Spirit v Vikings

[Ham105]

Missed opportunities is right. Spirit score 4 tries to 3, but lose it.

To be fair, the Vikings pack were strong.

Burton generally went well. Admittedly you can't blame missing wide conversions. But when the Vikings boot it over 4 times the scoreboard is going to hurt.

[forcefan44]

Was disappointing to see the team go down in the fashion they did. Out scoring the Vikings at try time. Lacked a little polish to finish plays. Tight five players rangi and hall did well considering the step up. Rhp quiet for mine. Faulkner leaps and bounds ahead of Hoskins come scrum time. Ruru added something in the second. Caught a little of the game before, some great young players running around for both teams and a great style of rugby played. Csc looked great in their win and fantastic to see the force players coaching and taking it so seriously

[brokendown gunfighter]

Incorrect BDG.
I may show it differently but I support rugby in this state.
I dragged myself to watch that and the lack of skill was quite evident. IMHO!
Why I get pissed off is the lack of change and no one in their right mind can accept at SXV 3 wins from 16. Spirit now 0 from 4, and try and tell me that things are working. At the moment everyone at the force/spirit are subjected to a losing mentality, something has to give but we are subjected to more bullshit being rolled out by the coaches and andrewg about development and pathways.
As a passionate rugby man there needs to be accountability for a result driven enviroment. That is the bottom line for professional sport! Even tho NRC is semi pro.
Didnt westie man say the rugbywa board wanted the spirit to go all out to win the comp? what now!
BDG if your club team had won 3 from 20 games would your committee be asking questions? I think you are nedlands!

whatsdoin,
the problem is,although many of your posts highlight issues surrounding the management of rugby in Wa,most of your posts are so negative they dilute the message you are trying to convey.
How about putting out there the changes you consider needed to bring about the on field results we all crave for?
That is for example, who should be replaced with whom,and what strategies should be implemented to achieve the goal of on field success,etc

[Tazzmania]

Much improved performance today. Angus, Kane and Richard were very good, Rosolea coming into form after injury, konelia playing well and Ryan and Ruru played their part. Tight five struggled against a far more experienced opposition.

Really good to see the boys competing better at the breakdown and defence much improved on the last few weeks.

Left the game feeling that they boys gave it their all and while not the chocolates I felt it was a good day out.

[Cowboy]

Sadly we are currently the most disappointing team in the NRC.

[SNOB]

Another disappointing loss. But it looked a slightly better performance (wAtching on iPad). we were playing against 14 men for 30 mins so not all rosey!
As pissed as I am that we are not putting our best out on the pitch I'm happy that we are blooding new and upcoming players.
Those NEW posters that only want to slagg off WARU are doing your selves no favours by trolling this site! Some of your comments have merit but your continual blaming of WARU of every bloody problem, loss or draw has gone on long enough!
Do something about it if your so bloody good but let the people who are buying tickets year in year out, out of your program!

[andrewg]

Disappointed by the Spirit's inability to turn possession and territory into points (a too familiar problem) and again too many errors at critical moments. Too often our ball runners were unsupported/isolated. Not a fan of chip kicks.

Another game that the Spirit could have won but weren't good enough.

However, with the way the Vikings started it was looking like another blowout on the scoreboard.
Turning the Vikings 24:13 Spirit half time score into a Vikings 26: 23 Spirit final score was nevertheless an entertaining effort.

Scrums very evenly matched and good to see the Spirit fight back after some mid-game dominance by the Vikings.
Thought the Vikings had dominance at the breakdown with more intensity and support (esp from Butler and Vaea).

Konelio showed some good glimpses playing on the Wing.
Would like to see more of Michael Ruru in games to come.

Interested to see what unfolds in the 2nd half of the season with 2 more games at home.

Enjoyed the schoolboy curtain raiser with some spirited rugby and some good try-scoring by both sides.

[Whatsdoin]

whatsdoin,
the problem is,although many of your posts highlight issues surrounding the management of rugby in Wa,most of your posts are so negative they dilute the message you are trying to convey.
How about putting out there the changes you consider needed to bring about the on field results we all crave for?
That is for example, who should be replaced with whom,and what strategies should be implemented to achieve the goal of on field success,etc

Fair call. I do get overheated and frustrated with losing.
Force/spirit are togetherin this, influence in selections, coaching, game plans says they are, - so 3 wins from 20 games (SXV and NRC)
What would Nedlands do BDG, they are the most successful club here in WA, would their committee sit back and accept? Would you as a supporter?
No harm in demanding excellence!

[Whatsdoin]

Disappointed by the Spirit's inability to turn possession and territory into points (a too familiar problem) and again too many errors at critical moments. Too often our ball runners were unsupported/isolated. Not a fan of chip kicks.

Another game that the Spirit could have won but weren't good enough.

However, with the way the Vikings started it was looking like another blowout on the scoreboard.
Turning the Vikings 24:13 Spirit half time score into a Vikings 26: 23 Spirit final score was nevertheless an entertaining effort.

Scrums very evenly matched and good to see the Spirit fight back after some mid-game dominance by the Vikings.
Thought the Vikings had dominance at the breakdown with more intensity and support (esp from Butler and Vaea).

Konelio showed some good glimpses playing on the Wing.
Would like to see more of Michael Ruru in games to come.

Interested to see what unfolds in the 2nd half of the season with 2 more games at home.

Enjoyed the schoolboy curtain raiser with some spirited rugby and some good try-scoring by both sides.

Another acceptable loss I take it. All in the process of development.

[andrewg]

Good summary from a Viking viewpoint.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/br...12-gjl24k.html

Canberra Vikings too strong for Perth Spirit in National Rugby Championship
September 12, 2015 - 8:22PM
David Polkinghorne

Perth 23 Canberra 26

Canberra Vikings coach Brad Harris says they "dodged a bullet" to hold on for a 26-23 victory over the Perth Spirit in the National Rugby Championship in Perth on Saturday despite having three players sent to the sin bin.

Perth were unable to earn a late draw when flyhalf Luke Burton missed a conversion from the sideline after the final siren.
It put the undefeated Vikings into second spot behind Brisbane City.

"We probably dodged a bullet there to be honest [but] a win's a win mate, they're not always pretty," Harris said.
"In the second half we had very little footy, no field position to speak of, and they certainly put us under a fair bit of pressure, but one of the pleasing things was defensively we were able to repel them three or four times and clear our lines."

It came as Vikings centre Nigel Ah Wong sat in the sin bin, the third Canberra player to visit it during the game.

The Vikings' win was built on the back of some brutal first-half defence, with No.8 Ita Vaea putting on bone rattlers to show he's going to become one of the most feared players in Super Rugby when he pulls his ACT Brumbies jersey back on.

Vikings prop Allan Alaalatoa burrowed over for two first-half tries after scrumhalf Joe Powell opened the scoring with a try.

But Francis Fainifo and Jordan Smiler's sin-binning allowed the Spirit to stay in the contest and trail 24-13 at half-time.

It was an error riddled second half where the Spirit dominated possession and field position, but they couldn't capitalise after winger Brad Lacey scored an early try.

Mitch Third knocked over a crucial NRC penalty to put the Vikings a converted try ahead, before Maalonga Konelio took advantage of a massive overlap to put the game's fate in Burton's hands.

The Vikings host the third-placed Sydney Stars at Viking Park on Thursday.

CANBERRA VIKINGS 26 (Allan Alaalatoa 2, Joe Powell tries; Rodney Iona 3 cons; Mitch Third pen) bt PERTH SPIRIT 23 (Junior Rasolea, Kane Koteka, Brad Lacey, Maalonga Konelio tries; Luke Burton con).

[taylor]

I know I have seen them generally at different levels, but in my opinion, Konelio offers more in attack with his elusiveness than both Rasolea and Godwin (more last year) with their straight at a defender running. Please don't take this as a negative statement. I felt sorry for Ollie yesterday. Every scrum penalty in the second half seemed to go against him. He was penalised in general play also and when he ran back to his position, to me he looked a very dejected rugby player.

[brokendown gunfighter]

Fair call. I do get overheated and frustrated with losing.
Force/spirit are togetherin this, influence in selections, coaching, game plans says they are, - so 3 wins from 20 games (SXV and NRC)
What would Nedlands do BDG, they are the most successful club here in WA, would their committee sit back and accept? Would you as a supporter?
No harm in demanding excellence!

absolutely-demanding excellence is the way to go.But you must be able to attract the cattle to acheive this.Players want to play for Nedlands,not only because of the way the club is run and coached,but also because the club is more of a community-not just a rugby club.I think Wests have a similar outlook.
Attracting top rate players to the Force is not Easy.Perhaps the perceived view that the team is purely defensive and lacks an imaginative attack plan could be a reason.
A super 15 team with only one or two test players is always going to struggle unless the other players are also of a high caliber-notwithstanding the coach( R Graham has the rare ability to bring a very talented side down to look like hacks!)

[The InnFORCEr]

PERTH SPIRIT MEDIA RELEASE
Saturday, 12 September 2015

VIKINGS TOO STRONG FOR SPIRIT AT MCGILLIVRAY OVAL

BY LUKE WORTHINGTON

The Perth Spirit have gone down to the UC Canberra Vikings 26-23 in the fourth round of the Buildcorp National Rugby Championship at McGillivray Oval on this afternoon.

The Spirit showed courage in both attack and defence, however two tries by Vikings prop Alan Alaalatoa, as well as some powerful defence helped the Vikings continue their undefeated season collecting their third straight win.

A last-ditch effort by the Spirit almost saw the match end in a draw, with Maalonga Konelio crossing the line to put the Spirit within three points, but the final conversion attempt was wide, seeing the Vikings leave 26-23 victors.

Perth Spirit Captain Angus Cottrell, who was also named Retravision Man of the Match said his side showed positive signs through the amount of energy they brought into the second half.

“Our second half, the energy we brought from half time really showed, and we played some good footy,” he said.

“It’s just those final touches to finish the job that we’ve got to work on for next week.

“The boys scrummed well, there were just a few things on defence where the Vikings really gave it to us up front.

“We will look at that, and work on that, and come back for the Queensland Country match next week.”

Joe Powell was able to open the scoring for the Vikings, finding a hole in the Spirit defence and darting through to score a try on the sideline. Rodney Iona converted the kick despite the strong crosswind, making it 8-0.

The Spirit were soon able to take control of the ball, building up an unsurmountable amount of pressure after Maalonga Konelio burst down the sideline to set them up within metres of the try-line. After an attempted set of pick and goes, Ryan Louwrens was able to set up Junior Rasolea who busted through the Vikings line defence to score. Luke Burton’s successful kick attempt put the score at 8-8.

The Vikings responded quickly, with Alan Alaatatoa using his powerful body to break through the stiff Perth Spirit defence. The try directly under the posts set up an easy conversion attempt for Rodney Iona, 16-8.

Kane Koteka hit back for the Spirit, scoring off the back of a rolling maul. The Vikings maul defence pushed the Spirit back, but Koteka broke free from the maul, finding a hole to break through in the Vikings defence to cross the line. Luke Burton was unable to convert the kick attempt, putting the score at 16-13.

Alan Alaalatoa collected his second of the game for the Vikings, collecting a pass from the breakdown into a large amount of space directly by the goal posts. Rodney Iona’s successful kick from directly in front put the score at 24-13 heading into half time.

Brad Lacey opened the second half scoring, finding an overlap in the Canberra defence after receiving a pass on the wing from fullback Daley Harper. Luke Burton’s kick attempt would not go, leaving the score at 24-18.

In the 76th minute, the Vikings were given a penalty where they made the tactical decision to kick a two-point penalty goal to put themselves in front by eight points, meaning only a converted try by the Spirit could tie the match.

The Spirit looked set to the end the match as a tie, when Maalonga Konelio found a long ball passed from the middle of the field, switching the play and allowing him to cross into the far corner to score. Luke Burton’s kick attempt from the far sideline would not go through, with the whistle sounding to give the Vikings a 26-23 victory.

UC Canberra Vikings 26 (Joe Powell, Alan Alaalatoa 2 Tries; conversions Rodney Iona 3) defeated Perth Spirit (Junior Rasolea, Kane Koteka, Brad Lacey, Maalonga Konelio tries; Luke Burton 1 conversion).

[Whatsdoin]

absolutely-demanding excellence is the way to go.But you must be able to attract the cattle to acheive this.Players want to play for Nedlands,not only because of the way the club is run and coached,but also because the club is more of a community-not just a rugby club.I think Wests have a similar outlook.
Attracting top rate players to the Force is not Easy.Perhaps the perceived view that the team is purely defensive and lacks an imaginative attack plan could be a reason.
A super 15 team with only one or two test players is always going to struggle unless the other players are also of a high caliber-notwithstanding the coach( R Graham has the rare ability to bring a very talented side down to look like hacks!)

True re RG but he actually had more wins than Foley and had to reapply!
Yep attractive rugby a great start.
To do this they need to separate the force and spirit. New coaches(preferably from clubland to keep team local which will develop coaches as andrewg previously posted but they are not doing ATM) release force players who they want game time and who want to play.
Two seperate budgets for the two identities!!!

[andrewg]

Ruck Stats for the Spirit v Vikings game.

Remember:
1. Early means 1st or 2nd of player’s team AFTER the ball carrier has been tackled and brought to ground.
2. Impact means active engagement: strong physical contact, changed shape of ruck, clean-out, protecting ball etc. (more than hand on someone’s bum or arriving after the hard work has been done). Yes it’s subjective - but as I collect all data at least it’s consistent.
3. Impact DOES NOT equate to Effectiveness. I’ve concluded that coming up with an effectiveness measure is just too hard in the time that I have available – but open to suggestions.





Comments:

Alex Rovira has had the most ruck involvements for his two games.
Angus Cottrell Mr Consistency +/- 1 ruck involvement in his 3 games to date.
High work rates for both Kane Koteka and Richard Hardwick.

Backs had 25% of the total ruck involvements.
Most involved Backs:
Luke Burton - 11 Rucks (5A/6D)
Junior Rasolea - 10 Rucks (7A/3D)
Maalonga Konelio - 10 Rucks (10A/0D)