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I think that last season the Force used 38 players – 19 forwards and 19 backs. These are my thoughts on how we are shaping up for next season:
Props: This season: Cowan, Dunning, Fairbrother, Henderson and Longbottom. Next season: Henderson’s gone to the Rebels, but the remaining four look reasonable, as long as we don’t have the injury list of last year. Ah-Nua in the academy could be brought in as fifth prop.
Hooker: Charles, Tyrell and Whittaker. Tyrell’s career may be over, which leaves us possibly short at hooker, but Siliva has been performing well in the JWC and should be adequate cover.
Locks: Hockings, Jones, Stanford, Sharpe and Wykes (plus McCalman). Jones’s gone to the Rebels. There are question marks over Sharpe’s partner, and he won’t be around for ever, so another lock would be useful, but one of Hockings, Stanford and Wykes making the position their own would be preferable. We have no locks in the top two tiers of the academy.
Back-row: Brown, Hodgson, Jenkins, McCalman, Pocock and Postal. Undoubted strong point of the team, and with Manu and Pebbles in the academy this looks to continue. McCalman could be converted into a permanent (if slightly short) lock, but he, Wykes and Stanford are all flexible.
Scrum-half: O’Young and Sheehan, with Swanepoel and Turner from the academy. O’Young has retired, but Sheehan looked good last year and the youngsters both showed patches of incredible talent. Turner was hit by an injury in the JWC, but should be back next year, even if he’s behind Swanepoel due to fitness. A long-term injury to Sheehan could be a problem, but this is a guy who packed down at flanker in a scrum. I wouldn’t have thought the Force needs to recruit another scrum-half this year, but Stannard's name is being mentioned.
Fly-half: Hill, Hunt and Pretorius (plus Bartholomeusz, Harris and O’Connor). Hill’s gone back to Japan with all our best wishes (and not only for that drop goal) and Pretorius may or may not be back for next year. Hunt and the academy players (Godwin and Holmes, who can also play full back) have a grand total of zero Super 14 starts between them. This is our most problematical position. Can we get Pretorius for another season? Will Bartholomeusz use the off-season to prepare to be starting scrum-half? If Hunt and/or Godwin are as good as reports, is another marquee fly-half the best option (in for one year)?
Centres: Cross, Harris, Inman, O’Connor, Sare, Staniforth and Tatapu (with Rapana and Te Ante in the academy). I think Tatapu, Harris and Sare have been released/moved on. Cross had a poor season, but was playing with a significant amount of tape on his shoulder, and is linked with the Waratahs. Rumours link Staniforth with the Brumbies, Rebels and Waratahs (come on Reds – make it a full set!). O’Connor could be moved to either 10 or 15 full-time. There are a number of good players there, but only Inman has no question marks over his presence next season. Therefore, centre is another area of concern, and the retention of Cross and Staniforth are only short-term measures. I’d say we need to try and recruit another centre (or two). Getting Harris back may be an option, due to his versatility.
Wings/full-back: Bartholomeusz, Cummings, Haylett-Petty, Shepherd, plus O’Connor. Short on depth, especially with Bart and Rabbit performing multiple roles. Cross, Sare and Staniforth were used as wingers, but all are better centres. Some see Cummings as a centre ultimately, as he doesn’t have top-notch pace. I’d say this is another area of concern, and I’d scour the JWC, local comps and Shute Shield for true speedsters, regardless of ball skills. Alternatively, use winger as a position for an academy player to make a name for themselves.
The best team I can see next season, barring injuries, is: Cowan, Whittaker, Fairbrother, McCalman, Sharpe, Hodgson, Pocock, Brown, Sheehan, Bartolomeusz, Cummins, O’Connor, Inman, Staniforth, Shepherd; Charles, Dunning, Hockings, Wykes, Turner, Cross, Haylett-Petty.
Therefore, from what I can see, our needs going into next season are: young lock (much as Luke Jones was supposed to be), marquee fly-half (Pretorius back?), young centre or two and a speedster or two. We also need to tell some players (eg, Hockings, Stanford, Cross, Haylett-Petty) that they have to perform or move on.
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Originally Posted by chertubler
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