Western Force 2011

[dobduff11]

Turner did his acl, and in the NFL they always say it takes a whole year of recovery before they are back to normal, it was a very serious injury so i doubt he will be back early in the S15.

Also sheehan is pretty handy at the moment would like to see him start over stannard.

Lets hope Ripia settles in and gives JOC (James O'Connor) the platform he needs

 

[Lee Grant]

Does anyone know where Locky MacKay is playing with now?

He is playing for the lowly Leeds club at 10 and 12 after moving from the lowly Brive where he was nearly always unavailable. Looks like he is just going through the motions though, to be fair, some of the players he is playing with could drag anybody down. They don't show Leeds on TV a lot here so he could have had some good games I didn't see. Come to think of it: he was decent in one ECC game I saw.

 

[Burke's Boot]

He is playing for the lowly Leeds club at 10 and 12 after moving from the lowly Brive where he was nearly always unavailable. Looks like he is just going through the motions though, to be fair, some of the players he is playing with could drag anybody down. They don't show Leeds on TV a lot here so he could have had some good games I didn't see. Come to think of it: he was decent in one ECC game I saw.

Cheers Lee.

 

[Burke's Boot]

Pretty young for getting married in this day and age:

http://twitter.com/quadecooper

Heading back to Brissy! Big congrats to David pocock and his new wife Em it was a great wedding! So happy for you both!! Woooo
about 6 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

 

[Thomas]

I'm sure he's a very mature bloke for his age though

 

[en_force_er]

Despite all the bad write ups he is getting DHP is looks like he is playing some very decent rugger over in France, particularly considering he is only 21.

I'd love to see the Force further develop Neugebauer, Hoskins, Longbottom, Ah-Nau (WA is certainly looking like a front-row factory) and Godwin along with getting DHP and Wallace-Harrison back.

It's unlikely all these players will be Super starter quality but if we see 5 or 6 of these guys in the Force 22 suddenly they will start looking like a province and not a soulless sporting entity.

Anyway, just some thoughts.

EDIT: I obviously forgot to mention Turner who without injury is impressive.

 

[Hawko]

Despite all the bad write ups he is getting DHP is looks like he is playing some very decent rugger over in France, particularly considering he is only 21.

I thought DHP had a top game in the one I saw yesterday. He seems to play 15 with a lot of judgement, being in the right place at the right time, and he's not afraid to run back into contact unlike most Top 14 back threes. Aimless kicking just to avoid the possibility of being tackled seems to be the go over there, but not so much from him.

To completely digress, I think the top 14 refs are absolutely abysmal. I saw one this week, might have been in that game, yellow card a player for a tackle round the chest and the ruck and maul area is a lottery. They make Kaplan look good and that's not easy.

 

[farva]

DHP always showed potential. I was quite disappointed to see him go. He was still quite young (he is only 21 isnt he?) and I think would have come good.

He showed a few examples of running the ball out of defence. If anyone remembers the Higgenbotham try against the Force in the last season, DHP ran it from the try line, made quite a bit of ground and had the pass he threw not been intercepted by Higgers, JOC (James O'Connor) might have been away.

I hope he comes back soon as a much better player.

 

[dobduff11]

Just saw a tweet by JOC (James O'Connor), "bro settling into training well, tough 1st day for him tho"

Looks like the Force are back at training and Bunny O'Connor has been confirmed at the Force

 

[Lee Grant]

I thought DHP had a top game in the one I saw yesterday. He seems to play 15 with a lot of judgement, being in the right place at the right time, and he's not afraid to run back into contact unlike most Top 14 back threes. Aimless kicking just to avoid the possibility of being tackled seems to be the go over there, but not so much from him.

He played well in that T14 game against Montpellier but he was even better playing for Biarritz away at Bath in R1 of the Heineken Cup in October. Balshaw is the regular starting fullback for BOPB but they will be well pleased with the form of their backup 15.

He got blown away a couple of times for the Force and it was a good move to get out of town. Let's hope he comes back soon and if he does we'll see a player better for the experience.

 

[RugbyReg]

Turner did his acl, and in the NFL they always say it takes a whole year of recovery before they are back to normal, it was a very serious injury so i doubt he will be back early in the S15.

In the latest Inside Rugby, there is an interview with Richard Graham in which he says "It was extremely disappointing for Justin to be injured in the IRB Junior World Cup given his emergence i the last seven Super Rugby games of the 2010 season. He is working hard in the gym at the moment and we expect to see him back at the start of the season."

Now this is generic enough of a statement to mean absolutely anything, but lets hope is back on the field very soon.

 

[dobduff11]

Yeah he will probs be back by then but his sharpness will take a while to recover. All the running backs in the nfl who get ACL tears tend to get their speed and acceleration back a year after surgery.

Force should be good this year, Graham better play JOC (James O'Connor) at 12. Also what is the deal with Jonny O'Connor seems like he is on a trial rather than a proper contract or will he be part of the academy

 

[farva]

I think Jonny O'Bieber is going onto the academy.

 

[todd4]

James and Jonny O'Connor to train together at Western Force Braden Quartermaine From: The Sunday Times January 08, 2011 10:11PM

BROTHERS IN ARMS: James and Jonny O'Connor will begin pre-season training together at the Western Force on Monday. Picture: Alf Sorbello Source: PerthNow
WESTERN Force star James O'Connor will officially begin pre-season training tomorrow and he is bringing his little brother with him.
Treading the same path the Force and Wallabies wonder boy took when he moved west from the Gold Coast in 2008, Jonny O'Connor has a trial with the Force and will train with both the main and academy squads.

Fans can only hope talent runs in the blood as the prospect of seeing double looms.

"We play in the same positions and he's a very similar build, so if he gets a good pre-season behind him hopefully he'll be rivalling me for a position," James O'Connor said.

"There's a lot of guys that have moved to Perth and it's like a big family, so it's a great environment to start your rugby career in.

"But he's going to have to prove himself like I guess I did."

The O'Connors are yet to play in the same team, but shared a rivalry typical of brothers growing up.

"We always played in the backyard together, and growing up he was probably my biggest competitor, so it would be good to play alongside him," James said.

"I was always a little older, so whenever I needed a bit of tackling practice in the backyard he was always there.

"When we were younger it was a good confidence boost for myself, but since high school it's been pretty even.

"He's a competitive little bugger. He's going to be bigger than me I think."

Fellow Wallabies Nathan Sharpe, David Pocock, Matt Hodgson, Richard Brown and Ben McCalman will also return to Force training tomorrow.

James O'Connor said he was refreshed after a five-week break.

Ahead lies a massive year that begins with an expanded Super 15 competition and climaxes with the World Cup in New Zealand.

"I just wanted to get away from rugby altogether, so I had a good break and didn't do much physical work at all," he said.

"I'm pretty eager to get back and get into top shape."

O'Connor predicted the Force was in for an exciting season under new coach Richard Graham and a host of new assistants, with the utility back keen to take on more responsibility.

"It's going to be wherever it's best for the team, but I'd like to take more of a playmaking role, like I did last year, and move maybe to 12 or 15," he said.

"There's a new program in place, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[en_force_er]

[video=youtube;3SbIz20ln5M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SbIz20ln5M&feature=sub[/video]

 

[farva]

Emirates Western Force back, Cameron Shepherd, is likely to face an ARU Disciplinary Tribunal following an alleged code of conduct breach in December 2010.

Shepherd was charged by West Australian Police for driving with a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit whilst on a suspended drivers licence.

Shepherd is currently awaiting notification from the Court as to the date of his hearing. The ARU Disciplinary Tribunal will consider the Court’s determination and will convene if required following completion of the legal process, which is expected to be finalised within the coming months.

In the meantime Shepherd will continue to train and prepare for the upcoming 2011 Super Rugby season.

As this matter will shortly be before the Court no further comment will be made at this stage.

ARU protocols require that all alleged code of conduct breaches for Australian contracted Super Rugby players are to be heard by an ARU Disciplinary Tribunal rather than at the provincial level.

http://www.rugbywa.com.au/news/2011...shepherd,59874.html/news/latest/section/50753

Not really what we wanted to see, from the Force and Wallaby point of view.

Does that mean the possibility of jail?

 

[wamberal]

This is absolutely mind-boggling. This is a guy who went to a good school, had every chance in life, loaded with talent, and he does something totally f***ing reprehensible like this. He earns enough money to pay for taxis. Now his earnings will dive, although presumably he will pick up a retirement job in Japan. I doubt that the French would be interested in a richardhead like this.

 

[The Chosen]

This is absolutely mind-boggling. This is a guy who went to a good school, had every chance in life, loaded with talent, and he does something totally f***ing reprehensible like this. He earns enough money to pay for taxis. Now his earnings will dive, although presumably he will pick up a retirement job in Japan. I doubt that the French would be interested in a richardhead like this.

Not exactly the first time for this character!

 

[Gnostic]

Not exactly the first time for this character!

Has he been done before for DUI? Is that why he was on a suspended Licence? If so he may well be looking at a suspended gaol term if the first offence was not too long ago.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

All I can say is that as a supporter and member (and as a fan of the bloke), I am very disappointed in Shep. No excuse for that.