Pre season games

[WFDom]

Hey crew. I’m away at work. Did anyone go? Any feedback????

Despite the score line, I’m hoping there were some positives to take away.

[volvo]

Positives
Set piece was very strong. Maul defense looked a lot better then last year as well. Campbell Parata looked very good when he came on. Michael Wells was a clear leader and I assume he will be the captain this year.

Negatives:
Too many handling errors and combinations not gelling yet resulted in us not being able to attack.

[GIGS20]

We looked very rusty in attack, pretty much the whole game, but set piece was strong. Reds didn't win a lineout in attck or defense for probably the first 20 minutes and Stewart kicked A LOT

The battle for starting hooker is not finished IMHO with FF receiving a dumb/cynical/unfortunate yellow after running down a big break and failing to roll away when the support wasn't really there and we had players in the ruck. didn't need to be done IMHO, he also went for a few of those dumb chop tackles he's known for. He was however quite accurate throwing to lineout and formed a pretty lethal front row with Robbo and Santi.

Feleti OTOH played clean and athletic as he usually does but the scrum wasn't as dominant with him and he threw the first three lineouts into the midriff of the jumper losing the first and luckily getting away with the other two.

If you hadn't seen the score in the first 20 you would have called Force in the lead but inability to finish moves along with insecurity building phases cruelled a number of opportunities as the Reds found their feet faster.

Stewart looked solid at 10, playing an effective territory game which was smart since our lineout was close to untouchable, I'm not convinced he showed enough yesterday to unseat Reesjan once recovery is complete, but it looks like he'll have plenty of time to get things sorted out and, importantly, he didn't do anything glaringly stupid.

Defense. like attack was scrappy, you could tell there are a lot of new bodies and a new coach, they still seem to be figuring each other out and that is what (I think) contributed to the scoreline.

Wells certainly likes belting little blokes and he took those opportunities when they were presented, I reckon he'll start at 8 and Jackson will come off the pine, but I didn't spot a massive difference between the two.

Anstee was a bit of an everywhere man, I think if we're in need of a mobile back row he'll get the nod at 6, but I'd be really keen to see how Jackson goes at 6, because Auckland has done HEAPS for him and he does have the height to be effective at lineout time.

Ollie Callan did a good job of 7 pressuring the ball all day but getting limited love from the refs, without the benefit of a closeup or a ref's mike I'm going to say he was hard done by a couple of times, but it could easily have been OK calls. Don't think Boog Koteka saw minutes.

That new Brazilian prop jumped of for about half an hour and he looks like A UNIT. wasn't shy, seemed up to the standard, so I think he'll do OK might overtake Bo in the pecking order.

Finesey was his usual self, but the team needs time to click with him, I'd say Stitch was more effective, but once the team gets used to how Fines-Leleiwasa plays the game, I think there might be more points in it. ATM Prior to start and Finesy to ride the pine.

It was a decent hit out and certainly the rust needed to be shaken off. They'll be better for it and I'm interested to see how they go against the Drua, they will have a whole lot of work ons and be under no illusions of the standard required.

[Tazzmania]

Well summed up by GIGS20

Hegarty, Pulu, Tiatia, Koteka, Kuenzel did not appear to play due to niggles.

I do not recall seeing Kalupu, Ala and Hancock but with the constant changes was hard to tell.

The positives:

Rodda looking good
Wilton Robolo was better than expected and held his own.
Callan industrious and tried hard
Wells is going to be a great get, looked like a natural leader and even in a pre season friendly was giving it his all.
Line out better than last year, FF threw straight and added bulk and stregnth to scrum.
Cambell Parratta looked right at home when he came on.
Reece Tapine looked sharp
Set pieces good.
Sam Spink looks like he is going to be first choice to nail down the 13 spot.
Age of the team looks very young and lots of room for growth both in size and skill.

Cons
Poor execution and dropped balls
Too many penalties given away.
Backline attack did not fire, they were too easy to read and defend against. (I suspect it was due to lots of new faces trying too hard to implement newly learnt game plans and taking too long to execute giving defence too much time to get into position)
The jump from training contact session to real game seemed to catch most off guard as highlighted by the lost balls in contact.

I think this team will get better with time especially as some of the more experienced players come back into contention.

[GIGS20]

Plus Tapine's almost-try was sensational, shame about the toe in touch before he did all the cool stuff!

[.X.]

Force vs Fijian Drua

The match will take place at the Western Districts RFC Park in Toowong, Queensland, kicking off at 6pm (Queensland time).

[The InnFORCEr]

And it's live on Stan

[Darren]

Force vs Fijian Drua

The match will take place at the Western Districts RFC Park in Toowong, Queensland, kicking off at 6pm (Queensland time).

And it's live on Stan

Ta - updated on front page

[GIGS20]

And it's live on Stan

Thank the 8 pounds 6 ounces... newborn infant Jesus, don't even know a word yet.

[Tazzmania]

Team starting to take shape:

[Tazzmania]

Great to see Bayley, Chase, Toni and Bryce getting game time as they seemed to have had recent niggles.

Stoked to see Marley listed for some game time.

I am assuming it is listed in playing order, with an additional hooker and scrum half included, if so Spink seems to have the inside running rail for outside centre and I like a big body like Williams at six.

Forwards bench young put where we want our development to be.

Well balanced back's bench

[The InnFORCEr]

Great to see Bayley, Chase, Toni and Bryce getting game time as they seemed to have had recent niggles.

Stoked to see Marley listed for some game time.

I am assuming it is listed in playing order, with an additional hooker and scrum half included, if so Spink seems to have the inside running rail for outside centre and I like a big body like Williams at six.

Forwards bench young put where we want our development to be.

Well balanced back's bench

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,16,17,18,19,20,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 ,21,22,23,24,25,26 is how it looks to me.

[GIGS20]

13 is looking like the most interesting position on the field ATM, whilst there is competition for almost every spot (except arguably tighthead) there are two pretty unknown quantities going for 13. Wells over pugh is a big endorsement of the value of wells, and I'm aware of Jackson's ability but I don't know much about spink and only seen glimpses of poolman ATM I reckon it's a nod to experience but poolman might have the potential.

[Tazzmania]

I think Poolman will still require a year or two to start reaching his potential. He is a very tall lad and with a year or two of putting on body mass and being coached by Cron (and the rest of the team) he will be just what we need.

I have watched a few of Spinks games in the premiership before the demise of Wasps, and it is hard to judge were he sits. He looked decent but not a standout, appears to be more of decent defensive than attacking player. Will be interesting to see how he develops in a new environment.

Wells will be a great tutor and mentor for Pugh, he always puts in 110% and works well for and with a team. (Not a bad replacement for Brynard Stander) (PS I suspect Wells will be our captain)

[GIGS20]

I think Poolman will still require a year or two to start reaching his potential. He is a very tall lad and with a year or two of putting on body mass and being coached by Cron (and the rest of the team) he will be just what we need.

I have watched a few of Spinks games in the premiership before the demise of Wasps, and it is hard to judge were he sits. He looked decent but not a standout, appears to be more of decent defensive than attacking player. Will be interesting to see how he develops in a new environment.

Whilst the only real experience I have of seeing Spinks was the trail against the Reds, I wasn't convinced that he was immediate superstar material. I'm not so concerned about the immediacy part, but 13 is a critical position in the backline and I hope they've got adequate coverage.
That said, 13 is much more important defensively than in attack, where you can take steps to address any specific issues. I guess we'll know in a few hours, won't we?