Perth’s Western Force are kicking off their 2026 Super Rugby season when they take on the Brumbies at HBF park tomorrow afternoon.

The Brumbies and Force met previously on January 30th during a preseason trial game, convincingly beating the Brumbies 42-12.

Assistant Force coach James Stannard joined SportFM this morning to give fans an insight on their new look team.

“It’s been a pretty long preseason, we’re excited to get in and get some gametime under our belt,” he said.

“We’ve had a couple of good trials, so we’re excited and the boys are pumped to get out there and show what they’ve been working on.”

Depth has been a key factor in improving their squad for 2026, with plenty of young signings and international talent set to join the side.

“There’s a lot more depth than previous years, which is something that we needed to work on.”

“It’s been the hardest team that we’ve probably had to choose from since I’ve been there. That’s for sure. I know there’s been a couple of minor injuries but it was really hard to pick a squad for this game.”

Something the Force coaching staff have honed their focus on for the team has been repeatability and the ability for the team to stay fit for the entirety of the season.

Last year they dropped the last five games and finished their season sitting ninth on the ladder.

“There’s a big focus around our repeatability and our conditioning, but it’s just our foundations around the game that sort of allows us to play the way we want to play.”

“I think we’ve put a lot more emphasis around being fit enough to play that brand of footy and I think that’s important. It’s a bit of a sprint, rugby, but you’ve still got to be pretty fresh going into the back end of the season too, so we’ve put an emphasis around our conditioning.”

Seven debutants will be taking to the field tomorrow in the 23-man squad, including the likes of Franco Molina, Nathan Hastie and George Bridge.

“He’s actually pretty measured. He works hard, Bridgie does, and Franco’s got a bit of mongrel about him.”

“They’re prepping well, so I think that preparation’s key for your performance, that’s why these guys are being selected.”

The first clash of the Force’s season kicks off at 4:35pm tomorrow and can be heard live on 91.3 SportFM.

IMAGE: Western Force