Perfect preseason for Force

Sat, Feb 13, 2016, 12:00 PM
Beth Newman
by Beth Newman

The Western Force survived a late comeback to keep their perfect preseason alive, with a 34-26 win over the Asia Pacific Dragons.

Winger Luke Morahan finished the night with a double, starring for the Force in their first home appearance in 2016.

Morahan crossed for the Force’s second and fourth tries to put his side in a commanding position in their second trial match.

Flanker Angus Cottrell opened the scoring for the Force in the 8th minute giving the home side an early advantage, that set the tone for the rest of the match.

Force captain Matt Hodgson had a successful start to his 2016, finishing off a rolling maul to score his side’s second and stretch the lead to 12-0.

Two more tries followed in the second quarter as the Force took control of the match, with Morahan and fullback Dane Haylett-Petty adding to the tally.

Jono Lance continued his strong preseason form, starring in his starting role at fly half and booting two conversions.

The Dragons struck back just shy of half-time cutting the difference to 19 points, sparking a late resurgence.

Ben Nee-Nee scored the Dragons’ second to cut the margin to 17 points, before the Dragons took advantage of a Chris Heilberg yellow card to make scores 29-19.

Junior Rasolea crossed for the Force’s sixth, just after three-quarter time as the WA franchise skipped to a 34-19 lead.

A last-gasp try to the Dragons cut the margin to just eight points, where it ultimately finished.

The Force have won both of their preseason matches, after beating 2015 finalists, the Hurricanes, 28-0 last weekend.

The Western Force kicks off its Super Rugby campaign against the Melbourne Rebels at nib Stadium on February 27.

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