Round 6 Blues v Force

[wholetruth]

Does anyone know what happen to Koteka? He was listed even by the announcers at the start of the game but then Heath came in at the end to play flanker.

No, commentators said at the start he was not playing. Tesssmann was the only forward left to reserve.

[Buddha Handy]

I think hardwick has been hard done by to be dropped back to the bench, he has been one of our best and should be starting. Naisarani can come off the bench or play 6.

[James]

I am guessing it was horses for courses. The Blues pack are bigger blokes (Tuipolotu, Kaino) and maybe having Naisarani, RHP and two locks was planned around countering that while achieving dominance in the scrum and line-out (I thought we had a bit of an advantage on them in those departments). Maybe we'd have done better using Naisarani as an impact player.

I am super excited about a future pack with RHP, Philip, Naisarani and Ainsley. Add in one of Koteka or Hardwick at 7 and you have the makings of a solid forward pack.

[Ralto]

I think hardwick has been hard done by to be dropped back to the bench, he has been one of our best and should be starting. Naisarani can come off the bench or play 6.

What interested me in this match was that the Kiwi commentators actually KNEW the Force players, seemed to know all their names, and also commented on their playing styles. Professional commentators - I'd like to see that.

[shasta]

What interested me in this match was that the Kiwi commentators actually KNEW the Force players, seemed

It's a by-product of the intensive research they put in so they can say stuff like...."Chance Peni, who hails from the Chatham Islands........Wellington born Anaru Rangi..........Hawke's Bay's Michael Ruru." but it was nice to hear them praised for performing bravely.

[SinBin]

What interested me in this match was that the Kiwi commentators actually KNEW the Force players, seemed to know all their names, and also commented on their playing styles. Professional commentators - I'd like to see that.

Yes, impressive, but did you notice how they still told us where players were originally from ie, outside WA. Tony Johnston wasn't as bad as he can be but was still a combination of complementary bordering on condescending - that we could actually be competitive against a NZ team His side line commentator was pretty good (Turner?) I read the NZ online newspapers afterwards and it was all "Blues error rate kept Force in it.." not "impressive in ya face D frustrated Blues.."

[volvo]

From Paul Cully in the SMH

Michael Cheika's Wallabies rebuild could get a lot bloodier

If the XV who started the Wallabies' most recent Test, the loss to England at Twickenham, no more than five would get in a side picked tomorrow. In part that is down to injury and one notable sabbatical (David Pocock) but in the main it goes to show that Michael Cheika's work in reconstructing the Wallabies is far from done. At present, on form, a Wallabies squad would look markedly different to last year. Every eligible Force back is pushing hard, while the work of the likes of locks Matt Philip and Richie Arnold is more notable than the heavily capped Rob Simmons and Kane Douglas. At the Reds, Duncan Paia'aua and Eto Nabuli have come of age, and at the Rebels Tom English is showing his versatility. Even Marika Koroibete is doing what he was bought to do, run hard, although his positioning and kicking remain a problem. There could be blood on the wall during the selection meetings for the first Wallabies squad. One debutant who is nailed on if he continues his current form is Force No 12 Billy Meakes. Big, fast, makes few mistakes and can create in the No 12 jersey. More change is coming to the national side.

Ben Daley, Tatafu Polota-Nau renaissance continues

Put your hand up if you thought these two veterans would disappear into the Perth sunset, to be rarely seen again, after their Force moves? Not a bit of it. Daley has tussled with the All Blacks' best two tight-heads in the past two weeks and come away with a draw. That's partly due to Polota-Nau's huge power at the scrum but Daley deserves huge credit, and he even found the energy for one notable midfield break. The different between the Force and the Blues? The Blues could call upon two Ioanes from the bench, the first an angry Akira, the second a refreshed Rieko. The brothers just had that extra bit of stardust that the Force are lacking.

Team of the week

1. Ben Daley (Force)

2. Tatafu Polota-Nau (Force)

3. Sekope Kepu (Waratahs)

4. Will Skelton (Waratahs)

5. Richie Arnold (Force)

6. Ross Haylett-Petty (Force)

7. Michael Hooper (Waratahs)

8. Scott Higginbotham (Reds)

9. Jake Gordon (Waratahs)

10. Jono Lance (Force)

11. Eto Nabuli (Reds)

12. Billy Meakes (Force)

13. Samu Kerevi (Reds)

14. Chance Peni (Force)

15. Dane Haylett-Petty (Force)

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...01-gvbpam.html

[shasta]

Yes, impressive, but did you notice how they still told us where players were originally from ie, outside WA.

Must have been disappointed when he researched Kane Koteka. Maybe if we had actually managed to beat them he might have blamed "Japan born Akira Ioane.....or Samoa's Melani Nanai.............or Pauliasi Manu who hails from Neiafu, Tonga". But I doubt it.

[Herbasimplex]

Yes, impressive, but did you notice how they still told us where players were originally from ie, outside WA. Tony Johnston wasn't as bad as he can be but was still a combination of complementary bordering on condescending - that we could actually be competitive against a NZ team His side line commentator was pretty good (Turner?) I read the NZ online newspapers afterwards and it was all "Blues error rate kept Force in it.." not "impressive in ya face D frustrated Blues.."

Just meant to de-legitimise our rugby and the product in WA. The commentators did not say, " samoan Jerome kaino.. tongan Pauliasi Manu...englishman Piers Francis..."

Knuckle draggers one and all.

[PJ43]

How many times this season are we going to say "if only".

We've now lost two games because of yellow cards.

we would have come very close to winning if we didn't have a gap for the blues to run through for 10 minutes.

A mighty fine effort by the boys otherwise. They played for 83 minutes and were the better team for a fair part of it.

I'm tired of honorable losses.....but at least we can be proud of the boys. Didn't do too much wrong all night.....except for one damned yellow card!

[BLR]

I'm tired of honorable losses.....but at least we can be proud of the boys. Didn't do too much wrong all night.....except for one damned yellow card!

TBH, the last few years we haven't had the ability to even get those honourable losses. It's a building point.

It reminds me a bit of pre-great teams, not getting the results but a lot in the pot, if we keep the team together it could develop nicely.

[jono]

TBH, the last few years we haven't had the ability to even get those honourable losses. It's a building point.

It reminds me a bit of pre-great teams, not getting the results but a lot in the pot, if we keep the team together it could develop nicely.

Reds rode that wave from 2008 - the 2011 championship.

[PerthGirl]

It's a by-product of the intensive research they put in so they can say stuff like...."Chance Peni, who hails from the Chatham Islands........Wellington born Anaru Rangi..........Hawke's Bay's Michael Ruru." but it was nice to hear them praised for performing bravely.

But all from Perth now guys!

[BLR]

Reds rode that wave from 2008 - the 2011 championship.

That's the exact comparison that I am keeping in the back of my mind whenever I am watching them play.

[andrewg]

An interesting comparison after Round 6.
Will be interesting to see where these averages go over the season.

Not all have played the same amount of time.

All have played at least 1 full game.



Not suggesting that Ruck Involvements is all that there is to measure.
But they are the only ones that I collect.

Other stats can be gathered at:
ESPN Scum
Vodacom Phone App.
Generally don't even look at FoxSports stats as not worth the effort.

SR 2016 averages as follows:

Matt Hodgson - 37T - 27A/10D
Michael Hooper - 27T - 19A/8D
Chris Alcock - 26T - 18A/8D

Hardwick & Koteka - Not enough game time in 2016.