Kyle Godwin and the future of the Force
The best rugby player alive from Western Australia has extended his contract with the Western Force until the end of the 2016 Super Rugby season.
20-year-old Kyle Godwin is now locked into his home team for the rest of his developing years and will now come off contract just as he’s entering what should be the prime of his career.
Next year Keiran Longbottom, Dane Haylett-Petty and Zack Holmes will join Godwin as local products wearing the Force jersey, a source of hope to cling to for supporters no doubt.
I’ve had an unabated crush on Godwin throughout this year’s Super Rugby tournament. He’s been the best inside centre in the Australian conference and possibly the whole competition.
Following his progress all year has been astonishing because he turns up every week and puts up a brick wall in midfield and continuously churns the legs through contact while picking the right moments to provide service to the men outside him.
A quick perusal of the stats shows he is in the top 20 tacklers in the competition (Robert Ebersohn is the only other back in that list).
He’s in the top 20 offloads and for run metres. He doesn’t feature in the top 20 for carries, which is a sign of his efficiency per run but also that he isn’t a bottle-neck for the attack in the centres.
2016 is a long way away and Godwin has done his team a huge service by allowing the franchise to lock up its best and most marketable player – especially as he’s a local boy, which should be utilised fully in the local market.
But what are the chances Godwin becomes a Force man for life? In 2016, will the Force be worth another two to four years in the peak of his rugby lifespan?
David Pocock, James O’Connor, Digby Ioane and Drew Mitchell are examples of the struggle to keep the highest level of talent at the Force.
By the time his contract is up for negotiation again, if injuries don’t interrupt, Godwin should be viewed as a similarly brilliant player.
Why do the Force struggle so mightily to entice players to stay?
Perth, by most accounts, seems to be a delightful city to live in and is becoming more and more up-market as a result of the mining investment in WA; the supporters are fanatical if not the biggest in terms of numbers and avoiding some of the colder, wetter climes through winter wouldn’t hurt either.
Here’s a string of reasons why: 14th, seventh, eighth, eighth, 13th, 12th, 14th.
Those numbers are the positions the club has finished on the Super Rugby ladder since their inception.
Here’s another load of reasons to load in an agent’s ammo mag: 1, 6, 7, 6, 4, 5, 5.
Those are the number of wins in each season of the Force’s existence. This year they are on three wins and sit 13th on the table.
Having played two games more than both the Kings (three points back) and Highlanders (five points back) means they aren’t assured of avoiding the wooden spoon.
Peering into the future there are clearly some things that need to change at the Force.
The current coaching situation needs to be improved.
Michael Foley either needs to improve quickly or he needs to be moved on. A start would be recognising the unique rugby culture of the club and embracing the effort to continue building upon that.
His handling of the Lions tour game showed he hasn’t fully appreciated that aspect of his job.
The Force need to find a first class fly-half.
Zack Holmes may well turn out to be the man but that is yet to be determined.
He showed some flashes of quality and fight in his appearances for the Brumbies last year and he showed a Flash-Gordon type flash coming off the bench for them recently.
I would still advocate for searching outside the current player group to find a more suitable back-up to him that can teach him how to operate a backline.
Sias Ebersohn has been adequate this year as he can do the kicking and field position basics but hasn’t shown an ability to control the width of the pitch and orchestrate an attack.
Some believe Kyle Godwin should be moved to fly-half. While that was where he started last year in his cameo I don’t think that’s a good idea.
His blend of size, speed, strength and skills are perfectly suited to inside centre and he could be one of the best in the world at that spot. Leave him there.
Some more fireworks need to be added to the pack.
This Force side is full of extremely hard working players.
On the right day, when everyone is able to give 100% they cause upsets. On another day Matt Hodgson is left lamenting a 36-point flogging to the Brumbies.
Hugh McMeniman was a revelation at the Force this year. He stood out because he displayed a level of explosiveness in his ball carrying and was always trying to impose himself on defence.
Hard work is a must at Super Rugby level but a few more in the pack with those bullocking and brutal attributes will help this pack get over the hump.
The likes of Fotu Auelua and Radike Samo are examples of the type of player the Force are missing.
In 2016, Godwin will be 24 and possibly a 30-cap Wallaby. He’ll have to evaluate where he wants to spend the best years of his career.
The Force will be trying to pitch him an offer to keep him in Perth, probably until the 2019 World Cup. A string of seasons replicating their last three are not going to be good enough.
You’d think, at the very minimum, the Force would need to have tasted finals rugby, or be on the cusp of it in that year.
If they haven’t I wouldn’t blame Godwin for becoming the next in a line of the best rugby talent leaving the Force in search of success elsewhere.
Will the Force have done enough between now and then to ensure they snap a streak of the elite players leaving in their prime?
http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/06/14...-of-the-force/
