Player ratings - Highlanders v Force

ODT Online rugby contributor Jeff Cheshire rates the Highlanders on their performance in their 19-18 loss to the Force in Perth last night.

Ben Smith 7.5/10: Threatened constantly on the counterattack, finding gaps in the Force defence with ease, while making a couple of try-saving plays on defence too.

Jason Emery 6/10: A solid performance playing out of position. Made a couple of mistakes but did some good work on defence.

Tamati Ellison 6/10: Was tidy rather than brilliant, running hard and tackling well.

Ma'a Nonu 5.5/10: Fell off a few tackles on his return to the side. Was mainly used to crash it up on attack, but threw a couple of nice cut out passes which led to breaks.

Hosea Gear 6/10: Ran strongly when he got his chances, but once again saw limited ball. Needs to be used more as he was in the early part of the competition.

Hayden Parker 6/10: Tidy, mainly distributed but did take it to the line a couple of times.

Aaron Smith 5.5/10: Threw a couple of bad passes, but his job certainly was not made easy by a forward pack who were not offering enough protection.

Mose Tuialii 6.5/10: The best of the forward ball runners, while also being used in the lineout and doing well on defence.

John Hardie 6/10: Made his tackles as always but was definitely less prominent this week.

TJ Ioane 6.5/10: Ran hard with the ball and got involved on defence, although was well looked after by the defence.

Josh Bekhuis 5.5/10: Had a quiet game, tried to get involved in the tight but made a couple of mistakes.

Brad Thorn 6.5/10: Threw himself into everything and brought plenty of physicality, especially when defending close to the line.

Ma'afu Fia 6/10: Strong at the pick and go and was part of a strong scrum.

Liam Coltman 7/10: Very good, has a huge work rate making a lot of tackles. Only blight on his game came in his lineout throwing which still was not completely accurate.

Tony Woodcock 6.5/10: Very good at scrum time and made a couple of good tackles.

Andrew Hore 7/10: Picked up where Coltman left off, featuring prominently and coming up with a couple of good turnovers.

Bronson Murray 6/10: The scrum did not seem to lose anything upon his introduction and his was solid around the field.

Joe Wheeler 6/10: Came on and worked hard, looked good in the lineout when he was used.

Elliot Dixon 6/10: Got his hands on the ball a couple of times and got some go-forward.

Fumiaki Tanaka 6/10: Passed well, providing quick service and showed he did not mind scrapping for it.

Colin Slade 6/10: Played well for the most part, kicking well and making a couple of nice runs. Loses half a mark for a dropped ball in the dying stages, a mistake at a crucial time.

Tino Nemani 5/10: Actually played quite well, but for a dumb tackle which effectively cost the Highlanders the game and mars his performance. Made a couple of good runs where he broke the defence.