Force hit by mass exit

THE Ipswich Force have committed to a rebuilding year after losing nine players from the squad that surged into the semi-finals last season.

Zarryon Fereti (left) and Jason Ralph have left the Ipswich Force seeking greener pastures. . Picture: Sarah Keayes

THE Ipswich Force have committed to a rebuilding year after losing nine players from the squad that surged into the semi-finals last season.

The loss of so many players is a massive blow to the Force who finished third last year before losing in the semi-finals to eventual QBL champions Mackay.

New Force coach Andrew Summerville said he'd worked hard to try and retain the core of the team but couldn't compete with better-funded, bigger budget teams.

"We've become a bit of a victim of our own success unfortunately," he said.

"This will be a rebuilding year for us.

"I made it my first job as coach to try and keep them all and retain the team from last year but we've lost some guys to work and uni commitments as well as other teams."

From the 2012 team the Force have lost QBL All-League representative Shaun Gleeson to the Gladstone Power and Zarryon Fereti to the Bundaberg Bulls while Ben Allen has gone to the South East Australian Basketball League.

"In a league like this where it's largely amateur, it's tough to blame guys when they get offered money," Summerville said.

In a league like this where it's largely amateur, it's tough to blame guys when they get offered money.

"I wish them all the best."

Similarly young gun Jason Ralph is headed to the United States to pursue a college basketball career, while long-time Force regular Ryan Stolberg has retired.

It's not all doom and gloom for the Force though with Canadian import Alex Desroches the first of what Summerville hopes is a number of strong recruits.

"I've been on the recruitment trail pretty heavily recently and we've already got Alex in town," he said.

Open tryouts for the team also uncovered some talented young players.

"We had close to 30 guys turn out for our first open trials," Summerville said.

"A lot of them were young guys who'll probably play in the (second tier) D-League.

"We've got some really talented young guys coming through. I think in about two years we'll have a really strong young team.

"We're working on long-term plans here instead of just looking for a one-hit team year-to-year."

We're working on long-term plans here instead of just looking for a one-hit team year-to-year.

Originally published as Force hit by mass exit