2017 Player Contracts

[ranga]

Hope they sign him. I've watched him a couple of times this year. Not given a chance by his insides against the Spirit but the other times I've seen him I think he could be the goods at 13. Runs at the gap not the man, has good speed, knows where his wings are after he's made a break and like most 7's players, he's a good defender.
Meakes, Foley, Rona, Morahan, DHP......hmm I like

[Kalahard]

Brett Mckay from rugby.com.au (ARU run news site and Roar contributor) posted this little tidbit earlier today on the roar about Figg and Con Foley on training contracts with the Force. Scroll down through the comments to find it.


Of those I named through the column, CP, I would say that only Lance, Godwin, and Dempsey are *likely* Rd.1 starters.

Ready, Tui, Tupou, and Perese probably loom as bench options at this stage, though they could all start at some point.

Gordon and Simone are on EPS contracts at the Tahs from memory, ditto Naisarani at the Force. Figg is uncontracted but will do pre-season at the Force, and I think Con Foley is in the same boat..

http://www.theroar.com.au/2016/10/18...-tour-bolters/

[volvo]

Figg's Sevens road to XVs success
TODAY AT 9:45 AM NRC

by Brett McKay
He’s been one of the form players of the 2016 National Rugby Championship, and has recent experience with the Australian Sevens side as well. But NSW Country Eagles backrower Sam Figg still doesn’t have a contract anywhere for 2017 yet.

He certainly hasn’t hurt his chances of changing that situation, turning out a man-of-the-match performance to steer Country to their maiden NRC final this weekend. Figg picked up the Eagles’ award for at least the second time this season, adding another impressive black Akubra hat to his collection of headwear.

But for all that, and though he’s aware that he is effectively playing in a shop window for 2017, Figg says he’s not being driven by a conscious thought that if he plays well, he’ll earn himself a contract.

“No, to be honest, that’s not what’s driving me,” he explained to rugby.com.au this week.

“If I’m honest, I’m just trying to control the controllables; that’s probably the best way of explaining it. What I keep telling myself is that if I keep going out there and play rugby well, it’ll sort itself out in some way; it always does.

“The reason why I’m playing so well at the moment is that I’m just comfortable. The guys around me, it’s such a good culture, and mate, I just want to play footy for them, you know?

“And when you’re in a team where you don’t mind getting up off the deck when you’re feeling as horrible as you often do on a footy field, it’s just fun to play, and when you’re comfortable in an environment, that’s when you start playing good footy.”

‘Good footy’ is probably the understatement of the year, because Figg’s form for the Eagles has been excellent and getting better every week, culminating in the weekend’s performance in the first semi-final, where he led their fightback against the Melbourne Rising’s fast start.

Playing in front of the Melbourne Rebels assistant coach doesn’t hurt his case, either, and nor does playing well in front any potential future employer.

“Absolutely, that’s the crux of it,” he says. “I’m not only marketing myself here, I’m marketing myself to Japan, Europe; anyone that’s watching, really. If there’s a saving grace here [to putting himself in the shop window], it’s that the Eagles have made the Final and on a personal note, I’m going to be able to play on the world stage.”

“And that’s the same for anyone, too, whether they’re pushing for more time with the ‘Tahs like Jake Gordon and Dave Horwitz are, or whether they’re just pushing to make that next level.”

Figg will do a Super Rugby pre-season with the Western Force, which he’s very much looking forward to, but he also knows that no guarantees come with the offer.

“Dave Wessels has been really honest with me, even though he hasn’t promised me anything. I won’t be the only guy going over there to do pre-season for free though; I don’t by any means think they owe me anything.”

“They haven’t offered me a contract (yet), and so that’s why I have to keep pronouncing that I don’t have one.”

After playing really well for NSW Country in 2015, Figg returned to the Sevens scene this year for a crack at making the Rio Olympics. But he never saw Sevens as his end game, rather using the seven-a-side game to become the player he always wanted to be and nail a XVs contract. He ultimately would walk away Sevens before the Rio squad was even considered.

“I won’t lie, for a few years I’d been a bit a frustrated [leading in to the Sevens return]. I’d felt like I was on the fringe of something for a while, and I kind of stepped back and looked at what my game of rugby was.

“For too long, I was trying to be a rugby player that I wasn’t, and what I mean by that is I’d always had this pressure, ‘Figgy, we need you to be bigger, we need you to be stronger; we need you to do this and this’.

“And it never sat right with me, because I’m not going to be a 112kg Wycliff Palu running at people; that’s just not my game. So I took a conscious decision of going back into the Sevens framework to work on the skills that would allow me to have a point of difference.

“I became faster, I became fitter, my ball skills are a hell of a lot better, and now my ability over the ball on the fringe… well, that’s where I’m getting most of my turnovers at the moment. You cobble all that together, and I just feel like a much more confident player when I step onto the pitch now, and that’s why I’m playing good footy, I think.”

Figg thinks his Sevens days are behind him now, but goes out of his way to thank to Australian Sevens coach Andy Friend for allowing him to get back on his true path.

“From the get-go I was pretty transparent with ‘Friendy’ that my goal was XVs and that Sevens was an opportunity to hone my skills,” he says.

And Figg says he now has a lot of sympathy for ex-Sevens players looking to do the same thing post-Rio, to find a home in the XVs game, saying he’s found that there seems to be “a stigma attached to Sevens players”, that they’ll need a season or two to find his feet. The NRC form of Tom Cusack, Con Foley and himself is all the proof Figg needs to show people this isn’t the case.

Having played in the NRC for several seasons now, Figg is well placed to speak of the competition seemingly taking a step up in 2016. There’s no doubt in his mind that it has gone to new levels.

“It’s completely different to last year, that’s for sure. The games are tougher, they’re faster; there was a breakdown on the weekend where (Melbourne backrower) Colby Fainga’a and I were on the ground, and he just looked at me and said, ‘mate, this ball-in-play is too long,’ which we had a bit of a laugh about.

“The whole competition has gone to a new level, and I hope it keeps going, because it can only do good things for rugby. There’s been a lot of talk about defence and how 70-point games aren’t good for the game, and I disagree with that.


“Guys are happy to try new things in the NRC domain. Look at us this season; how many tries from grubbers are we getting, how many tries from cross-field kicks are we scoring? It’s just exciting footy, and when you give guys a free pass to show their talents and extend their hand, it can only be good for not only Super Rugby, but the Wallabies too in the long run.”

Figg mentions the high-scoring nature of the NRC, yet the teams who best execute the fundamentals of the game are the ones who remain the most successful. There may be no better example than Perth Spirit, who Figg and his Country teammates will face this Saturday night in Tamworth, and who beat the Sydney Rays in the second semi-final through good, old fashioned set piece and breakdown domination.

“We looked at that pretty closely,” Figg says, of the Spirit’s progression through to the Final. “I thought the Rays were a little unlucky, their rate of attrition was unbelievable.”

“Perth were clinical in how they approached the game, and their set piece was unbelievable. And they’ve got a really strong backrow, too, so I’m really looking forward to that challenge.”

“The breakdown was something we looked at pretty hard against the Rising, though, and we kept Colby and Jordy Reid pretty quiet. If we can take that same aggression at the breakdown and physicality that we showed against the Rising, I think we can stem Perth’s go-forward."

http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2016/10...-figg-profile

[Kalahard]

Thats good to hear that the ARU are sending over a few possibles to train with the Force during pre season with the potential to sign them. Thats how we got Adam Coleman initially.
There has always been a sort of invisible barrier for some players, be it missing mum and dad to not wanting join us based on results or whatever, that we needed ARU assistance to overcome. It also says a great deal for the NRC that there are players worthy of a Super Rugby contract who are finding it a lot more competitive to land one. Not everyone likes Mr Pulver but one thing he has done is fight for what is best for the game and those efforts are just starting to show signs of bearing fruit.

[MI5_Dog]

.....Not everyone likes Mr Pulver but one thing he has done is fight for what is best for the game and those efforts are just starting to show signs of bearing fruit.

The NSW club suits certainly don't like him for what he's done to the Shute Shield but I think he's brilliant for exactly the same reason!

[shasta]

The NSW club suits certainly don't like him for what he's done to the Shute Shield

His "piss it up against the wall" comment really struck a raw nerve and could have been put better. Like "wer'e not giving you lot a blank cheque to blow on ground hire fees and inflated match payments because we are gonna spend that money on country Rugby/junior development."

[MI5_Dog]

His "piss it up against the wall" comment really struck a raw nerve and could have been put better. Like "wer'e not giving you lot a blank cheque to blow on ground hire fees and inflated match payments because we are gonna spend that money on country Rugby/junior development."

I have to disagree with you there shasta. I think that this was the wake up call those blokes needed. They needed to see that for the good of Australian Rugby they had to make some serious sacrifices.
I suspect that, this year at least, some in NSW are seeing that the NRC does more for NSW rugby than the Shute Sheild does and they will reap the benefit as much as the rest of Australia will.

[AndyS]

TBH, I'd hope they might see what the NRC could do for the Shute Shield. They still have access to all the same players, but they only have to pay the ones with NRC contracts. And even then, that is potentially having access to a completely different set of sponsors.

[volvo]

HEROIC HODGSON SIGNS ON FOR 2017

The Western Force are proud to announce the re-signing of club stalwart Matt Hodgson for the 2017 Super Rugby season.

The champion openside flanker will head into his 12th season with the club, and along with Pek Cowan are the last inaugural Western Force players.

At 35, Hodgson doesn’t look to be slowing down. After recovering from a shoulder reconstruction he suffered in Round 13 last season, the gritty backrower has pushed through the rehab and is nearly back to full squad training.

The club leader says he’s thrilled to have re-signed and is looking forward to the future of the club.

“It’s great to put pen to paper for another season,” he said. “I always wanted to keep playing at the Western Force and as long I’m adding value to the team I want to be a part of the squad.”

The three-time Nathan Sharpe Medallist is about to start his 12th Western Force pre-season training block and says it’s a time he actually really enjoys.

“I don’t think back on past pre-seasons with fond memories, because they are so tough but at the same time the more I do it the more I enjoy it.

“The way I put pre-season to the squad is you don’t go into it to survive, you go into it to attack and that’s how I believe you get your best rugby.”

The 131-capped veteran says the recent signing of players and coaches is pushing the club in an exciting direction.

“I think the club is going in a new direction, which is fantastic. Having a full coaching panel with different skill sets and different areas of expertise is great.

“I’ve played with Shaun Berne, which is exciting and the experience of Alan Gaffney goes without saying; it’s also exciting that there’s a coach that’s older than me!”

In coming years Hodgson will look towards the end of his incredible career with the club he started with, he will then transition into a skills coaching position, which he says is something he has always wanted to achieve.

“I guess you could say this contract is in two parts, one being the playing aspect and the second moving into a coaching position and being part of the club in that way.

“It’s something as a club we are looking at; trying to get players more involved in different aspects of rugby as a business and coaching genuinely excites me.

“I want to become a mentor to the younger players coming through, to be a sounding board for transitioning players and hopefully push them into long successful careers here in Western Australia.”

As part of this progression into coaching Hodgson will officially be part of the coaching team in 2017. This dual player-coach role formalises a role which Hodgson has enjoyed in recent years. Working collaboratively with the coaches, providing an integral insight into the match day player experience and opposition that is second to none.

“I’ve already worked closely with the coaching team over the last four years and doing this in a more formalised way with ‘Blood’ (Dave Wessels) and the coaching team is a great opportunity. Together I am confident that we can develop a style of play that will get the best from our players and be truly entertaining for the Sea of Blue to watch.”

As a result of this coaching role Hodgson has requested to step down as match day captain; allowing a new captain to be appointed in due time. Hodgson will be looking forward to supporting and mentoring the new captain and knows that whoever is chosen will bring their own strengths to the role next year and beyond. Hodgson will remain an integral part of the leadership group that has worked hard to create and maintain a culture of high values and standards in all aspects of the organisation.

Western Force Head Coach Dave Wessels says that Hodgson’s signing is a great step for the club.

“’Hodgo’ is the life and soul of this club,” he said. “He has been here from day one and I think when many people think of the Western Force they associate that with Matt Hodgson.

“For us as an organisation it’s just a fantastic thing to have him recommit, I don’t think there was any doubt in Hodgo’s mind that he wanted to stay.

“In actual fact what has taken a little bit longer to finalise is that we want him to stay post his playing days. The idea is we want to build a legacy at this club with the people that are important to us, and Matt is exactly the type of person that we want to hold on to long term.”

Wessels says that a story told to him when he first came to the Force about Hodgson, sums him up perfectly.

“A fantastic story I heard about Matt, is when the Force were founded and had only one spot left in the squad and there were two players interviewed for the position, one of them being ‘Hodgo’.

“After the meeting he (Hodgson) texted John Mitchell and said ‘Thank you very much for the meeting and regardless of who you choose I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me. However, if you do pick me I will never let you down.’ And he has never let this organisation down on or off the field.”

https://www.westernforce.com.au/arti...son-signs-2017

[Buddha Handy]

Great news day Hodgo resigning and 2 of the best players from the NRC (Figg and Foley) doing pre season. Good signs

[Tazzmania]

The heart and soul re-signs, what great news

He has never let us down nor did he do so this time round. Thanks for staying on Hodgo, and even better committing to a coaching role to help take this team further on its journey.

[GIGS20]

How many places remaining? Who do we need? Is there room for Figg, or are we overloaded?

[The InnFORCEr]

Fantastic news

All those waiting on this news to renew, time to make the call!

[The InnFORCEr]

I have 27 full time squad confirmed on the front page so far.

[The InnFORCEr]

Gus & Mozza are also suitable candidates IMHO