Western Force sign Nic White

[palitu]

ending an association with the Brumbies that started in 2008 when the halfback was signed out of school.

I got to here and discovered the reason. 1st paragraph. It is all he has known since he was 17. Alomst half of his life has been at the brumbies.

I get it, stressful, heartache, scared. The unknown and moving is hard for some people, no matter their rugby prowess. These guys are people, not robots.

(i will finish the article now, and see if it changes my mind!)

[palitu]

hahaha,

Nope, it is not that. spent 5 years overseas. it is a money thing. hopefully he gets the force bug....

[andrewM]

Is Prior retiring?

[Garry Owen]

Is Prior retiring?

Prior is actually only 32, not as old as some would think. Has been a very loyal servant but could go earn some good money overseas for last couple of years

[AndyS]

Nic White is a couple of months older than ian Prior.

[bootsetal06]

The challenge for everyone including Nic White himself will be …. will he buy into the Force culture and game plan or will he keep the ‘ this is how we did it at the Brumbies’ . If he can embrace a totally new environment and approach then he will be an asset if not then a liability.

[AndyS]

He is thirty two and an incumbent Wallaby, so expecting that he will suddenly play to some other game plan than the one he has always played seems a bit unlikely. He is the first player to get his hands on the ball, he pretty much decides what happens from there, and I'd expect it will be whatever normally happens from there. The rest of the team better be on-board with that, or the coaches will need to get them onto that plan - it was them that decided he was the marquee for them, and you don't buy a cat and expect it to bark. Fines will also need to get on-board with that style or move on, unless the team can suddenly change to a whole different game plan on the fly. And they need to look for or teach another player to fit in too, otherwise the team will be going through yet another rebuild in two years time.

[GIGS20]

He is thirty two and an incumbent Wallaby, so expecting that he will suddenly play to some other game plan than the one he has always played seems a bit unlikely. He is the first player to get his hands on the ball, he pretty much decides what happens from there, and I'd expect it will be whatever normally happens from there. The rest of the team better be on-board with that, or the coaches will need to get them onto that plan - it was them that decided he was the marquee for them, and you don't buy a cat and expect it to bark. Fines will also need to get on-board with that style or move on, unless the team can suddenly change to a whole different game plan on the fly. And they need to look for or teach another player to fit in too, otherwise the team will be going through yet another rebuild in two years time.

I only partially agree with both points.NICs people were in the room for the contract negotiation and the force weren't without leverage. It was a case of "you can't play for the Brumbies, so we only need to prove were the best of the other 4" they would have had an opportunity to say we like these aspects of what you do but need you to change X y and z. Then that negotiation commences. So no, he's not necessarily going to change the whole teams strategy. I believe Cron won't allow one player to be bigger than the team.As for Finesey having to change his style. I think that's even less likely. Homogenous styles are generally a bad thing in team sports, making a team one dimensional and less effective. Issaks best chance of standing out on the field is to be the best Isaak fines-leleiwasa he can be and not worry about trying to be nice white.

[AndyS]

Homogeneous styles is how teams like the Crusaders seem to have an endless conveyor belt of players, all of which come into the team and fit into their role seamlessly. If you look at SR, the top teams have identifiable styles and patterns of play. That happens because they have a very clear vision of how they play then recruit players that specifically fit that, or players they think will excel at that, or they develop players into that style. For what can be a variety of reasons, the bottom half of the table don't and are constantly trying to formulate a cohesive team out of the group they have available. It means constant adjustment, misalignment, errors, breakdowns in communication, and players following instinct rather than the game plan. It might only be a 5-10% difference, but that is all it takes at that level. If it weren't, the Baabaas would have the greatest record in world rugby with the players they have available.

It is all well and good saying Nic will play his best game, and Isaac will play his, but the whole team has to understand what that is and be ready to react instinctively. For the top teams, that isn't a problem because everyone is on the same page and know exactly what will happen, where to be and what to do then. From the sound of it the Force won't; either one or both of the halves will be expected to play against instinct, and any lapse will leave everyone floundering. Or the entire team will be expected to effortlessly switch between game plans, without error or confusion. In practice, that is how teams sometimes play like they've just met in the carpark that morning...although that is another and related problem the Force has.

[.X.]

He is thirty two and an incumbent Wallaby, so expecting that he will suddenly play to some other game plan than the one he has always played seems a bit unlikely. He is the first player to get his hands on the ball, he pretty much decides what happens from there, and I'd expect it will be whatever normally happens from there. The rest of the team better be on-board with that, or the coaches will need to get them onto that plan - it was them that decided he was the marquee for them, and you don't buy a cat and expect it to bark. Fines will also need to get on-board with that style or move on, unless the team can suddenly change to a whole different game plan on the fly. And they need to look for or teach another player to fit in too, otherwise the team will be going through yet another rebuild in two years time.

Gday AndyS

I agree with the part about Nic White being 32.

The remainder of your post - Im sorry mate I think you are waaaaay off the mark.

[shasta]

In all our history, this is the first time I can honestly say it is enjoyable watching them be adventurous with the ball - at home anyway. I've seen too much U-10's ball handling errors in the past. The game plan last night seemed to be to run those big Fijians off their legs defensively. It did result in some seeming "hospital passes" that weren't punished as the big buggers were struggling defensively. The rushing Kiwi defenses may have resulted in multiple shirts full of busted ribs and I'd bet London to a brick the plan would have differed for them. That game plan was executed very well by Issak Fines last night. I want to see more of that next season. Bugger that - the rest of this season starting next week. Players have come to Perth specifically to be coached by Simon Cron and get on board with his game plans. He has shown that reputations and past deeds don't count for a lot and I don't see that changing. You can't build a playing style in a couple of months (unless you're Wayne Bennett) but the signs are clearly there, despite the injury toll.

[valzc]

So good to finally see them play with ball in hand for the majority of the game and strategic kicking at last -hallelujah! What a difference that makes. The long looping passes were a bit scary, was waiting for an intercept that a Crusader would surely have punished, but a joy to watch. Really liked the way they shifted the ball on switch/reverse play passing to and fro made the Drua run hard. What a great running rugby game from both sides, that was fun to watch. Angus is still being a turd. And how good was the entertainment-loved the Albany boys! And apparently the Drua have had to do a lot of travel.

[WFDom]

Gday AndyS

I agree with the part about Nic White being 32.

The remainder of your post - Im sorry mate I think you are waaaaay off the mark.

I think there is some legitimacy in what Andy says. You look at the successful sides and there is evidence of it. Crusaders, Saracens, Leinster (mini Ireland) and definitely with the AB's over the years. Remove one part and you have an equally effective replacement part to effortlessly slot in.

I'm not saying it works this way for all successful sides, but for some it absolutely does.

I really don't think someone as astute as Cron will be changing anything to do with the vision he has going forward. I definitely got the impression from the informative podcast he did that he, that has a very good understanding of the team culture.

We'll see.....