[jombi]

Well I am as drunk as last week but I watched this game on Foxsports so I have had a better 'coaches view' - excuse any grammar/spelling mistakes.

Let's get the easy stuff out of the way;

-The ref was absolutely useless
-The ref was terrible
-I hope someone at the game called the ref a wanker on their way out

Now, what I realised from the game is that we have no backline, it's not that we have a bad backline or crap players - we just don't have a coherent backline that can do anything.

We have one of the best line defences in the comp, it was mighty impressive watching the bulls forwards flop on the spot right infront of the line and then have to resort to a penalty. But when it came to our blokes running, it was even less. Our forwards made metres on every run, Sharpe is at his best at the moment and Whittaker had a monster game, but when it went to the backline they could not make a linebreak.

It's the backs job to make a linebreak but they always ran into the players, and when someone did get their arms free there just wasn't anyone there to support them. They could get quick ball from those runs, but again they couldn't break the line.

Now I'm sure anyone who has read any post from me knows my opinion on Mitchell but I will give him the benefit of doubt tonight. So who is our attack coach? Do we have an attack coach or are we using a traditional forwards/backs coaching setup? Is it up to the coaching that there are no players on the offload? Was the gameplan to go for the box kick when we needed to hang on to the ball? What was with the sixes & sevens when we did get quick ball, is it in the gameplan to just throw it allover the shop?

70minutes in it hit me that we might not win a game this year, if we get Pocock & Brown back it can't make that much of a difference to now, because Hodgeson/McCalman/Stanford have been playing out of their skins! If we get Shepherd back next week we can't really expect him to break the line AND run 50 metres against 3 stormers defenders, since they always stack the 22. And then there is Cross, he's had a shocker but do you drop him for Inman? Or let him try and regain his line busting form of old? Or even move him to 12?

I haven't felt this bad since the 07 RWC qtr when France won, and I can't see it getting any better in the coming weeks.

P.S. Please don't take this post as a bashing of the players/coaches/team because that isn't what it's about.

[BDAVEY]

Its the ref or more so working out the ref and their padantic whistle, what he's going to allow, the teams on both sides wanted to run it wide but the ref didnt let this happen when on attack for both teams they came away with a penalty every time....EWF will win a game for sure Jombi just it might not be at MES

	TWF Stadium TWF Stadium Known to many as nib Stadium, formerly known as 'ME Bank Stadium', and even 'Members Equity Stadium' and previously known as 'Perth Oval' (before it grew corners). The home of the TWF Western Force!

[tdevil]

Originally Posted by BDAVEY

EWF will win a game for sure Jombi just it might not be at MES

Next week guys, If we play the same game against the Stormers, we'll take it

[Burgs]

move him to 12...
But preferably Stanners there first.
I think yours may be a little more of an extreme view of what I was seeing Jombi, personally I saw a Backline trying their arses off against a(n almost) Springbok combination. What frustrates me is that my teams play there best and most expansive backline rugby when the match is almost lost. If only they would play 80 like they play most of the last 10 then I reackon the Force and the Wallabies would be far more succesful.

[travelling_gerry]

My thoughts

Assistant Ref Steve Walsh tool and instant dislike to Force.

"westie" the mascot does a great job of revving up the crowd. Come round to all sides of the ground Westie. And I thought your disruption of the Bulls players playing touch at half time was particularly excellent.

The guys played their hearts out. I was proud of you.

Another Nudgee boy debuts for the Force. Well done Ted Postal.

Stanners.....first to come to acknowledge the crowd.

C O'Y - excellent 50th well done.

Hodgo - well done. A watch on each arm for sure.

Proud of them all.

[oxleymoron]

My take

Great effort for the first 60 minutes, especially when we were leading at 15-10, bit you could always sense that the game was going to take a turn towards the Bulls, even before Cross was sent off.

The defence was fantastic, considering we were camped on our own line for the first 10 minutes (must admit I thought we were going to concede an early card). Whittaker looked very good with ball in hand and the lineout functioned well against one of the best lineouts in the comp (even stole 1). Bart did a good job diffusing bombs all night and COY showed that he has the potential to take the starting 9 spot.

With the bulls not securing a 4T BP, that bodes well for us in the next couple of games.

[SleazyWineBaas]

Originally Posted by jombi

Now, what I realised from the game is that we have no backline

Mr Current Affairs

Our pack was magnificent....again.....
The Force backs are a rudderless ship
Staniforth was superb, the Cullet went OK, JOC kicked his goals.......but they have the attacking menace of an old lady on a zimmer frame.

The effort was first class. You can't complain about the effort. Plenty of young blokes getting a dig. I just checked my watch.........it's Hunt time

[Sheikh]

We've got to play the refs smarter than we did this week. Two offside penalties in the first 5 minutes made the ref suspicious of our defence. He was going to concentrate on it all night after that and any marginal positioning by us got called as offside. However, the Bulls only ever got called when it was blatent. The difference is that the ref wasn't concentrating on their defensive line.

Also, it was pretty clear early on that the ref wasn't going to blow up for any high/dangerous tackles - Rabbit and Cullet nearly had their heads taken clean off - but at least the ref was consistent in that regard. That is until with 5 to go when he'd let another dangerous tackle go and the Bulls knocked-on. Suddenly the ref went back to the tackle to award the Bulls a penalty.

And was Walsh the touchie on the eastern side? Our touchie made a point of telling the ref ever single Force mistake and ignoring any the Bulls made (although they didn't make that many). He was incredibly pedantic.

If anyone recorded the game - near the end we got a penalty and Rabbit booted it well into the Bulls 22, but the Bull player caught it and played on as if it didn't go into touch. I thought the Bulls player's boot was on the line (ie, Rabbit found touch) but this pedantic touchie completely missed it. Did the Fox cameras get a better view?

Overall, I thought the individual performances from the players was great - there are only one or two who didn't have good games. However the team performances in ech half were totally different. The first half they played as a team, the second half they lost that cohesion.

[travelling_gerry]

Oh. And the Force tight head scrum at the end.

[Piet Van Ziel]

Originally Posted by travelling_gerry

Oh. And the Force tight head scrum at the end.

No bullsh1t from you Gerry

[pieter blackie]

We played a thousand times better than round 1!
If it was any of the past 5 rounds teams we played last night we would have won with a bonus point.
Only one guy looked like he did not want to be there and he got 10min for his efforts

Did anyone see How Cummins caught the new winger( Gerhard van den Heever) from behind and tackled him.

Ben Whittaker was brilliant I must still watch the recording but I cannot remember him putting a foot wrong the whole evening.

Fourie Du Preez had no space behind the scrum. A couple of tries were saved between Ben McCalman and Matt Hodgson just by putting pressure on Du Preez.

If there was a "Tackler of the match" award then it must go to this young lad. James O Connor was everywhere He brought down the big Bulls loosies and He stopped Wynand Olivier more than once. He might be just a little bigger than a 13 year old but has the hart of a Lion

[helbob53]

I agree with all the comments on the game. Where is our number 10. He was found wanting through the whole game. He just kicks and stands and watches it. I maybe a female supporter but even I know that you should chase any kicks. He is worse than useless. Did anyone else have their "ears" tuned into the game? When Nick Cummings put in that great tackle and the ref went over to the touchie and asked if it was a dangerous tackle, the touchie said no and the ref said well I am going to play a penalty anyway - wtf???????? I thought that the touchie had way to much to say in the first half and when he was asked a question he was dismissed - way to go ref!!!!!!

[BDAVEY]

Originally Posted by pieter blackie

We played a thousand times better than round 1!
If it was any of the past 5 rounds teams we played last night we would have won with a bonus point.
Only one guy looked like he did not want to be there and he got 10min for his efforts

Did anyone see How Cummins caught the new winger( Gerhard van den Heever) from behind and tackled him.

Ben Whittaker was brilliant I must still watch the recording but I cannot remember him putting a foot wrong the whole evening.

Fourie Du Preez had no space behind the scrum. A couple of tries were saved between Ben McCalman and Matt Hodgson just by putting pressure on Du Preez.

If there was a "Tackler of the match" award then it must go to this young lad. James O Connor was everywhere He brought down the big Bulls loosies and He stopped Wynand Olivier more than once. He might be just a little bigger than a 13 year old but has the hart of a Lion

agree 100% pb

best game for COYoung has played fort he force was he playing for another extension to his contract?

comittment like this will bring results but it maybe off shore i feel in SA

[brokendown gunfighter]

we are not going to win any games until we learn to score tries

[blueandblack]

Originally Posted by Sheikh

....
If anyone recorded the game - near the end we got a penalty and Rabbit booted it well into the Bulls 22, but the Bull player caught it and played on as if it didn't go into touch. I thought the Bulls player's boot was on the line (ie, Rabbit found touch) but this pedantic touchie completely missed it. Did the Fox cameras get a better view?

....

I thought it went out also, but according to the guy next to me the catcher had no feet on the ground so it was okay.

Somewhere near the end we got called for a dangerous tackle, but the touchie didnt see anything and the ref said "I think I saw it so I'm going to award a penalty".