Western Force coach Richard Graham insists revenge won’t be on his players’ minds when they take on defending Super Rugby champions Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
The Force twice suffered heartbreak at the hands of the Reds last season, losing 21-20 in the opening-round fixture before being pipped 24-21 later in the year.
Queensland also dented the Force’s confidence during the 2012 pre-season with a thumping 40-10 trial victory in Perth last month.
But revenge isn’t being spoken about at the Force ahead of Saturday’s rematch, with the Perth franchise more concerned about notching their first win of the year following last week’s 19-17 defeat to the Brumbies.
“We’ve got nothing to lose,” Graham said on Thursday.
“We’ve got a strong rivalry dating back to our foundation when a number of their players came here.
“The two games last year were really close, physical encounters.
“This weekend, we’re not going to leave anything to wonder when we walk off the field.”
The Force made just one change to their run-on side, naming hard-hitting outside centre Pat Dellit at the expense of Rory Sidey.
Dellit, who won the Force’s Rising Star award last year, will partner Winston Stanley in the centres, while fullback Cameron Shepherd (leg), lock Sam Wykes (hamstring) and flanker Richard Brown (shoulder) could all come into contention next week.
Former Wallabies hooker Brendan Cannon has implored the Force to play a far more adventurous brand of rugby against the Reds than the dour effort displayed against the Brumbies last week.
“What disappointed me most about the Western Force’s performance was just their inability to get the ball wide to their promising outside backs, Napolioni Nalaga and Nick Cummins,” Cannon told foxsports.com.au
“Both those guys love to run with the ball and Nalaga we’ve heard so much about, but we really didn’t see anything of what he was capable of last Friday night in Canberra.
“I really would like to see James Stannard step up and take control of the fly half.
“He and Brett Sheehan really need to start to improve their performance in controlling a game and giving good, clear direction to the team.”
Queensland, who will enter the clash without injured duo Scott Higginbotham (glute) and Anthony Faingaa (hamstring), were lucky to escape with a last-gasp win over NSW last week.
Western Force: Alfie Mafi, Nick Cummins, Patrick Dellit, Winston Stanley, Napolioni Nalaga, James Stannard, Brett Sheehan, Ben McCalman, David Pocock (capt), Matt Hodgson, Nathan Sharpe, Toby Lynn, Salesi Ma’afu, Nathan Charles, Pek Cowan. Res: Ben Whittaker, Kieran Longbottom, Phoenix Battye, Angus Cottrell, Ben Seymour, Rory Sidey, Sam Wara.
Queensland: Luke Morahan, Dom Shipperley, Ben Tapuai, Jono Lance, Digby Ioane, Mike Harris, Will Genia, Radike Samo, Beau Robinson, Jake Schatz, James Horwill (capt), Rob Simmons, James Slipper, Albert Anae, Ben Daley. Res: James Hanson, Greg Holmes, Van Humphries, Eddie Quirk, Liam Gill, Ben Lucas, Rod Davies.
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