Yep he is the 24th man.Surprised McCalman wasn't sent back for a gallop. Is he over in NZ as cover or injured
Team not quite as strong as i had hoped but 19/23 players are WA based which is great for the game in Perth.
I have read they are trying to manage the Force players into this comp due to the huge amount of travel they have already done during the super rugby season im sure the above team will do us proud.
Both players are injured.If guys like Lacey and RHP can't make the team they can't be too bad.
Both players are injured.
Good on the Spirit coaches for picking a mostly local team. We might get smashed, but at least we can give some of those fringe guys a chance to prove themselves, which is the point of the competition.
One thing that I have noticed over time is that those local players who do get brought into our system often perform a lot better than most people (myself included) would expect. You often hear guys in Perth clubland banging on about how there are better players in clubland than in the Force system. Maybe there is some truth in that.
Kieran Longbottom, Justin Turner and Kyle Godwin were fantastic in their debut Super Rugby games. James Stannard was no slouch either.
It's great to see putting a super rugby side in Perth has really paid off from a development perspective. I was very critical of it at the time but with the players coming through now and the Force doing well, I'm happy to admit I was wrong. Looking back it might even be the best decision the ARU has made in the past decade.
He hasn't been involved in the match days like McCalman but Hodgson said yesterday on Facebook he will be playing for the spirit this Sunday.Link has said McCalman is likely to be released to play for the Spirit this weekend