Michael Foley fires barb at Richard Graham ahead of crunch Force-Reds clash

A FEISTY put-down of Reds coach Richard Graham by Western Force rival Michael Foley demonstrated the pressure on both camps.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 28: Force head coach Michael Foley looks on before the round 17 Super Rugby match between the Force and the Blues at nib Stadium on June 28, 2014 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

A FEISTY put-down of Reds coach Richard Graham by Western Force rival Michael Foley has demonstrated the pressure on both camps in Perth on Saturday night.

Too often in their nine-season history the Force have had no platform of results from which to fire any pot shots but it is impressively different in this eight-win season.

Graham happily turned the blowtorch on the Force this week by saying “there’s a lot of pressure on them mentally having to win these last two games to make the finals’’.

“The pressure is all on them. It’s very different for them being in the hunt rather than trying to spoil other sides,’’ said Graham, a former Force coach.

Foley fired back with a winning serve: “I guess Richard would understand pressure with the position his team is in at the moment.’’

The 12th-placed Reds do have plenty on the line too. A win on Saturday night would claw a hold of 11th and hopefully enhance the reputations of centre Samu Kerevi, flanker Curtis Browning and halfback Nick Frisby. Kerevi bursting clear out wide is what the Reds need for their planning for next season.

The match script is impossible to read. The Reds could miss Quade Cooper and Will Genia less than the Force do their injured halfback, dynamo Alby Mathewson.

“Mathewson triggers 70 per cent of their playmaking and organisation of forward runners so the Force will do things differently,’’ Graham said.

That is certain to make targets of Force halves Ian Prior, a former Red, and Zack Holmes.

The prospect that Japan-bound winger Nick Cummins is playing his last game in front of his Perth fan club could stir a top-up of his six tries.

“Nothing is going to change with Nick’s style of game. He goes at 110 per cent so we have to be ready,” Graham said.

The Reds have improved their attacking stats with back-to-back wins and they have scored more first-half tries (23) than any other side this season.

It is balanced by the fact the Force come home more strongly with superior try thrust (12-to-10) in the final 20 minutes of games.

Originally published as Michael Foley fires barb at Richard Graham ahead of crunch Force-Reds clash