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WITH only four weeks of the 2010 Super 14 season to go we're hitting the business end of the campaign.
The Bulls, my pick to take out the title, are still dominating the competition and in my opinion are playing the most attractive brand of football.
However, I have a feeling one of the Australian teams could be a surprise packet in the finals.
The Brumbies are rolling along and playing consistently good rugby, while the Reds' revival has been exceptional this season and on their day they can beat anyone.
The outstanding form of Quade Cooper, Will Genia and Digby Ioane has been a huge plus for the Queenslanders.
The Waratahs, too, are well in the mix with their all-star backline scoring freely.
Just maybe we could see an Australian team in the final and take the title for the first time since the Brumbies in 2004.
With the World Cup just over a year away it would be a perfect springboard for the Wallabies to carry some momentum over the next 16 months.
For the Force, the rest of this season is about the challenge of each match and we'll definitely have a say in the make-up of the finals combatants.
While it's been a tough season, our performances of late have shown light at the end of the tunnel. No one could've predicted the high number of injuries.
The return of influential players such as David Pocock and Richard Brown has been great for the team.
To have an immediate impact is a credit to the type of players they are and also to the rehabilitation and preparation put into them by our Sports Science Department.
There's been an enormous load on the medical staff in 2010. Physios Rob Naish and Greg Mullings and the Doc, Mark de Cruz, have gone about getting us back on our feet in first-rate fashion and the proof is in the pudding with blokes firing on all cylinders out of the blocks.
It's a tough gig getting us back on the field, yet they somehow get everything in perspective and tackle not just the physical aspects but the mental side of injuries as well.
From a personal viewpoint, I know that without their assistance I wouldn't be back doing what I love.
These guys have put so many of us together again that they should receive the recognition their hard work deserves.
The team simply wouldn't function without them.
http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/out...-1225854896453