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Hello all - Exile here.
Before I ask my question/s - I wanted to offer a little bit of background information about myself.
I was Born in Perth 42 years ago and moved to Geraldton with my family when I was 4. Where I lived until I joined the Royal Australian Air Force at age 20. and moved to Adelaide, Wagga, Katherine (NT) Glenbrook (NSW), Katherine (NT) and Richmond NSW (where I still live).
I am currently a Committee Member and Assistant Coach (4th Grade) for Hawkesburry Agricultural College Rugby - 3rd Division NSW Subbies Competition.
When I lived in WA I can honestly say that I had zero exposure to Rugby Union and it wasn't until I was living in the Northern Territory in 1990 that I discovered a love of the game. And at that time I thought I was the only Western Australian that knew anything about Rugby Union. Obviously I was wrong at that time.
The problem is I have zero knowledge about WA Rugby Union and its players.
A lot of the feedback that has been provided to the Tell RugbyWA your opinion thread has been to have more WA based players in the Western Force squad.
There was also a suggestion from someone and I havent been able to find it - I will paraphrase it the Western Force needs to play a more Western Australian style of Rugby.
Ok here are the questions - sorry it took so long.
1. Would someone or a number of people offer their 10 best WA players from the WA Metro First Grade teams to Join the Force Squad.
2. Could someone explain to me the Western Australian Style of Rugby.
Thanks in advance
Exile
Port Macquarie
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
Sorry can't give you the top ten players it would put me offside with the other five players from the mighty Wests subiaco premier side
By WA Players do you mean 'Players from WA' or 'Players who play in WA but are from somewhere else and have dodgy deals with Rich Bastard Western Suburbs clubs?'![]()
I would like to think -but have no evidence to support it- that, like our AFL friends, the weather and ground conditions at WA rugby clubs favour a more mobile and open running style.
You could at least wait until the second page before degenerating into the usual petty squabbles folks, it was a reasonable request by Exile.
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"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
There was a Gold -v- Force 'A' game earlier in the year ...
Emirates Western Force ‘A’
1 Joe Ritchie (Nedlands)
2 Siliva Siliva (Associates)
3 Paul Alo Emile (Associates)
4 Phoenix Battye (Wanneroo)
5 Luke Doherty (Nedlands)
6 Ted Postal (University)
7 Ben Taylor (University)
8 Nick Haining (Cottesloe)
9 Tyler Berry (Wanneroo)
10 Dave Cloete (Cottesloe)
11 Heremaia Te Aute (Wests Subiaco)
12 Ammon Matuauto (Associates)
13 Tim Curran (Wanneroo)
14 Juan Pretorius (Nedlands)
15 Isaiah Mosese (Wests Subiaco)
Reserves
16 Bruce Smith-Wright (University)
17 Josh Hanson (Rockingham)
18 Nathan Cummins (University)
19 Hans Sauer
Perth Gold
1 Daniel Griffiths (Associates)
2Stefan Cooper (Wanneroo)
3 Oli Hoskins (Cottesloe)
4 Keiran Stringer (Cottesloe)
5 Callum Sauer (Nedlands)
6 Russel Burges (Kalamunda)
7 Mike Faleafa (Wanneroo)
8 Jackson Achilles (Perth Bayswater)
9 Ethan Carlisle (Perth Bayswater)
10 Antini Brown (Cottesloe)
11 Oli Viney (Wanneroo)
12 Chance Peni (Wests Subiaco)
13 Conrad Gillingham (Kalamunda)
14 Dominic Les Pierre (University)
15 Johnny O'Connor (Cottesloe)
Reserves
16 Byron De Freitas (Rockingham)
17 Ryan Black (Kalamunda)
18 Chance Bunce (Wests Subiaco)
19 Fulvio Sammut
Dear Lord, if you give us back Johnny Cash, we'll give you Justin Bieber.
For WA style, check out the highlights form the local comp this year so far here and make up your own mind: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCixIs5pQanFbAjQdgAacuxw
Here's a sample
Dear Lord, if you give us back Johnny Cash, we'll give you Justin Bieber.
http://twf.com.au/showthread.php?t=30978
Heres a thread from a few months ago of players that Rugby WA have missed out on or players that have prob missed the boat.
“Everyone knows whether it’s rugby, politics or whatever, front-rowers should rule the world, so to have a hooker at the helm makes sense,” Nathan Charles Western Force & Wallabies Hooker.
I don't watch a lot of Premier Grade Rugby. What I can say is that the since I first saw the local club which plays in 3rd grade, the skill, accuracy ans speed of the game has improved tremendously. These days I mostly watch a few U-18 games and the same improvement is evidenced. They are well coached and with a proper development path will provide EWF players.. A couple of weeks ago I saw a tremendous match between the locals and a much bigger well drilled outfit who have been ragged around this site for snaffling all the best kids. It was an open game with both teams prepared to run from all areas of the pitch. The home team (which GIGS will say snaffled players from his club) got home over their bigger, fancied opponents.
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
Exile
Port Macquarie
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
WTF??? No. 19 for Force 'A' no way, never in a million years.
To add to this for Exile, the educated perception is as follows:
WA players do have the skill set to match Eastern States, we can read the game, catch and pass as well, tackle, kick, defend, scrummage to the equal of E.S.
We lack bulk for a collision sport.
If you compare WA club players with ES club players as a group you will see our strength and conditioning, body fat, skin fold etc. waaay below ES clubs.
why?
Cos they can afford to pay their players to spend 4 days a week in a gym and bulk up.
Players 2, 3 & 15 for Force 'A' & rwa academy all lost on EPS contracts to Melbourne & ACT. They would have been just as good or better than what we currently have in our squad playing numbers, 16 to 35 and the obvious plus in displaying our local talent/pathway.
Oh - #12 for Gold lost to NRL N/Knights was also in the National Gold Squad with the above three players.
Anyway BACK on TOPIC - our games are OK, played fast and open but currently over extended with a 10 team premier comp; personally I would support an 8 Team Premier Comp & 8 Team Championship Comp, but Hard Basket springs to mind.
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A WA style of game to me is a mixture of styles which reflects the amount of expats in perth. An open style of game, with lots of width moving the opposition around. WA doesn't have the size of a South African or Kiwi pack to bash their way through opponents. It means that we have to play smarter be more efficient in what we do. For set piece a side that isnt as big needs to be more technical in a scrum working as a full 8 and in lineouts movement across the ground. With the AFL back ground kicking should be accurate, used as a tool to put us in a position to attack - not as our attack weapon. The game plan requires WA to be fitter then the opposition so we can run them around the park and off their feet. The most important part of a WA style is to have a crack - I have yet to play in a team that doesn't back their running rugby - with the Polynesian 7s mentality to exploit opposition when they least expect it. Obviously with this approach you need to be prepared for turnover inside our 40m line. Finally its discipline - each team member needs to know that each player has their back in defense or in attack, this will see us give away few penalties/bad choices as the trust amongst team mates to be their will be automatic
WA Style
Fast, Non-stop, Running, Efficient, Trust.
That is - to me anyway what I think a WA style is like. WA has an advantage of the isolation, any WA side I was apart of as a junior it was always us against the rest attitude. And it motivated you more to want to win, gave an extra incentive to take it to the bigger QLD/NSW. Thats the mentality the force need - not oh im not playing this week I'll go back to the NSW comp, until that changes the force will always struggle with culture - if players employed by the Force dont play in the local comp [at least during season] why would local players support the force? When it appears their own players dont.
Pruc @ 0920 today - great analysis & very well said, especially your last paragraph
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Can I ask how much time is required for gym training etc. ?
When I was a university student heavily involved in rowing we were doing about nine 2 hour training sessions a week during the club season and the state crews trained 14 times in a week over summer, all of us were unpaid.
I know professionalism changes things I'm just asking how much different is it from the unpaid olympic sports?