NICK TAYLOR, The West Australian
February 28, 2011, 6:47 am

The Western Force are expected to announce the first of several long- awaited signings this week, with second-rower Sam Wykes set to extend his contract.

As many as a dozen players will be off contract at the end of this season. About seven, including Nathan Sharpe, Ben McCalman, James O'Connor, Richard Brown and Matt Hodgson, are also in discussions with the Australian Rugby Union.

They have all been made offers by the Force but the club is unlikely to get any decisions until the Wallaby deals are struck.

Those talks have been protracted as the ARU is looking to cut the number of players on Wallaby top-up contracts from 55 to 40 and put more players on short-term deals.

Other players whose Force contracts run out this year are prop Matt Dunning and utility back Mark Bartholomeusz.

Wykes, 22, an Australian schoolboy and under-19 representative who can also play in the back row, has made 24 appearances for the Force since his debut in 2008 against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

His career was put on hold when he needed a shoulder reconstruction after injuring the joint during that year's development tour of England and was forced to sit out the first half of 2009. He had six starts last season, two at No.8 and four at second row.

Wykes would be relieved he has extended his time at the Force after predicting that 2011 was going to be a "make or break" year.

Meanwhile, Queensland and the Brumbies have vowed not to let NSW run away in the Super Rugby race for the Australian conference.

The high-flying Waratahs are the only side to have earned maximum points from the opening two games. They have taken an early lead in the Australian conference and are on pace for the guaranteed finals spot that comes with winning it. In thrashing Melbourne in week one and the Reds on Saturday, Chris Hickey's Tahs have grabbed two bonus points and haven't looked like conceding a try.

Their 30-6 defeat of the Reds was their biggest Super Rugby win over their bitter rivals.

On current form, the Brumbies, Reds, Rebels and Force need to get their act together quickly before the gap becomes insurmountable.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...-key-signings/