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This weekend’s game couldn’t come soon enough; anything to wipe out the memory of the game against the Sharks. There aren’t a whole lot of positives you can take out of a 27 point drubbing, a red card, and two players out injured and one suspended for the next few weeks. Regrettably, this week’s opposition isn’t going to be much easier. The Blues are sitting in 6th going into the fourth round courtesy of wins over the Crusaders and Lions. The Force have dropped to 12th with a depressing one bonus point to go with our four bye round bonus points. The Force are much better than 12th and Saturday night will be a great opportunity to prove it.
Head to Head
Force vs Blues games have tended to be very one-sided affairs, with the only close match being our 25-19 loss in Perth in 2009. These matches have seen some pretty depressing scorelines: 39-8 in 2006, 33-6 in 2007, and 38-17 in 2010. The good news is that the 2006 and 2010 editions were followed up by two of the most sensational games in the club’s history, resulting in a draw and a win against the Crusaders. In our past five games we have only ever been the victor once. It would be good to chalk another win in the Force column.
How we will win it...
The Blues are probably the most inconsistent team in the competition. One week they are pure class and the next week they are total ass. They scored themselves a win over the Lions last weekend which definitely works in our favour, though they were hardly classy in the process. They will be pretty fatigued having spent the last two weeks in the Republic. These are things we have to count on and use to our advantage, as their team is dangerously littered with All Blacks. Hopefully, they will also be taking us for granted.
So how do we capitalize on that? With the very average form of our attack we aren’t going to be able to mix it with the Blues’ backs, so we’ve got to take it to them in the forwards. We need the kind of forward display we showed against the Crusaders last year. We need to play for territory and pressure the Blues into making mistakes in their own half. Unleash Cameron Shepherd. With speedsters Alfie Mafi and David Smith ready apply the blowtorch as chasers we can keep the Blues far away from our try-line. As the Lions found out, if you give the Blues a chance, they will take it. This also means keeping the same intensity and accuracy in defence that we have brought to the last two games to limit these chances. Two weeks ago, the Sharks’ defence pressured the Blues into handling errors and ill-discipline. We have the resources to play for territory: A monster kicker, speedy chasers, and a line-out general in Nathan Sharpe who can worry to the Blues. Keven Mealamu is very much a hot and cold thrower, and if he has another off night, it’ll definitely work in our favour.
We can't afford to let their backline get going. In Auckland last year the Blues threatened every time the ball went wide. We need to close them down before that happens. We also can't afford to take our foot off the pedal. Back in the season opener in 2009 at Subiaco Oval we had the Blues on the ropes coming into the final quarter. A fade out in that final quarter, with some very pedestrian tackling, saw the Blues steal a 6 point win. It is a lot to ask from our guys, but I am sure they are busting for a win just as much as we are.
Who to watch out for...
Alfie Mafi should be making his run on debut for the Force. Mafi showed some glimpses of brilliance when he came on late in the game and it will be great to see what he can offer from the get go. I’d even be tempted to put a lazy bet on him being the first try-scorer.
Jerome Kaino is the beast of the Blues back row. He is a model number 6: Tackles hard, powerful ball runner, good line-out option, and gets himself to a fair few rucks. Kaino will definitely need to be contained in order to overcome the Blues. I am certain Ben McCalman, Matt Hodgson, and is up to the task.
Predicted Result
I’m afraid to say I don’t much fancy our chances. The Blues have one of the best backlines in the competition and we have lost the best menace to a backline in the competition. Backline resources are a bit thin and no doubt morale will be a little bit low. It’s hard to qualify last weekend’s performance with a man down, but before that, sloppy handling led to an easy Ndungane try. If we bring that kind of play on Saturday we’ll get absolutely blown away. I expect we will play much better than last week, but regrettably not good enough. Blues by 11.
Teams
Western Force
1. Pek Cowan
2. Ben Whittaker
3. Tim Fairbrother
4. Sam Wykes
5. Nathan Sharpe
6. Richard Brown
7. Matt Hodgson
8. Ben McCalman
9. Brett Sheehan
10. .James O’Connor
11. David Smith
12. Gene Fairbanks
13. Nick Cummins
14. Alfie Mafi
15. Cameron Shepherd
Reserves
16. Nathan Charles
17. Matt Dunning
18. Tevita Metuisela
19. Jono Jenkins
20. James Stannard
21. Matt Brandon
22. Pat Dellit
Blues
1. Tony Woodcock.
2. Keven Mealamu (Capt),
3. Charlie Faumuina,
4. Anthony Boric,
5. Ali Williams,
6. Jerome Kaino,
7. Daniel Braid,
8. Chris Lowrey,
9. Toby Morland,
10. Luke McAlister,
11. Rene Ranger,
12. Benson Stanley,
13. Jared Payne,
14. Joe Rokocoko,
15. Isaia Toeava,
Reserves:
16. Tom McCartney,
17. John Afoa,
18. Kurtis Haiu,
19. Luke Braid,
20. Alby Mathewson,
21. Stephen Brett,
22. Sherwin Stowers.
Printable Team Sheet Here