Western Force coach Michael Foley believes his team his heading in the right direction after a tight 25-19 loss to the Rebels.
The Force has undergone some major game style adjustments over summer and the first test of their new expansive focus came against the Rebels.
Foley said he felt the changes came through on the field but would need to be executed better in coming weeks.
“We definitely tried to play the way we said we were going to play,” he said.
“We definitely moved the ball a lot. There was always a chance given it was our first hit out that the guys probably would overplay a little bit .
“The important thing is we go back and say given the way we’ve said we wanted to play, that was definitely a strong move in that direction, (but) what things do we need to work on a bit better?
“Clearly ball control would be a big one of those things and we had a lot of possession tonight we just didn’t control it well enough.”
Foley said the most important move for his side coming out of the game was to maintain faith in their new game plan.
“The thing for us is to be brave ,stick with it,” he said.
“I’ve said that before the game and I’ll say it again now.
“It’s hard not to be disappointed when you lose a game but at the same time I’m pleased with some of the things I saw out there.”
There could be some injury fallout from the match, played in sweltering Perth conditions, with the Force sweating on the fitness of emerging centre Kyle Godwin.
Foley said the severity of Godwin’s injury would be determined by Monday, though voiced concern about his prognosis.
“It’s a knee, we’re not sure (of the exact injury)until we get that scanned so we’ll be ableto know that in 24 hours but it’s a knee,” he said.
“The fact that he came off (is concerning). He’s a pretty tough guy, he plays through bumps and bruises so I would suggest that he’s definitely in some doubt for next week.”
Melbourne will be assessing the fitness of flyhalf Jack Debreczeni who withdrew from the match in the warm up, fullback Mike Harris (hamstring) and scrumhalf Nic Stirzaker (shoulder) ahead of the Rebels’ trip to Pretoria.
