Western Force coach Simon Cron says the side needs a cutting edge to get a much-needed victory against the Chiefs in Saturday’s Swyftx Super Rugby Pacific Round 7 clash at HBF Park.
The Force have fallen away in 20-minute spells this season but Cron said they had gone a long way to rectifying the problem.
In key moments they let sides off the hook and Cron said they had "tried different things" at half-time to fix drop-offs after the break.
"It's about sharpening our sword and making sure we get better and better every game, " Cron told reporters at Friday's CD Dodd Coaches’ Conference.
RugbyWA club members, use this link with club code, for your 30% off discount
"It's all about trust, belief and staying in the system. It all comes down to mindset, not skillset, understanding to trust the guy next to you, not giving away simple penalties.
"It will never be perfect, you are always going to have things that don't go your way. It's just about resetting and not stressing."
With wet and windy conditions for Saturday's return to HBF Park for the first time since Round 1, secure ball carries, decision making and kicking become crucial. Cron said they had discussed different scenarios and how to react.
"We're all on the same page about how to play. We just have to wait and see what it looks like," he said.
"There are certain things the Chiefs do when its wet and windy. They are powerful in the forwards and they have speed in the backs. They have some big bodies, we do too.
“We've got a little bit of firepower that we can get into it. For us it's just another game of rugby. It's about us playing our game."
All Blacks star Damian McKenzie will start at full-back for the Chiefs having played fly-half all season, Josh Jacomb will wear the No.10 with international winger Leroy Carter moving to outside centre in a rejigged backline.
But Cron said the changes did not change the game plan.
"They are still fast and skillful," he said. "The way we've prepped, guys in key positions are still there...won't change too much."
Kurtley Beale play his 179th Super Rugby appearance to become the seventh most Super capped player.
"You ride the wave with KB," Cron said. "The guys around him have confidence in him."
Cron revealed star cross-code signing Zac Lomax could debut in one of the two away games against the Reds and Fijian Drua following the Chiefs clash.
He trained with the non-playing squad at the Captains Run on Friday and Cron said: "He's a good chance in the next couple of weeks of getting game time.
"He's still learning a lot around the breakdown, kicking game, pendulum positional stuff, little bits of details, little things of the game.
"His footwork at the line and strength in contact is elite. It's about building his load and making sure when he's released, he's ready to go.
"It's about him getting confident and then us getting in a position where ideally we're not going to injure him."
Cron has made just one change to the starting side with No.8 Vaiolini Ekuasi’s returning from injury with Nick Champion de Crespigny moving back to blindside flanker.
Argentine hooker Leonel Oviedo, Tongan tighthead prop Misinale Epenisa and utility back Divad Palu return in the reserves
The contribution of local clubs will be recognised with the match tagged as the Grass Roots Game.
There is a 30 per cent off tickets for all RugbyWA club members and $8,000 worth of Gilbert Rugby vouchers for the three most attended clubs.
Reigning Fortescue Premier Grade men’s and women’s champions Wanneroo will make a lap of honour at half-time, while one junior and one senior representative from all RugbyWA clubs will form a guard of honour for the run-on.
RugbyWA club members, use this link with club code, for your 30% off discount
Western Force starting side: 1 Tom Robertson, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 3 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 4 Jeremy Williams (c), 5 Darcy Swain, 6 Nick Champion de Crespigny (vc), 7 Carlo Tizzano, 8 Vaiolini Ekuasi, 9 Henry Robertson, 10 Ben Donaldson (vc), 11 Bayley Kuenzle, 12 Kurtley Beale, 13 George Bridge, 14 Darby Lancaster, 15 Max Burey.
Reserves: 16 Leonel Oviedo, 17 Sef Fa’agase, 18 Misinale Epenisa, 19 Lopeti Faifua, 20 Will Harris, 21 Nathan Hastie, 22 Hamish Stewart, 23 Divad Palu.
Chiefs starting side: 1 Jared Proffit, 2 Brodie McAlister, 3 George Dyer, 4 Josh Lord, 5 Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 6 Samipeni Finau, 7 Luke Jacobson (c), 8 Simon Parker, 9 Xavier Roe, 10 Josh Jacomb, 11 Etene Nanai-Seturo, 12 Quinn Tuapea, 13 Leroy Carter, 14 Emoni Narawa,15 Damian McKenzie.
Reserves: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Sione Ahio, 19 Fiti Sa, 20 Kaylum Boshier, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Kyle Brown, 23 Kyren Taumoefolau.
Game details
Western Force vs Chiefs
Saturday 28 March, 4:35pm WST
HBF Park, Perth
Live on Stan Sport (TV) & 91.3 SportFM (radio)
