Cron locked in until 2026 after penning two-year extension with Force

The Western Force are delighted to announce that head coach Simon Cron has signed a two-year contract extension with the Club, keeping him in the west until 2026.

The extension underlines the Club’s confidence in Cron, who arrived at the Force in August 2022 and has since impressed with his leadership, player focus, dedication and technical knowledge.

Cron, who had originally joined the Force on a two-year deal, led the side to a 5-9 record in his maiden season in charge, narrowly missing the finals.

The 48-year-old is well regarded around Super Rugby Pacific circles, having previously been head coach of Japanese club Toyota Verblitz (2019-2022), as well as an assistant coach at the NSW Waratahs (2017-2019) along with a stint as Australia’s Under-20’s head coach in 2017. He also guided Northern Suburbs to their first NSW Shute Shield in 41 years in 2016.

Cron said he had no hesitation about re-committing given his excitement about the development of the current playing group.

“If you look at the players who take to the field every week, they excite us as coaches,” Cron said. “We’re excited about them.

“We love the personalities, we love their drive to succeed, we love seeing them every day on field, pushing each other for success.

“We believe we’ve got the core of something special growing here. That’s what’s excited me about staying here.”

Cron’s contract extension comes a week after Niamh O’Connor was officially confirmed as the Club’s permanent CEO, with the Force locking in key positions to drive their long-term vision to be leaders in Australian rugby.

“With the high performance changes we’re making within the organization and with Niamh confirmed as our new CEO, it’s important that we keep driving forward, therefore it’s exciting to extend my contract,” Cron said.

O’Connor was delighted to see Cron extend his contract and was bullish about what was to come for the team under his leadership.

“Since his arrival in Perth 18 months ago, Simon and his coaching team have worked hard to put the foundation pieces in place for long-term success for the Force,” O’Connor said.

“That doesn’t happen overnight but the trajectory of the team under Simon is exciting and while we didn’t make the finals last year, we saw glimpses of the project building and evolving. That’s only been enhanced during the off-season by our recruitment and player buy-in.

“You can feel internally that there’s an elite high performance environment and positive success-focused culture growing within the playing squad which is exactly part of the Club’s vision to be world class.

“The Force board have every confidence in Simon to take us to that next level, thus we’re thrilled to have him sign a contract extension, keeping him in Perth until at least 2026.”

The Force open their 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season on Friday 23 February against the Hurricanes at HBF Park kfrom 7pm. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster.