The Western Force have a chance to redeem a disappointing season opener tomorrow when they face the Blues at HIF Health Insurance Oval in Joondalup.

After a strong start in the first 20 minutes of last week’s game against the Brumbies, the Force lost Wallabies superstar Nick Champion De Crespigny to a knee injury just before half time, going on to lose the game 56-24.

SportFM spoke to Force assistant coach Brad Harris this morning.

“We’re really happy with how we started the game. We had a lot of possessions chipping away at their line and we had a good hard look at the period after the first 20 minutes,” he said.

“We’re pretty disappointed we probably didn’t get a chance to capitalise, we didn’t take our chances and score a few more points in the first period and when they got down our end they managed to get a couple of tries.”

“They got a foothold in the game and then they just got away from us. At this level, these games are all about making sure that we take those momentum shifts when they come and repel the opposition.”

Defending their line, sticking important tackles and discipline to not give away penalties are some key areas Harris said the squad have focussed on this week.

The Force conceded a 5-0 penalty count early in the first half to give the Brumbies all the momentum they needed to put the pressure on come the second half.

“Discipline is part of it. We gave away a couple penalties that were probably a bit disappointing.”

“We had numerous entries down into their half and we’ve not held up over the line twice… when they get down to our end, we’ve just got to muscle up a little bit more and make sure we get contact into our defensive tackles and make sure that we can repel them and try to shift that momentum back.”

Belief is something the coaching staff have made imperative that the players instil into their mentality on and off the field, urging that a slow start doesn’t define the season.

“Part of our job as coaches is to make sure the players believe in what we’re trying to do on the rugby field and I think we’ve done a pretty good job throughout the preseason of doing that.”

“We had some good trial results. Things didn’t quite go our way last weekend but that doesn’t mean that we throw the toys out of the cot. We’ve got a strong belief in our game model, a super strong belief in the playing squad that we’ve got and we believe that at our very best we can compete with the very best in this competition.”

Suffering a knee injury just before the half, back-rower Nick Champion De Crespigny is expected to be out for at least a week, bringing Darcy Swain into the side for the Blues clash.

“At this point, we’re sort of hopeful he may be back next week, probably more than likely a week after, so probably a couple more weeks.”

“One of the things the club has done really well is they’ve certainly recruited well and expanded the depth in the squad. Of course it’s disappointing to lose Nick, but we’re pretty blessed to bring Darcy’s experience as a Wallaby back into the team as well.”

The Force-Blues clash kicks off tomorrow at 4:35pm at HIF Health Insurance Oval.

IMAGE: Western Force