Forcefield
Ken Catchpole (46)
TK had a good game yesterday. Would love it if he played like that next year.
Western Force 2021
- Thread starter ForceFan
- Start date
Rugbynutter39
Michael Lynagh (62)
Was thinking the same - TK good pick up for force
Rugbynutter39
Michael Lynagh (62)
Serious question - I like what twiggy and team have been saying in terms of messaging - be good if could get someone from twiggys team on the RA board. Has there been any discussions around this that anyone knows?
kiap
Steve Williams (59)
Not that I know … then again, I'm just an interested punter.
But what I do know - and it has been stated - is that such a move needs to be accompanied by a large structural overhaul. Board seats are fine as they go, but there's not much point in just rotating new bums onto seats.
You're just shuffling deckchairs.
Jimmy_Crouch
Peter Johnson (47)
The overhaul Twiggy is advocating for is actual below this. He wants a one management model not the current federated one. McLennan has also alluded to this. COVID might be the catalyst to get the states (NSW and QLD specifically) on board.
Dctarget
Tim Horan (67)
He's good family friends with McDonald's family in Perth, so there's a link.
Kearney when he first came onto the scene was dynamite. Genuinely one of the best but haven't seen in 5 years at least.
Great signing. Class player in a position the force lack quality.
qwerty51
Stirling Mortlock (74)
Sure, if it was 2009.
Boof1050
Bill Watson (15)
Sure hope we're not going to become the retirement capital of rugby!
Personally i'd rather see more young blokes given the chance from the get go, bit of a gamble i know, but you never know if you don't give them a go.
KOB1987
John Eales (66)
Yeah Kahui was a bit of a flop. Did one chip kick that resulted in a try early on then spent the rest of the season trying to reproduce it.
However, a few experienced ex-world class players around won't do the next gen any harm at all.
Adam84
Rod McCall (65)
I think there’s plenty of merit in signing a guy like Rob Kearney.
In Australia we seem to take exception to anyone over the age of 30 as being too old, but you look at the European clubs and there’s plenty of guys in their 30s playing. I think for a club like the Force which will feature a lot of new faces in 2021, having some highly experienced players like Kearney and Kuridrani will help help them develop faster.
kiap
Steve Williams (59)
Signatures:
Stander +2 years
Brache +2 years
K-bomb +1 year
Core trio locked in
September 25, 2020
The Western Force is proud to announce that long-serving players Kieran Longbottom, Brynard Stander and Marcel Brache have all signed contract extensions with the club.
Stander +2 years
Brache +2 years
K-bomb +1 year
Rebels3
Jim Lenehan (48)
Are we getting rid of them or is the system not conducive of offering the opportunities a 30yr old would want? We only play 14/15 top end games a year. So clubs have the choice of keeping older players and then when they move on the young guys that come into your system to replace them are 23-24yrs old that have essentially played park footy for the past 5yrs or do you play young guys and develop them with the wallabies around them? Neither are ideal situations.
Guys that are 30 want to be playing a minimum 14-15 games a year otherwise they end up with squad player money which is a fraction of what they can earn overseas or they hit a point where the wallabies dream is over and they again move for more money overseas than what’s on offer here. European clubs are playing 30+ games a year so plenty of opportunities to keep both young and old happy with playing opportunities (+ the extra cash) and SA/NZ can offer the 14-15 Super Rugby games plus another 8-10 high pressure pro level games in Currie Cup/NPC to develop up and comers (again there is extra money to be earned on top of Super Rugby clubs in these games). Not sure I’d stick around as a 30yr old on $120-150k to play 6-10 games a year or you could head to France to play 15-20 games a year on twice as much. Let alone the incentive other comps offer for guys with families been able to tuck their kids in their own bed every night of the year.
Rebels3
Jim Lenehan (48)
I like the signing of Stander, Longbottom is obviously a local and Kurindrani is quality. But they need to make sure they don’t become a dads army with guys past it or never going to be anything more than solid. If you’re going to get a Kearney he needs to be playing with guys in the learning phase instead of guys (Brache) that aren’t going to take the team to new heights.
Rugbynutter39
Michael Lynagh (62)
Within reason - prefer closer to 30 then 35!!!
Adam84
Rod McCall (65)
its all subjective though isn't it, we can say we would prefer someone in the peak of their career over someone who is on their last years, but then you're paying more for the individual. If the intent of the Force is to bring in some experience, professionalism and maturity into the organisation then they're getting exactly that. For many of these old guys i think some of their biggest contributions are off the field in demonstrating how to be a professional athlete. You don't play professional rugby into your mid 30's unless you're taking care of your body, and doing extras to ensure you're fit and healthy.