Force turn to former Brumbies for 2009

[robyn <3]

so what would our back three look like with playford now? i think cummins should break onto the wallabies squad soon but would playford start before him? i doubt drew would move from 11 unless cam is not right at the start of the season... stanners played a fair bit of last season at 14...
isnt haig leaving?

where does playford fit into all of this? i dont know him at all

[GIGS20]

For my money I'd say Playford would be a capable bench cover for back three, he caould play either wing or fullback. Assuming everybody's fit, I'd think we could do a lot worse than Drew 11 Cam 15 Nicky 14 and Playford 22.....It doesn't leave a lot of room for Spanner anywhere though and you'd really want a Staniforth on your bench somewhere. I'd suggest somebody's going to miss out on a well deserved spot until injuries play their part.The makeup of the bench will be heavily dependent upon the look of the inside backs, and the respective fitness of a whole bunch of players, not least of which will be our pack. If the pack is really strong and there are no questionmarks, Mitch could well use the emarrassment of riches to play three backs on the bench, given that number 12 could be taken by Gits, Rabbit, Junior, Spanner, Tatupu gawd who else?

[NTT]

Barring injuries i think the Force backline will be :
9 - Valentine
10 - Giteau
11 - Mitchell
12 - O'Connor
13 - Cross
14 - Staniforth
15 - Shepherd

with : 20 - O'Young 21 - Pelesasa 22 - Playford/Cummins

[TommyM]

I agree NTT.... Jeez, we sure have an abundance of riches in the backs! Think the recruiting has been a wee bit unbalanced. Front row is still definitely the area of concern. :-/

[Swee_82]

From todays paper- Playford and Stanford passed thier physicals and are expected to sign in the next few days.

Also in the article:

*"Playford laughed off a suggestion he might be joining a troubled club. "Some of the world's best players and one of the best coaches are here" he said. "It's not a problem."

*Subi test next year will be against the Yarpies on Aug 29

[robyn <3]

Barring injuries i think the Force backline will be :
9 - Valentine
10 - Giteau
11 - Mitchell
12 - O'Connor
13 - Cross
14 - Staniforth
15 - Shepherd

with : 20 - O'Young 21 - Pelesasa 22 - Playford/Cummins

i like all of that, bar staniforth in 14. he is completely wasted on the wing. him, jp and joc will be fighting it out for that 12 position i think, with cummins at 14.

[GIGS20]

Much as I Like Spanner and think he deserves a walk up start in any backline (yes that does include the Wobblies) that start is NOT on the wing, and I reckon with Mitch's desire to run two playmakers, Spanner's trademark hard, straight, strong game isn't going to win him number 12. My call would be Playford/Cummins to fight out the 14 jersey with Spanner playing super sub assisted by any number of talented others....Daruda will probably get a look by virtue of the fact that he's a bit of a ball player and also a Kicker. Junior is the player who confuses me, He's a younger clone of Spanner and really, you can't see much of a place for two players of that mould in a team that is starting Ryan Cross at 13.......watch this space, but I reckon the days are numbered for either Spanner or Junior and given Spanner's age (and nothing other than his age) I'd be putting my money on Junior to stay.

That's my 2c anyway!

[Burgs]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of a long term #10 Gits, #12 JOC partnership.
It leaves too big a defensive hole and is relying on 100% mobility in attack.
IMHO, '09 should be a consolidating apprenticship year for JOC on the bench with Stanners returning to #12.

Mine would be:

9. Valentine/O'Young (got a coin anyone, neither blow my hair back)
10. Gits (though I still rate him as a better #12)
11. Mitchell
12. Stanners
13. Cross
14. Cummins
15. Shep
20. see toss at #9...
21. JOC
22. Playford

Though perhaps with both Gits and JOC you wouldn't carry a specialist Scrumhalf on the bench so you could include Junior or similar hard running Centre. Get a bit creative about utilising both Gits and JOC closer to the turnover.

[robyn <3]

im with gigs. spanner is going to have trouble finding a spot in that backline next year. i dont want him on the wing because its not natural for him, and i think cummins should look at wallabies soon and needs all the game time he can get.
in the s14 next year spanner will be 31, junior will be 28 and james will be 18... im not sure how much longer staniforth will play for.

burgs, i think the o'connor 10 giteau 12 partnership could be better, but i think both of those players have amazing skill and could cover it. james has shown his size doesnt stop him in defense and i think they could pull it off nicely

[NTT]

I wouldn't play Staniforth at 12. Yes i know he had one great season at 12 but realistically we needed to play him there as our 2006 backline wasn't great. His best position has always been on the right wing. This recent international season has showed that with the second playmaker at 12, Giteau plays some very fine rugby at 10. For me having O'Connor in at 12 provides this better than the crashball style of Staniforth. With Giteau and O'Connor running the show we are going to need outside backs who can find the tryline. Cross, Mitchell, Staniforth and Shepherd are all specialists at finding the tryline. If they all stay fit we shouldn't have trouble scoring tries.

[laura]

I'm with Burgs, use Spanner while we still can. J'OC has much to learn still and Spanner is a competent, viable, fit, safe option for the 12 jersey, I say put him on at 12 and have J'OC on the bench behind him. James might be a fantastic wonderkid but Spanner knows what he's doing and has the experience to make the calls needed. No one ever became fantastic overnight and I think J'OC needs to learn the ropes maybe before he can call the jersey his own, that way he will know what its like to fight for his jersey and he will know the hard yards he has to put in to stay at the top...perfect set up for when he gets the Wallabies gig permanently.

[GIGS20]

I'd have to say my perfect world #10 #12 combination would be O'Connor 10 and Gits 12, I think we'd not give up too much at 10 and gain a whole mess 'o experience and talent at 12.....Rabbit is still young enough to be moulded into a world class #10 and should have the opportunity. so I'd go with Rabbit onto the bench as backup 10 and play him with Gits outside him when he plays.....that leaves the hole at 12 when Gits is playing 10....Spanner will fill the hole OK and it's not as if we couldn't do with his defence there for sure, But I'd think a younger set of legs might be helpful....Possibly Junior or Daruda (depending whether we want to crash ball or play ball)

[gotheforce]

I wouldn't put Cummins in the 15, and he might struggle to be in the 22. Its a highly competitive squad next year (actually its always been). And unfortunately, though he has improved well over the season, Cummins is still not up to scratch yet. He doesn't go looking for opportunities as good wings do (such as Hynes in recent times). And because Cummins is strictly a wing, he might lose his spot on the bench cos of his in-versatility.

With spanner being at 12, i think its the best position for him this season. We can all agree he isnt really a wing, but a centre. And though he suits more of a 13, we have Cross who is one of the best 13 in Australia. Spanners gives experience to a young team. But he isnt only limited to being a crashball centre, he has shown in the first year that he has got some fancy footwork as well. JOC at 12 would sound like a great team, but James isnt the best defensive player, though he is very very good for his size. And with 12 and 13 being the 2 channels that are attacked at most, we need someone reliable there, and Spanners fits the bill. JOC has got great versatility despite his experience. I can see him in the 22, but not starting as of yet. He has shown in grade rugby that he can play 9(who knows?!), 10, 12, 11, 14 and even 15.

With the team fully fit, i can see a backline of
9: Chris O Young
10: Gits
11: Mitchell
12: Staniforth
13: Cross
14: Sare
15: Sheps
20: Valentine
21:JOC
22: Playford/Junior

[TOCC]

any word on there signing?

Playford has potential as a player, his just lazy, he has never reached the heights he is capable of

[lara93]

they said within this week so im guessing rather soon