The Force will be reeling from the attritional loss they suffered in Sydney as they prepare to have their first home game. Their visitors will be the Reds, who were jubilant after stealing their opening match against the Sharks near the end.
The form
Conditions were not ideal for the Force nor their opponents in Sydney last week and the bad handling and heavy stepping made for a dull match. Whereas the locals took their chances eventually, the westerners could not take their big moments, though they led at half-time.
Their impressive new young Head Coach, David Wessels, will have to lift them and if they don’t do better at home in Round 2 one will get the dread feeling that he will have to do it a lot this season.
Against the Sharks the Reds also had a tough game but the ball did some work. They could have lost by surrendering an early try through bad handing, and losing two guys to the bin, but they were impressive at the end. The bench lifted their team and swiped the win with with nine minutes to go, and held on.
Advantage Reds
The teams
There are not many changes.
The Force have replaced LHP Pek Cowan with Ben Daley. Backrower Richard Hardwick moves to the bench and others move around: Brynard Stander moves to 8, Ross Haylett-Petty to 6, and Matt Philip will start for the first time, partnering Adam Coleman at lock. Tatafu Polota-Nau is a replacement again.
The only change for the Reds is that Taniela Tupou (“Tongan Thor”) will play from the bench, for the fourth time.
Reds Head Coach Nick Styles is up for the game:
“This is our first away trip of the season and also our first Australian derby. It’s an important match and no doubt both teams will be fighting hard for a win. It’s always an arm wrestle against the Force.”
Why should I bother?
The conditions in Sydney last week resulted in some random rugby so it was difficult to judge the Force players. We’ve got to see if the Force can do better with their new recruits on a harder surface to assess them properly.
And it will be good to see if the impact of the Queensland bench will have the same positive effect on the game, especially reserves, James Tuttle (scrum half) and Izack Rodda (lock), who had notable impacts.
Key contests
The flyhalves – whereas Jono Lance controlled the game well in Round 1 for the Force, Quade Cooper had a mixed bag including some poor handling. And whereas Lance kicked all his goals, Cooper, who has not been the regular goal-kicker for any team for some time, missed his last three after kicking his first three. These fellows could decide the game. Worth a watch.
Samu Kerevi v the Force backline – it won’t be just his direct opponent, ex-leaguie Curtis Rona, that Kerevi will be challenging; he will disrupt defensive patterns as Force players come into help out.
The fullbacks – Dane Haylett-Petty had a stellar 2016 and is always worth watching; so one blunder in Rd. 1 was shocking. Karmichael Hunt was in top form against the Sharks: always making the right decisions and being a catalyst for others.
Prediction
The Reds finished strongly last week and the Force didn’t. The Reds have more ex-World Cup Wallabies including recruits Stephen Moore and George Smith. Their bench was superior to that of the Force in Rd. 1 and the visitors have had an extra day’s rest since their last game.
Yet the Reds haven’t won their first two games of the season often lately, and the Force have been a bogey team for them in recent years – beating them in their last clash, in Brisbane.
Reds by 8
Match details
Team lists
Force:
15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Billy Meakes, 11 Chance Peni, 10 Jono Lance, 9 Ryan Louwrens, 8 Brynard Stander, 7 Kane Koteka, 6 Ross Haylett-Petty, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Matt Philip, 3 Jermaine Ainsley, 2 Heath Tessmann (c), 1 Ben Daley
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Tetera Faulkner, 19 Richard Hardwick, 20 Isi Naisarani, 21 Michael Ruru, 22 Ian Prior, 23 Alex Newsome
Reds:
15 Karmichael Hunt, 14 Chris Kuridrani, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Duncan Paia’aua, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 George Smith, 6 Adam Korczyk, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper (c)
Replacements: 16 Andrew Ready, 17 Sef Fa’agase, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Izack Rodda, 20 Hendrik Tui, 21 James Tuttle, 22 Jake McIntyre, 23 Izaia Perese
Other details
Date: Thursday, March 2
Venue: nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 18:30 local (20:30 AEST)
Referee: Federico Anselmi
Assistant Referees: Rohan Hoffmann, Graham Cooper
TMO: Damien Mitchelmore
