Dissection of the 2013 Australian Super Rugby squads - Western Force

Thks Blueblood, I'll check 'em out

I got talking to one of the guys who was filming the skills sessions. From memory he said they train at UWA Sports Park (behind Challenge Stadium) in Floreat from around 10am Mon, Thurs and Fri. And also some Saturday mornings from around 9am. You can sit on the hill under the trees and not feel like too much of a goose. Well worth it if you have the time. I think they also have afternoon sessions on the field behind the RugbyWA building but nowhere discrete to sit there so i didn't pay much attention to training times. The glory also train here and some times you can be lucky to get both training at once. A great sport hit. Also makes you feel fat and unfit but that is probably just me.

I think they should beat the Kings who got about 13 decent players. But the reality will hit them after a couple of games when sides like the Force go over there and run in bonus points against them

Hi Blue Blood, I wouldn't mind strolling down and seeing the Force train sometime myself. Where exactly is their training ground? What days/times do you recommend? Thks in advance.

And therein lies the rub......no one is going to go through unscathed.....and the back ups are where the Force fall away. There's no pressure on them....so they'll probably win a few games they shouldn't.....and lose a few they should win....and probably at home.

The depth looks thin. Very thin

I wish I had the ability to write the article myself, but I would really love to see the lid blown off this topic by a professional journalist. Just looking at the players in Deans' top 49 predicted Wallabies for the Lions tour shows you how uneven the franchises are in top talent distribution. And you're right, I didn't even mention the sheer number of internationals at the Rebels. Funny that the ARU learnt from their mistakes from when the Force started to when the Rebels did; but they then did nothing to rectify the disadvantage experienced by the Force. Short sighted, half asses management at its ARU best

last year he had a flabby jelly belly flopping around hanging out from under his shirt.

If you could be bothered reading (i know its difficult for mentally challenged such as yourself), its because they are limited to the ACTUAL salary cap of $4.5m while three other teams (except the Brums) have approximately TRIPLE at over $10m in ARU top ups or 10 marquee spots valued at only $100k each.

As a long suffering Force member, I would just like to see some nous in attack and a few home wins to justify the money being spent on our bloody appalling stadium. I think a few wins is all it takes to get some more bums on seats.All we want over here is to be competitive and to sit through some of the dud performances over the last few years has scarred some supporters for life, even driving some to consider relocating to Canberra just to see an underdog get up in a home game,( ha no just joking NOBODY wants to live in Canberra!) I am not connected well enough to follow the conspiracy theories, all I see is some pretty ordinary leadership and a distinct lack of rat cunning. Fingers crossed Foley and Hodgson can conjure up some magic, eh? Thanks for rating as as the absolute under dog Selector. Who will come 15th????????

You must be a referee

The talk around town is that the Force may finally be able to create a decent backline this year, and admittedly, a quick glance at the team Michael Foley has assembled could give that impression. They have two internationally capped scrum halves in Alby Mathewson and Brett Sheenan. They also have a solid fly half who can dictate play, yet still possesses ample attacking spark, in Sias Eberson. They also have an able deputy for Eberson in Kyle Godwin, who showed he has potential aplenty at the 2012 Junior World Championships. The centres look strong with a good mixture of size, speed and skill brought to the table by Winston Stanley, Will Tupou and Jayden Hayward. However, that is were the problems start. I think Force fans (and Michael Foley) should be really concerned about the the lack of personel out wide. Apart from the honey badger they have basically no options at wing or fullback. The 15 jersey is a toss up between Sam Norton-Knight and Patrick Dellit, neither who have set the world alight in previous Super Rugby performances. Over on the other wing the situation is even more dire with Alfi Mafi is the only real contender and he's average at best. Fingers crossed Ed Stubbs, who was recruited from the Australian 7's team, finds his feet quickly in the 15 man game because otherwise the westerners are likely to find themselves wanting when it comes to finishing and counter-attacking.

Are you a International referee by any chance?

So what happened to Sam Christie?

BB, your post prompted me to take a look - from 2009-2012, Ma'afu's profiles have him listed as weighing roughly 125-126kgs. This year's Force profile has him as weighign 118kgs. And yes, his profile picture looks leaner and meaner. Hopefully a good sign.

Why does the Force struggle to recruit? Oh yeah they are based at the Australian version of Bloemfontein. No one wants to go there. Maybe they should have a exchange program with the Cheetahs as half of the city is already living over there in Perthfontein

I believe the Force can go all the way this year. All the way to 13th place

I dont disagree Peter, merely pointing out the main reason why the Force struggles to compete in recruiting and retaining players. Its not a level playing field, indeed ludicrously so. And some here are writing snide comments about the strength of the Force on paper, and that they have struggled to recruit "quality" players. Well gents this is the TRUE reason why. They have been nobbled, well and truly.

I totally agree that 5 strong aussie teams would be best for the Wallabies. That means 2 in the finals , 2 6-10, and 1 11 or 12 AT WORST. The trouble is if we distribute the talent equally, which is what you want, only 1 team will be in the final thanks to the conference system, and the other 4 will be from 8 down. Even with talent concentrated we can only get 1 or 2 teams in the finals. For the good of australian rugby we need the best chance for a team to actually win, not just have all teams be mediocre which is what your proposal will make happen. Look how much rugby grew in Qld with the reds winning and entertaining style. The only way a salary cap or draft is fair is if the same system applies to every team in the comp, which it never will. Unlimited 3rd party sponsorships should be allowed IMO. Also the Force should get the same exemptions or conditions that the rebels have.

haha when you get Genia and Cooper on $500k, Horwill on what $400k? Every Waratah on top up? I would suggest its TRIPLE. Salary cap mu @rse its a frakking disgrace. Then the Rebels get 10 marquee spots that only the first $100k goes towards the salary cap. The ten HIGHEST PAID internationals only cost $1m. And then I read all the inane comments about the strength of the Force list, how it looks poor on paper. For those that can be bothered coming back and reading this article, the Force is the ONLY example of what a team looks like with a salary cap of $4m. I would suggest the ACTUAL salaries of Reds Tahs and Rebels are all well over $10m. In fact this should be the topic of a "professional" journo or commenter (Brett? Ryan?)