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Brisbane wants speedy start against ‘deadly’ Force
October 2, 2019
Brisbane City captain Fraser McReight is readying his team for a big opening show when the Queenslanders land at UWA Sports Park on Sunday.
After a slow start in their Round 5 derby loss to Queensland Country, McReight understands his side cannot afford to hesitate against a Force side coming off their first defeat of the season.
“We are not really worried about the Force even though we know they are deadly, it is more about getting our game right from last weekend,” McReight said.
“I don’t think you can really go into a match against the number one side focusing on them after you give yourself a 28-point deficit against Queensland Country. We don’t want to start so slow. The first half an hour of a game is when we have to be really switched on.”
Whilst Brisbane City remain in the finals hunt, sitting fourth on the ladder, their captain is clear only an all-round performance will bring a victory and help secure their standing on the table.
“We know we can score points, so that is not an issue for us, it is about starting well and making sure our defence is on point for the whole game. We have a good attacking side, so I do think our strength lies in our attack and our scramble defence,” McReight said.
With equal wins and losses in this year’s competition, the 21-year-old concedes playing the Force is a daunting proposition, especially given the Queenslanders have not beaten the West Australians since 2015.
“The Force are top of the table for a reason so I think everyone is really excited to dig in and fight for each other,” McReight added.
“Each week is different because you play different teams, but it is more about going back to our fundamentals and what worked for us as a team and how we can better those elements that worked for us.
“It is more about getting our game right from last weekend. I think all the focus has to be on us which is what we need. I am sure it will be a great contest between the two sides on Sunday.”
Currently the youngest captain in the NRC, McReight’s rugby career has skyrocketed in 2019, debuting for the Queensland Reds and captaining the Junior Wallabies to the final of the Under-20 Championships.
“The whole year has been pretty awesome. The best thing about captaining this NRC team is that everyone has a different rugby story, it’s not just people my own age,” McReight said
“You can’t captain a side on your own, you need other leaders in the team to keep driving standards and it’s an immense help to have some of the older heads there to help me.”
One player McReight will be hoping puts in another mesmerizing performance is Reds teammate and former Junior Wallabies star Isaac Lucas.
“We think he has really taken control at ten and really has run the show and given us great direction around the park,” McReight said.
Past Meetings
2014 (Final) Brisbane City 37-26 Perth Spirit. Ballymore, Brisbane
2018 Brisbane City 29-47 Western Force. Norths Rugby Club, Brisbane
2017 Perth Spirit 62-28 Brisbane City. UWA Sports Park, Perth
2016 Perth Spirit 60-22 Brisbane City. UWA Sports Park, Perth
2015 Brisbane City 29-16 Perth Spirit. Ballymore, Brisbane 2014 Perth Spirit 21-26 Brisbane City. UWA Sports Park, Perth
https://www.westernforce.com.au/bris...-deadly-force/
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Team to fill the Hill:
1. Harrison Lloyd, 2. Heath Tessmann, 3. Tom Sheminant, 4. Fergus Lee-Warner, 5. Jeremy Thrush, 6. Henry Stowers, 7. Carlo Tizzano, 8. Brynard Stander,
9. Ian Prior (c), 10. TBC, 11, Jonah Placid, 12. Nick Jooste, 13. Pama Fou, 14. Byron Ralston, 15. Jack McGregor.
16. Alifeleti Kaitu'u, 17. Cam Orr, 18. Dom Hardman, 19. Johan Bardoul, 20. Tevin Ferris, 21. Issak Fines, 22. Jake Strachan, 23. Leon Feke.
Brisbane City boys arriving at airport now after 5 hour flight from Brisbane, long day for them.
Still not quite as long as the Force going to Fiji.
is there a live stream?
Kayo are advertising it on Roar.
15 min in nill all and Prior down with what looks like a serious arm injury
Oh those front-rowers, finishing it off out wide, after the hard work done by the backs![]()
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
20 minutes into this game I thought that Brisbane City were going to run away with this game.
The try late in the first half and the 2 quick tries in the 2nd showed what the lads can do.
There was a distinct lack of leadership after Prior left the field - we'll miss him in the finals.
In the 2nd half BC were tanked but disciple, poor decisions and errors cost us dearly.
To their credit BC lifted with mistakes and injuries.
If not for the couple of missed conversions BC deserved more than the close call.
Last week, I flagged what I thought was a strange binding technique of our tighthead prop Tom Sheminant, which I blamed for us getting caned with scrum penalties, and costing the Force the game.
However I saw that man, whom I think is a tighthead beast, Kieren Longbottom this afternoon. I asked him about the "strange" bind, and he said he used the same binding method!
I was so surprised, I forgot to ask him if this binding was unique to the Force, however this evening I was watching the Viking v Sydney game played yesterday, and noticed Wagner the Viking THP doing the same thing! This is the young prop the Force have signed for next year.
Anyway, today the Force went OK in the scrums, with Tom Sheminant starting at THP. So I owe Tom an apology.
There was some classy play in patches throughout the game, but there was a lot of lazy defence, dropped balls and confusion which was disappointing. Don't know whether some new faces there were struggling with the game plan. Noticed Van giving some vehement 'advice' with the water bottles, Tim & co won't be happy with that performance and it makes it dangerous for our finals. A lot of tidying up to do. Losing Ian & Bryn didn't help.
FORCE SECURES FIRST NRC HOME SEMI-FINAL
The Western Force has survived a late Brisbane City fightback to secure its first-ever home semi-final in the National Rugby Championship.
The Force led 33-14 with ten minutes to play and Brisbane had a chance after the siren with a conversion kick to level the scores. The kick narrowly missed, and the Force hung on in a thriller 33-31.
However, the win came at a cost with captain Ian Prior suffering a broken wrist, Brynard Stander leaving the pitch in the first half with a knee injury and Johann Bardoul forced from the ground late with a leg injury.
Bardoul was unable to be replaced because the Force used its allotted substitutions and when Cameron Orr was then sent from the field with a yellow card, the team was left to defend a fast-finishing Brisbane for the last two minutes with just thirteen men.
Andrew Deegan led the way for the Western Force and made four of five conversions to help secure the four points that take the Force clear at the top of the NRC table, securing a top-two spot heading into next week’s final round fixture against Sydney.
A tight first half hour saw both teams exchange tries with neither able to establish dominance. The Force forward pack managed to maul their way over the line with hooker Heath Tessmann opening the scoring side after eleven minutes.
With half time beckoning the game sprung to life, with three tries.
Brisbane’s ill-discipline would prove the difference on the stroke of half time. The Force took full advantage of back to back penalties to set up another rolling maul. Towering lock Jeremy Thrush crashed over the line to snatch a seven-point lead after the siren.
At the break flanker Tevin Ferris told Western Force social media “we need to make our first up tackles we need to get in front of them and put them on the deck early." Unfortunately, the men in blue’s defence almost proved to be their undoing.
The Force fired out of the sheds for the second half, a scintillating break from mercurial winger Leon Feke saw the ball find its way to front-rowers Tessmann then Tom Sheminant who scored.
The Force was over again soon after, the dominant forward pack setting another short-range rolling maul and Kaitu’u dotted down to extend the margin to nineteen points.
However, that is when momentum swung in favour of the Queenslanders.
Tries to lock Adam Korczyk and two to winger Jordan Luke closed the gap. The last try left fullback Bryce Hegarty with a touchline conversion to tie the game. Hegarty missed narrowly to the near side of the left post and the Force hung on.
RetraVision Man of the Match: Andrew Deegan
Western Force 33 – 31 Brisbane City
(Half time: Western Force 21 - 14 Brisbane City)
Western Force: 33
Tries: Kaitu'u, Sheminant, Thrush, Placid, Tessmann
Cons: Deegan 4
Brisbane City: 31
Tries: Luke 2, Korczyk, Lucas, Uru
Cons: Hegerty 3
Next game:
Round 7
Sydney vs Western Force
Saturday, October 12 | Kick-off 9am AWST
Woollahra Oval, Sydney
All games will be streamed on Rugby.com.au
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!