‘No mention of last year’: Western Force eye Super Rugby AUS title

The Western Force haven’t spoken about last year’s 26-33 defeat to the NSW Waratahs in the first-ever Super Rugby AUS Grand Final, as the Perth-based side eye another shot at silverware against the same opponent this weekend.

Max Burey was named the Player of the Tournament after leading the Force to a home decider 12 months ago, but the Force were beaten in a thriller at Pittwater Park. That match was played one year ago exactly as of October 2, and those sides will soon contest the big dance yet again.

Burey made the move east ahead of the 2026 Super Rugby AUS campaign, with the Waratahs and Force meeting in a crucial round three fixture. The Force maintained their unbeaten run with a 17-12 win last Sunday, securing a home final.

But the Tahs had already done enough to lock in a top-two ladder position, ensuring a renewal of this Super Rugby AUS rivalry. One-Test England international Nic Dolly captains a Force outfit that boasts a wealth of Wallabies and Australia Sevens experience.

“No mention of last year. The group is totally different… there would be some players who are the same but there’s not a heap,” Damian Steele said.

“Our focus has just been identifying the areas where we were accurate on the weekend and wanting to capitalise on that, and then tidy up some other areas.

“They’ll be hurting. They rightfully wanted to host… they have made some changes. Sid Harvey is obviously a very good footballer, he’s a real triple-threat at the back there, so he’ll be a loss.

“In terms of last year, not being mentioned, and we’re just looking to tidy up some areas from last weekend.”

Dolly will pack down in the front row alongside Australian international Tom Robertson, who is among the Wallabies named in the side. 95-Test utility Kurtley Beale starts at inside centre, with Dylan Pietsch on one wing, and James O’Connor coming off the bench.

Harry McLaughlin-Phillips remains uncapped Wallabies prospect but has been named in the 34-man squad for the Bledisloe Cup series. ‘HMP’ will first suit up in the 10 jumper for the Force, joining in-form scrum-half Nathan Hastie in the halves.

The Force began their quest for Super Rugby AUS glory with a nail-biting one-point win against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane, before running away with a 40-12 result against the ACT Brumbies the following weekend – with Jack Daly and Hastie both scoring doubles.

It’s all been leading to this. The Super Rugby AUS Grand Final at Scotch College Playing Fields in Perth on Saturday afternoon, getting underway at 2:30 pm WST.

“For the community, we want that success for the people. The organisation itself… everyone craves winning,” Steele told reporters.

“Will the campaign be deemed a success either way? Potentially in some areas. But ultimately this is a group of people that have been together for 10 weeks and we want to cap that off with a really positive experience.

“For some of them, hopefully beyond this week, there’ll be a flow-on of positivity for whatever that looks like on their journey. But for us and our organisation and the Rugby WA community, it would be awesome to have a good crowd there and a really positive game and then hopefully we can get the chocolates for them.”