Western Force coach Simon Cron has told players to "bite their mouthguard and go to work" when they face Moana Pasifika in Saturday's opening Super Rugby Pacific clash that marks the start of the club's 20-year anniversary.
Cron said the game, which kicks off at 4:35pm on Saturday at HBF Park (tickets via Ticketmaster), was all about attitude.
"The attitude for us is a second to no-one approach," he told reporters at the CD Dodd conference after captain's run on Friday.
"There is a level of humility and being humble in what you are trying to do and what you want to do. But when you get on the field you've got to bite your mouthguard and go to work.
"We can talk all we like but it's actions on the field."
Nine players will make their Force debut in the game, including Nic Dolly, Nick Champion de Crespigny and Divad Palu who’ll make their Super Rugby Pacific debuts.
Cron, in his third year in charge with a new-look squad, admitted to being nervous and said they would be judged on performance and improvement.
"You're always a little bit nervous at the start of each season," he said.
"What do people want who watch us want? Great performances, consistent, good to great performances.
"The group we have at the moment, how tight they are relationship-wise, they want to fight for each other."
He said new players and those from last season had brought a high level of professionalism and work ethic that added to the club culture.
"There's challenges there, but culturally, and we talk about culture all the time, starts with who's under the roof of the building," Cron said.
Despite the loss of front-rowers Harry Hoopert and Harry Johnson-Holmes to season-ending ACL injuries, Cron believes the side is in far better shape than last year.
"We've probably had more of our squad here (in pre-season)," he said.
"Twelve days before Super Rugby last time we had one lock functioning. Pre-Christmas we were the same.
"This year we've been lucky that we've been able to get players into the squad who can create a little bit of depth in training.
"We have two forward packs. Even if we have a niggle or an injury, we have a next cab off the rank.
"Loosehead was an area last year, but we probably went in this year with a plan around getting some depth there if it happened again.
"Props don't grow on trees, they are quite hard to find. Last year we searched the earth but this year we were able to get guys wanting to come.
"We're in a better position to handle the ups and downs of those things."
One of the nine debutants is prop Atu Moli who will make a long-awaited first appearance after overcoming injury problems including hip surgery midway through last year.
"It's an awesome story," Cron said. "Atu came with some injuries and has worked his way back, worked very hard.
"He's a big part of our team, we love him in our environment, and we're excited to see him get on that field.
A big focus on the Pasifika side has been the arrival of All Blacks back-rower Ardie Savea.
The 2023 World Rugby Player of the Year and an All Blacks mainstay across two Rugby World Cup will lead the side on debut. But Cron stressed the challenge was not just Savea.
"The whole team is strong, powerful. They are driven," he said. "We've just got to play the way we want to play and make sure they don't take the game to us.
"That's really a focus for us. There will be battles across the field. They've always been a good side, well coached, good people.
"You saw last year they've got high ball-carry metres, strong in contact, aggressive. There's a heap of stuff around their kicking game."
He said they had to be aware of their ball carrying strengths and natural flair.
"We have to cover both. Systems have to cover both," he said.
"If you pick one or the other, you're in trouble. We've got to make sure our systems are strong enough to handle it."
Kick-off is at 4:35pm WST, with tickets on sale via Ticketmaster and the game live on Stan Sport.
