EMIRATES WESTERN FORCE (A) V PERTH GOLD

The Emirates Western Force ‘A’ squad will face off against Perth Gold in an important match for both sides at McGillivray Oval this Friday 18 February.

The Emirates Western Force ‘A’ side will be comprised of players who haven’t made the trip to Queensland for the opening Super Rugby clash as well as stand outs from the Bankwest Academy. Perth Gold meantime will feature additional Bankwest Academy players as well as the best of WA’s local grade players. Perth Gold Head Coach Dwayne Nestor said he is excited about the opportunity it presents for them to showcase their skills against professional players.

“It will be great experience and exposure at the higher level,” said Nestor.

“The fact that we’ve got ‘A’ guys playing who have been training full time with the Emirates Western Force allows the Perth Gold players, especially the young blokes, to realise what level they need to be looking to achieve in the next two to three years.”

Nestor said Perth Gold had struggled to find matches against opposition of similar quality since the downfall of the Australian Rugby Shield and Australian Rugby Championship however the Emirates Western Force ‘A’ programme opened up new avenues for games.

“The idea is that we have these boys train throughout the offseason in the Bankwest Academy so they can play in the Gold team at a high level,” Nestor said.

“In previous years they’ve trained at the Academy in the offseason, done all this high level training but then gone and played as individuals in club teams at a lower level. To be able to have them train and then play in a Perth Gold team together allows them to put in to practice what they’ve been learning for the past three or four months.

The match will also allow Emirates Western Force ‘A’ team coach Andrew Scotney a first-hand look at the quality of players coming through in WA.

“Guys like Cruze Ah-Nau and Siliva Siliva (both part of the Emirates Western Force squad) played for state teams and came through the academy structure,” said Nestor.

“Kyle Godwin is unfortunately injured but he would have been playing in the ‘A’ side and he’s come through the whole program, from being brought in at 14 years old to where he’s at now as a contracted player.”

The future for West Australian rugby is looking bright too with Nestor highlighting some of the players he is most looking forward to seeing in action on Friday.

“We just got Luke Doherty back whose been playing in Japan and he’s been a member of the Emirates Western Force squad previously. Then there’s a couple of young guys, Chance Peni and Izzy Mosese who have just turned 17 and have been invited in to an ARU high performance squad for the Commonwealth Games’ Youth Sevens in September. For young guys who have been training with grown men they’ve done exceptionally well so it’ll be interesting to see how they play.

“Some of the forwards will be interesting to see too like Gary Neugebauer and Oli Hoskins. Once again young blokes but they did a few weeks training with the Force in the offseason. I’ve had a look at the Force ‘A’ frontrow and they’ve got the Australian Under 20s frontrow there so for Gary and Oli it’ll be a big learning experience but it’ll also be a good opportunity for them to see where they’re at.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the Gold boys do some pretty amazing things on Friday night against good quality players.”

Emirates Western Force ‘A’ v Perth Gold
Friday, 18 February 2011 at McGillivray Oval
Kick-off: 6.00pm
There is no entry fee and spectators are welcome.


PERTH GOLD TEAM (Alphabetical order)
Tyler Berry
Will Brock
Antini Brown
Ethan Carlisle
Byron De Freitas
Mike Denton
Luke Doherty
Conrad Gillingham
Nicholas Haining
Thomas Hobbs
Oliver Hoskins
Michale Lees
Chris Miles
Isaiah Mosese
Gary Neugebauer
Chance Peni
Mason Pomare
Juan Pretorius
Joe Ritchie
Al Rovira
Ben Taylor
Oli Viney

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