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Upon hearing the doomsday news Sunday afternoon that the side I have always supported wholeheartedly – even in the worst of times which unfortunately has been a telling feature of our history – is in the firing line to be cut.
I have begun to feel reminiscent of all the ups and downs of being a Force fan. I remember the chunky sideburns of the tackle busting Scott Fava running down the centre. I remember our first ever win at Subiaco Oval where we fought back in the dying minutes to have Cam Shepherd sink a conversion from the very corner of the 22 to win the game by one point after 80 minutes.
The 15 minutes of pure elation and emotion to follow still gives me goosebumps to this day. The years of the honey badger, the adopted son of the sea of Blue with his unique and comical way of tackling an interview or the hat trick he scored against the ‘Tahs even though we spent a majority of the game on our five metre.
Nevertheless just because I, with the force community, all have fond memories of our team doesn’t imply that we should remain. I understand that business is business but for me, the real distinguishing elephant in the room hasn’t been addressed.
People have recently been commenting on how we have never produced a genuine competitive season despite being around since 2006.
I understand that position and if you go through our yearly performances, its not something to look back on too fondly. What I can say is that this ten year experiment has started to produce dividends.
We are now seeing a lot of local product coming through and performing strongly on the ‘big stage’. Matt Hodgson recently recalled in one of his interviews that he can still remember putting Richard Hardwick and Kane Koteka through there paces when they were younger.
We have the Haylett-Petty brothers, the heavy hitting Angus Cottrell, Ryan Louwrens, Anaru Rangi and Kyle Godwin until his recent departure.
In an age where the Wallabies aren’t performing too admirably – and in my opinion much of that is to do with our forward pack – why would we eliminate Australia’s best club in regard to player development just when they start unearthing the talent that we need so desperately?
Although not being a Perth local, I believe Adam Coleman can also credit a lot of his development to the Force system and we have seen the effect he is having for the Wallabies today. So to put it simply, why bite the hand that’s feeding you and keep Melbourne, who although being given all the help in previous years with larger international player quotas have performed the same if not worse?
Even if you think the Rebels are promising, you would have to wait a few years to start seeing the local product come through. This is already happening at the Force.
Given how tight of a grip that the AFL and NRL have on Melbourne, will anyone tune in to watch the Rebels or turn up at the games?
Yes, the Force are not immune to this but after almost 11 disappointing seasons, we still had a turn out of 8000+ for a Kings game – which for any team is no draw card. The Sea of Blue have proven their undying loyalty and passion for the team and given the strong positive response from the ‘Own the Force’ campaign, we have one of the most invaluable fan-bases in Australia.
We understood that we will not be able to compete with the pulling power of other teams and although its nice to rack up a few frequent flyer miles, doing the 40,000km+ of travel each season is definitely a hindrance to the professional player yet week in, week out. That said, they make us proud with their combative and ‘never back down’ attitude.
On top of financial constraints due to us not being able to acquire a naming sponsor for the past few years, we have remained a competitive team.
We have finally acquired a naming partner for the next few years giving us the financial support we so desperately needed. Newly elected premier Mark McGowan has fully backed the force to ensure their viability and success moving forward.
The ‘Own the Force’ campaign has received a strong positive response which in my opinion is all symbolic of the turn in the tide.
Yes I’ll admit, as a Force supporter the phrase ‘turn in the tide’ or similar has been used yearly as new players and coaching staff have renewed hope in our brand. I believe that with all these local players, the successful acquisition of a naming sponsor and the backing of our state, this could symbolise the rebirthing of a team that we already have so much pride in.
If this flows through to on-field performance, expect big things in the future but as always we shall wait and see.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.