MCCALMAN HEADLINES SPIRIT TO TACKLE QLD COUNTRY

Sep 15 • General News, International • 1901 Views • Comments Off on MCCALMAN HEADLINES SPIRIT TO TACKLE QLD COUNTRY

The Perth Spirit have bolstered their side with four Western Force stars for Sunday’s Buildcorp National Rugby Championship clash with Queensland Country at McGillivray Oval.

Ross Haylett-Petty and Ian Prior will return after starring for the Spirit last season, Marcel Brache will pull on the black and gold for the first time since 2014 while Wallaby Ben McCalman will make his Buildcorp NRC debut at No.8.

Sitting in fourth position and on the hunt for back-to-back wins Spirit head coach Dwayne Nestor says the inclusion of the four Force players will help the team as they look to keep their momentum rolling.

“I think it will be good to have those guys in the team in terms of giving confidence to the other guys around them,” he said.

“To have a Wallaby like Ben McCalman in at No.8 is great, Ross Haylett-Petty coming back in adds to our lineout, Ian Prior’s leadership and work around the field is exceptional and Marcel Brache adds more class to our backline.

“It’s a stupid cliché but winning is a habit and so is losing. When you are going from win to loss it puts you on a real rollercoaster ride, so we need to make sure we are consistent and can put wins together back-to-back because it builds so much confidence.”

Coming up against a hungry Queensland Country outfit Nestor believes a few key areas could dictate the result on Sunday afternoon.

“I think winning the collisions, winning the breakdown and coming out on top in the contact zones will be where the game is won.”

“I think we can step up to another level in our defence and if we can defend effectively for 80-minutes and not leak easy points then we have shown that our attack can put teams under pressure.”

The front row remains unchanged from the side that took down Western Sydney last week with Joondalup’s Laione Mulikihaamea and UWA’s Shambeckler Vui to start at loosehead and tighthead respectively with Harry Scoble at hooker.

Cottesloe’s Kieran Stringer and Palmyra’s Onehunga Havili will again link up in the second row.

In the backrow, Ross Haylett-Petty replaces Brynard Stander at blindside flanker, Kane Koteka will start at openside with McCalman completing the starting pack in the No.8 jersey.

In the havles, Ryan Louwrens and skipper Jono Lance will look to rip holes in the Queensland Country defence having formed a formidable combination through the opening three rounds of the competition.

In the mid-field, Bill Meakes and Ammon Matuauto will once again run on at inside and outside centre.

In the back three, winger Eric Vasukicikau will be keen to continue his strong form after four linebreaks and try last week, Marcel Brache will start on the right wing in in his first Spirit match in two years while Luke Morahan completes the starting XV at fullback.

In the reserves, Cottesloe’s Hadleigh May and Kalamunda’s Russell Burges will be keen to make their presence felt up front, while Ian Prior and Ben Tapuai will bring valuable experience to the game when called upon.

#	NAME
1	LAIONE MULIKIHAAMEA (Joondalup)
2	HARRY SCOBLE (UWA)
3	SHAMBECKLER VUI (UWA)
4	KIERAN STRINGER (Cottesloe)
5	ONEHUNGA HAVILI (Palmyra)
6	ROSS HAYLETT-PETTY (Cottesloe)
7	KANE KOTEKA (Wests Scarborough)
8	BEN McCALMAN (Kalamunda)
9	RYAN LOUWRENS (Cottesloe)
10	JONO LANCE (Associates)
11	ERIC VASUKICAKAU (Cottesloe)
12	BILLY MEAKES (TBC)
13	AMMON MATUAUTO (Nedlands)
14	MARCEL BRACHE (Perth Bayswater)
15	LUKE MORAHAN (Kalamunda)
16	TOM SHEMINANT (Nedlands)
17	MEES ERASMUS (Palmyra)
18	JERMAINE AINSLEY (Nedlands)
19	RUSSELL BURGES (Kalamunda)
20	HADLEIGH MAY (Cottesloe)
21	IAN PRIOR (Nedlands)
22	BEN TAPUAI (Wanneroo)
23	AJ ALATIMU (Wests Scarborough)