Western Force coach John Mitchell says the new Super 14 franchise has 11 players already signed up for its debut 2006 season.

Mitchell appears to have lost none of the maverick nature he showed in a controversial stint as New Zealand coach by taking Force officials by surprise with the announcement.

The expansion team would not divulge the details of the eight new signings who will join Queenslander Nathan Sharpe and NSW duo Brendan Cannon and Lachlan Mackay in Perth next year.

The unexpected announcement came as an immediate counter-attacking shot after Queensland succeeded in keeping high-priority lock Hugh McMeniman, 21.

McMeniman's two-year signing was a cherished win in its own `war with the west' but the Reds - along with NSW and the ACT - are braced for more body blows in the coming days.

On top of the eight unnamed players, some understood to be previously uncontracted club players, WA officials have given a number of players ultimatums to sign by Friday.

Mitchell said the announcements of the new Force signings was in the hands of the individual players.

None have been scheduled to date with most keen to finish the Super 12 season in their current teams and not jeopardise their positions.

"The players do make that choice and they determine when it goes out to the marketplace," Mitchell said in Perth.

"Certain players have copped a fair bit (for linking with the Force) and other players have tried to manage the process in a better way.

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