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Who should we retain, who should go and who should we be signing???
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I'd like to see a fair chunk of players continue on. My top three perhaps:
1. Longbottom
2. Stander
3. Fines (or if he's gone then Cameron Orr)
Hopefully Hodgo has had contact from players OS interested in a return here
Masi Dak, Marcel Brache, K-Bomb & Stander are important signings IMHO.
I expect that the end of RWC will see squads filled around the world as players retire from top tier rugby and see what else is on offer and this would be the first world cup where the GRR option is available.
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
I think the RWC hump is not only a milestone for player recruitment, but also for the GRR comp in terms of teams for 2020 - whether it's 6 teams or more.
Perhaps even more of milestone will be the new SANZAAR deal. What happens there will unlock more pieces of the puzzle as players will be increasingly looking outside that envelope.
I see Ian Prior in particular, and to a lesser extent Nick Jooste and a couple of others, electing to stay as a fair vote of confidence in GRR. At their respective ages they are quite capable of playing Europe or Japan. Fines, Deegan and maybe McGregor all have the requisites for Super Rugby, are at the beginning of their careers and probably need to seize the opportunity ASAP. I agree that post RWC will be the defining time.
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
Apparently Stander also leaving at the end of the year according to RugbyReg.
Lloyd returning to Canberra
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/sto...deal/?cs=14264
BRACHE FLIES WITH THE FORCE IN 2020
Try scoring machine Marcel Brache has committed to his seventh season with the Western Force in 2020.
The fan-favourite is currently in camp with the USA Eagles World Cup squad but didn’t let the distance get in the way of ensuring he is part of Global Rapid Rugby’s inaugural home-and-away season next year.
“I am absolutely thrilled and over-the-moon to have signed again. Obviously, hugely honoured and very excited to have another season with the Western Force,” Brache said from Colorado.
“I’m really looking forward to next season and continuing the vision that Andrew Forrest and Rapid Rugby have in terms of this new competition.”
Brache has played over 50 games with the Force since making Perth his home in 2014 and has been through plenty of highs and lows.
“We were thrown an amazing new opportunity by Andrew and his team and the Western Force is still alive because of that,” Brache said.
“It has been so great to have been part of the transition into what has been some pretty groundbreaking stuff with Rapid Rugby. I am so privileged and grateful to have been a part of this journey and I seriously look forward to what is to come.”
A player with vast international experience having played 17 Test Matches with the Eagles and successful stints in the South African Currie Cup and Super Rugby competitions, he says the Force is a unique club.
“We are a very family orientated squad and club. I don’t just say that. I truly feel it. To have gone through some tumultuous times and to see them all thriving with the Force now and combined with the new talent we have been able to recruit makes me super proud to not only be a part of this team but the family that is the Western Force.”
And growing the rugby pathway in WA is something Brache is extremely passionate about.
“We have had guys thrust into the Western Force squad who were within the Force pathways, in the RugbyWA Senior Academy and Future Force and it has certainly propelled a lot of kids into rugby circles,” he said.
“For example guys like Tevin Ferris and Tom Sheminant, and then obviously Michael McDonald and Carlo Tizzano who are moving east. They are young products developed here and we watch them proudly as they go onto the Super Rugby stage.”
Strong friendships also played an important part in the 31-year-old committing to the Sea of Blue once again.
“To formulate the squad around the experience that we have from players like captain Ian Prior and so many more and then combine that with a lot of the new guys makes me very excited,” Brache said.
“Guys like Ian are some of my closest mates these days. I’m really looking forward to seeing him back on the field 100% match fit again soon and continuing to create something long-lasting that we have been growing here at the Force."
Meanwhile, Harrison Lloyd (Canberra Brumbies), Issak Fines (Brumbies) and Cameron Orr (Melbourne Rebels) won’t be with the Force in 2020.
The trio accepted Super Rugby offers, but also asked to play out this year’s NRC competition in the gold and black of WA.
The decision to ‘finish the job’ with the Force and try and win the NRC competition says much about the character of the individuals, along with with the team first ethos and bond between the entire playing group.
Coach Tim Sampson says player movement is inevitable.
“All three players will be missed and they have shown big improvements whilst here at the Force,” Sampson said.
“Although sad to see them go, we have received a lot of interest from quality players wishing to join our club.”
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
Jesus, how many players do the Melbourne rebels need. Great to see Brache resign again. While he is not the most flashy player he is a very important part of the force culture and it is important we retained him. With both Lloyd and Orr going we have some gaps in our props, possibly an opportunity for Dom Hardman if he can keep up his good form in the NRC. Also an opportunity for Rory O Sullivan to cement a spot in the force Squad next year, he was really impressive in Rapid rugby this year. Probably need to look at getting one more scrum half from somewhere though.
If Stander goes, I regard that as big issue.
Mind you, if players have other offers on the table and don’t yet know how many teams will be in the GRR comp in 2020 and hence how many games of rugby they would be playing if they stayed with the Force next year, who could blame them for opting for the other offers.
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Hardly surprising if they are in the same information vacuum as us. Only thing worse would be if they are in the loop and are voting with their feet. Time just keeps ticking by...
No idea why the Brumbies need Fines. There are already four scrumhalfs in the system and White likely to join in 2021. That’s a lot of 9s playing club Rugby on Super Rugby money.
The lock is rumoured to be a youngster from Queensland so it won’t be a Force player.
No mention of Mees Erasmus and James Verity-Amm going back to Perth? I hope they get to resume their disrupted careers. Chance Peni is no longer at the Brumbies.