Graham steels Force for long, tough year
A new sign above the door of their Perry Lakes gym greeted Western Force players when they returned to pre-season training.
The message was simple: Welcome To Work. But it left them in no doubt about what new coach Richard Graham would demand.
Super rugby is preparing to enter a new era but the Force need to go through a transformation of their own as they face their most demanding and daunting year since their debut season.
Graham, quick to impose his own style, has brought a new demeanour and fresh attitude to his squad.
Soon after he took the reins he was stamping his mark on the side.
"There will be less talking, more doing," he said. "We want to create a competitive environment.
"From day one we need to create an expectation of what is acceptable in terms of our standards."
Success-starved Force fans would love to see an instant Ewen McKenzie-Queensland Reds transformation. They will be praying the club is not hit with another injury crisis that ended last season before it had really started.
And they also will be expecting a year without the controversy that seemed to follow John Mitchell in his last couple of years.
First, there was the player and staff revolt that led to an independent inquiry into his coaching methods. Then came his controversial move to Super Rugby rivals, the Johannesburg Lions.
While every team wants to make the finals, the Force must finish in the top third for the season to be deemed any kind of success.
There has been a big turnover of players - 11 new faces and 12 going out the door - but one bonus for Graham is that only three of the senior squad have not had a taste of Super rugby.
There is class in players such as David Pocock, James O'Connor, Cam Shepherd, Nathan Sharpe, David Smith, Willie Ripia and others. But there also is a lack of depth in some areas, notably at fly-half, where there is no recognised back-up to Ripia, and in the tight five that could hurt.
Graham has promised his side will play an attractive brand of attacking rugby.
That is all very well but games are not won on entertainment alone. However, Graham believes that in one of his new assistants, Phil Blake, he has the man to develop a solid defensive game. Huge interest has centred on where Graham will play Wallaby star O'Connor. He has craftily answered the question several times without giving a specific answer.
Competition for the back row will be fierce. It does not take much to work out that four Wallaby back-rowers - Pocock, Ben McCalman, Matt Hodgson and Richard Brown - cannot fit into three jumpers.
Shepherd will want to put pre-season off-field problems behind him and get back into Wallaby coach Robbie Deans' sights. Tim Fairbrother will want to show what Deans missed by not picking him.
The extended season will mean coaches and back-room staff will have to manage players carefully.
Many players and coaches are heading into the unknown but the heavier workload - 19 games if they qualify for the final through both semis - will not worry Graham.
He has been in charge of English teams with an even bigger program and knows he will need to keep players physically fit and mentally fresh through well-planned conditioning and game rotation.
