PERTH SPIRIT READY FOR MELBOURNE RISING

[The InnFORCEr]

PERTH SPIRIT MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday, 10 September 2014


The Perth Spirit will run out a fresh forward pack to take on the Melbourne Rising on Thursday night in Round Four of the Buildcorp National Rugby Championship (NRC) at Melbourne’s AAMI Park.

Four players will make their starting debuts, including the all new front-row combination of Palmyra’s Joe Savage, UWA’s Harry Scoble and Perth Bayswater’s Chris Heiberg.

WA Under 20 openside flanker Richard Hardwick (UWA) will also make his run-on debut, and will play opposite Western Force heavyweight, Brynard Stander, who will pull on the black and gold jersey for a second time, filling the blindside flanker role. Perth Bayswater’s Brent Murphy moves into the second-row while Associates No.8, Alex Rovira, retains his spot at No.8.

Western Force and Wests Scarborough lock Rory Walton returns to the starting XV and will captain the side while Associates’ Justin Turner has been elevated to starting scrumhalf. The back line remains unchanged for the clash with the Rising.

On the bench, Cottesloe’s Robbie Abel, Alec Hepburn and Oliver Hoskins will provide cover for the front row and UWA’s Corey Thomas and Wests Scarborough’s Kane Koteka will back up the second and back rows. Davis Tavita (Nedlands) and Va’a Mailei (Palmyra), who scored the Spirit’s final try against the Greater Sydney Rams last weekend, will again make their impact from the bench.

Neddies scrumhalf, Michael Ruru, has been named on the bench and is in line to make his Perth Spirit debut after returning from a hamstring injury.

Perth Spirit coach, David Wessels, said the side had regrouped and worked hard in their five-day turnaround.

“We know that a high work rate and playing for each other will need to continue to be a feature of our game this week against a strong Melbourne line-up,” Wessels said.

“Last week taught us that we can’t afford to switch off at any stage and we need to understand and respect the ebbs and flows of the game, and play to those accordingly.

“This week we have an opportunity to run out a settled 23-man squad, which features a strong mix of both Western Force representatives and players from our Pindan Premier Grade. We’ve stayed on the road this week and the guys to a man have worked very hard to prepare for this match, get through considerable rugby content as well as enjoying each other’s company.”

Thursday night’s match between the Melbourne Rising and Perth Spirit can be seen live on Fox Sports 2 and 2HD from 5.30pm (AWST).

2014 Buildcorp National Rugby Championship – Week Four
Perth Spirit v Melbourne Rising
AAMI Stadium, Melbourne
Thursday, 11 September 2014
Kick-off: 7.30pm (local)/ 5.30pm (AWST)

1. Joe Savage (Palmyra)
2. Harry Scoble (UWA)
3. Chris Heiberg (Perth Bayswater)
4. Rory Walton (Wests Scarborough)
5. Brent Murphy (Perth Bayswater)
6. Brynard Stander (Nedlands)
7. Richard Hardwick (UWA)
8. Alex Rovira (Associates)
9. Justin Turner (Associates)
10. Dillyn Leyds (Palmyra)
11. Nili Fielea (Cottesloe)
12. Luke Burton (UWA)
13. Ammon Matuauto (Associates)
14. Brad Lacey (Wests Scarborough)
15. Zack Holmes (Associates)

Reserves
16. Robbie Abel (Cottesloe)
17. Alec Hepburn (Cottesloe)
18. Oliver Hoskins (Cottesloe)
19. Corey Thomas (UWA)
20. Kane Koteka (Wests Scarborough)
21. Michael Ruru (Nedlands)
22. Davis Tavita (Nedlands)
23. Va’a Mailei (Palmyra)

[SNOB]

Sportsbet have us at $11.00! Got to worth a few bob!

[wholetruth]

With these odds not sure even those odds might be good enough but might just have a few bucks anyway.

Spirit needed against Rising ranks
Nick Taylor The West Australian
September 11, 2014, 7:12 am
Unbeaten Melbourne Rising will parade 16 players with more than 450 Super Rugby appearances between them against Perth Spirit in tonight's National Rugby Championship clash at AAMI Park.

Underdogs Spirit have selected eight players with just 85 Super games, and more than a quarter of those have been played by Western Force fly-half Zack Holmes, who starts at full-back.

Spirit coach David Wessels said the squad of mainly Perth club players was not concerned about the gulf in experience.

"We haven't spoken about that at all. We are not thinking about that. They don't have the mindset of the underdog. There's no sign of that," Wessels said.

"The Rising have an enormously experienced Super Rugby group and it's clear they are using it as a pre-season so it's going to be a big challenge.

"Our non-contracted guys and the guys looking to establish themselves in our Super Rugby group are looking to prove themselves."

The Spirit lost 44-34 to Greater Sydney Rams in their last match while the Rising smashed Brisbane City 79-18.

Wessels has picked a new-look pack with starting debuts for the front row of Joe Savage, Harry Scoble and Chris Heiberg and WA under-20 openside flanker Richard Hardwick.

Captain Rory Walton returns to the second row.

[The InnFORCEr]

PERTH SPIRIT MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday, 11 September 2014


The Perth Spirit is in Melbourne ahead of their Round Four Buildcorp National Rugby Championship (NRS) clash with the Melbourne Rising tonight at AAMI Park.

The match will be televised live on Fox Sports 2 and 2HD.

Scrumhalf Justin Turner is the only change to the Spirit backline and will be covered by Michael Ruru on the bench – who is set to make his Buildcorp NRC debut.

It will be an all-new front-row combination for the Spirit with Joe Savage, Harry Scoble and Chris Heiberg making their run-on debuts for the WA side, along with openside flanker Richard Hardwick. Hard-hitter Brynard Stander will start on the opposite flank and Rory Walton comes into the second-row and will captain the side.

The Rising have made two changes to their side with outside back, Joe Kamana, named for his first start and Pat Leafa returning to the run-on side at hooker. Tom English and Tom Sexton drop to the bench.

Melbourne Rising v Perth Spirit
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Thursday, 11 September, 2014
Time: 7.30pm (local)/5.30pm (AWST)
Coverage: Live on Foxsports 2 and 2HD from 5.30pm
Live match updates available on Twitter (@PerthSpirit) with half-time/full-time scores available on Facebook (facebook.com/PerthSpiritNRC)
Weather Forecast: Min: 4C Max: 16C Sunny. Cloudy. Scattered showers, mainly during the morning. Winds turning west to southwesterly 20 to 30 km/h in the morning then becoming light in the evening.
Official Twitter hashtag: #MELvPER

Perth Spirit: 1. Joe Savage (Palmyra), 2. Harry Scoble (UWA), 3. Chris Heiberg (Perth Bayswater), 4. Rory Walton (c) (Wests Scarborough), 5. Brent Murphy (Perth Bayswater), 6. Brynard Stander (Nedlands), 7. Richard Hardwick (UWA), 8. Alex Rovira (Associates), 9. Justin Turner (Associates), 10. Zack Holmes (Associates), 11. Nili Fielea (Cottesloe), 12. Luke Burton (UWA), 13. Ammon Matuauto (Associates), 14. Brad Lacey (Wests Scarborough), 15. Dillyn Leyds (Palmyra). Reserves 16. Robbie Abel (Cottesloe), 17. Alec Hepburn (Cottesloe), 18. Oliver Hoskins (Cottesloe), 19. Corey Thomas (UWA), 20. Kane Koteka (Wests Scarborough), 21. Michael Ruru (Nedlands), 22. Davis Tavita (Nedlands), 23. Va’a Mailei (Palmyra)

Melbourne Rising: 1. Toby Smith, 2. Pat Leafa, 3. Paul Alo-Emile, 4. Sam Jeffries, 5. Cadeyrn Neville, 6. Luke Jones, 7. Sean McMahon, 8. Lopeti Timani, 9. Nic Stirzaker, 10. Jack Debreczeni, 11. Joe Kamana, 12. Mitch Inman, 13. Sefanaia Naivalu, 14. Telusa Veainu, 15. Jonah Placid. Reserves: 16. Tom Sexton, 17. Tuiatua Tuia, 18. Cruze Ah-Nau, 19. Pom Simona, 20. Sione Taufa, 21. Luke Burgess, 22. Lloyd Johansson, 23. Tom English.

Referee: Will Houston

[Sheikh]

melbourne obviously going for the title - trying to gain some kudos from that in Victoria? Otherwise, I'm not sure I see the point of running the likes of Caderyn Neville and Mitch Inman in the team - surely you know their capabilities?

Luke Jones I can understand, if you want to give him game-time prior to a Wallaby call-up, but I didn't think the locks had had any injuries requiring a call-up (other than, of course, Horwill, Carter and Simmons being completely useless).

[Alison]

Can't blame them for that. Good intro to the Super season with an NRC title under your belt. I think maybe they have approached the comp differently than everyone else in that they have used it more as a training run for the Super comp and less as a try out for new rising (pun intended) talent. Thoughts anyone?

[jargan83]

It's a competition that is there for the winning not a bunch of glorified trial games.

The comp will be pretty meaningless leading into next years Super Rugby comp, especially with the different rules.

If the reasoning for HQ is to be believed that the Force players aren't playing away games because of the hectic travel schedule during the Super Rugby comp that could benefit the east coast sides because they don't travel as far as the Force do so they can potentially name stronger sides.

[The InnFORCEr]

It's Force's for courses

[Scozzie]

Can't blame them for that. Good intro to the Super season with an NRC title under your belt. I think maybe they have approached the comp differently than everyone else in that they have used it more as a training run for the Super comp and less as a try out for new rising (pun intended) talent. Thoughts anyone?

I thought this competition was about unearthing new talent and allowing club (and Super Rugby fringe) players to play alongside Super Rugby players - not to be (possibly) smashed by a team full of them...! Looks like Melbourne aren't taking that stance..?

[AndyS]

I think most folk are happy to cut them a little slack as the comp finds its feet, but sooner or later I suspect there will be questions asked about how seriously the competition is to be taken. This comp has many objectives, only one of which is development. If a team is not going to seriously attempt to win it, I can see issues down the track by way of the sponsors. Even more with broadcasters, who are not going to pay if they think it is all just a bait-and-switch. If we are not going to play available Wallabies, I could see the ARU sending them elsewhere on a "use it or lose it" approach. I could also see them encouraging our SR players to move to another team where they will get a run to stay in Wallabies contention and press claims for the EOYT. Development alone is fine, but it undermines the credibility of the competition and negates the idea that they are lifting the standards by allowing new players to compete alongside and against professionals. Having players sit out to address injury concerns is one thing, but as is often seen in AFL and now basketball just pulling the best players from the comp for player management can be very hard to differentiate from tanking. Even more so when you are potentially messing with your opponents ability to recoup costs...how do we feel when NH sides send down teams stripped of all their names in June?

You don't see all the SR players sitting out of the ITM and Currie Cups - they are real competitions with pride and tribalism on the line. If you are the best available you play, and if the NRC is to hang around and be taken seriously the first step is going to be having it treated seriously by the club. At the moment it doesn't really seem to be, being more a series of knock-around trial scratch matches. And watching the match at McGillivray, it is not like the Force players attacking skills couldn't do with a bit of polishing. Looked reasonable individually, but there wasn't much fluency as a team in pressing advantage or seamless transition from defence to attack. It is what worries me about next year frankly - that we have shown what we are about this year, but that was all of it and being unable to take that next step we'll go the same way as the Cheetahs.

On the whole the Spirit and Rising are perhaps two extremes of the pendulum...we're making arrangements for SR five years from now, they are practicing for success next year. It is a tough call as to which is better, but having 16 players with SR experience and the seven best prospects from outside the club does not seem to be disproportionate. It certainly feels a slightly better balance than the Spirit is striking.

[palitu]

I agree Andy,

They should be having a core team, whether they be Super players or not, and then move players through as seen fit. Give they guys a chance to make combinations and show what they can do in a team, as opposed to what they can do in their one shot at playing.

I haven't been that interested in the games as there is no team to follow, just a name.

Make the team 70% the same week to week, and have the fringes move in and out as they show potential.

As it is, they are not playing to win, they are playing to be there.

[Pitythefool]

Agreed palitu - the chopping and changing of the team as well as the absence of the available SR players, whilst giving the "local talent" a crack, seems to demean the Spirit Jersey somewhat. No disrespect to the club guys but from what I have seen, some are standing up well whilst others are out of their depth (a al a certain local ref... but I wont go there).

Foley has obviously gone for trailing new talent which is not a bad thing but as others have pointed out, it risks becoming a bunch of glorified trail games which may turn supporters off (barring little Johnny's folks when he gets his crack and bless his cotton sox). We as a SF franchise need to build on a strong year and I had hoped that we could use the NRC to fine tune some aspects of their game prior to heading into the off season break. Hiding behind the inevitable travel schedule and the boys are tired is frankly not good enough. These guys are paid to play and paid for a season of rugby. They ended up playing 16 games in a year and now they can have a bit of fun in the gym because they are pooped......

anyway - I am disappointed not to see a stronger Spirit team on the park this week and even the second string club players for the TV game... some one has messed up there. Sponsors will not be happy to watch their team get steamrolled by a pretty much full SF team.

[MI5_Dog]

They're playing to get a contract with a super rugby team
and playing bloody hard to get it.
With some of the backline players in the Spirit getting into the Force I'm fairly happy with how we look next year and for the years to come.

[Pitythefool]

Dog - haven't we got a full squad already for next year baring and outside center? Need to check the squad thread to check.

[G_Beard]

Yes and no, plenty of players need injury management. The club players are getting into, the Force players keeping some match fitness. Positional and attacking play being explored and yes games are there for the winning and barring a couple hiccups the Spirit would be 3 from 3.
If this is part of the Empire building then happy days.