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NICK TAYLOR, The West Australian
February 22, 2011, 11:36 am
The Western Force know too well that Sunday’s one-point loss to the Queensland Reds was the one that got away.
Their game plan effectively nullified the Reds’ three main strike weapons.
The half-back pairing of Will Genia and Quade Cooper around the ruck were taken out of the game and powerful speedster Digby Ioane, who likes to hit the line hard off a Cooper inside ball from a line-out, was stopped in his tracks.
The Force “in-your-face” defence and ruck work rattled several of the Reds, particularly Genia.
The back-row trio was effectively a back-row quintet, with Ben McCalman as destructive from the second row as from the side of the scrum and Nathan Sharpe picking up from last year’s great season.
Yet they could never get more than six points ahead and that was decisive when Cooper converted replacement hooker James Hanson’s late try to beat the Force 21-20.
Force coach Richard Graham said his side had been naïve towards the end of the game, trying to play its way out of defence rather than kicking for position.
Forwards coach Nick Stiles knows it was a game the WA outfit should have had in the bag.
“We’ll review the tape and we’ll say ‘how did we not win that game’,” Stiles said. “We dominated in all facets. The only thing we didn’t win was the game.”
Stiles said that despite the loss he was pleased with the way the pack stepped up.
They took two Reds line-outs, a tighthead and turned over several balls, in stark contrast to the way they were dealt with at times by the Waratahs in the second pre-season trial.
“One of the things we can take out is how well the forwards stepped up,” Stiles said.
“We were unhappy with our game against the Waratahs and the pleasing thing was the guys responded to that.
“Full credit to the guys. We had a big thing about ‘getting the job done’ this week.
“Individually we said that if you get your job done we’ll come together collectively as a group. The guys did that.”
Stiles said the hype generated about the big pack the Reds threw at his side was not a concern.
“There was a lot of talk during the week about the size of the Reds’ forwards pack. They picked very heavy guys,” he said.
“James Slipper, Saia Faingaa, Ben Daley in the front row are all the flavour of the month with the Wallabies and our boys really had a good go against them.
“How could they write us off so easily.”
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...win-that-game/
I'm still filthy.........gutted too
Controversy corner
as am i.. but probably not as gutted as i was when we lost to the Blues in Perth in 2007.... that Ref (Kaplan)blunder allowing Mealamu to use a diff ball to throw in a quick line out was like a stab in the heart...
Dunno, that game wasn't as bad as some of the utter capitulations I have endured. Whilst I'm filthy that we didn't finish it off, I don't feel empty like I have after some games.
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We only created one real scoring opportunity with Sheps. O'Conner's try wasn't a chance created by us, it was just quick thinking.
The Reds actually created chances when they were in our 30. It isn't a surprise we never got more than 6 points ahead, we were only holding our own for 80 minutes. We can really utilize David Smith and Sheps if the inside backs set them up properly.
We did dominate in most aspects. But the way the game was played by both teams its no surprise that it could of gone either way.
To be fair, there was a lot of dropped ball in critical positions. Mitch Inman was crucified by about three passes which (if he'd caught them) would have seen him in the clear with players outside him. Couple that with a couple of plays where great buildups were destroyed by people holding the ball too long and getting caught, I think we had the makings of about 8 or 10 line breaks that weren't finished off.......we made opportunities, but didn't capitalize on them, the reds had far fewer opportunities but finished more of them.
C'mon the![]()
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The Reds also conceded a lot of penalties while we were hot on attack. A couple that Peter Hynes gave away for offside were ridiculous. A cheap way to slow the opposition's momentum.
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
what i dont get is the reds fans fawning over Davies in particular.. i thought he had a very ordinary game, he dropped an absolute sitter and then tried to decapitate Sheehan which earned him 10 on the sidelines...
I think the thing with Davies is the raw speed, the first time I saw him I thought he was revelatory, no Aussie winger for over 10 years that quick. Unfortunately, it appears if he's not in a fair bit of space, with an ability to use that speed he seems to be pretty useless.
You don't know whether he needs to put on some muscle and add to his power game, that's risky, because he will lose some speed, and he might never develo a suitable power game.
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yeah, the reds gave away at least three penalties when we were hot in attack, well inside their 22. i was screaming for a yellow, but i don't think it even got talked about in the game.
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
Yeah I watched again last night, this time with sober eyes, the ref was a bit of a knob, defence was excellent, we should have a whole new dynamic when Ripia starts, bring on the Sharks, can't wait for it !
well at least Rugga Chick wasn't too harsh on us. Sadly though, she seems to be wearing more this season
sorry maybe its just me but that accent of hers is really annoying.. lol coming from a Zimbo thats a bit rich hehe![]()