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After ejecting another monkey off the back, the Western Force believe their ability to outlast opponents is becoming the cornerstone of their ascension to the status of Super 14 contenders.
First came a first win, then a first win at home and the final frontier - a win in New Zealand - arrived on Saturday in the comeback 27-17 win over the Blues in Albany.
And with competition legitimacy long since assured, a nightmare draw of five away games in the first six matches now appears to be setting up the Perth outfit for a tilt at the top four.
Fullback Cameron Shepherd, whose first-half try kept the Force afloat after an early Blues onslaught, said he believes the team's fitness is becoming a key factor in 2008.
"We worked so hard in pre-season on our fitness and on being able to go hard and really run other teams into the ground," Shepherd said.
"We came in at half-time, we knew we were not feeling that tired, we just had to play down their end and get some quality ball.
"I know personally in that last 20 minutes I started getting fresher and fresher, and so excited as the momentum built.
"When we got that, we converted it into points."
The loss of playmaker Nick Evans after half an hour severely dented the Blues' attacking options, which were further weakened when Joe Rokocoko departed just after half-time.
And skipper Nathan Sharpe said the loss of two main backline threats exacerbated the second-half comeback by the visitors.
"When guys like him [Evans] go off, a little bit of control was lost and with the fatigue the Blues lost their way," Sharpe said.
"Our team is a pretty fit team and we know that at the back-end of games we will be there competing."
And competing in New Zealand against a Blues side who had started the season on fire gave Shepherd another reason to be excited about what lay ahead.
"Leaving from Perth, I was still a little bit down about the Crusaders result [29-24 loss last week], and I knew we had to step up," Shepherd said.
"And never winning in New Zealand was something that was on our minds, getting that game out of the way is a huge boost."
Just a point outside the top four, the Force will travel to Queenstown to take on the Highlanders next week, with a great chance of returning to Perth inside the top four for three successive games.
"It is getting exciting but we are trying not to get ahead of ourselves ... the last thing we want to do is go in with the attitude that we beat the Blues so this is going to be a walk in the park," Shepherd said.
"It is obviously not going to be. But we are building a lot of momentum, we are playing good football and we are dangerous every time we get the ball in hand.
"As long as we play for 80 minutes, I really don't see too many sides that will be able to stop us."
AAP
All the Force have to do now is win on the East Coast of Australia
Queensland, Queensland here we come![]()
The losing Nick Evans / Joe Rokocoko for the second half argument doesn't cut it. We went into the game missing Pocock and Boof which put us at least at the same disadvantage from the outset.
The Force didn't get lucky by any measure in this regard, they plain and simply outplayed the Blues.
C'arn The Force!
I told you we had it in the bag.
The writing was on the Wall for Nucifora.
The fat lady was singing for the Blues.
Quick someone start a Highlanders thread, whilst I still have a bag full of cliches!
Brother Gallagher I hear you
See its what i have always said a prop is as much missed as a fly half. We are thr true game players. Look also at the times our props where in as acting scrum half. God is there anywhere we cannot play.
losing Evans would be like the Force losing Giteau
The Highlanders lost Evens to the Blues this season and look how many games they could have won with a kicker!! Looking forward to Highlanders v Force this coming weekend. It should be a tough game. If the Highlanders have a kicker that day they might just upset the Force. If Highlanders don't have a kicker that day then I would say that they have no show against this mighty impressive Force team. The Force were fantastic in the Crusaders and Blues games, was so good to see. But the Highlanders are desperate and will probably upset a few teams before the season is over. I tell you what, I won't be betting on this game. What I do know is, somehow these are going to be the two teams playing in the grand final!! You can bet on that!!
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Lived in Perth (City West, Armadale) for one year and consider it home enough for me.
Highlanders v Force final!! Yeah!!
Highlanders v Force final would be freaking sweet, no doubt in my mind...I'd pay all my money to rig games to make that happen....
Hilgendorf was good at fly half, shame he's still recovering from that nasty hamstring tear from the ARC last year