Rebels v Force - Round 5 - Super Rugby 2012

[Moono75]

As I said no offense. It would be the same as you guys coming into the game with the news...oh shit Pocock, Sharpe and Hodgson are out for the game. Bonus....we're a bloody good chance here. No excuse for loosing with your 3 top player out.

I hate the Rebels but well done on delivering the result on the field. You got the points

 

[RedsHappy]

Moons, do you not think that the entire Force backline needs reconstructing?

IMO, over recent times, your backline has been neither well recruited, selected or, in a specialist sense, coached and mentored.

A true reconstruction of it, and the Force could genuinely lift, progress and secure the full potential of its impressive forwards.

That there has been no comprehensive reconstruction, and thus no true improvement, is the grey wall of tears into which today's tinkered-with, but not transformed, team collides in relative failure, nearly every week now.

 

[Moono75]

Moons, do you not think that the entire Force backline needs reconstructing?

IMO, over recent times, your backline has been neither well recruited, selected or, in a specialist sense, coached and mentored.

A true reconstruction of it, and the Force could genuinely lift, progress and secure the full potential of its impressive forwards.

That there has been no comprehensive reconstruction, and thus no true improvement, is the grey wall of tears into which today's tinkered-with, but not transformed, team collides in relative failure, nearly every week now.

The backline hasn't progressed to the extent I hoped. Cummins who I've been hoping to break out year after year continues with promise but can't seem to push through to the next level. Mafi showed some individual brilliance in his try but again he needs a year of that under his belt. Harvey great first game but no quite as good, missed a few kicks, field kicking in general not quite there. That try to Cips just kills me, guys standing off thinking the ref had made a calll. Just like the Rebs try the year before with the cross kick from a penalty to Kingi I think for a try. Just shouldn't happen. Good teams don;t let it happen.

Recruitment....well Nalaga needs to come good. Force have been better at getting the ball distributed to the backs recently so maybe he would benefit if not injured. I thought Dave Smith just came good at the end of last year for the Force after getting some continuity but lost him to Toulon. Got more but will wait for next post

 

[Moono75]

I've figured it out. What's shitting me. I don't want the team I love and have supported...and continue to support... now in our 7th year to be the bottom team in the Aus conference or in the Super 15 competition. I want the boys to have more pride than that, to draw a line in the sand like they did against the Tahs and come through for us. That's the team I love...we just don't get so see it as often as we'd like.

 

[Gagger]

On the podcast before last, Woody shed quite a bit of light on this I thought.

He admitted the midfield isn't up to it and while acknowledging the inexperience at 10 - driven by quite a few factors - he also pointed out that the merry-go-round there has to stop at some time.

So, he sees changes needed, but isn't/hasn't made them. When asked about whether that was because he has a fwd roster stacked full of Wallabies hogging the cash - he said 'no' - but went on to say the upside was a bunch of them who had been on long term contracts out West would be off contract next year, implying changes were afoot - so actually a 'yes'.

The biggest problem the Force has at the moment is back line and transitional defence. Who's the defence coach?

 

[Proud Pig]

Moono74, I agree to a degree with what you are saying. Yes you smashed us in the scrum and the breakdown but as for field position Gerrard and Huxley bent Stannard and Harvey over. I thought we deserved the win tonight. We played a smarter game than the Force and because of that came away with the points.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Congratulations to the Rebels on an important breakthrough win under most difficult circumstances. It's just a shame that the victory came at the expense of another Aussie side that are also doing it tough in certain respects.

 

[Gagger]

To be honest I felt more heartbroken for the Force - this could have gotten a season going

 

[Moono75]

Moono74, I agree to a degree with what you are saying. Yes you smashed us in the scrum and the breakdown but as for field position Gerrard and Huxley bent Stannard and Harvey over. I thought we deserved the win tonight. We played a smarter game than the Force and because of that came away with the points.

The first 20 minutes of the game mirrored the German 4th Panzer division pushing into Poland in WW2. By the time the allies new what was happening it was too late and it took them the next 5 years to regain the advantage. In this case for the Force...it was a bridge too far! Some nice historical tie in's there I thought.

 

[Dumbledore]

So happy for the boys. Hard luck Force, Pocock is an absolute beast.

 

[RedsHappy]

To be honest I felt more heartbroken for the Force - this could have gotten a season going

Just don't get why you'd feel heartbroken Gaggs for a team that's been 7 years in the making, has essentially spun its wheels Year 1 to Year 7, and after all that still hasn't assembled the capability to put away a 1.5 year old team that tonight lacked all its best backs for most if not all of the match.

Who's the more deserving of our support on this evidence?

 

[Gagger]

Just don't get why you'd feel heartbroken Gaggs for a team that's been 7 years in the making, has essentially spun its wheels Year 1 to Year 7, and after all that still hasn't assembled the capability to put away a 1.5 year old team that tonight lacked all its best backs for most if not all of the match.

Who's the more deserving of our support on this evidence?

A few reasons why the Force to me -

1) The Force 'team' from 2/3 years ago is very different from the one this year. The old team had stars - Giteau, Shmoo, JOC (James O'Connor), Shepherd etc - walking all over the place, notably in the back line.

This one doesn't. It strikes me that probably isn't fully the current coaches' and players' fault.

2) As I noted in my stats article this week, so far over the season the Force are actually doing a lot right - but with some glaring flaws. The Rebels haven't been, bar the first half of this match

3) Off field the Force - coaching and playing staff - are excellent to deal with. The Rebels might be too, I just haven't come across them, apart from Delvetron.

So, some personal reasons there I guess, but that tends to enter into sport.
Had you turned your back on the Reds 2 years ago?

 

[Moono75]

No excuses the Force should have put the Rebels away without question. Reds Happy....hard for members to get action taken at a board level to get the hard changes made to put the team on the right path. Yes I am sick of going nowhere after being a member 7 years.

Dumbledore, out of the blue are you a man or women. Your avatar throws me.

 

[Moono75]

All of a sudden looking at our schedule and wondering where the wins are going to come from.

 

[ChargerWA]

The Force are really only going to beat teams who let themselves get sucked into a slugfest with the Force. Certain teams are more susceptible to this like the Tahs, Highlanders and Bulls. Any other team with half a backline can blow us off the park in 20 minutes. Look what the Hurricanes did to us (who are a better team than most of us thought) compared to the Tahs who most before the start of the year would have above the Canes in the pecking order get dope-a-roped, like the Higlanders did in Dunedin last year.

I hate to say it, but realistically besides a surprise upset the next game the Force may (may!) be considered favourite for would be Rnd 13 at home against the Rebels and the week after against the Lions.

 

[Scotty]

If the force are going to insist on playing a field position kicking game they need to get a guy that has a bigger and better kick to do it. Some of the kicking from stannard was very poor and the tactic was unnecessary especially when they were in decent field position and had a roll on.

 

[Elfster]

It may not have been of the highest quality, nor an instant classic. And, from memory, I tipped it incorrectly, but for an Australian derby it was a great game. There were tries, both sides showed passion, commitment and looked like they really enjoyed themselves. And the game was in the balance until the end. In all a worthy spectacle...and between two Australian sides!!

 

[spectator]

To be honest I wasn't sure which team I wanted to win last night? Good on the Rebels for getting over the line with so many top line players out.
I thought Gerard was immense last night...slotted the winning goal, and made some very good plays during the game. His experience and calm was probably the difference in the end.

For the Force I am really liking the way Mafi has come on this year, and I think Harvey needs to go to 10. Justin Turner looked like he was on one good leg at the end of the game, is he ok?

 

[wamberal]

Bad luck the Force, great win the Rebels. Could have gone either way, and surely nobody could have complained from either side.

What is wrong with the Rebels scrum, though? Maybe Rodzilla needs to start, and Freier needs to retire.

Good to see Phipps put in a bit of spark and effort, first time this year.

Finally, why don't the Rebels buy Cooper Cronk?

 

[Hawko]

Bad luck the Force, great win the Rebels. Could have gone either way, and surely nobody could have complained from either side.

What is wrong with the Rebels scrum, though? Maybe Rodzilla needs to start, and Freier needs to retire.

Good to see Phipps put in a bit of spark and effort, first time this year.

Finally, why don't the Rebels buy Cooper Cronk?

Last week the Force negated the Waratah scrum, which is the Australian benchmark. It was therefore no surprise that they towelled up the Rebels, who were going backward all night against the Tahs. The Force scrum is severely underated. Ma'afu, Charles, Longbottom, Cowan will dish it up to a lot of other teams this year. Sad to say it won't be well used by the princesses out the back.