Who's next?

[andrewg]

What we need is to find a better way to "Sell Perth" to potential recruits.

Sure the performance of the Team will for some be a reason to not come West, but for some reason East Coast players dont want to come to Perth. If we could encourage our older players that have chosen to come west and stay to be spoke persons for us. Perhaps we as the supporters put together a video showing the sights and sounds of Western Australia.

Perth is a beautiful place, a fantastic place for anyone to live. Its time other people knew it.

I don't think that it's a case of selling Perth at all. Many players have found that Perth suits them well and enjoy the lifestyle for themselves and their families. These are our best ambassadors. Their view is what counts NOT what salespeople can promote.

At the start of 2015 the WF was being approached by high level players who were coming out of contract with other SR clubs because they wanted to join the Western Force. Why?
+ 2014 had been a turn-around year for the franchise under a new CEO and Coach.
+ Michael Foley had developed a new program that the players thought a lot of. They were sharing this view with others.
+ They were sharing this view with their player friends.
+ We had just brought in the big influx of players from Sth Africa - many of whom were not going to stay (for a wide range of reasons)
+ Some of these players approaching the WF were top line players including some from the current 39 man Wallabies squad.
+ etc etc.

Unfortunately the club was hampered by the salary cap and loss of sponsorship $$s.
And in some instances simply moving too slow in sealing deals ( a problem we appear to have ALWAYS had).
The ARU had also withdrawn funds from the Force Academy at the same time.

The season open up with Hodgson copping his hamstring injury and the rest is history.
2015 was a disaster which killed some of the impetus that had been built.

I don't think we need a group of players who are ONLY in Perth for the $$s.

What the players are looking for is:
+ A good player development program which will lead to player and team success.
+ A fair and competitive remuneration package.
+ A club and player group that is moving forward - building on success.

IMO all of the above has been hampered by the lack of $$s which has affected ALL activities.

The VERY IMPORTANT aspect is that the player group have NOT lost their faith in Michael Foley nor his program.
Some individuals may be bitching but they are generally those who have not stepped up to the required level nor met the standards which were jointly developed with involvement from the player group.

Don't just believe me get out there and talk to the players like I do.
They'll confirm all of the above.

[WFDom]

I don't believe that any Coach on Earth would be any more successful with the same players that we currently have.

With respect Ex I think that statement is way off. I think we have a roster that agreed isn't the best in the comp. But certainly isn't the worst

Look at the Lions. Ackermann has them extremely well organised & they're kicking some serious butt. 3rd highest points scorers in the comp behind the Chiefs & Crusaders. Out of 5 players who have Bok caps, 4 of those have less than 5. Janties is the exception. I think we have a better squad than the Rebels.... but once again we're way behind them.

We need a coach who can instill enough confidence in the players to play whats in front of them. Not a team that hasn't got a clue what to do when plans A & B fail. Look at what Eddie Jones has done to the poms in less than a year.

For the 1st 3 seasons of Foley's tenure we suffered from a flawed game plan (granted we came good for a spell). Then this year in an attempt to save his ass he decides we're gonna start chucking it around? And now we have an attacking approach that none of our coaches have the nous to implement..... stinks of desperation.

[GIGS20]

I suspect that the lack of a decent coaching team was due to money problems.
I, personally, would like to give Foley a year with a decent amount of backup (attack coach etc.) rather than terminate him early.

I think there is some wisdom to that Dog, but you can't deny that AndyS's cynicism is reasonably grounded. I'm staying true to my word and attempting to remain optimistic until the finer details are published, however it's hardly as if the ARU have an awesome track record in supporting the Force.

Unfortunately, I think the board have been left with precious few options at this juncture, I'm pretty sure the cookie jar is completely empty and it's obvious that multi-million dollar bailouts with no accountability are only available if you play your rugby on the east coast.

My current opinion is that to do nothing would see the Force close it's doors in the medium term (1 - 5 Years) through simply going broke, and therefore any support we get at the moment, from any quarter is an advantage.

As long as the not negotiables are catered for, I'm prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt in preference to the guaranteed oblivion that appears to be the only other option.

As long as they stay in the West
become competitive
continue to provide a pathway for West Australian players

I can't see a problem.

My attitude toward any announcement will be couched in how the finer detail guarantees these three imperatives.

[Jeansyjive]

With respect Ex I think that statement is way off. I think we have a roster that agreed isn't the best in the comp. But certainly isn't the worst

Look at the Lions. Ackermann has them extremely well organised & they're kicking some serious butt. 3rd highest points scorers in the comp behind the Chiefs & Crusaders. Out of 5 players who have Bok caps, 4 of those have less than 5. Janties is the exception. I think we have a better squad than the Rebels.... but once again we're way behind them.

We need a coach who can instill enough confidence in the players to play whats in front of them. Not a team that hasn't got a clue what to do when plans A & B fail. Look at what Eddie Jones has done to the poms in less than a year.

For the 1st 3 seasons of Foley's tenure we suffered from a flawed game plan (granted we came good for a spell). Then this year in an attempt to save his ass he decides we're gonna start chucking it around? And now we have an attacking approach that none of our coaches have the nous to implement..... stinks of desperation.

This is bang on. Foley has had zero coaching success, zero. Barely won a game with a stat studded Tahs team. A lot of the time the Force look like they don't have a coach at all. Even if he has good ideas he clearly can't get the team to implement them which again is not a good attribute for a coach. I will find it very difficult to renew my membership if Foley is still coach, I probably still will though. If I saw progress it may be different but I have seen very little over the whole time Foley has coached.

[Herbasimplex]

With respect Ex I think that statement is way off. I think we have a roster that agreed isn't the best in the comp. But certainly isn't the worst

Look at the Lions. Ackermann has them extremely well organised & they're kicking some serious butt. 3rd highest points scorers in the comp behind the Chiefs & Crusaders. Out of 5 players who have Bok caps, 4 of those have less than 5. Janties is the exception. I think we have a better squad than the Rebels.... but once again we're way behind them.

We need a coach who can instill enough confidence in the players to play whats in front of them. Not a team that hasn't got a clue what to do when plans A & B fail. Look at what Eddie Jones has done to the poms in less than a year.

For the 1st 3 seasons of Foley's tenure we suffered from a flawed game plan (granted we came good for a spell). Then this year in an attempt to save his ass he decides we're gonna start chucking it around? And now we have an attacking approach that none of our coaches have the nous to implement..... stinks of desperation.

I think with the exception of the Kings our squad is the worst in SR. Our position on the ladder reflects that. I think the Rebels squad is a cut above ours at the moment, particularly the backline.

Lions have been going great guns, we should try and steal van der merwe, combrink and whitely from them for starters.

We'll never be able to attract players on $$ alone, the intangibles need to be emphasied, climate, safety, good place to bring the kids up and put down roots etc. Which is why it seems more sensible to reach out to ZA.

You'd think if the ARU where putting on the force's spurs then the first change would be to the coach, whatever his record the ARU need a clean slate, so I can't see him staying beyond 2016 in any capacity.

But the $42K (probably ) question is how much money the ARU are prepared to front up to get us to parity with the other Australian franchises. Past history does not bode well for us in that respect.

[.X.]

a couple of people have mentioned salary cap - here are my thoughts..........

I have nothing to back this up - I have no inside information.

I believe that the Western Force board used the money that they raised from sponsorship to attract players. no more no less.

I dont believe the Western Force squad has reached the Salary Cap - or anything near it.

There has been a shortfall in sponsorship dollars due to downturn in mining industry etc etc, and that Rugby Union in an AFL Town will always be third or fourth choice when it comes to who gets what of the Western Australian Sponsorship dollar pie.

I believe the Rebels spent what they didnt have, expecting to be bailed out by the ARU - thats why they have the better players.

[MI5_Dog]

I think with the exception of the Kings our squad is the worst in SR. Our position on the ladder reflects that. I think the Rebels squad is a cut above ours at the moment, particularly the backline.

I disagree.
However all of our best players are out injured and we don't have the depth we need.

[Alison]

What we need is to find a better way to "Sell Perth" to potential recruits.

Sure the performance of the Team will for some be a reason to not come West, but for some reason East Coast players dont want to come to Perth. If we could encourage our older players that have chosen to come west and stay to be spoke persons for us. Perhaps we as the supporters put together a video showing the sights and sounds of Western Australia.


Perth is a beautiful place, a fantastic place for anyone to live. Its time other people knew it.

Agreed. My friend Mick Skehan was saying the same.

[Buddha Handy]

Good to see that Chieka's recruiting raid of potential Wallabies overseas that he was talking about culminated in bringing Leroy Houston to the Reds and Naiyavoro back to the Tahs. Nothing for us as expected. Would have been nice if he announced Longbottom was coming back here or Sitaleki Timani, Hugh Pyle etc etc.

[The InnFORCEr]

The Reds will be the next one's breaking the ARU Bank, Wallabies top up for Houston, some compensation to Toulon to exchange Quade for Goromaru, new coaches salary, payouts to former board and coaches etc etc

And that's why there's little left for us

[jono]

The Reds will be the next one's breaking the ARU Bank, Wallabies top up for Houston, some compensation to Toulon to exchange Quade for Goromaru, new coaches salary, payouts to former board and coaches etc etc

And that's why there's little left for us

Swapping quade for goromaru hey?
Has this been announced? Did I miss that one?

[The InnFORCEr]

Ooops, did I say something I wasn't supposed to??

Watch this space....

[SNOB]

Swapping quade for goromaru hey?
Has this been announced? Did I miss that one?

Not like you Jono! It was all over fox press earlier this week.

[jono]

Not like you Jono! It was all over fox press earlier this week.

It's very like me & exactly why I missed it.
Fox "press" is a far right agenda which can no longer even remotely resembles news.