Western Force 2015

[ChargerWA]

Whatever we do, we need to recruit with an eye to picking attacking players.

It's pretty gutting to look at the Super Rugby ladder and to see 3 teams above us with one less win. We need to find a way to score bonus points if we want to be a real threat next year.

 

[Forcefield]

personally i feel we dropped the ball in the recruiting stakes. i hope im wrong but i dot expect us to do as well as we did this year.

Who did you have in mind to recruit?

It makes sense to see how players go in the NRC (or ITM or Currie Cups) before recruiting too many new names and there didn't seem to be any glaringly obvious recruiting choices that were off contract.

 

[Hoolly Doolly]

Who did you have in mind to recruit?

It makes sense to see how players go in the NRC (or ITM or Currie Cups) before recruiting too many new names and there didn't seem to be any glaringly obvious recruiting choices that were off contract.

no idea atm. we're short of outside backs and a decent kicker so we lost the chance to secure tomane, horne, crawford and harris.

 

[Forcefield]

And who is to say any of those guys really wanted to come to Perth?

Horne maybe. But he has been starting fairly regularly with a side that will likely take out the competition. It's hard to recruit a guy who is getting game time in a winning side. Harris wouldn't have been a good fit for the Force. Crawford maybe. Tomane is talented, but I got the impression he wasn't seriously going to leave Canberra. I think we should back some of the options we have on the wings (Morahan, DHP and Lacey and Sage in the WTS). Give the latter two a red hot go during the NRC and either take them into the main squad or look elsewhere for options.

What Michael Foley has done well at the Force is using local talent. I'd like to see that continue. 7 local players took the field this year (Longbottom, Hoskins, Turner, Holmes, Godwin, Burton, DHP), Would be great if we could get that up to 10 for next year.

 

[thierry dusautoir]

To be honest why would force pay top dollar to import playrs when they could pick up some homegrown young guns for cheap.

Also I have heard that some of the saffa imports knocking around Perth premier grade aren't to shabby either.

 

[Moono75]

The Force have had a great season and needed it to arrest the entrenched losing culture but one thing they can't afford to do now is to stay put with the hand they have and think an additional years experience with the players will see them into the finals in 2015.

The Force have a great team ethos and commitment to each other and achieved results by giving maximum effort. But moving ahead they need an x-factor player, someone who can turn a game on their own performance. Henry Speight showed for the Brumbies what having a fast and powerful winger can do. Nadolo is doing the same at the Crusaders. Tough to bring down and can make things happen even if given the ball in bad situations.

Godwin has shown he can be a mercurial player for the Force but we need more support and strike power in the backs if we are going to increase our scoring and land a few more bonus points. The ladder shows we won more games than both the Chiefs and the Highlanders but bonus points are king.

2014 a great season for the Force, but lets get aggressive and recruit the extra talent we need to push on into the finals in 2015.

 

[TOCC]

The Force have lost two very good players in McMenimen and Cummins, they will need to recruit well just to replace those two.

 

[GaffaCHinO]

The Force have lost two very good players in McMenimen and Cummins, they will need to recruit well just to replace those two.

Not just MMM and cummins but Longbottom Haywood and Manu depth will really be tested next year hopefully so good signing are in the wings.

Also read today that Walton signed a new 2 year deal guess will have to wait until it's announced to confirm.

 

[RugbyReg]

where is Haywood going?

 

[GaffaCHinO]

where is Haywood going?

He and Manu have signed to play in Italy.

 

[RugbyReg]

oh phuque.

That's 2 losses not needed. I know Manu hasn't stepped up this year, but he's a talent. Hopefully its a couple of years experience and he comes back.

Haywood is a massive blow I would've thought, coming on the back of HB

 

[Pfitzy]

Completely devils advocate here, but given the trouble the Force have keeping their base intact, I wonder what the scene would look like if Melbourne had gotten the franchise before Perth those years ago.

The distance can be too much for some guys, especially leaving family on the east coast.

Note: I'm not picking a fight, but while the force have had a great year, fuck they've lost some blokes! Perhaps as a result of them getting exposure at this level.

 

[D-Box]

But it is not like these guys are heading back overeast - it's further away. Hopefully as local players who have supported the team come on board players will be more likely to not go chasing the big bucks but hang around for "pride in the jersey"

 

[ChargerWA]

I don't think we lose significantly more players that we want to keep than other Aus franchises these days.

Ioane and Drew Mitchell were hard losses to take back in the day as they headed home east.

Hayward is already an import. It stands to reason he is going to go again looking for more money.

We have had some real success stories. Sharpe, Hodgson, McCalman, Cannon.

In recent times the only real gut shot was Poey, but he was driven out by a clueless executive as much as anything. We terminated discussions with JOC (James O'Connor), so that was our call.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

We've got to keep developing these young blokes from WA. It's already starting to bear fruit and helps keep the operation fiscally sound as well as reducing the exodus. The punt we took on Godwin paid off in spades and I can see it happening with Burton too. Young Rusty Scoble will be reserve hooker before too long I reckon and Ross Haylett-Petty could take the step up and be a fine back rower for us. All of these guys are WA boys and played together just recently in the U20's.

Add to the burgeoning local talent some targeted recruiting of like minded Eastern States or overseas players and the culture will continue to develop -- leading to more wins. I think we've seen the blueprint at long last, but we can't stand still. The squad has to get better again for next year (a tough ask I know with the guys who have left).

If we could somehow snag one or both of Horne or Lucas that would be a fantastic coup for the franchise.

 

[Forcefield]

The Force have lost two very good players in McMenimen and Cummins, they will need to recruit well just to replace those two.

McMeniman has spent more games on the sideline in the last two years than on the field. His form has been patchy as a result. I don't actually think we are losing too much in McMeniman. Cummins, Hayward and Longbottom will be much bigger losses.

Completely devils advocate here, but given the trouble the Force have keeping their base intact, I wonder what the scene would look like if Melbourne had gotten the franchise before Perth those years ago.

The distance can be too much for some guys, especially leaving family on the east coast.

Note: I'm not picking a fight, but while the force have had a great year, fuck they've lost some blokes! Perhaps as a result of them getting exposure at this level.

It would certainly be interesting to open a window into a parallel universe where that had happened. But personally, and no offense intended, I think you are missing the issue. Topline players almost invariably get picked up by the franchise that developed them. Where the Force (and Rebels) have had to recruit from elsewhere, we are either getting in early (Luke Jones, David Pocock, James O'Connor, etc) before the Tahs and Reds are ready to take a punt. Or we take a gamble on an outsider. We have a big turnover of players because some of the gambles don't pay off. Some of the gambles do, but then we (the Force) made the mistake of not building a strong enough culture (see Brumbies) to make more players want to stay. Some have chosen to stay through the tough times and they have been great for us.

One of the really difficult things in Super Rugby is that we have 5 teams and yet only ~30 players get ARU top ups. It is hard to retain those players who are not in Wallabies contention and unlikely ever to come back into contention. If half of the Waratahs squad weren't on top-ups, would they be able to retain players as easily?

Back to the Rebels, and correct me if I am wrong, but next season won't there be only 2 inaugural Rebels players left (Luke Jones and Laurie Weeks)? Provided Pek Cowan re-signs, we will still have two inaugural players after 9 seasons. Is there good reason to believe it would have been any different back in 2006?

 

[tranquility]

Very succinct, and accurate portrayal of what is going on. The decision to go West was definitely the correct one.

 

[Nipper]

McMeniman has spent more games on the sideline in the last two years than on the field. His form has been patchy as a result. I don't actually think we are losing too much in McMeniman. Cummins, Hayward and Longbottom will be much bigger losses.

Agreed - I was about to post the same. MMM showed flashes of brilliance, but I can't recall him ever playing more than 3 matches on the trot without a long injury break in between. It's a shame, but I guess that's always been the rap on him - injury-prone.

 

[Braveheart81]

I think the most exciting thing for the Force is that there is a core of WA players growing at the franchise.

In a couple of years time you might have a matchday 23 that features Hoskins, 2x Haylett-Petty, Godwin, Burton, Scoble and Lacey.

It's getting towards critical mass of WA players which will make keeping a core team together much easier.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

I think the most exciting thing for the Force is that there is a core of WA players growing at the franchise.

In a couple of years time you might have a matchday 23 that features Hoskins, 2x Haylett-Petty, Godwin, Burton, Scoble and Lacey.

It's getting towards critical mass of WA players which will make keeping a core team together much easier.

Absolutely and as a local it's what excites me too. The long term sustainability of the franchise is nearly totally reliant on the identification and development of these young guys. The good thing is that the game has never been stronger at the club and schools level, so the juniors will continue to come through. The key thing will be those development pathways to make sure the good ones get the right opportunities.