Brumbies nab Force back-rower for 2018 Super Rugby season

Pick up Rosco H-P and Ritchie Arnold or Coleman and it will be an unstoppable pack.

i think auzzy also need to move on from this "POACHING" thingy. when super rugger was envisaged in its initial format , the idea was about players from a certain area playing for a certain team . this was the case in NZ and SA as well. but as the teams expanded , it was possible for some players to go elsewhere and play if they could not play for the team where they were at. it happens in SA and NZ and it will happen in future. there are many cases like Naholo and Fekitoa who left Blues to become hits. like Nandolo and Jackpot etc. what people shud concentrate on is getting a pool of players for any team from anywhere, who are of a particular standard so that they can perform at that level. past results show that certain teams in OZ n SA are not so SUPER !!! somehow people have lost the concept of super rugger in gettin emotional about their place of birth :)

Pek is probably going overseas according to rumour over here but even if he wasn't he is a better prop than 80% of the others in Aus SR so I doubt he would be nervous at all

Yeah, I'd be up for seeing Tui against the Boks.

Rebellion, just read an article from the Daily Telegraph talking about how Coleman might be heading overseas. It seems purely speculative—based on possible salaries—but who knows if they have been informed by sources close to Coleman. I know that Larkham was interested in getting Coleman back to the Brumbies (one that slipped through the cracks), but he quite understandably wanted to stay at the Force rather than return to a team that didn't recognise him when he was starting out. Hopefully both he and Wessells stay in Australia.

He came to WA for a professional contract. If the Brumbies poached him, then the Force poached him.

Reportedly Coleman, Lance, the Haylett-Petty's and Hardwick are coming to Melbourne. Going to the Reds would be a horrible move for Coleman. They have Rodda, Tui and Douglas in the 2nd row. It would only serve to reduce his game time somewhat. At the Rebels he'll get all the game time he wants.

* didn't tell you what he was doing...

Indeed I do, Crazy Horse.

I think the word stolen is harsh considering all clubs did it. It offered opportunities to those who were waiting in the shadows of others. The only time it could be said was at the start when the team was being established and you have to start from somewhere. All teams poached players etc it wasn't just a Force thing. The Force along with other SR offered opportunities to get game time in SR they would never have got before.... or at least would have had to wait longer to achieve this goal. The team was also encouraging not only traditional rugby supporting people to engage more heavily into the game but was starting to win over people like me who originally followed only WAFL which has evolved into AFL and cricket being a loyal sandgroper. I grew to enjoy rugby watching the wallabies and dreamed of having a team in WA. I have only missed 3 home games since the Force joined the comp, plus it has encouraged me to travel to the east to see them play and even catch a game or 2 as a neutral fan when on holidays in the eastern states. The sport was rivalling my love of aussie rules, but now i'm left empty like most in wa and all we can cling to is hope. The worst thing is after years of struggling as most point out who are not from the west there was hope this year as we achieved a lot more than the previous few years and felt optimistic about further improvement in 2018 only to have all that destroyed. If we do come back all the building blocks have to be put back together again which is also a frustrating vision for wa rugby fan.

My commiserations Tim Rogers This is not necessarily the end for Western Australian professional rugby though. If WA can prove they are producing players who are good enough to pull on the gold jersey (and not stolen from other franchises development programs) they will be back in some form when Super Rugby has finally disintegrated.

That's right Crazy Horse. Pocock was born in Zimbabwe then emigrated to Brisbane where he rose through the ranks of the GPS and club system. Along with James O'Connor, the Force stole him straight out of school with the help of an ARU war chest with other qld players of the likes of Ioane and Mitchell - yet they still got beaten up like common thieves in an arena of decent people. Stop trying to claim these guys as stolen players - no one is buying your faux 'grass roots' nonsense and anyway it just doesn't matter anymore now that the Force are as relevant as the Western Reds

Exactly Fionn. The Tahs go overseas or to Queensland to recruit players (particularly at 10 and in the back three) despite having surplus talent under the nose. The likes of Mark Gerrard and Scott Staniforth left NSW when they had Sailor, Rogers and Tuqiri in the back three. Can't remember if ex ACT flyhalf Manny Edmonds was running their backline at 10 back then.

'I wish he went to the Rebels – the ARU should give the Rebels first rights over all contracted Force players before the other teams,' The ARU can't dictate to the players where they will play next year as much as certain individuals there would like that to be the case. The Rebels also simply don't have the cash now let alone find the extra money for their proposed salary cap extension. Where are they going to get it from? Certainly not the VRU as they are skint. I suppose the ARU will offer them another write off.

1. Makin 2. Sai'a Fainga'a 3. Finlay Bealham 4. Tom Staniforth 5. Peter Kimlin 6. Ben White 7. Colby Faing'aa 8. Julian Salvi 9. Joe Powell 10. Matt Giteau 11. 12. Robbie Coleman 13. Anthony Fainga'a 14. 15. Jordan Jackson-Hope Fionn and Brett can do the work with covering the back three. You can't keep them all or buy them which is something that the Rebels haven't copped yet so you have to go out and recruit to get results. This is on top of people always gunning for the Brumbies downfall.

He simply has to go to the Rebels or Brumbies in my opinion - the other teams have to groom their own players

That's ridiculous- Coleman was raised in Tassie and only played a season and a half of Shute shield while studying after being nurtured by the Brumbies Academy. Sydney has all of the political clout and resources to produce players and shouldn't be taking a bloke from a southern state who has a heart way to big to be a New South Welshman. Hooper plays with passion but he's also happy to ignore his core duties to hog glory and happy to slay his coach if it improves his career opportunities. A true Tah indeed...reminds me of Phil Waugh

I wish he went to the Rebels - the ARU should give the Rebels first rights over all contracted Force players before the other teams, though the Brumbies do need a ball carrying backrower. Pek Cowan must be nervous - I don't think too many teams are going to be interested in him

As a Force supporter it is breaking my heart to see these guys leave and know my team is no more! Finality sucks! I'll miss shouting for my side defending their so called penalties delivered by the refs and the way they thanked us after every game win, lose or draw. Quality, players and quality people! Saying that I wish them all the best as we sit in a super rugby vacuum here in WA. I'm not sure I can bring myself to watch a SR game again but I do wish them the best! Thank you for giving your all!

I like the look of Dempsey. Of the people in the Wallabies squad (ignoring those others that I think you and I disagree on :P ) then Dempsey-Hooper-Timani is worth trialling, with McMahon coming in off the bench I think. It may weaken our line out too much, but Jameswm says that Dempsey is actually pretty good in the line out. Tui and Simmons are other options at 6, although I am still concerned about their mobility.