Avoiding last place is Force's sole objective

[Chopper1]

We will be the wooden spooners this year, I hate the Reds but they are improving and will kick our butts...

[Alison]

These two points stuck in my head. To lack something in their mentality for a decade-long period, there has to be something wrong in the organization as a whole. Players have come and gone, but overall something is amiss.

This team needs it's own version of Arsenal's Herbert Chapman to come in and establish a "way" for the organization to guide itself by. An ethos that becomes the foundation of the team, something that every player has to understand when they pull on the jersey.

I can't see this happening right away, things like that come about organically. But I'm certain it will come when the team further develops into being the actual WA State Team, rather than just the Force Super Rugby Franchise™

But there is one guy in the team now who might become that talisman, ironically he's not originally Western Australian either, but I can see Matt Hodgson developing into that. When you consider how much more alert the whole team is, how much they lift when he plays, I wonder how good a motivator he can be, if and when he takes up a coaching/advisory role?

I really thought we had found that "way" last year but it seems I was sadly mistaken. Re Hodgo - given that his presence around the team didn't make a lot of difference for the first half of this season, I don't know how good a motivator he will be once he hangs up his boots :-(

[Ralto]

after round 1 we were in an even better position to make the finals

Interesting, after being short of finals last year, a few things the Force needed to do this year were:
Start Well
Compete against the big hitters.

1st game of the season should have seen things crystallize for the Force, but that win seemed to tap into a huge vein of insecurity, a few loses, and we were back into "safe" territory, nice, warm and fuzzy - nothing expected.
The Force have a lot of "average" players, and they are average because that is what they settle for.

Aside from that. the Force forwards just have come back BIGGER next season for a start.

[GIGS20]

If the queue for the bitch slap job isn't already too long, I'll join it!

[Alison]

Talking of big forwards, one eastern states journo said today that he thought Will Skelton's current form was so fantastic that his name will be first on the team sheet when the world cup squad is drawn up. God help us.

[GIGS20]

Talking of big forwards, one eastern states journo said today that he thought Will Skelton's current form was so fantastic that his name will be first on the team sheet when the world cup squad is drawn up. God help us.

I assume he was writing a piece about the NRC right?

[James]

I feel like people aren't affording enough respect to the other teams in the competition. On what basis should we be finals contenders? We don't have the two decades of professionalism and organisation under our belts that the majority of Super Rugby teams hold. We don't have a lot to offer in terms of recruitment. We have only recently started producing significant numbers of talented local players and those that have been produced haven't reached their prime. Last year was fantastic and exciting and I am sure we will have many more like it. But why should we perform better than a dozen other teams? Michael Foley may not be perfect but he is probably the best coach we have had (pound for pound) and he is putting in place the framework that will allow future coaches to be more successful. Maybe we have been a bit conservative in our style of play, but we don't have the quality of game-breaking players that the other Super teams have. How many internationals are in the Blues side that are languishing as far down the ladder as we are?

I know it is shitty watching games like the one on Saturday, but we just need to chill out and think positively. Next year will be another good year for the Force.

[chibi]

Re Hodgo - given that his presence around the team didn't make a lot of difference for the first half of this season, I don't know how good a motivator he will be once he hangs up his boots :-(

That has also crossed my mind; especially as he has only made a difference when he's on-field. Again though, we find the usual question asked, "Does that mean the other players can't think for themselves without him?"

If their goal isn't to be the best S15 team in Australia and to win the comp they might as well hand their licence back and let another State have a crack in the competition.

Or an alternate proposition, which may annoy other Force supporters, is would they hand their licence back and let somebody else in WA have a go with a new team representing the State? I suppose there's more ways to skin a cat.

[Buddha Handy]

The other thing is that as bad as the team performance has been, the individual performances have been very poor from most. In a World Cup year you would think these guys would be playing out of their skins to make the Wallabies.

Prior to the season starting you would have said that we had 9 players who were a chance to make the Wallabies World Cup Squad (Pek, Charles, Faulkner, Coleman, Cottrell, Hodgo, McCalman, Godwin, Cummins).

Now I reckon we will end up with just 1 player (McCalman) in the squad. Coleman might sneak in but barring injury I don't think any of the others will make it. Hodgo deserves it but Pocock and Hooper will get picked ahead of him.

[MI5_Dog]

If you're only interested in playing Rugby to get into the Wallabies I would suggest that the Force is not the team you want to play for.

[bandit]

Want your Rugby game to improve don't play for the Force

[MI5_Dog]

That's not particularly true
we turn out the best back rowers in the country.
however if you play for the Wallahatahs you can be completely shite and still get picked for the Wallabies over a Force player whose shadow you're not worthy to piss on.

[The InnFORCEr]

Sure they may not be the best team in the comp, but when you play for them, you play against, in some cases (except the Tahs this year) a better opposition, which has to improve your game, more than continuing at a lower level. It is Super Rugby after all.

Can't agree with your thoughts sorry bandit.

[Ralto]

Will Skelton's current form was so fantastic that his name will be first on the team sheet when the world cup squad is drawn up. God help us.

ppppppppppppppppppppppphhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhht (with a nasty smell at the end) - He went absolutely feral in that last game, totally uncontrolled - tight pants methinks.

[Ralto]

Next year will be another good year for the Force.

Yikes