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Thu, Jun 6, 2024, 7:29 AM
Ben Somerford
Boston Fakafanua, Finn Prass and HD Stemmet are examples showcasing the diversity of the Western Force’s Fortescue Academy with the trio all moving to Perth to be part of the program.
Midfielder Fakafanua, who hails from New Zealand originally, recently represented Australia at the Under-20’s Rugby Championship on the Sunshine Coast.
Sunshine Coast-raised Prass, who turned 19 in February, was part of last year’s Australian Schools and U18s squad, having joined the Force prior to last year’s Men’s Under-19 Super Rugby Championships where he impressed at full-back.
Stemmet has taken a different path to the Fortescue Academy, with the 21-year-old South African back-rower joining the Club in February after training with the Super Rugby squad during their spring tour against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein last August and September.
The trio’s commitment to the Fortescue Academy is representative of the program’s growing reputation in rugby circles, led by ex-Force players Jeremy Thrush (head coach), Greg Holmes and Jonno Lance (assistant coaches).
The Fortescue Academy strives to provide both local, eastern seaboard and overseas players the opportunity to represent the Force and the Wallabies.
Thrush said: “It’s fantastic to be able to attract some of the best talent from the other side of Australia but also have our eyes overseas to recruit young players with big potential. The fact that these highly regarded young players are willing to re-locate and join our program is an endorsement for what we’re doing.”
Fakafanua joined the Academy late last year, spending several months with the squad in pre-season, playing for the Force Academy before impressing with Force A against the ACT Brumbies in early March.
The 18-year-old is currently back in Sydney having earned a scholarship with Sydney University, enabling him to play in the NSW Shute Shield this season.
Thrush said: “Boston is a good story. He got the opportunity to jump on the bench for the last Force A game against the Brumbies and got some good minutes. He held his own for a young kid.
“We see his potential at the moment in the midfield. He’s a very driven kid. He works really hard and is pretty passionate about making it and playing some good footy.”
Fakafanua will hope to be selected for Australia for the Under-20 World Championships in June-July in South Africa before returning to the Force to play in the 2024 Men’s Under-19 Super Rugby Championship.
“It’s awesome to have him in our system,” Thrush said. “He’s a quality human being and a really good rugby player. He’s chosen to come into our set-up at the Force. It’s credit to the good work done within the Academy to get it to the point where it attracts talent like Boston from over east.”
Sunshine Coast Grammar graduate Prass similarly spent time in the Force set-up in pre-season, including training with the Super Rugby squad. He has since returned to his native Queensland to play for his original club Brothers in 2024 Queensland Premier Rugby.
“Finn is another quality human being who works really hard and is passionate about trying to make it in Super Rugby,” Thrush said.
“He trained all pre-season with the Super team which was a great experience for him. We brought him back to make sure he develops the right way, so he can go and have a good season of club rugby, come back again and push for the Force spring series games. He’s also eligible for the Force Under-19s, we would obviously like to have him involved in that.”
Stemmet’s journey to the Force is unique, with Force general manager of rugby Chris Goodman tipped off about his talent, before inviting him to train with the Super Rugby side during their spring series tour in Bloemfontein last year.
“We’d heard some chat about him over there playing at university and then he came up and trained with the guys while they were in Bloemfontein,” Thrush said.
“Chris Goodman knew about him. He had a contact who said this kid might be worth a look at. When they were over there they obviously asked if he wanted to come up and train with the Force team. He jumped on the plane, headed up there. Goody and coaches over there liked what they saw and his potential.
“He’s a bit older than the other guys but he’d never been in a system. We’re in a position where we can take an older guy if they’ve not been in an Academy system and put time into them to hopefully develop them and one day play for the Force."
Stemmet, who is playing with Associates in WA’s Fortescue Premier Grade, has made major sacrifices to take up the opportunity, moving away from his fiancé in Cape Town.
“HD has made some pretty big sacrifices to come here, with visas and moving from South Africa,” Thrush said. “He’s newly engaged and his fiancé is still over in South Africa.
“He’s on a short-term visa at the moment to have a good crack at staying here long term. It’s a life-changing opportunity for him and he’s made some huge sacrifices to make the trip over here to join our academy.
“He works really hard, very thorough with what he wants to do and where he wants to go. He’s helping drive a lot of the right standards and actions within the academy to hopefully secure another contract going into 2025.”
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