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Written by Hatchie
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Tuesday, 20 February 2007 |
 The Force are back at home this weekend, and with the two wins in the Republic
the Subiaco faithful will be looking forward to seeing their team in action, and
maybe, just maybe, seeing them get a win at home.
The expectation of a win in round 1 against the Highlanders was very
high. As much as the media will hype up this weeks game, I'm hesitant about
counting any chickens just yet. Sitting through seven games now at Subiaco and
not seeing us get up once has that effect on you. Keep your expectations low
and you don't get so disappointed.
But maybe this mindset should be no longer. Maybe the Wallabies form of
the last few years, together with the Force's has subconciously put a handbrake
on any confidence I have when watching my team play. Hell, I was a Reds fan
before the Force came along. But anyway, I'm Lee Granting....
Jimmy Hilgendorf is almost certainly to get a run this week, which leaves Coach
Mitchell with a selection quandary. Does he slot him in straight away at 10,
and push Goldenboy to inside centre? Most likely. Mitch has plans, and despite
the good run we've had with Gits at 10, he'll want to stick to the original
plan. Further, I won't expect us to play such a field position based game as we
have the past two games, so there'll be a lesser dependence on a ultra-reliable
kicking 10.
That will probably push Pelesasa to the bench, and Scott Daruda out of the
22. Pusey has a groin strain from the game against the Bulls, and he is likely
to miss this week. Luke Doherty is the likely replacement for the blindside
flanker spot.
The Lions will have been high-fiving each other the whole trip over the
Indian Ocean after keeping the Crusaders tryless, and I can only hope the
tyranny of distance will somewhat suck this new found confidence out of them.
Both sides will wanting to make better of the draw they found themselves in at
the 80min mark last year in JB.
The two Cobuses seem to making their mark in SA rugby at the moment, and
the front row (van der Merwe,Wepener & Mujati) deserve a big mention after their
solid effort against an experienced Crusaders outfit. Fortunately the Force's
forwards continue to improve, and it should be a great battle of the fatties on
saturday.
At home, Force should win this one. The only thing likely to be our
downfall is complacency - and the expectation that our stars will get the job
done. This is what happened against the Highlanders. But re-watching the Bulls
match it was apparent how eager everyone on the track to really contribute -
further backed up by Sharpie's post match comments. This commitment, together
with the steel-like ambition to make up for round one, will get us over the
line, comfortably.
The backline has a few games together now and are starting to look a bit
more dangerous. Henjak has lost his stupid haircut and is playing top rugby,
finally. We aren't throwing that 50-50 pass anymore. We're not over committing
to the breakdown. We're taking points when they are offered, holding our own in
the scrum, and improving in our lineout. So-
No more losses at home, no more draws, time to count chickens and time to
make Subiaco our own. Force by 15.
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