Fix the Force

[Rex Messup]

Using the talent available, how would you return the team to winning matches?
1. Fix the backline disaster
This
9. Mathewson
10. Ebersohn
11. Honey Badger
12. Godwin
13. Luke Burton
14. Mitchell Scott
15. Luke Morahan

2. End Wykes as captain. Give it to Mathewson until Hodgson returns.

3. Drop Wykes. Coleman and Mafi in the second row

4. When is Cottrel and Hodgson back?
5. Our prop stocks have had a hiding from injury. Who's left?

[James]

I like a lot of your suggestions but I can't see Godwin and Burton working as a centre pairing. I'd rather see one of Godwin and Burton groomed for 10 since we aren't getting enough from Ebersohn and Holmes. The other can sit at 12. For the time being, why not have Rasolea at 13?

[Rex Messup]

My thinking was Burton and Godwin are centres. I dont reckon Rasolea is a centre. He goes well on the wing. Hes a big fast unit who cant pass and has little rugby nouse.

[AndyS]

It is all just shuffling the deckchairs based on the current skill levels and apparent lack of backline strategies. Nonetheless, if that were the game, I'd think about:
9. Mathewson
10. Ebersohn
11. Morahan
12. Godwin
13. Cummins
14. Scott
15. Haylett-Petty

bench: Prior, Rasolea, Burton

The forwards are what they are...not sure we have anywhere much to go there other than hope for more and wait on injuries.

[Burgs]

Rasolea may be 102kg but there is no way you could rate him as a big Back.
He is obsessed with his Sevens background with every possession seen as an opportunity to make the highlights reel.
If just once per match he hit the line at pace rather than this Sevens BULLSHIT of little dinky Riverdance wank he may actually come back in my eyes. What he offers is the variety off the bench you look for around the 65 against tiring legs, not what you need of a starting player.
He's pavlova, not roast beef...

[chibi]

While we're shuffling, could Prior and Mathewson be developed into a halves-pairing?

[boof1050]

Rex the only place in the team I would have Morahan is carrying the water. Hi defense is way too soft. Shoulders like a rattlesnake and Kurtley. I would really like to see Luke Burton have a dash some where in the line maybe 10 or 12. But some one needs to bash into Kyle to stop kicking the thing away. Maybe in the off season we should send him to live with Conrad Smith.

[Herbasimplex]

will be bashed in the forwards next week. would like to see

1. pek
2. Charles
3. Faulkner
4. coleman
5. steenkamp
6. mafi
7. alcock
8. mccalman
9. alby
10. sais
11. HB
12. godwin
13.barche
14. rasolea
15. scott

with burton being the back up 10
stander to come on for steenkamp and mafi to lock.

foley needs to look long and hard at the centres now. no way this is working. both defensive errors in the centres led to tries for the rebels.

what should also be jumping out at foley from the stats now is how bad we are at making metres and getting over the advantage line. apart from the rebels match we have been roughly half the opposition teams - this is woeful.

I'm happy for the team to plug away and do the stuff in close, but we should be doing this in the first 15 and generate pressure. We did this against the tahs much better and we won, other teams we have only done this in the second half.

[NTT]

There is not a lot of room to move in the front row so id go:
1 Pek
2 Cheese
3 Faulkner
Hoskins isnt up to it yet though is an enthusiastic bastard, Heiberg is bench cover at best.
4 Coleman
5 Steenkamp
Locks who will do some bashing in tight and set the tone for aggression
6 Mafi
7 Alcock
8 Benny Mac
Mafi to 6 so he doesn't burn his legs out having to scrummage and can have more open play impact and can take some of the hit up work off Benny Mac.
9 Mathewson
Still the best halfback we got just needs the guys around him to provide faster options so we stop being so static on attack
10 Ebersohn
Need his experience back on the field to steady the ship.
11 Badger
12 Godwin
Developed into a Wallaby in waiting in this position so why did we shift him? A coaching brainfart of epic proportions.
13 DHP
Played extremely well for Biarritz in this position before his return.
14 Brache
Morahans form does not warrant selection yet
15 Nikoro
Was very highly rated in NZ before he came here after injuries sidetracked his career.

16 Tessman
Needs to sort out his throwing, is chucking pies at the moment
17 Heiberg
18 Hoskins
Because theres no one else
19 Cottrel
Gives us good 6,7,8 coverage. Not the ball runner Mafi or Benny Mac is.
20 Prior
Is nearing a starting opportunity
21 Holmes
Late game spark
22 Morahan
Let him regain his confidence
23 Burton
Can cover 10, 12, 15 gives us versatility.

The biggest thing we need to sort out is the defence. Its a mental problem at the moment. Last year we were hungry for the tackle contest now we have gone back to being passive in contact and have line speed issues. Inside defenders not pushing up hard with the line leaving inside gaps to attack. AND FOR FUCK SAKE MAKE YOUR TACKLES. Missing more than 10 tackles a game is not going to cut it at this level.

On attack we need to lift the workrate and pace of what we do. We need to be planning 2 phases ahead at all times. Ebersohn gives us this. Even if our first 4 starting phases become predictable we need to nail them down to start breaking down defensive patterns. Our wingers need to look for options off our inside backs after 5-6phases, we need our big ball runners to make the gain line, we need more decoy plays, we need less soft grubber kick options, we need to play with pace and look to go through the opposition not grubber around them. Some offloads from our big ball runners would be good too. Or just some offloads at all.

Sort the heads out boys. Thats where all sport is won and lost. Have a desire for the contest. Not patches of the game.

[Rex Messup]

Harsh on Morahan.Hes one of the few backs we have with genuine pace who can score tries.We need points

[Moono74]

Get Brache off the wing and in at 13. He played there when Junior had his wrist injury and paired well with Godwin. Wings will be Badger and Scott. Scott has earn't a start and can beat his man with speed and good footwork. Junior is about as quick off the mark as a Mack truck hauling 3 trailers. OK when up to speed but takes a long time to get there.

[Rex Messup]

Zac Holmes has blistering pace off the mark. He has the ability to make a break. I dont think hes a 10...he crabs sideways and has a pop gun kick. Not great habits in a 10. His line breaking ability and speed would be good somewhere. Any ideas

[valzc]

A lot of people seem to have lost faith with Luke, which is justified ATM lately but I think he and Dane worked well together which may have something to do with it. He has been a great finisher and if they work on his tackling again it should be sorted. At least he's quick which is what we're needing.

[todd4]

Our defence last year was exceptional and Kyle at 12 played a big part of that. Defending that inside channel as well as he did I think he averaged more effective tackles per game than most of the forwards. Hopefully he will get moved back to 12.

[GIGS20]

Good things said by all, but really, shuffling the backs is a waste of time till we sort out the pack.

Agree with everybody re the front row. Heiberg and Hoskins really aren't up to it, but we're painted into a corner there, so there's no point worrying about it.

Even though Andrewg's stats will prove otherwise, Sam doesn't LOOK to be making an impact around the field, we can say that he does the hard yards and is unnoticed doing the behind the scenes work, but Force fans are good at acknowledging that stuff......Sharpie (need I say more) He needs a bench spot for a while, just to see what happens.

Coleman and Steenkamp to lock with Mafi hitting 6. Cotterell IS a GREAT option at 6, but hasn't been able to dominate without the support of those around him, Mafi has, sorry Gus.

7 and 8 pick themselves at the moment, by far the most effective forwards we have.

Bench (ignore front row for obvious reasons)
I'd like to see Sam get his opportunity at 30 minutes from the bench, His work against tired legs might net us more, Rhino needs to sit there somewhere along with KK and the blokes coming back from injury, maybe 6 forwards are needed?

As for the backline.

I've gone cold on Alby, Prior was passing faster, wider and in front of the man perhaps Alby was hamstrung by pedestrian forwards, but Prior didn't miss any runners, so he was generating the speed we needed....bench the logical choice, because (as I've implied in other posts) logic isn't getting us over the line, what damage do we do with illogic?

I vote for Burton at 10, he hasn't shown any real nerves stepping up to the level, he's playing 15 far better than either of our regular starters are playing 10 and he's playing 15 like a good 10....again, it might all go to shit, but what have we got to lose?

Kyle is too classy to bench, but he's dying in 13, shift him to 12 and put the right guys around him to give him room to work.

Speaking of right guys, Junior hasn't developed the way anybody would like at 12, he might make a good 13, but i think that ship has been sunk by a failed attempt to make him a 12. Hook him. For 13, there are few options, Mitch Scott might make it work, but he's a winger, Marcel Brache has played 13, but is doing a better job on the wing., it's risky no matter who you choose, I would go Brache, for his attitude in defense, experience and the fact that he's the only back I've seen make a dominant tackle this year (wouldn't it be nice to have a centre who can do that?)

Wings, HB (I considered shifting him to 13, but we need his finishing. The leftover from Brache/Scott on the other wing and give Nikoro/Yamada a crackat fullback.

Since the pack is our biggest hole at the moment, it makes changes in the backline a bit of a folly, but that is balanced by the fact that we can't really make it much worse, so fix the problems up front and broom the non performers in the backs.