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I thought they were all signed through to at least the end of next year.
I read an article where Hill said that even though he has enjoyed his time at the Force he does not want to continue playing in the super14 because of the travel involved. He does not like spending weeks at a time away from his wife and young daughter and is looking forward to getting back to Japan where he can enjoy a more stable home life. If this is the case then we need to look elsewhere for an experienced flyhalf.
well you cant fault that then
you've gotta do whats best for you and your family.
thank you david for the time you gave to the force, and for the influence you had on the season this year, it will not soon be forgotten, i can assure you.
all the best in your future endeavours mate!
Robyn:
Longbottom 2008-3 matches, 2009- 2 matches, 2010- 3 matches.
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
OK, so at the moment Longbottom isn't starting material, but he's 25 - still quite young for a prop! I'd keep him around as the #4 prop (ie, behind Pek, Hendo & Fairbrother) - he's proven to be reliable coming off the bench. We can then look at a U20 prop (Ah-Nua?) to be the #5 prop, in the team for development. K-bomb's too good to be the #5 himself. Similarly, look for a local guy to be the #3 hooker behind Whittaker & Charles.
Lock needs some review. The trouble is, we need someone who is prepared not to start but to learn behind Sharpie. Jones might have been that player, but he's gone. Hocking and Wykes are OK, but I feel they're better as bench/cover for lock and back-row rather than a true starting lock.
Back-row is OK this off-season; we've 3 Wallabies and McCalman, Wykes and Stanford as cover.
At scrum-half we've Sheehan, Turner and Swanepoel. No need to look around.
At 10 Hunt isn't ready yet, and Godwin's lining up behind him. If Rabbit isn't playing at 10, we need a solid, un-flashy 10 to feed Rabbit at 12. If Pretorius gets fit and passes a physical, I'd have him for another year. He seems to want to stay around.
In the centres, I'd start with Rabbit and Inman unless Crossy has a great off-season. He's been curiously off the boil this year and I wonder if there isn't a bigger issue. (He's quite gaunt - mono?) If Tatapu and Spanners both move on then we need more centres. I'd love Spanner to stay, as he can cover both centre and wing.
For the wings, at the moment my starters would be Spanner and Cumming with DHP as back-up. However, I'm still not convinced by DHP and with Spanner possibly going I'd either move Shep to the wing or scour the Shute Shield and local comps for a sprinter with reasonable hands.
Full-back would be Shep with Bart as back-up/utility bench player.
Therefore, my shopping list would be:
Local front row
High potential lock
Pretorius (or Hill-like 10)
Local centre
Speedster wing/full-back
I don’t really rate Nucifora! His last few performances as coach haven’t inspired me to any large amounts of confidence. The Blues didn’t do so well and he had good cattle there to play with, and then of course the debacle at the Nags. My opinion though others may feel differently
Generally speaking you aren’t learning much if your lips are moving!!!
I think this season will serve he Force well in the long run. There is a much clearer picture who fits in where. Fairbrother as a tighthead and Cowan as a loosehead with Dunning or Henderson as back ups, Whittaker and Chrles are the hookers, Sharpe and McCalman are the locks and Hodsgson, Pocock and Brown the back row with Wykes and Hockings the back ups. We probably need to find a back orwer or 2 with Luke Jones and Stanford leaving, maybe Postal can step up or a Jenkins.
Sheehan is te half back with Turner and Swanpel the back ups, Cross at 12 and Inman at 13 Harris as the back up, I thought he played very well (except the Brumbies game) coming off the bench, Cummins and Sheperd the wingers with JOC the fullback with Bart, Haylett Pety, Rapana the back ups, maybe find an outside back like a Andrew Smith.
Then there is the 10 jumper.. I think that is basically all we need to find, a quality 10, maybe give a Dave Harvey a chance..
OK I don't need to say anything about 10, all I reckon is put JOC into 12, Inman to 13 and Hunt to 15.........that way we get exposure for the guy who SHOULD be our next up and coming 10, we get to see if he's the goods and we've got cover in Shep if he isn't. If Stef doesn't make the grade....same process with Kyle Godwin (albeit more slowly)
We simply need to BUILD a 10!
C'mon the
Not a bad idea, GIGS. That's how Mitch brought Rabbit through the ranks, although if he's quick I'd consider Hunt for the wings, as they're possibly less exposed than full back.
Note, I didn't say anything about who to cover 10 while Stef's playing 15......the use of a marquee or solid journeyman to plug that hole whilst the building continued was implied.
That's true, but wing is less often used as a second ball player, whereas Fullback centralises him and gives him the opportunity to get involved in the attack virtually at will, sure there's the danger of him being exposed by the high ball, or being shown up in the tackle without the safety of the sideline, but let's be honest, if he has either of those issues, he's not going to be a S14 #10 anytime soon!
C'mon the