2014 Squad so far

[eleypinkbit]

Seriously Ali, Dave v Alby? Surely Alby has to win!
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[James]

Pat O'Connors in his second year with French club Agen. He would be worth looking at again, I also recall he was aligned with Rocky back in the day.

I think he would definitely be worth a look in. Do you know if he is currently getting much game time at Agen? I think that with question marks over Lynn, Wykes and Battye, someone should at least sound him out.

[sandgroperrugby]

After the recent scare with his little wean, he may be wanting to re-prioritise his life anyway

Been away a little while what scare and what is a wean? I assume you are referring to sheahan?

[shasta]

what is a wean?

A bairn. His was pretty crook for a while.

[WFDom]

I (like others who have commented as such) am starting to wonder if Hodgo is the right man to lead the Force. I was banging the drum like most others when he was appointed. It was deserved.

We've all seen what a good player Alcock is when he gets a shot. I hate for us to get in to the same situation as Wales did with Sam Warburton's form crashed. They ended up having to play him as he was the Captain, hoping he'd find form. Sitting behind him in the pecking order was Justin Tipuric, they tried to accomodate them both, to no avail. When Wales were beaten by Ireland in the 1st game of this years 6N's Warburton was dropped (or injured, coincidently). Ryan Jones was then bought in as captain & BSF. Tipuric was bought in as OSF and Wales went on to win the 6N's. Tipuric's form was excellent & many now consider him to be 1st choice for the Lions tour.

I really rate Hodgo as a player, but I do think we're in a bit of a situation... similar to the Welsh. Looking back I think maybe the appointment was made a little too soon.

What about giving MMM a go, he would definately lead by example... maybe he's to injury prone?

What other options are there?

[Tonkar]

After the recent scare with his little wean, he may be wanting to re-prioritise his life anyway

Brett's Baby ( The Wean ) had a very bad health issue early on this yrwhich nearly cost the the baby its life so thats the scare and the wean for ya

[Marty_Mcfly]

What other options are there?

Pek has been captain in a few matches, but I am not really convinced he is the man to replace Hogo. they both offer a very similar "lead-by-example" quiet captaincy.

To be honest our most consistent player has probably been Alby, and I would be interested to see how he would handle the captaincy. I think he may have led the team in one of the trial games?

Perhaps they didn't see enough from him at that time, but I feel he has certainly shown his worth since then.

[sittingbison]

Alby is not a leader of men. He is an individual who can influence proceedings, both good and bad. There is a difference.

[Buddha Handy]

With these new signings coming through we really need to hang on to Mafi and Cummins and the backline would be pretty dangerous with plenty of depth.

This would look pretty good next year.

9 - Alby
10 - Holmes
11 - Mafi
12 - Godwin
13 - Morahan
14 - Cummins
15 - SNK

You could swap 13 and 14 but I think Morahan is more experienced at 13 from club rugby

Bench- Prior, Ebersohm/Christie, Rasolea/Hayward, Dellit/Stubbs

[Marty_Mcfly]

Alby is not a leader of men. He is an individual who can influence proceedings, both good and bad. There is a difference.

interesting point, though not sure I agree with it.

I wouldn't be able to argue he is a great leader, as I haven't seen him lead (I didn't go to the Tonga trial game), but I think he has potential. Aside from a few silly infringements/"brain farts" early this season I feel he has been one of our top players (i.e. auto selection). he is also vocal and is prepared to speak up to the ref (though name me a halfback who isn't!), and he seems to be able to fire the team up.

in my opinion there are a few boxes that must be ticked in an effective captain:
1. Have the full unquestioned respect of the team (probably my most important characteristic).
2. Automatic selection every week.
3. Visibly rises on the field when the going gets tough, and as a result drags the rest of them with him.
4. Able to influence/speak favourably with the ref on field. I know this one seems like a weird one, but there are some who just seem to grate the ref the wrong way. Mowen did it a few times last year, and Waugh did it a lot at the Tahs, and the ref's just got their backs up and became irritated.
5. Dominant enough to literally lead the team around the paddock when required, as well as by example.
6. Committed to the team (to avoid the "Pocock situation" of the Captain leaving).

At the moment I am not convinced that Hodgo has all of these qualities, though he certainly has some and at times in the past has shown glimpses of them all.

Having said that, I don't think there is a ready made replacement sitting there ready to go. I am certainly starting to realise that, despite absolutely recognising him as an awesome man and player, we took Sharpe's ability for captaincy a little bit for granted...

[GAFFA]

Those hoping we sign lopeti timani will be disapointed he signed a 2 year deal today with the rebels.
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[James]

In the Force media announcements they have mentioned to players re-signing to be announced (tomorrow I think). Not entirely sure who. I have a feeling they would have made a big deal if it was Mafi and or Cummins. Might be Brown + 1.

[brokendown gunfighter]

brownie hasn't re-signed yet,according to what he told us in Canberra

[GAFFA]

In the Force media announcements they have mentioned to players re-signing to be announced (tomorrow I think). Not entirely sure who. I have a feeling they would have made a big deal if it was Mafi and or Cummins. Might be Brown + 1.

Wykes and Falkner

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/basketball/16947949/force-lock-in-key-pair/
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[jauzy19]

I think he would definitely be worth a look in. Do you know if he is currently getting much game time at Agen? I think that with question marks over Lynn, Wykes and Battye, someone should at least sound him out.

Pat O'Connor has been released by Agen at the end of the 2011/2012 season, i.e. 11 months ago. Don't know what he's doing now.

Dane Haylett-Petty could be released by Biarritz due to personal commitment.