Western Force coach Simon Cron has backed the returning Bayley Kuenzle to thrive in a finals-like atmosphere as they prepare for a crucial, finals-shaping clash with the Hurricanes.
After a week off with the bye, the Force return to HBF Park on Saturday to face a Hurricanes outfit who have had an up-and-down season, but remain well in the hunt for the top six.
A win for the Hurricanes would see them jump ahead of the Force, who currently sit in sixth and with a tough two-game road trip to New Zealand to face the Chiefs and Blues awaiting the Force next week, a victory over the Hurricanes would set up their final five games nicely.
With Wallabies wing Dylan Pietsch set to miss 3-4 weeks with a quad injury, Cron said he had no qualms about throwing Kuenzle straight into the fire in his first match since July.
“BK, from the moment he got injured to now, he’s worked so hard to get himself back in a position to be selected,” he said.
“He’s fast, he’s powerful and we love having him in the team. All the coaches watched him last week play again at Premier Grade level and we were really impressed when he played for Soaks (Associates) and he got a lot of contacts, so it’ll give him confidence going into this game.”
