPS Saw the highlights package in NZ. Moana's 1st try came from a forward pass.
Great win from the boys. Really fought hard until the end and showed some grit.
Many skill and tactical errors to be worked on. It's a big step up for many of the lads.