Western Force 2022

[Jimmy_Crouch]

Excellent chat with Tony Lewis, WF CEO.

Excellent is a stretch. Sounds like tail wagged the dog in relation to the decision on changing coaches and he had bulk excuses to why they have been average.

Only good part was him talking about coaching development and that being a major piece of importance for Cron.

 

[Tazzmania]

Great having SKG report on injuries to players in depth.

We wish Kane a speedy recovery.

Here is their report for Kane:

"Each week during the Super Rugby Pacific season, we'll be providing an SKG Fitness Update. This week, we learn more about Kane Koteka's recent injury.

Koteka had successful surgery on Wednesday to repair the Lisfranc joint in his right foot after sustaining the injury against the Blues in a tackle.

The Lisfranc ligament complex stabilises the arch of the foot. It runs between the base of the metatarsals and tarsals at the instep of the foot.

It is most often injured when the foot is planted and the heel is landed upon from behind. This causes the foot to be compressed between the heel and big toe.

Kane wore a moon boot and used crutches to offload his foot post-game. He went for a weight-bearing X-Ray and an MRI at SKG the next day.

The MRI identified a torn Lisfranc ligament and the weight-bearing X-Ray showed separation of the bones of the arch of the foot under load.

In a rugby player, this often does not heal to full stability without surgery, so the decision was made for Koteka to undergo surgery.

We wish Kane the best for his recovery!"

 

[ForceFan]

Simon Cron on his move to the Western Force

 

[Tazzmania]

Great interview.

Seems like he is going to bring a lot of additional rugby IQ to the Force.

The way he talks you can just sense his enthusiasim for the game, his players and all things rugby.

Looking forward to having him on board, seems like the right fit for the Force.

 

[Adam84]

Force have signed Brumbies academy player Pat Maka until 2024

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Great interview.

Seems like he is going to bring a lot of additional rugby IQ to the Force.

The way he talks you can just sense his enthusiasim for the game, his players and all things rugby.

Looking forward to having him on board, seems like the right fit for the Force.

Finally got to listen to the interview and well worthwhile. Cron with the detail came across as pretty impressive. Stating learning a lot from Steve and certainly hope he keeps him on the speed dial. Also summed up well why we desperately need the third tier in terms of our guys needing to play more rugby but also bridge for players to make the jump from club to super rugby. Mentioned left 30 messages for hoskings..certainly be great to get him back in oz rugby.

 

[Braveheart81]

Jeremy Williams seemingly moving to the Force in 2023 from Waratahs social media. "Thank you Jeremy, good luck in the west

Once a Tah, always a Tah

#1691"

 

[RugbyReg]

yep confirmed for 2 years.

 

[ForceFan]

Fantastic to see WF building depth across all positions.
Williams has that little bit of mongrel and plenty of up-side and can cover Lock and BSF and provide options while players such as Jackson Pugh, Luke Callan, Connor Seve and Tm Anstee develop as Super Rugby players.

 

[ForceFan]

Western Force GM Rugby, Matt Hodgson, joined 6PR Sportsday to update on some personnel changes as part of the Force's rebuild.

 

[ForceFan]

2022 Awards Night - Men and Women

 

[ForceFan]

When the Western Force was axed from Super Rugby in 2017, WA had the 3rd biggest rugby participation rate of the States and Territories.

Rugby fans in WA are entitled to be very thankful for Andrew Forrest's support of the Western Force and RugbyWA because clearly Rugby Au has little interest in supporting ongoing rugby activities in the West.

Here's some information from the recent 2021 RugbyAu Annual Report.

Highlighted is the level of support for the Western Force and RugbyWA.

Check-out:
+ The almost non-existent level of support for the Western Force in 2020 when the WF was invited to join SRAu.
+ High performance funding in 2021 the lowest of all franchises. (Yes, I know the WF have few Wallabies)
+ Community Funding for RugbyWA is the lowest of the 5 Super Rugby franchise states and even lower than South Australia in 2020 and only slightly more than SA in 2021.

It's worth remembering that the Melb Rebels franchise is also privately owned. (Forgot that $1 transfer in 2017 - thanks Adam84)

Disappointing for WA but worth remembering when considering the performance of WA rugby.

I do not know the funding levels in 2022.

 

[Adam84]

It's worth remembering that the Melb Rebels franchise is also privately owned.

Rebels are owned by Victorian Rugby

 

[ForceFan]

The Western Force are finally back home ​

Nick Taylor - West Australian - Sat, 2 July 2022

The Western Force are finally back home after Rugby Australia returned the club intellectual property at Saturday’s Wallabies-England Test match at Optus Stadium.

 

[ForceFan]

Thrush relishing coaching transition​

Enjoying seeing Jeremy Thrush running the water for Wests Rugby since the end of the Super Rugby Season.

Thrush, Holmes and Kahui are obviously revelling in coaching the WF Academy under Chris Goodman and Dylan Parsons.

How good to see how the Western Force continues to attract and retain top level players who stay involved in local club rugby:

Johan Bardoul - Head Coach for Perth Bayswater RUFC and Guildford Grammar School
Kieran Longbottom - Forwards Coach at Rockingham RUFC
Chris Heiberg - Forwards Coach for Palmyra RUFC and RugbyWA under-age squads
Peter Grant - FMG Premier Grade #10 for Cottesloe RUFC
Harry Scoble - FMG Premier Grade Hooker for UWA RUFC
Heath Tessman - STAN commentator & FMG Premier Grade Hooker/Back Row for Nedlands RUFC
Jonah Placid - FMG Premier Grade Wing for Wests Scarborough RUFC
Matt Hodgson - WF GM Rugby, Specialist Back Row/Breakdown Coach for WF, Specialist coach RugbyWA Womens XV and VII, #10/Centre for Wests Scarborough RUFC 3rd Grade, reffing U8 & U9 Junior Rugby.
Junior Pelesasa - #10/Centre for Wests Scarborough RUFC 3rd Grade, reffing U9 Junior Rugby.

 

[ForceFan]

Simon Cron after arrival in Perth

 

[Tazzmania]

Force players told to get Super buff

New Western Force coach Simon Cron has set his sights on turning his side into one of the buffest teams in Super Rugby Pacific, and says simply making the finals won't be considered good enough.

Cron has been tasked with turning the new-look squad into a powerhouse after taking over as coach from Tim Sampson.

Pre-season training doesn't officially start until October 1, but Cron is keen to get the ball rolling early.

One of his initial aims is to add significant size and strength to his squad to help transform the Force into a beefed-up unit.

"One of the things we need to do is dominate the contact zone," Cron told AAP.

"Rugby is a pretty simple game. If you win the gain line, it goes a long way to winning the game.

"So right now we've increased the focus on weights and the mass............

Thanks to Perth Now

Read More

 

[ForceFan]

Force appoint Will Eggleston as new Defence Coach ​

Cron, Ozitch and Eggleston bring a good mix of talent.
Looking forward to the announcement about a Forwards Coach.

 

[Kevin77]

So far Cron seems to be well respected and universally lauded as a good appointment.

Why is that?

 

[SteveWA]

This video from last year gives an insight into the man and his methods