Force leave options open for Super 14 start

[travelling_gerry]

Western Force coach John Mitchell is still some way from settling on his starting Super 14 side.

"Not interested at this stage," he said after flying home from South Africa where he put his squad through two trials, a 54-12 loss to the Stormers and a 26-0 victory over the Sharks.

"We'll need everyone in this competition.

"Each week in the competition it will come down to who we've got standing.
"Ultimately we're a squad and we're going to need everyone so there's no such thing as best 22.

"It's pretty obvious who the players will generally be, going forward, and it's a matter of getting the mix right each week, not necessarily worry about who the best are."

But Mitchell did say he would be reducing the squad for the next trial, against the Queensland Reds next Friday at ME Bank Stadium, to 24 players.

Mitchell, who took 28 players to Cape Town, will be waiting on injury updates on winger Haig Sare, who did not play in South Africa after damaging an Achilles tendon, and prop Pek Cowan, who did not travel after sustaining a slight knee injury, before making his final decision.

Winger Nick Cummins, injured in a Wallabies camp before the northern hemisphere tour, is still a few weeks away from full training and will not be considered for the next trial.

Mitchell said the two-game trip to South Africa was worthwhile but the squad still had work to do before the competition kicked off in a fortnight against the Brumbies at ME Bank Stadium.

"It was a good exercise," he said.

"Trials are about getting match conditions and being able to learn from those situations.


"Clearly we've had an opportunity while we've been away to look at combinations, within forwards and backs, to give us an idea what the better mixes are, but there's still plenty to do. We can get better."

Marquee signing, fly-half Andre Pretorius, was pleased with his form on his return to South Africa with his new team.

"We went there with a plan to test some combinations and get some fundamentals instilled into the game plan and that's what we did," he said. "The second game, the boys knew what was expected. We've got some brilliant players in the team, young and old.

"My fitness is nearly there. The worst thing that happened was I lost a tooth but apart from that I'm quite happy."

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...uper-14-start/

[BDAVEY]

i THINK THE RUN ON TEAM HAS PRETTY WELL PICKED ITSELF BY THE RESULTS AGAINST THE SHARKS. LIKE TO SEE
COWAN BACK IN SOMEWHERE BE A GREAT RESERVE WITH HIS HOOKING ABILITIES....?????
WYKES WILL GET THE NOD OVER HOSKING
JOC IN AT 12
SHEPS BACK AT 15
SARE SENT TO MELBOURNE FOR THE REBELS
DHP FOR ONE WING

[todd4]

Maybe Sare might be a better wing option, if you are going on trial form didn't DHP have a shocker?.... agree about wanting JOC at 12 and Shep at 15.

[Stone Cold]

i THINK THE RUN ON TEAM HAS PRETTY WELL PICKED ITSELF BY THE RESULTS AGAINST THE SHARKS. LIKE TO SEE
COWAN BACK IN SOMEWHERE BE A GREAT RESERVE WITH HIS HOOKING ABILITIES....?????
WYKES WILL GET THE NOD OVER HOSKING
JOC IN AT 12
SHEPS BACK AT 15
SARE SENT TO MELBOURNE FOR THE REBELS
DHP FOR ONE WING

Yeah I think Hosking should get the boot - who is that guy anyway?

<caps lock?>

[GIGS20]

I honestly can't remember anything Hosking has done!

I reckon Wykes will be fighting for the Blindside, not the Lock......but that's just me

Shep at 11 might be more about his kicking than anything else. If he's coming back from a leg injury, they might be trying to reduce the amount of kicking he does until it's smick.

Assuming that's the case, I don't think we have a better option for fullback than JOC, Dane has had a couple of shockers at FB, and I'm starting to wonder if he wouldn't be a bit of a Drew....stick him on the wing and tell him to run for the line!

Looking at the tries Rapana looks pretty slick, he could fill a wing slot if needed.

[travelling_gerry]

maybe Tom Hockings may know??

[Burgs]

Agreed on Wyksey Gigs, I think he is a Backrow first and a fill in Lock second.
Assuming some are pulling the piss on spelling, but Big Tom is a star on the rise make no mistake, post RWC'11 he will be amongst the Wallabies leading Locks.

[GIGS20]

I agree Burgs, to be serious I reckon Tommy is the type of hard head, go forward lock Australia has been needing for a long time. Sharpie tends to forget that's what it was all about for him. Vickerman was always a flashy kind of lock and nobody else has the stones.

What Tom does isn't pretty and it doesn't stand out but I'll bet he gets shouted a lot after the game!

---------- Post added at 12:08 ---------- Previous post was at 12:07 ----------

ps not sure what you see that you don't like Bill