Attachment 4617
Nice to see the boys thanking the fans who got there!
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Attachment 4617
Nice to see the boys thanking the fans who got there!
Attachment 4618Attachment 4619
Yeah noticed that! Program is getting a little dodgy. See the map of the teams locations hasn't changed for a few years either.
Though, I do have to admit, I'm surprised each year when the price hasn't gone up. They were $5 in 2006 and they're still $5 in 2017. Can't say that for many things!
Couple of thoughts on last nights game...
Thought once the lifters remembered he was the jumper...Matt Philip did a great job in the line out after Coleman went off - remember he's a newbie playing against Douglas and Simmons - experienced Wallabies..
Also Meakes is rightly getting some grief for his handling... but its good to have a decent midfield defence rather tnan a few of the "turnstiles" that have graced the shirt in recent years He and Rona look solid and their handling should improve as they adjust to Super League pace.
Finally, the biggest difference you can see from last year is the Force physicality at the contest - whether it's ball into contact, tackle or breakdown, they are hitting much, much harder... the Tah's didnt like it last week and the Red's certainly didnt enjoy last night, Once they get this more controlled, the penalty count will drop and the pressure on the opposition will lift even more
Crowd looked and definitely sounded more than 7000, not too bad for a Thursday night game. There was less than 12000 at the Waratahs game last week. I'm still not sure how we managed to get the ball back in those last few seconds even though it was happening right in front of me! Great to see the emotion from the team and the crowd after the win
Nick Stiles rips into his team after "atrocious game"
8 paragraphs and the winning team gets mentioned 3 times! :rolleyes:
Force break 10-match losing streak at home
Thursday, March 02, 2017 9:10PM
Queensland Reds winger Eto Nabuli scored a hat-trick of tries, but it wasn’t enough to stop his side suffering a 26-19 Super Rugby loss to the Western Force at nib Stadium tonight.
The Reds led 19-12 in the 49th minute after Nabuli ran onto a perfectly-weighted grubber kick from Duncan Paia’aua to score his third try.
But Sef Fa’agase’s yellow card in the 67th minute for a no-hands tackle proved costly, with the Force taking the lead via a 69th-minute try to rugby league convert Curtis Rona
The Reds had a chance to draw it at the death when they pushed for a try in the final few seconds, but the Force won the ball back to secure victory.
The result ended the Force’s 10-match losing streak at home.
More importantly, it’s given Force fans a reason to dream this season as the franchise fights for its survival in the competition.
But the win came at a cost, with Wallabies lock Adam Coleman limping off in the 34th minute with a calf injury.
Coleman, whose Spring Tour with the Wallabies was brought to a premature end after straining a ligament in his left knee, could hardly move his left leg as trainers helped him off the ground.
The Force made the best possible start to the match when a series of quick passes unleashed winger Chance Peni for a try after just 65 seconds.
But the 7008 crowd were stunned when Nabuli scored two tries in the space of two minutes to swing the momentum the other way.
Nabuli’s second try in the 19th minute was particularly special, with the 28 -year-old Fijian sidestepping two Force defenders before racing 75m to the line.
Reds five-eighth Quade Cooper was left with a bloodied face after a first-half clash of heads with Force skipper Heath Tessmann.
Cooper was able to play on, but he was on the receiving end of a number of big Force tackles.
Force lock Matt Philip scored his first Super try in the 34th minute to level the scores at 12-12 at the break.
Peni looked dangerous every time he went near the ball.
But it was Nabuli who was wreaking havoc on the scoreboard.
Nabuli had only scored one try in his 16 previous Super appearances.
But he had his third of the night when he ran onto Paia’aua’s grubber kick to score in the corner.
The Force never looked out of the contest despite Nabuli’s heroics, and the home side produced the goods when it mattered most in the second half, combining gutsy defence with flairy attacking raids.
https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/force...-ng-b88404040z
One of the changes I also noticed last night as well the whole Team and squad coming over to do the bow to the faithful. What a great gesture. Noticed that Taf was the first guy to wander over as well.
My opinion the guys who changed the team up when we needed it last night was Ruru and Hardwick. I'm starting to think that maybe it might be time to say to Hodgo keep the bench warm for 60 mins and then unleash on some tired bodies because these young fellas that are making up our back row are showing some good hard winning attitude. As for Ruru he seems to me to have a good rugby brain the way he restarted the maul in 2nd half was awesome thinking, the way he disturbed that ruck near the end as well was great to see really took some of the quicker lads with him as well when he decided to kick also.
After 2 rounds there are some obvious differences in Force 2017 to Force 2016.
If coaching is 80% recruitment then Wessels is a great coach already.
I love the new guys he has brought in. Meakes may have dropped the ball a few times but he is putting pressure on the opposition defense and his attack on the ball is brilliant.
Most importantly the character of the new guys is what we want the Force to be. No show ponies. All working hard for each other.
He has also recruited great support coaches. In my opinion there is evidence of brilliant coaching. For both games we have shut down their key playmakers. We should have won last week if not for a poor lineout. What happens this week? We smash them in the lineout! Great coaching.
We lose our 2 most important players during the game. I was thinking...that's our season down the tube. What happens? We start to dominate! Depth and character demonstrated. Not overly reliant on 1 or 2 players like in past seasons.
We should beat the Brumbies on the basis of our first 2 weeks performances. But don't get ahead of ourselves. At the beginning of the season I rated the Force the no.2 team of the Australian franchises, not far behind the 'tahs. If we win next week we are pretty much there.
Go the Force!!
I know we've spilled a lot of ball, but to be fair, the handling conditions have been less than ideal over the first two games... especially last night, I was dripping when I got up the steps to my seat.
Lets focus on the positives. We've finally got the back line we've been praying for & the D was bloody awesome!
Was great to see George Smith go round again. Found out Joe Bakarat was the man that spotted him all those years ago & recommended him to Eddie Jones!... small world
Yes Meakes' drops were very frustrating, but I love what I see out of him. He is runs hard (and looks for an offload), tackles hard, rucks hard. He will be very good for us. Ruru played great last night with his energy and decisions; and especially that counter ruck. I was impressed at the lineout improvement (like most of us) but the strength of the scrum was a pleasant surprise.
If Adam is out, I would like to see RHP go back to lock with Phillip and maybe let Naisarani have more of a run. I was very impressed on his involvement in limited time.
When is McCalman back? We are missing a true ball carrying #8. I though Hardwick was better last week than Stander this week. Standar is a good #6.
:lolup: