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It's a brave man or a fool who'll make predictions of the season's outcome at this time of the year, and not particularly being either, I won't be doing that.
However the indications are there that this will be a season which will be remembered for the quality of players taking part, and for the closeness of the overall competition.
From what I saw and heard of the Bankwest Cup, there is little between Nedlands, UWA, Associates, Wanneroo and Cottesloe. Kalamunda are a little further behind, and Perth somewhat struggling after them.
Of course, we have yet to see Rockingham, Wests Subiaco and Palmyra, and Rockingham may well be the dark horse of that trio.
Here's how I see them at present.
ASSOCIATES
A good, well balanced squad. They will miss the services of Zac Holmes to international sevens, but having Dreyer back after his unsuccessful venture into European rugby will be a positive. The only weakness I see is in the second row where they appear to lack bulk and height. This will be remedied before the season starts by judicious recruiting.
NEDLANDS
As has been the norm over the last few years, Nedlands appear their usual pre and early season lugubrious and slightly unfit selves, particularly in the forwards, but the bulk, skills and reputations are all there and they will be hitting their straps after the first two or three games. They don't seem to have lost many top flight players from last season, and have acquired quite a few new ones.
COTTESLOE
A fine local pool of players, and some quality recruits. Couple this with 13 Force Academy players in their roster and they will be very hard to beat.
WANNEROO
Too far away for me to go spying, I'm afraid, and my old mate Billy Watt is keeping stum. They have a huge, fast running backline which will be a handful for any opposition, as Cottesloe found a few weekends ago.They have secured the services of Kalamunda's late season star fullback and are incredibly potent in attack, although less impressive in defence. I didn't see much of their forwards, but they seemed adequate.
UNIVERSITY
Uni did exceptionally well to make it to the Bankwest Cup final, but I haven't seen more than a few minutes of them playing so far. On the basis that they displayed little in the way of talent or desire last season (other, perhaps, than some glimpses of form from their Force and Academy players), there must be some remarkable change of attitude taking place under new Coach Holden (he of spying on the Springboks fame), coupled, no doubt with some active recruitment.
KALAMUNDA
Their best player in the Bankwest Cup was their number eight, who last year was Palmyra's star hooker, Nate. Kalamunda will suffer from a lack of height in their forwards, and their backline was not impressive. If the rumour that they are not importing players from NZ this year as a matter of club policy is true, that may make things even more difficult for them.
PERTH
Perth will struggle. Enough said.
WESTS SUBIACO
Very little information is coming out of the Wests camp this year. They have apparently adopted a policy of not paying for their players, whether through desire or necessity, and this will deny them access to some of the players they will need. Having said that, their Annus Horribilis last season forced them to blood an exceptionally talented group of youngsters, who will be all the better for the experience and the maturity it brings. And Gibbo is a mighty fine coach.
ROCKINGHAM
My informant tells me that they have put together an excellent backline this year, courtesy partly of their well connected Kiwi coach, some welcome extra funding, and no doubt a modicum of luck, which they have sorely lacked in recent years.. Their forward pack however is reported to be just adequate, and they may need to throw a few sponsorship dollars in that direction to become competitive.
Incidentally, there is either a schism in the club, or ,more likely, President Ross Cardy and former president Ash Sewell are respectively playing good cop bad cop in their dealings with Council over the condition of their playing surfaces and field facilities. Ash has been screaming blue bloody murder in the local press over the state of affairs, and Ross is playing the diplomat and praising the council for what they have done for them. If you know the character of the guys as well as I do, you'd think they are each playing the exact opposite role that they should be!
PALMYRA
Pally have kept most of last years premier team intact, with the notable exception of the second row, where Jake Ball is likely to be out for most of the season, and the huge Irishman, Liam, has returned home. However they have recruited wisely in a few positions, and some of last seasons colts, who were appropriately introduced to first grade last year, are stepping up. Numbers at the club have been good, if not outstanding, and the club is quietly confident it will acquit itself well in the competition. The return of Taj Mailata, after a stint in the NZ NPC, is a huge bonus.
Good luck to all clubs, especially Perth, who will need it more than most, I suspect.
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Originally Posted by fulvio sammut
