Force V Bulls @ NIB, Rnd 11

[Brumby Runner]

Just out of interest does anyone know the general play kicking stats for the first half - I know they're close but are the Force just ahead in this area?

Not sure if this has been answered yet, but 38 to Force and 36 to Bulls. Total 74. Must be a (really unwanted) record.

 

[boyo]

Kilkenny anyone!

Nice beer

 

[Moono75]

Nice beer

Mother in law just rang....Alll good just boasting Carlton got up over Eagles...crisis over!

 

[biggsy]

And the Reds got RG

And the tahs got cheika.

 

[ChargerWA]

Just got home from the game. Looking forward to watching the replay tomorrow so I can work out how the hell we won that. Both teams had plenty of handling errors but the bulls would have had a few more. But the bulls dominated our line out, so that should even that out. They definitely won the kicking duel. Their touch finders carved off many more meters and their up and unders were better contested.

At this point I can only put it down to belief. The Force believed they were going to win and the Bulls after a fruitless tour just didn't have any belief.

 

[ChargerWA]

Oh and I sat in the new stand for the first time. nib stadium is a brilliant venue, now made better by a modern stand. Rate it highly.

 

[Moono75]

Oh and I sat in the new stand for the first time. nib stadium is a brilliant venue, now made better by a modern stand. Rate it highly.

Real members sit in the rain. Adds character.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Real members sit in the rain. Adds character.

That's where I was. Bloody drenched I was by the end of it.

 

[Forcefield]

At this point I can only put it down to belief. The Force believed they were going to win and the Bulls after a fruitless tour just didn't have any belief.

Belief or efficiency? The frequency of the Force taking points when we have possession inside opposition territory is much improved. On the flipside, we are generally giving away fewer penalties and fewer tries than we have in the past. We tend to turn over possession by pressuring knock ons or pressuring breakdown penalties. We are a pretty patient side at the moment. Happy to hold onto the ball for multiple phases. Happy (ish) to defend for multiple phases.

 

[Shiggins]

I was in the standing room at the shed. 35 bucks and brilliant. Great view. Not a bad seat in the stadium I reckon. Really happy with the win. It was anyone's game with that terrible weather. Still raining in Perth now. Good to see

 

[Nipper]

I wasn't thrilled with Sias' defense, and then in the last 20 he turned into a man possessed. He smashed someone behind the gainline, was hitting rucks and even (I believe) pilfered a ball at a breakdown.

The match wasn't a pleasure to watch, until the whistle went and the W was in the books. They did what they had to do, and played the game that they had to play.

Though, I still wish Sias had move the ball wide instead of stabbing that kick through when they had the advantage on the Bull's goal line...

Cottrell would've been my MOTM - it bodes well that seemingly every game a different member of the backrow stands up and has a quality game.

 

[Shiggins]

This game was very even. The only clear difference was the bulls in the lineout. I think the force just took the points that were on offer. The bulls didn't

 

[Hoolly Doolly]

While i understood the strategy of kicking and pinning the bulls in their own half considering the conditions, i couldnt help but cringe at some of the options taken from attacking positions to chip or grubber the ball through. The overload of kicking reminds me too much of last year when that strategy wasnt very successful for us. Im looking forward to when we can go back to the start of our winning streak and try and score tries again.

 

[ChargerWA]

No one is scoring try's like they were at the start of the season. Just look at the Tahs and Chiefs. The defences are dominating now as the teams defensive systems come together.

In hindsight, this win was pretty big for us. In previous years we would have dropped this game, it speaks to real improvement.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

While i understood the strategy of kicking and pinning the bulls in their own half considering the conditions, i couldnt help but cringe at some of the options taken from attacking positions to chip or grubber the ball through. The overload of kicking reminds me too much of last year when that strategy wasnt very successful for us. Im looking forward to when we can go back to the start of our winning streak and try and score tries again.

Understand the point and mostly agree, but last night was just a shit night for footy and neither team showed anything whatsoever. I think in better conditions we'll go with a more attacking game plan.

In all honesty though, we play a pretty conservative style of rugby and play to our strengths. Other than Godwin and maybe Morahan, we don't have a lot game breakers in the backs and in a way it works in our favour. When the likes of JOC (James O'Connor) played for us, there was the expectation that we'd throw the pill to an individual and they'd create some magic. Now we play a more direct, team oriented game that suits us more.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

No one is scoring try's like they were at the start of the season. Just look at the Tahs and Chiefs. The defences are dominating now as the teams defensive systems come together.

In hindsight, this win was pretty big for us. In previous years we would have dropped this game, it speaks to real improvement.

Dead right and I said as much in my review. We would have bottled this in previous years. These days we seem to have more composure and confidence in our structures to close these ones out.