Rugby Wrap S2 E10 with Force CEO Tony Lewis
Really enjoyed the lowdown from Tony - after a little over 1 mo in the job.
Really enjoyed the lowdown from Tony - after a little over 1 mo in the job.
Western Force 2021
- Thread starter ForceFan
- Start date
Kevin77
Fred Wood (13)
Absolutely. Loving the thrive not survive mentality
The_Brown_Hornet
John Eales (66)
Rugbynutter39
Michael Lynagh (62)
Got to give it to the Force for their recruitment. Heck even I questioned some of the recruitment decisions like recruiting the winger Jordan on loan from Leicester. But what they proved is the value of the older experienced players like thrush, Holmes, Kahui, Kearney,TK etc who despite their age still bring quality but more importantly experience and rugby iQ to help guide the team and younger players.
Credit has to be to those behind force recruitment strategy as needed to improve the squad from last year and given war for talent with overseas leagues showed they have been quite clever how gone about it. Lot people questioned in particular recruiting lot of older players but proved to be the master stroke as when had all those older players injured and missing the force struggled.
Credit has to be to those behind force recruitment strategy as needed to improve the squad from last year and given war for talent with overseas leagues showed they have been quite clever how gone about it. Lot people questioned in particular recruiting lot of older players but proved to be the master stroke as when had all those older players injured and missing the force struggled.
Adam84
Rod McCall (65)
I love the older blokes playing, i feel like they have so much to add from a maturity and experience stand point, Australian Rugby for a long time has had an aversion to anyone over 30 because they're deemed too old. Just look at what guys like Cameron Smith and Benji Marshall have done in NRL into their twilight years, and that's no less physically demanding or intense.
Understand some guys in their later years want to chase one last big contract to set them up for life, which is usually from Europe or Japan. But there's merit in bringing guys like Greg Holmes home for one last season or two, even Giteau, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Mowen, Hanson, JOC (James O'Connor) etc have all played on for another year or two following their big overseas contracts. I want to see more of it.
Understand some guys in their later years want to chase one last big contract to set them up for life, which is usually from Europe or Japan. But there's merit in bringing guys like Greg Holmes home for one last season or two, even Giteau, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Mowen, Hanson, JOC (James O'Connor) etc have all played on for another year or two following their big overseas contracts. I want to see more of it.
The_Brown_Hornet
John Eales (66)
Yeah especially bringing some of our guys BACK from O/S. The guys who have previously played test footy for Australia. I'm on board with a sprinkling of international players, but getting some old Aussie heads in the squads is a good thing.
All recruitment matters are handled by Director of Rugby, Matt Hodgson.
With input from Head Coach, Tim Sampson, and CEO Tony Lewis.
I reckon with an average age of slightly <27yo, the Force probably has the oldest player squad.
The age spread as follows:
>35 - 5 (Heiberg, Holmes, Kahui, Longbottom, Thrush)
>30 <35 - 8 (Brache, Cubelli, Kearney, Lance, Prior, Pulu, Stander, Timani)
>25 <30 - 12
<25 - 17
Explains a lot........
FoxSports - Christy Doran - 26 April 2021
Similarly to Jones’ England side since the World Cup, the Rebels have shown a lack of ambition and with the fear of failure they’ve not taken the chances when they’ve presented.
It’s the same crippling nature Matt Hodgson said hurt the Force in the years before their culling.
“I think we had the opportunity to express ourselves without the pressure of Super Rugby for a number of years and create a game style that suited the playing group that we had, and that’s what we’re building on now,” Hodgson, now the Force’s Head of Rugby, said ahead of the season.
“We want the players to continue to express themselves and play what’s in front of them like they were doing recently [without] the pressures that Super Rugby probably caused those players, so we want them to continue that ethos to just play football and focus on themselves.”
That new-found freedom helped the Force defeat the Reds on Friday night to book their maiden finals appearance, as England under-20s winger Jordan Olowofela scored a stunning hat-trick.
Article on Dave Wessels - read more
FoxSports - Christy Doran - 26 April 2021
Similarly to Jones’ England side since the World Cup, the Rebels have shown a lack of ambition and with the fear of failure they’ve not taken the chances when they’ve presented.
It’s the same crippling nature Matt Hodgson said hurt the Force in the years before their culling.
“I think we had the opportunity to express ourselves without the pressure of Super Rugby for a number of years and create a game style that suited the playing group that we had, and that’s what we’re building on now,” Hodgson, now the Force’s Head of Rugby, said ahead of the season.
“We want the players to continue to express themselves and play what’s in front of them like they were doing recently [without] the pressures that Super Rugby probably caused those players, so we want them to continue that ethos to just play football and focus on themselves.”
That new-found freedom helped the Force defeat the Reds on Friday night to book their maiden finals appearance, as England under-20s winger Jordan Olowofela scored a stunning hat-trick.
Article on Dave Wessels - read more
Rebels3
Jim Lenehan (48)
lol new found freedom.
The Force scored 1 more try than the Rebels this season, ran less meters and made less line breaks.
Just shows us how efficient that they can be as most of these were scored in just 3-4 games.
Kevin77
Fred Wood (13)
Have to love the passion of the Sea of Blue.
Top poem....Melanie Nelson
Let's hope it's an inspiration for the team for the Qualifying Final in Canberra.
Across the Nullarbor came a sound,
The earth trembled at our feet.
“There’s nothing left in the West”, they said,
But now they heard a beat.
And from the ashes, forged in fire,
A shape began to form.
Warriors from around the world,
The Western Force were born.
They weren’t alone as they breathed new life,
Around them standing strong,
Their army proud in a sea of blue,
Their voices raised in song.
And so this band of brothers grew,
Some called them renegades,
Barbarian hearts had joined as one,
In search of accolades.
Some battles would be lost, some won,
Men muddied, bashed and bruised,
But every time they lost their ground,
Surrender was refused.
For next to every fallen man,
The blue army would appear,
To raise them up and carry them,
Together, there’s no fear.
This is your story, a phoenix force,
A sum of all its parts,
Keep building and keep getting up,
You already have our hearts.
Top poem....Melanie Nelson
Let's hope it's an inspiration for the team for the Qualifying Final in Canberra.
Across the Nullarbor came a sound,
The earth trembled at our feet.
“There’s nothing left in the West”, they said,
But now they heard a beat.
And from the ashes, forged in fire,
A shape began to form.
Warriors from around the world,
The Western Force were born.
They weren’t alone as they breathed new life,
Around them standing strong,
Their army proud in a sea of blue,
Their voices raised in song.
And so this band of brothers grew,
Some called them renegades,
Barbarian hearts had joined as one,
In search of accolades.
Some battles would be lost, some won,
Men muddied, bashed and bruised,
But every time they lost their ground,
Surrender was refused.
For next to every fallen man,
The blue army would appear,
To raise them up and carry them,
Together, there’s no fear.
This is your story, a phoenix force,
A sum of all its parts,
Keep building and keep getting up,
You already have our hearts.
For those who think that they're just mercenaries.
Couldn't this be said about ALL professional sportsmen?
Couldn't this be said about ALL professional sportsmen?
He must be close as he travelled to Canberra with the game squad.
Soft tissue - upper leg - I think.
Should be good for the final against the Reds.
A terrible article by Christy Doran from FoxSports.
(No there's someone who has to move on!)
If he'd just focused on what Matt Hodgson actually said then he had the basis for a good article on where the Western Force is actually heading:
“There was definitely a moment where you stop and sit but it’s more when I go home and the adrenaline has stopped and you soak it in – that’s what I learned as a player, you’ve got to enjoy the moments and not let them pass by,” Hodgson told foxsports.com.au.
“I like doing that with the people close to me and you recognise that we’ve done this and it’s pretty exciting.”
“If you looked through a crystal ball in 2017, I don’t think you would have been seeing the position that the club is in now and pushing for a final berth,” Hodgson gleefully said.
“The whole club and the momentum and everyone who stayed strong have bought into the culture that we’re here to win.”
“We have to move on and focus on the now and the future,” Hodgson, who is Head of Rugby of the Western Force said.
“I’m planning for what the club’s going to look like for 2024 and 2025 and if we don’t learn from what we did wrong in the past we will never grow, so we’ve got to look at what we can control.
“If I’m too busy worrying about that stuff, I’m going to forget about what we’re here to do and that’s to play and put our best foot forward, so that’s what my focus is on. I’ve got a great bunch of players and staff and organisation that’s pushing forward and we want to be the leading force in rugby and that’s exciting.”
“I think it’s held us in good stead for this weekend,” Hodgson said, having qualified for the qualifying final on the back of three must-win games.
“We haven’t changed any of our preparation other than having to come to Canberra earlier because of the COVID situation and we’re just taking it in our stride."
“I know it’s a slightly different feeling, but we’ve been in this scenario where we’ve had to win each week to keep on going, and being put in pressure situations I know the players have been put in every different circumstance and can adapt to it.
“Winning’s a culture, winning’s something you’ve got to learn to do and now we’ve learned how to do it we’ve just got to keep on doing it.”
(No there's someone who has to move on!)
If he'd just focused on what Matt Hodgson actually said then he had the basis for a good article on where the Western Force is actually heading:
“There was definitely a moment where you stop and sit but it’s more when I go home and the adrenaline has stopped and you soak it in – that’s what I learned as a player, you’ve got to enjoy the moments and not let them pass by,” Hodgson told foxsports.com.au.
“I like doing that with the people close to me and you recognise that we’ve done this and it’s pretty exciting.”
“If you looked through a crystal ball in 2017, I don’t think you would have been seeing the position that the club is in now and pushing for a final berth,” Hodgson gleefully said.
“The whole club and the momentum and everyone who stayed strong have bought into the culture that we’re here to win.”
“We have to move on and focus on the now and the future,” Hodgson, who is Head of Rugby of the Western Force said.
“I’m planning for what the club’s going to look like for 2024 and 2025 and if we don’t learn from what we did wrong in the past we will never grow, so we’ve got to look at what we can control.
“If I’m too busy worrying about that stuff, I’m going to forget about what we’re here to do and that’s to play and put our best foot forward, so that’s what my focus is on. I’ve got a great bunch of players and staff and organisation that’s pushing forward and we want to be the leading force in rugby and that’s exciting.”
“I think it’s held us in good stead for this weekend,” Hodgson said, having qualified for the qualifying final on the back of three must-win games.
“We haven’t changed any of our preparation other than having to come to Canberra earlier because of the COVID situation and we’re just taking it in our stride."
“I know it’s a slightly different feeling, but we’ve been in this scenario where we’ve had to win each week to keep on going, and being put in pressure situations I know the players have been put in every different circumstance and can adapt to it.
“Winning’s a culture, winning’s something you’ve got to learn to do and now we’ve learned how to do it we’ve just got to keep on doing it.”
