Stowers and Ferris were the real surprises for me, I hope they have some big signings in store for the backrow
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Stowers and Ferris were the real surprises for me, I hope they have some big signings in store for the backrow
I have no opinion about those who are not getting a contract extension as I know very little about their commitment on the training track, adherence to dietary guidelines, ability to focus on personal improvements targets or disciplinary issues..
However, I do have confidence in Tim Sampson and Matt Hodgson to plot the way forward in building a competitive team for the competition that's before us.
These young men have had to chance to represent the Western Force and show their best. They've been able to play numerous teams from the Asia-Pacific region, help prepare national teams for the 2019 RWC and win a NRC crown.
They've had the chance to travel to Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, and most mainland Australia cities.
Thanks for your efforts and contribution to developing rugby in WA. Go well with whatever lies ahead......
Over it's history the WF has changed out between 11-14 players each year.
The average SR career in 2.5 seasons.
First day back at work for the Force
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/forceforever
They were careful to only show names and faces of guys who they have announced as signing, except Grayson Makara, whose name does not appear on TWF's list yet for 2020 or 2021.
Few other faces in the background that need names?
I assume their will be 7-8 signing announcements this week to fill the squad, now that they have started training.
Looks like McDonald is coming back. :yeah:
Signing McDonald is excellent news if correct! Might be tough for him to get game time though behind Cubelli and Prior barring injury.
Not sure whether Iglesias would be a step up from Lance or not, but always good to have more quality depth in the 10 position.
To be honest I am surprised that Prior got re-signed.
In my humble opinion, he is a by the numbers player. Not a game-changer or a line breaker.
I just don't see how he fits alongside the current group of International signings.
I really liked the end bit "spots will be held open as the Force watch the Australian market as other Super clubs come under financial pressure"
ie, we'll do to the others what the Rebels did to us when they were confirmed before the decision was made that we were being axed
Hopefully they can cause a bit of pain in the right areas whilst they're using the available financial stability to improve our squad
Couldn't disagree with this assessment more.
Ian Prior is not a typical Aussie Scrum Half - thank goodness.
But the reality is:
+ He was one of the first to step up when the team was axed in 2017.
+ He has captained the team well through trying times.
+ He is not a flashy S/H but the team plays better when he's on the field as he co-ordinates so well.
+ So often we see the team struggle for on-field leadership when he's replaced.
+ When the team needed a reliable kick on goal he put in the hard yards to become one of the most reliable kicks in Australia.
+ We may see him play more games from off the bench but couldn't think of a more reliable player to close out the game.
+ From the recent announcement we are obviously going to see Ian have more involvement in the Force Academy.
Thankfully we will continue to see Ian Prior walk tall for a couple of more years.
Hear Hear
Particularly the leadership comments, Stitch has been the glue holding the Force together in a lot of games.
He's also one of those players who doesn't make himself look good so much as make those around him better.
I still remember Jodi's story about how Stitch felt that the Force needed to be better at the breakdown so he approached Hodgeo for some pointers as a response.
You couldn't find a better team leader in my opinion
Prior is a quality scrum-half for sure. The difference in quality and speed of delivery to our 10 or forwards was very noticeable this year between himself and Frisby / Abel. And as above, his kicking from the tee is outstanding which can be a big factor when a game is tight.
Very happy that he has re-signed and will be there to guide the team and mentor Macdonald. Perhaps he might not be captain next year if starting from the bench more often but will likely be the spiritual captain nonetheless.
Western Force set to add more Argentinian beef to their pack via World Cup star Santiago Medrano
https://images.s.thewest.com.au/publ...mpolicy=wan_v3
Nick Taylor
The West Australian
Sat, 24 October 2020 11:00AM
Western Force are set to add more Argentinian beef to their pack, with prop Santiago Medrano to join their growing legion of international stars for next season’s Super Rugby competition.
Medrano, 24, would be the fourth Los Pumas World Cup player joining the Force.
Hooker Julián Montoya and scrum-half Tomás Cubelli have already been confirmed while fly-half Santiago Iglesias is expected to be announced shortly.
All four are in Sydney with the Argentinian squad preparing for next month’s tri-nations Rugby Championship tournament against Australia and New Zealand.
They were all four players were in last year’s Argentinian Rugby World Cup squad in Japan and in the 2019 Jaguares Super Rugby squad that reached the final where they were beaten by the Crusaders.
Medrano made both his Super Rugby debut for the Jaguares and his first international appearance two years ago. He has 18 caps for Argentina and played 30 Super matches.
The Force have also signed legendary Irish full-back Rob Kearney, former All Blacks second-rower Jeremy Thrush and centre Richard Kahui .
They will be join a growing international group including Wallabies centres Tevita Kuridrani and Kyle Godwin and front-rowers Greg Holmes and Tom Robertson.
A priority for coach Tim Samspon is adding at least one second-rower to join Jeremy Thrush and Fergus Lee-Warner and another back-rower.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/rugby-u...ng-b881702548z
Iglesias is gonna give Jono a run for his money.