Western Force 2010 - Strengths & Weaknesess

[James]

Experience is only valuable if you are in the 22 and ideally the first 15. Horua and Pusey were on the outer and certainly weren't favourites for a starting spot. Pelesasa was good but was much in the same boat. Valentine has been amply replaced by Sheehan. There is almost noone on this site who isn't relieved to see Drew Mitchell go. He has some good qualities but his kicking game is so unbelievably atrocious they are very easy to forget about.

The big losses are Staniforth, McIsaac and Giteau. And if Shepherd and Nick Cummins were at 100% fitness we wouldn't be so concerned about Staniforth. Not every side in the competition can have Matt Giteau playing for them and plenty of sides have won matches with far worse fly-halves than Matt Giteau or even Andre Pretorius.

I'm not going to go ahead and argue that the Force are semi-finals contenders because I don't think they will but there is no point in talking about what these teams look like on paper but it doesn't mean squat.

[sandgroperrugby]

Reckon you are on to it there James those three are the big loses. If the two injury clouds that permently hang over Cummins and Shepherd fuck off then i reckon we would be in a good place.

[James]

Reckon you are on to it there James those three are the big loses. If the two injury clouds that permently hang over Cummins and Shepherd fuck off then i reckon we would be in a good place.

Yes take away those injury clouds and put in an experienced and serviceable hooker and we would be semi-final contenders.

[Lee Grant]

I hate our draw. We have a lot of the easier teams away (Highlanders, Lions, Cheetahs, Reds) and a lot of the harder teams at home (Bulls, Crusaders, Waratahs, Chiefs). There is the opportunity to both cleans up away and at home but it makes every game extra tough.

You should think the other way James.

It's about time the Force win those close home games that they have let slip time and time again. They are a mature side now, having gone a few seasons; they ain't in Kansas any more.

Fans of other teams would like their harder games at home where they historically have a higher win rate. Likewise they would like their away games against easier opponents, on paper, because away games are harder to win.

If I were a Force fan (well, I am except when they play the Tahs) I would love your draw.


Ash

An excellent post. The best I have read on this site.

[Rex Messup]

Ash

An excellent post. The best I have read on this site.[/QUOTE]

You should head back to the Colo old boy
We miss your pages of commentary. It's better than what we read in the "West Australian"
Do an old mate a favour and copy and paste your write-ups and I'll forgive you for getting me banned at the gay boys site TYS

[Lee Grant]

Colo??

---------- Post added at 22:58 ---------- Previous post was at 22:58 ----------

Getting you banned?? Please explain.

[Burgs]

For those with an interest, the new season official photos are up on the Force profile page, except for Luke Jones.

And, for the record, Tyrell is on a full contract.

[pieter blackie]

the group photo is done tomorrow with some juniors from every club

[Burgs]

Back to the original premise of the thread, Strengths & Weaknesses, just looking through the players and of the 31 there are 14 who have never played for the Force and another four with five or less matches. Six are yet to debut in any form of Provincial Rugby. Three are yet to play in either of Australia's top Club Competitions.
All together it is a huge restructure, an almost "new team".
From our last fixture v Highlanders those remaining from the 22 are:

1. Cowan
4. Wykes
5. Sharpe (C)
6. Hodgson
7. Pocock
11. Sare
12. Tatupu
13. Cross
16. Whittaker
18. Hockings
19. Stanford
20. O'Young
22. Haylett-Petty

I certainly don't think these are insurmountable factors, but certainly ones to be aware of in considering the season ahead and staying a little grounded in expectations.
2011? Fantastic!
2010? Not so much. However, still capable (with a little good fortune, not always a Force strong point...) of being between 6 and 10 for sure.

[Rex Messup]

Colo??

---------- Post added at 22:58 ---------- Previous post was at 22:58 ----------

Getting you banned?? Please explain.

Don't play innocent with me old boy

---------- Post added at 22:48 ---------- Previous post was at 22:45 ----------

Back to the original premise of the thread, Strengths & Weaknesses, just looking through the players and of the 31 there are 14 who have never played for the Force and another four with five or less matches. Six are yet to debut in any form of Provincial Rugby. Three are yet to play in either of Australia's top Club Competitions.
All together it is a huge restructure, an almost "new team".
From our last fixture v Highlanders those remaining from the 22 are:

1. Cowan
4. Wykes
5. Sharpe (C)
6. Hodgson
7. Pocock
11. Sare
12. Tatupu
13. Cross
16. Whittaker
18. Hockings
19. Stanford
20. O'Young
22. Haylett-Petty

I certainly don't think these are insurmountable factors, but certainly ones to be aware of in considering the season ahead and staying a little grounded in expectations.
2011? Fantastic!
2010? Not so much. However, still capable (with a little good fortune, not always a Force strong point...) of being between 6 and 10 for sure.

You make your own luck Burgs
I think our pack will make us competitive but we lack the strike power in the backs to put teams away

[Lee Grant]

Rex

Although I know the original Rex Mossop, the old Wallaby and Kangaroo, I can't remember a poster called Rex Messup.

Nor have I ever been responsible for banning anybody, whether I have forgotten your username, or not.

I was a moderator on the TYS schoolboy forum which morphed into the present Green and Gold forum - not the main forum.

I could have banned somebody from the schoolboy forum but I didn't ban anybody; nor do I recall anybody getting banned. It wasn't exactly a hotbed of activity, except at tournament time.

Please post a retraction and all will be forgiven - but do it sincerely - don't make it a smartarse comment and think that will suffice.


As for Colo - now I know what you mean: The Colosseum forum. Yeah I wrote some posts on that about 3 years ago. Someone contacted me by PM on a Kiwi rugby forum. IIRR it was someone variously known on rugby forums as naza or Lord Naafi. He said that somebody was using my name on the Colosseum, or at least he thought so as the posts didn't ring true, and I should visit it if it wasn't me.

I visited and indeed: it was an impostor and the mods zapped him and I started writing a few things under my name. But it got very Sportal-like schoolboyish and it palled after a few months; so I haven't been back there for a couple of years. I may return to to see if things have improved and look up some posts by Rex Messup.

If I feel particularly malevolent I may sign up with another name and bear false witness against him. I doubt it though. I prefer to do things directly.


Sorry to hijack this thread briefly but RM's comments pissed me off.

[travelling_gerry]

Try it in a PM next time.

[Lee Grant]

Burgs

Wow - I didn't appreciate that there had been such a turnover of players. Yep it is going to be tough in depth I reckon. And yep, 2011 should be better than 2010 on paper, but beware of losing players to Melbourne.

The Force should have got a dispensation to use a lot of overseas players when they started up. Had the ARU acted then as they are doing for Melbourne now, the Reds wouldn't have lost so many players of a sudden and Oz rugby would have been better served.

I said at the time that the Force should have got a dispensation but I didn't think, nor did anybody think IIRR, that one of the Oz S12 teams would bear so much of the burden.

Because the ARU have decided to allow the Magnificent 10 for the Rebels, which I agree with, no one S14 squad should be gutted too much. Although I wrote a warning above about Melbourne it is a moderate warning. But it is a warning nevertheless: key players whose contracts terminate in 2010 should be locked in for 2011 ASAP.


Considering the players surviving from the last game of 2009:

The front row should be slightly better off. Although McIsaac has gone the new props should realise a net improvement in the 1st rank.

Brown Dog will be back in the backrow.

COY can be as good as Valentine was. I think he will get the starting gig in from of Sheehan. He played all over Sheano at Rat Park in 2009 - though one game is a small sample.

I expect DHP to supersede Sare on the wing. He was terrific in Sydney club rugby in 2009. I've watched Sare for his whole career except when he was overseas. He's a good footie player who can play wing but he was born to play in the centres, where he played just about all of his rugby for the Rats.

But if Cummins is out for a while he may have to play wing again, though he's never going to have a winger's pace.

I don't think that the 1st XV is going to suffer a great deal except for the loss of Giteau - but the bench won't be as good as in 2009 methinks.

---------- Post added at 12:39 ---------- Previous post was at 12:36 ----------

Try it in a PM next time.

Sounds good but when somebody accuses you publicly you want to respond publicly else people will think you did the thing you are accused of.

I've never been responsible for banning anybody.

[welshrugbyfan]

I worry about about our backs not being able to finish what I think our good forward pack will set up.

We still need a blistering BIG inside centre to break the line and offload to Crossy or the Kid.

Our wingers Hmmm.

I hope Shep never gets injured again cause that boy has got the goods at fullback or on the wing but for me he is so talented he should be the fullback. I'd like to lure HEWAT, GASNIER, HENJAK and TUILIAGI here as well. I'll give CUMMINGS another year to prove he's worthy.

[brokendown gunfighter]

with the demise of most of the ELVS & with it it "helter skelter" rugby,the Force forward pack will be well suited for the more traditional style of rugby
As for the backs,defence as usual will be the key.This with the ability to catch the high ball & counter attack will be important.Tactical kicking should not be a problem with Pretorius at 10
I think we will do alright
4th at a pinch