Cron’s cattle arrive, but expect a big shift if the West is to rise

Finishing this series with the Western Force is always a joy – they are a club that stands out in the Australian sporting landscape.

The club, along with its passionate fans, have had to fight tooth and nail to survive, and for many rugby punters on the East Coast, the club has gained a grudging respect, leaning into the cliche of the Aussie battler.

But in that, there is a narrative that the battler will eventually force their way back from the brink and emerge victorious at the top. For many Force fans and especially for coach Simon Cron, there comes a point where they tire of making up the numbers.

The club wants results. They want finals. They want a Super Rugby title. Unfortunately, 2024 showed they are still a long way off from achieving that.

Granted, it wasn’t a total disaster – their Super Rugby Women’s side made their maiden finals campaign, and look the most likely to bring the first bit of Super Rugby silverware back across the Nullarbor. The pathways and academy are producing Junior Wallabies.

However, Simon Cron would likely be the first to admit that 2024 fell flat, especially after it started so promisingly. 

Similar to the Reds, the Force have got on the front foot when it comes to their pre-season, embarking on tours in South Africa against the Cheetahs at the end of 2023. While these matches were a handy hitout, issues identified during the 2023 season persisted.

For all the heart they have, the Western Force has struggled with the week-to-week match intensity of Super Rugby. Sure, they can pull off a win here and there, but to achieve wins against the best consistently the side has to make inroads, challenge defences, ask questions – and critically, win the physical battle.

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Their big losses against the Chiefs and Rebels at the end of 2023 proved they needed to step up, and Cron was aware of this, making ten changes to the squad heading into 2024. 

However, almost immediately, the side was struck with a massive injury crisis, particularly in the forward pack. A round one 30-point drubbing at home by the Hurricanes and a disappointing loss to the Rebels only made things worse.

Cron signed nine players up on short-term contracts and an additional two players to try and stem the tide. Fortunately, unlike Darren Coleman’s Waratahs limping to the finish line later in the year, this injection saw the Force bounce back, but not before several ugly defeats – notably a 22-14 loss at home to Moana Pasifika.

A 40-31 win over Les Kiss’ Reds was the only bright spark in the opening half of the year, with the side copping several 50-point floggings on their New Zealand tour.

However, once the mid-season bye passed, the side restored their reputation at home somewhat, picking a convincing win over the Crusaders, demolishing the Waratahs, and, in arguably their best performance so far under Cron, blew away the Fijian Drua 48-10.

These results exposed exactly what the Force was missing. The side not only lacked physicality but momentum and a disciplined approach to the game plan, especially off the boot.  

The timely inclusion of Kurtley Beale proved effective, whose style and experience not only gave the side direction but freed up Ben Donaldson to pick apart Fiji’s defence at will. His inclusion elevated the side so much, it felt the fans were watching a completely different side.

Set piece-wise, the Force measure up quite well, winning 83% of their scrums (fourth best in the competition), and maintaining a competitive lineout, winning 83.3%.

However, when it comes to general play, the numbers paint a dire story: with only 37 tries scored (second worst in the competition), gaining only 5,342 metres (second worst), while sitting dead last for carries, defenders beaten, offloads and rucks won. They also had the worst attack, with even the wooden spoon Waratahs scoring more points across the season.

This paints a side that struggles to go forward and maintain possession. The attack struggles to ask questions of the opposition, and critically, they struggle to score points. While it is true that defence wins you games, you also can’t win many games if you can’t score.

All up, 2024 was a real disappointment for the West – the side had seemed to pick up a lot of momentum under Cron in 2023, and it was a combination of factors, some outside of the club’s control, and some not, that derailed their season.

Effectively, this means that Cron and his staff are back at square one compared to this time last year. 

The side has a decent set piece that can function well, but they need to address the cohesion of the side, they need to play a higher level of match intensity week-to-week, and they need a game plan and strategy that has buy-in and gets the side going forward.

These are big challenges to fix, and require bold decisions. With 15 players coming off the books, recruitment has become a key part of the Force’s 2025 strategy, and in that regard, there has been a lot of success.

Cohesion issues will naturally be a challenge next year with a changeover of that magnitude, but the Force will hope to offset this by making their recruitment address their other issues effectively – and they have been able to not only get some quality players with plenty of Super Rugby experience but also several players with international experience.

Cron’s third year in charge will see 15 new arrivals, with three Rebels coming across the Nullarbor. On this front, the Force have added an experienced head in All Black Matt Proctor to their centre stocks, with Divad Palu joining him and Vaiolini Ekuasi joining a massive contingent of loose forwards.

Two short-term contracts in Ryan Coxon and former Wallaby Sam Carter are set to stick around, while the return of Wallaby Tom Robertson from sabbatical also coincides with the arrival of a 91-capped Super Rugby veteran in Harry Johnson-Holmes, significantly beefing up the Force’s front pack stocks. 

Robertson will be backed up by Junior Wallabies Harry Hoopert and Marley Pearce, with Coxon and former All Black Atu Moli likely to serve as support on the tighthead front.

At hooker, Tom Horton, one of Force’s best performers last year, is set to go head-to-head in the starting position with Wallaby Brendan Paenga-Amosa, while England-capped but Australian-born Nic Dolly also joins the ranks. 

The international experience also extends to the second row and the back three, with Darcy Swain and Dylan Pietsch coming from the Brumbies and Tahs, respectively, with an additional handy pickup in Mac Grealy from the Reds adding more depth to an area the side has previously struggled in the last few years.

To cap this off, the side will also be bolstered by several players who were standouts in Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies, notably Jeremy Williams returning as captain, with Carlo Tizzano also excelling in gold.

Throw in other new Wallabies in Hamish Stewart, Pietsch and Harry Potter, plus depth in both scrumhalf and flyhalf with Wallabies Nic White, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa and Ben Donaldson, and you have a side that not only gives Cron significant options to call on in all positions but is a side that will have both internal competition for spots and more significant depth. 

All up, Cron will have 16 players with international experience alongside solid backups, with Bayley Kunzele, Max Burey and Will Harris also enjoying strong seasons last year. On paper, the squad reads like a side that can step up in intensity. If the squad can buy into the game plan, Cron and his coaching staff will finally be cooking. 

Initial results too are encouraging, with the side enjoying a more positive tour of South Africa than in 2023, beating the Cheetahs, Western Province and, critically, coming within five points of beating the Emerging Ireland side. 

The real challenge for Cron is that while he now has a squad that shouldn’t have a repeat of the injury crisis at the start of 2024, he still has many, many other problems to fix. 

The Force have another trial match confirmed for early next year against the Brumbies, which at the time of writing is the remaining match they have before their season kicks off at home against Moana Pasifika. 

With the club set to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2005, the year will be a significant occasion for rugby in the West – and in that time, a Super Rugby finals slot still evades them.

They now have the squad to do it, but 2025 marks a moment of truth for this team and for Simon Cron. His wholehearted embrace of the club and passion for the side is undeniable and has been justly rewarded when he was given an extension to the end of next year. It seems like a perfect fit.

But, the cold hard reality is this is a results-based industry, and this club, arguably more than any other in Super Rugby, needs results. The pressure is on for the Force. After the rollercoaster of a year they have had, it is almost fitting that they find themselves with the same challenge that greeted them this time last year.

It’s time they stopped making up the numbers at the bottom of the ladder.