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His curly mullet has already gathered a cult following at Subiaco Oval but Force winger Nick Cummins is fast becoming known for more than just his funky hair-do.
While most of the talk concerning the Force this year has centred around Matt Giteau's impending departure and the continual uncertainty surrounding the futures of James O'Connor, Drew Mitchell and Richard Brown, Cummins has quietly developed into a key player in the Force's blue-chip backline.
But there was nothing quiet about the 21-year-old's performance in the Force's 39-7 demolition of the Queensland Reds last week, where his barnstorming runs and attack on the ball was a highlight.
Cummins also proved to be a brick wall in defence, twice sending Blair Connor into touch when the young Reds winger appeared destined to cross over for a try.
After notching nine games in his debut Super 14 season last year, Cummins has become a more complete player in 2009 and is hungry to show there's even more upside to his game.
"Last year I didn't get much ball, I was new to the whole operation," Cummins said.
"Now I've learnt a bit more.
"The more ball you get the more excited you are, because sometimes as a winger you don't see it as much."
Cummins said Cameron Shepherd, Scott Staniforth and Drew Mitchell had played pivotal roles in his development.
"I've only been a winger since I've come to the Western Force, I've always been outside centre," Cummins said.
"Cameron Shepherd and Drew Mitchell helped me out a fair bit with positional play, and Staniforth has got some good points he brings in.
"I'm just happy to listen to those blokes because they know their stuff. Hopefully I can learn everything off them.
"I think when I get older and put a bit more weight on naturally, hopefully I'll push into the centres and have a bit more of a running role in the team."
Force coach John Mitchell sung the praises of Cummins, who was one of the country's leading Sevens players before making the transition into Super 14.
"Cummo's come a long way since his introduction to the Force," Mitchell said.
"He's only going to get better.
"He's a big, strong lad so it (his standout role against the Reds) will give him confidence and his teammates confidence that he can do the job."
The Force, six points adrift of the top four, tackle the sixth-placed Hurricanes in Perth on Friday night.
Cummins said the five-tries-to-one bonus-point win over the Reds had given the side belief in their ability.
"Now that we know what we can do we are expected to do that every time without fail," he said.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/stor...005403,00.html
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