2025 Squad - Speculation Thread

[Burgs]

Force farewell five players after parting ways

Sun, Sep 8, 2024, 5:45 PM
Ben Somerford

https://westernforce.rugby/news/forc...arewell-202498

The Western Force thanks Angus Wagner, Ollie Callan, Siosifa Amone, Charlie Hancock and Henry O’Donnell for their service after parting ways with the Club.

Front-rower Wagner joined the Club in 2020, playing 32 times for the Force, including 31 Super Rugby appearances and one in Global Rapid Rugby, with one try.

Wanneroo product Callan debuted for the Force in 2020 out of the Club’s Fortescue Academy. Callan won the Force’s 2021 Rising Star and made 36 Super Rugby appearances for the Club, scoring two tries.

Force general manager of rugby Chris Goodman thanked Wagner and Callan having served long terms with the Club.

“Angus and Ollie both made really strong contributions during their time with the Club and will be missed,” Goodman said.

“Angus provided great service to the Club starting out in Global Rapid Rugby and really finding his feet at Super Rugby level.

“Ollie is a homegrown product who was always loyal to the Force and embodied our values as a hard-working player with a hard edge. He’s a great character and we thank him for his service.”

Wagner added: “I’m thankful for the opportunity that the Western Force gave me and am grateful for my five years with the Club.

“There were plenty of special memories at the Force, including debuting in Super Rugby and making the AU finals in 2021. I’m also grateful towards the fans for their support. I really felt like they embraced me and I’m sad to leave Perth.”

Front-rower Amone was another Academy graduate, debuting at Super Rugby level in 2023 and going on to play 13 times for the Force.

Prop Hancock played five times for the Force across 2023 and 2024, while utility back O’Donnell made five appearances after debuting in Round 7 last season.

Goodman added: “We thank Sifa, Charlie and Henry for their service and wish them all the best in the next steps of their careers.”

[Burgs]

Bit of a concern now five players breaking/leaving 2025 contracts.
Even if mutually agreed, would then indicate a misread by the Franchise of which players to offer the longer contracts.

[todd4]

Pretty sure Henry O'Donnell was only a 12 month contract.

[Kernow]

Force farewell five players after parting ways

[

This makes no sense to the humble outsider, local talent and stalwarts alike. Either the purse is shrinking, or they are building a war chest for a couple of massive signings.

[Garry Owen]

Starting to lose confidence in this group now, we can’t continue this mass turnover every year. O’Donnell is going to be future wallaby, can’t understand why they kept playing poolman ahead of him this year. If they can bring in better players than they ones that are leaving fair enough but it doesn’t look promising

[WFDom]

This makes no sense to the humble outsider, local talent and stalwarts alike. Either the purse is shrinking, or they are building a war chest for a couple of massive signings.

I really hope so. Six departures in a week isn’t good.

[James]

The only two we need of that group are Amone and O'Donnell. Wagner and Hancock aren't particularly good looseheads. I don't entirely know why Hancock got a contract to begin with.

Callan is a good local product, but we have Tizzano and some others behind that. Sawers looked great in the U20s.

I'm not convinced about Amone, but we are short on tightheads. Thin depth at 13, too.

[Burgs]

Getting pretty urgent around Tighthead.
I would think the plan would be (of current signings)

1. Hoopert
3. Johnson-Holmes
17. Pearce
18. Robertson

However, a long time since Robertson has played big minutes at TH.
Fa'amausili and Eloff are both still in play from the Rebels dispersal from what I can see.
I'd "take" them both!

[chiraag]

Very surprised and disappointing to see Amone not being retained. Thought he looked like an excellent THP in the making. Was very solid at scrum time and around the field for us in 2023, before unfortunately being injured for most of this season.
Wagner was also pretty serviceable and I would've thought worth retaining for squad depth, especially after our experience this year with injuries. Perhaps these guys are seen as long term injury worries, or hopefully we're getting Pone and/or Eloff

[GIGS20]

Wish you all the best Tom. Thanks so much for your injury coverage and fantastic efforts.
4 Locks + Jeremy Williams (195cm) + Will Harris (195cm) + Reed Prinsep (192cm) + Nick Champion de Crespigny (191 cm).
We have excellent options at the line out.
Plus some young blood coming up in the Academy.

And I keep saying that Williams ins't a genuine lock option, but looking at the job he did for the Wallabies on the weekend I'm gonna have to start eating those words.

I think he'd be a great 5/6, but he's proven at international level that he's a genuine option at lock and we can't complain about that.

with the big ballrunning backrowers we have (Ekuasi, Harris, Prinsep, Champion de Crespigny) we don't want to waste a spot int he backrow on Jezza because he offers plenty at loosehead lock.

My back 5 at the moment might be

4 Williams
5 Swain
6 Harris
7 Tizzano
8 Ekuasi

However the names at 6 & 8 are highly subject to change.

[GIGS20]

I really hope so. Six departures in a week isn’t good.

Surely there's some signings in process to cover some of the holes this leaves?

Is there a blindly hopeful emoji?

[Tazzmania]

Announcements I would assume have been made now for two reasons:

1) Tahs have a major signings announcement week to kick off their membership drive.

2) We need to finalise our travelling squad to South Africa and for non wallabies. players in rehab or NPC players we need to get them game time and get them on the plane.

As we have already seen this morning, O'Donnell and Amone confirmed Tahs signings this morning.

Amone has been injury prone and he is going back home after spending a bit of time out west. With Harry Johnson Holmes and Tiaan Tauakipulu and I suspect Ata Moli (seen in last Fridays Golf clip from the Force so I suspect still in contention to play for us), Amone unlikley to get much game time. Like Tupou while he was at Associates before his injuries he did appear to be a limited minutes player.

O'Donnel was never going to stay with us, we were lucky to pick him up for this year. He is a 21 year old kid with family and friends all in Sydney, besides the super season he did not spend much time in the west. He does have a high celing but he was never going to be a long term propect for us.

Hancock struggled at super rugby level and we needed to move on from him.

Wagner was good for us in GRR and is just a victim of current and potential depth at LHP. We currently have Robertson, Pearce and Hoopert, with young Max Sawyers from Kalamunda and the academy looking like a good prospect.

Callan another victim of current and potential depth. Carlo Tizzano, Nic De Champion de Crespigny, Villiani Ekuasi. possibly Kane Koteka and the up and coming Dane Sawyers and HD Stemmet from the academy

[Kernow]

From the looks of things, the Force currently has 25 contracted players for the '25 season. Last season, there were 38 listed, excluding those brought in for injury cover, like Coxon and KB. Given that, I assume the Force has something in the order of ten signings to announce over the coming months; when do memberships go on sale?

Jeremy Williams still hasn't put pen to paper (or it hasn't been announced - do wish they would hurry up), and I think they will be looking for another lock to replace Franklin now.

The optimist in me hopes that they've been keeping their gunpowder dry to lure home some more wallaby stock like BPA.

[Burgs]

From the looks of things, the Force currently has 25 contracted players for the '25 season. Last season, there were 38 listed, excluding those brought in for injury cover, like Coxon and KB. Given that, I assume the Force has something in the order of ten signings to announce over the coming months; when do memberships go on sale?

Jeremy Williams still hasn't put pen to paper (or it hasn't been announced - do wish they would hurry up), and I think they will be looking for another lock to replace Franklin now.

The optimist in me hopes that they've been keeping their gunpowder dry to lure home some more wallaby stock like BPA.

Yes, 25/38 (have updated the other thread now), however, that does include Kuenzle. Not sure if able to put him on a long term injury like Dr Robertson was.
Have been advised that Williams has signed, but until I see it on a public document will leave as is.
Not too many Overseas high profile unavailable, but a couple I guess, will have another look through now that the NH horse trading appears to have settled down.
Seeings the Tahs have swallowed most of the Australian surplus, I wonder if we are allowed to look at Internationals again?
Gives "them" the chance to point to how detrimental to Aus Rugby we are again...

[Garry Owen]

Yes, 25/38 (have updated the other thread now), however, that does include Kuenzle. Not sure if able to put him on a long term injury like Dr Robertson was.
Have been advised that Williams has signed, but until I see it on a public document will leave as is.
Not too many Overseas high profile unavailable, but a couple I guess, will have another look through now that the NH horse trading appears to have settled down.
Seeings the Tahs have swallowed most of the Australian surplus, I wonder if we are allowed to look at Internationals again?
Gives "them" the chance to point to how detrimental to Aus Rugby we are again...

I am sure plenty others are already done deals just not announced. Koteka is not on your list, I believe he is still contracted before and is the reason Callan has been let go.