YES! Force prove there the real deal

[spankytheking]

Man i havent watched the force play for a while now and what a turn around from last season. they couldnt even catch a pass last year and now theyre second on the ladder! Great game tonight and huge crowds to, all wearing blue.

C'Mon Glory! oops i mean Go the Force!!

[Mr Hasbeen]

And just another thought, the ref tonight, have to give him a good score.
Fair, consistent and didn't miss too much.

Or to put it another way, what he missed from both sides evened itself out.

Well done.

[Burgs]

I rate Lyndon Bray as a Ref, you normally know you are in for a fair match.
He would be one of the top couple in the S14.
Good of you to point it out Mr Hasbeen

[travelling_gerry]

Man i havent watched the force play for a while now and what a turn around from last season. they couldnt even catch a pass last year and now theyre second on the ladder! Great game tonight and huge crowds to, all wearing blue.

C'Mon Glory! oops i mean Go the Force!!

During the Fox commentary Phil Kearns said something like. " Have they got any jerseys left in Perth??????"

[blindsid3]

Good of you to point it out Mr Hasbeen

I would have to disagree with you on this one Burgs - I rated his game very poorly.

For too much of the first half he let the Sharks encroach the offside line at the breakdown. It wasn't until the second half that he started pinging them and then out came the cards. In my time as a ref I was always taught to come down hard on that sort of infringement and set the standard from the beginning of the match...because if you don't then the players have one standard for some of the game and a second later on...it is not fair on them

Long term members of this forum know I am fond of a card or two for professional fouls...

but I thought the Sharks second last night was the result of poor referreeing in the first half. With Bray not getting on top of the rushing defence and bringing it back under control the sharks were merely playing to the standard they had been set - thus the card was harsh I felt.

[The EnForcer]

Great win against a quality side.

Does anybody else think that the skimpy girls at the start of the game added to the atmosphere. Maybe a test by Rugby WA to see if a group of dancing girls supporting the team would be welcomed. I say they proved a point. Good one Rugby WA, you know what we want.

[Thequeerone]

Brilliant effort last night - couldn't believe it the lads led all the way- no last minute hearstopper - the driving maul by the Sharks was impressive- scrums a worry for next week - so is Hodgson (a lot of ice on that knee !)

If birthday boy Sheps not available what then - who is the next best option for 11 given that Sir John seems to like keeping the lads in the same shirts as much as possible and that Gitts was superb at 12 and Hilgy was fantastic at 10 - can Junior play 11?

[tragic]

Given how intense our defence was in the first half, I thought the boys would have been knackered in the second. However, its obvious that there's no comparison between the fitness levels of this year and last year.

And that spin-in-a-tackle and pass from Gits for Shep's try was magic!

Happy little vegemite over here

[Burgs]

It's interesting, considering he was our inaugural Fullback, that Jimmy is never mentioned for consideration in the back three.

On the TV I didn't really get the impression that the Sharks were especially offside blindsid3?
Perhaps at the ground there was a different impression.
The Force also flirted with the offside too, they just got away with it.
The two cards were absolutely blatant and the second one the players was just plain stupid. Neither were questioned in post match interviews by Smit or Putt.
I don't expect a Ref to get 100% of the calls right, especially if his Touchies aren't doing him any favours, my rating of Bray is more to do with the manner with which he controls matches, respects (and is respected by) players and generally doesn't control the destiny of the match by show boating with the whistle like certain others.

[tragic]

Bray certainly seems to have a more relaxed/calmer manner than others.

The screams of "Offside!" were deafening around me, Burgs, and so were the cheers when it was eventually called.

[Burgs]

Apparently Subi is a crud ground to watch Rugby from and you are too far from the action to see what is going on though tragic?
Just kidding mate
All I'll say is that my impression of live (ie attending) matches in general have sometimes changed when I get to see a replay on TV in the cold light of day.

[tragic]

Binoculars and big screen replays are very handy things, Burgs

I got the impression that Bray gave out a few warnings early on, but started to ping players later in the match. Anyhway, it IS difficult to get a good perspective from the Subi stands, granted. More copies of the games for later review are clearly in order

[shasta]

Gits was M-O-M on TV but I'd rate a couple of others in the pack too.

Before he was injured I thought Hodgo's speed to the breakdown kept us competitive there against a class back three. Bam Bam was just as good when he came on. Hodgson has some great carries too along with Sharp who got us over the gain line plenty against a brick wall defence. Browne and Fava steady as ever. The scrum was under pressure all night but managed to do just enough to get the job done.

Lyndon Bray does a good job most times but didn't really ever get control. Apart ffrom what's been said already here, he missed a couple of real clangers late that could have led to Force tries. There were two in the one play where Fava got busted and offloaded inside to Angus Scott who clearly juggled but regathered. Scrum to the Sharks who attempted a clearing kick. Hilgendorf charges the kick down and is ruled to knock on. Unbelievable.

Another saw Sheps ahead of Ndugane in a kick chase. He grabs Sheps both arms from behind and levers himself in front to win the race. Sheps then goes off his feet in the tackle and is pinged. Not the ref's best night - for either team.

But we'll take second or third on the ladder

[travelling_gerry]

I reckon Rudi Verdelago had a monster match.

[Dramoth]

For what it's worth, and my opinion isn't worth that much, but probably the best win from the Force.

The downer, just how close the Set Efrikens got to scoring in the closing minutes.

But, this is a team which has now only lost 2 games all year.

The speed with which they followed up their kicks was impressive, yet the Force didn't panic, and were able to consolidate and play their own game.

Mitchell, I thought played an excellent game, as did virtually all the team.

Evbery game this year, they've improved, and this win tonight, against quality opposition, how sweet it was.

I mean, the guys were tested, yet concentrated on playing their own game.

Only thing was, with a few minutes to go, perhaps they should have gone for the try, (against 13 players) rather than going for the penalty, which ended up against the right hand post and rebounded into play.

But then again, the guys on the field are the real deal.

Congrats to them all, and Mitch.

I am pretty certain that we have only lost 2 matches as well... plus that damned draw...