Reds v Force - Trial 16/2

[Bruwheresmycar]

The Force's strongest aspect is their backrow, and lets face it, in a trial game a dominant backrow doesn't count for much (because penalties don't matter nearly as much).

So the Force don't need to totally revamp their playing style, they just need to work on 2 things. Kicking & Defence. Set piece's were great from both teams, attack was decent and restarts were all good.

Onto the Reds:

- Kicking was outstanding (from all backs). So was goalkicking.
- Genia and Harris were throwing pinpoint passes.
- Defence was well organised.
- Forwards linked well with backs in attack.

However, the most effective thing they did all night was obstruction. Every single ruck they would hold anyone they could on the ground, meaning less players could get back into the defensive line. That is why Hodgeson got sin-binned, Horwill was doing this to him and he elbowed Horwill in the face.

This is not a shot at the Reds, IMO it was a well executed tactic that will serve them well if they can do it without refs catching on. And it was one of the reasons they put so many tries on us.

All in all the Reds just look like a solid team all over the park. They all understand each other well and seem to play like a team. I'd bet on them at any odds for top 4.

 

[Moono75]

Thanks for the insight Bruwheresmycar. I heard Nalaga was also sick prior to game so didn't play at all and the ball handling from the Force wasn't great? With Nalaga, Cummins and Dellit back in Im sure things will improve. Did Cam Shepherd get through OK?

 

[Bruwheresmycar]

Thanks for the insight Bruwheresmycar. I heard Nalaga was also sick prior to game so didn't play at all and the ball handling from the Force wasn't great? With Nalaga, Cummins and Dellit back in Im sure things will improve. Did Cam Shepherd get through OK?

1. Yea, I didn't see Nalaga. I've heard he was a late withdrawal.

2. Lots of knock on's, but worse was the bad passes (in front of and behind players). Sidey and Stanley need to improve on that. If they do fix this things will be so much smoother.

3. Agree, the team will be much stronger with Cummins and Nalaga on either wing. (Cummins is one of my favorite players, I think he'll be pushing for a wallaby spot soon)

4. Sheps had an average game by his standards. The whole kicking game from the Force was poor. In terms of physical fitness he looked OK, and we all know how good he can be when he stays injured for multiple games. So he looks on track at this stage.

 

[Swat]

Is there any footage or highlights of the trial anywhere?

 

[emuarse]

Hey Bruwheresmycar, I assume when you stated,

and we all know how good he can be when he stays injured for multiple games

, you actually meant uninjured.

 

[tigerland12]

NEWS ARTICLE
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2/16/2012
Reds primed for Waratahs following 40-10 trial victory over Force


The St.George Queensland Reds are primed for their round one FxPro Super Rugby encounter against the NSW Waratahs after scoring a commanding 40-10 trial victory over the Western Force in Perth on Thursday night.

The five tries to one affair was the perfect lead-up to the Reds grudge match on February 25 in Sydney with Digby Ioane, James Horwill, Greg Holmes, Jono Lance and Luke Morahan all scoring five-pointers during an entertaining 80 minutes of Rugby.

Ioane and Horwill have now scored tries in successive matches after the duo crossed the tryline against the ACT Brumbies in the Reds 27-20 trial victory in Cairns at the weekend.

In their only two trial games of 2012 coach Ewen McKenzie’s squad has now scored nine tries while conceding just two, one to Brumbies flanker Michael Hooper and the other to Force number eight Ben McCalman.

The Force were first on the scoreboard to lead 3-0 in the opening minutes before the Reds charged to an 18-3 halftime advantage before hitting top gear in the second half to score 35 unanswered points before conceding a late try.

Flyhalf Mike Harris finished with a personal individual tally of 15 points courtesy of three conversions and three penalties while lock Rob Simmons, scrumhalf Will Genia, blindside flanker Eddie Quirk and winger Digby Ioane all produced standout performances.

Simmons and Quirk were enforcers in producing superb defensive efforts in both contact and at the breakdown while vice-captain Genia sparked numerous point scoring raids with his agility around the ruck.

Ioane continued his dominant preseason form and was dangerous with almost every touch of the ball, scoring the opening try of the match before setting up two others to Holmes and Morahan.

“We improved in the areas we targeted for tonight’s game and I was pleased with how we performed at the breakdown and with our effort in scrums,” coach Ewen McKenzie said.

“They’re both key areas that are focused on heavily in the opening part of the season and we made progress in both aspects tonight.

"We also had no injuries to come from the match and that is a huge positive."

Force flyhalf James Stannard kicked a penalty goal in the opening minutes to give the Force their only lead of the match with Harris responding almost immediately by adding three points to level the scores.

Ioane continued the scoring for the Reds when he crossed in the left corner following some slick ball movement by the inside backs.

The opening quarter saw the Reds enjoy the majority of attacking opportunities with a 60-metre effort by winger Dom Shipperley a highlight which resulted from the pressure applied by the up-tempo approach of Genia.

Harris extended the lead to eight points with his second successful penalty goal before captain James Horwill took advantage of some strong forward play to score the Reds second try of the evening.

Ioane played an integral role in the Reds opening two tries of the second half with Holmes benefiting from an Ioane quick tap while Morahan latched onto an Ioane grubber to bring the score to 35-3.

Morahan crossed following a movement that saw a turnover inside the Reds half, flanker Beau Robinson shifting the ball wide and Ioane kicking ahead.

The Force continued fighting and scored a late close-range try to number eight Ben McCalman before Reds playmaker Ben Lucas set-up a brilliant try for Jono Lance to bring the score to 40-10.

Lucas put in a perfectly weighted chip-kick before Ben Tapuai and Nick Frisby linked with Lance for the Reds fifth and final try.

In 2012 the Reds are out to win back-to-back championships with the upcoming St.George Queensland Reds Fan Day on February 18 from 11:00am-2:00pm at Ballymore the perfect opportunity for fans to meet and take photos with their favourite players before the season commences.

The Fan Day is always a hugely memorable event on the Queensland Rugby calendar. To see a complete list of activities visit - http://www.redsrugby.com.au/NewsEvents/FanDay.aspx.

St.George Queensland Reds 40 (Digby Ioane, James Horwill, Greg Holmes, Luke Morahan and Jono Lance tries, Mike Harris 3 cons, 3 pens) def Western Force 10 (Ben McCalman try, James Stannard con, pen)

 

[tigerland12]

Very pleased to hear Ed Quirk had a blinder.

 

[GaffaCHinO]

So being at the game last night it was a little like boys vs. men. The reds were very physical at the break down as stated above but I think that it may have over stepped the line a few times.

Don’t get me wrong the reds out played the Force all night but the ref has a lot to answer for what he let go on last night.

Horwell and Simmons play a very grubby game taking players out off the ball flying in like a kamikazes and the incident with Hodgson was Horwell had him in a choker hold off the ball and hodgo gave him an elbow to let go and he gets yellowed??? I didn’t know this was WWE. (the ball had already gone 3 phases from where the incident occurred before he let go)

The Reds Back 3 looked very dangerous every time they got the ball Digby is a gun but I think he needs to cut down on the running sideways, a lot of the time he got the ball and crabbed to the middle of the park yes no one laid a hand on him but he also didn’t make any yards.

Genia and Harris combined very well all night and I really liked the balance. Harris’s goel kicking was also on song kicking I think 7/8??(if I remember correctly) Genia was playing against Tuner in the First half and the Difference between these two players was light years. At one point Genia plucked a ball from the back of a Force scrum right out of Turners hands.

The Forward where evenly matched all night Lynn was good at set piece but needs to learn how to pass. He butchered a try with a dodge pass which went to ground and forward.

One this that surprised me was the amount of work that slipper gets through he was everywhere at the start of last night and the other was that Mafu needs to loose some more weight, he has slimmed down a fair bit but he needs some more to come of, he did make some very nice tackles in tight which you could hear and feel from the stands.

Seymour came on late and was playing at 15. He wasn’t involved much but he messed up a great opportunity which could have seen the force go over for another try. We had a 2 on 1 overlap and all he had to do was the old draw and pass and Mafi was in the clear, but as soon as he got the ball he passed it straight away which ment the defender could drift over and mafi had to cut in.

Simple things like this all night let the force down.

Mafi was very good all night and I think he will be there come next week.

Wykes went don’t late holding his Hamstring/Calf not sure what is was but lets hope he is ok.

The Reds Just looked like a much more professional well drilled team and last nights team will come next week they will be a team to reckon with again this year.

The Force still have plenty of players to come in but I really think we need a 10 who can take control of the game a little better than what chucky did he looked abit our of his depth last night.

But this was just a trial match which doesn’t count for much in the bigger picture. Here’s hoping the force will be able to step it up and be a little more competitive next week, and best of luck to the reds on the upcoming season after last night showing they are the team to beat.

 

[Moono75]

I agree GaffaChinO, the Force might need a more experienced 10 but is there anyone decent available at this stage? Whilst we shouldn't read too much into the two trial games. I guess the only concerning thing is that we aren't taking great form into round 1 and thats not something you can just switch on and off at will. To quote legendary NFL Coach Vince Lombardi “Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don’t do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
Lets hope the Force start the season by stringing some wins together,rather thank playing catchup football for the rest of the season. Go the Force!

 

[spectator]

Thanks to Bru and Gaffa for the match reports.

Well, the Reds have obviously shown good trial form and thankfully no injuries this game. Great to see that Quirk was impressive. I'm interested to know how Schatz went?

It will be veryinteresting to see what the starting team v. the Tah's is next week. It appears that Harris might have done enough to get first crack at 10.

 

[Bruwheresmycar]

I can't remember much of Schatz, he must have been working hard at the breakdown for most of the game.

Against the Tahs, the Reds just need to keep sucking in players to the breakdown and then spread the ball wide as fast as possible. Their kicking needs to be of a high standard too because they seem to give away a lot of penalties.

 

[brokendown]

Simmons had a dose of the angry pills for some reason,he was putting in the niggling stuff off the ball for most of the game
can't understand what he was trying to acheive really

 

[What2040]

Simmons had a dose of the angry pills for some reason,he was putting in the niggling stuff off the ball for most of the game
can't understand what he was trying to acheive really

Simmo was never considered a "hard man" through schools and beyond. Had all the attributes required to make an international lock but just didn't have or at least show the mongrel. Maybe he's decided its time to give a different perception

 

[Sully]

There were a few complaints about his general attitude during the world cup. Sounds like he has taken it on board. I have no problem unless he gets penalized.

 

[Lee Grant]

However, the most effective thing they did all night was obstruction. Every single ruck they would hold anyone they could on the ground, meaning less players could get back into the defensive line. That is why Hodgeson got sin-binned, Horwill was doing this to him and he elbowed Horwill in the face.

This is not a shot at the Reds, IMO it was a well executed tactic that will serve them well if they can do it without refs catching on. And it was one of the reasons they put so many tries on us.

What pisses me off is that we see Kiwi teams, SAffer teams and the Poms doing this all the bloody time and our guys are like Little Bo-Peep by comparison. Good for the Reds if they get away with it - all Oz teams should too. Horwill over-does it a bit but my advice would be: push it out there then bring it back if you have to.

A couple of years ago somebody announced proudly that the Tahs were the least penalised team in the Super14. I nearly threw up. I didn't want to follow a team with the least number of penalties - I wanted to follow a team with the most number of wins.

Sounds like the Reds are playing with physicality - the Tahs haven't been bad either. Should be a cracking game next week, but I hope that the ref keeps his eye on that dirty rotten cheat Horwill.

Thanks for the reports everybody.

 

[Rooter]

Simmo was never considered a "hard man" through schools and beyond. Had all the attributes required to make an international lock but just didn't have or at least show the mongrel. Maybe he's decided its time to give a different perception

I think we would like to see our forwards show some aggression - The other point while some are talking up the prospects of the Force with a couple of players coming back from injury. It should be noted the Reds were without Quade, Rocket, Higgers, Saia, A W-H, and Van - some experience there too

 

[Moono75]

I think we would like to see our forwards show some aggression - The other point while some are talking up the prospects of the Force with a couple of players coming back from injury. It should be noted the Reds were without Quade, Rocket, Higgers, Saia, A W-H, and Van - some experience there too

I'm guilty of talking the Force up but I just want to see some good results this year. I think the Reds are the form team in the Oz conference but the addition of Pretorius with the Tahs could be a huge factor. It will be a top game. Its a shame each side arn't able to put there absolute top team on the park but thats rugby. We can look forwad to the rematch in round 21. Good luck to all OZ teams for the battle ahead.