Queensland must hope a record victory and their best Super rugby start in a decade changes the mind of Melbourne-bound Reds prop Laurie Weeks.
Rebels officials are confident the rising 23-year-old is one of six players the expansion Super 15 franchise will announce as their first Australian-based signings this week.
Tight-head Weeks, lock Adam Byrnes and reserve half Richard Kingi are three Queenslanders expected to leave Ballymore.
While the Reds could cope with Byrnes and Kingi jumping ship, Weeks has emerged as a potential Wallabies front-rower under former Test prop Ewen McKenzie.
Weeks refused media requests after Sunday night’s 50-10 thrashing of the Western Force at Suncorp Stadium which has the Reds one competition point outside the top four.
McKenzie has been frustrated the Rebels’ recruitment missions have been a distraction to his players but is also backing the Reds’ recruitment strategies.
“I’m quietly confident we’ve done the work necessary,” he said. “Does it mean we keep everyone? Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see what happens.
“Now we’re in a bye week so it will all be very interesting and exciting for the Rebels but we’ll keep on with the business of playing and I’ve done a lot of work in terms of the future Reds but it’s just a distraction to talk about at the moment.”
But McKenzie knows a win of the magnitude of the seven-try stomping of the Force will ward off a raid like that suffered in 2005 by the Force.
“If you keep producing and playing in a team that’s showing great spirit and aptitude and more consistency that would be something as a a professional footballer you would be attracted to,” he said.
Two-try flanker Scott Higginbotham admitted the Rebels entry into the player market had been a distraction but declared his allegiances to the Reds.
“I love playing for Queensland and I want to keep playing for Queensland,” he said on Sunday night.
“I want to stay in Queensland.
“There’s a lot of pride and a lot of passion in the team this year so hopefully all the boys feel the same as I do.”
The best retention plans for Queensland revolve around the fact team leaders James Horwill and Will Genia are signed on for 2010, as well as strike weapon Digby Ioane, while playmaker Quade Cooper has indicated he wants to stay.
Genia lauded the ruthlessness of the young side against the Force by setting the tone early and putting on five tries by halftime.
“It’s an outstanding effort by the boys, I think more so because we showed a lot of character,” he said. “When we had the foot on the throat we kept going.”
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March 15th 2010 @ 6:33pm
Dave said | March 15th 2010 @ 6:33pm | Report comment
I have been saying this since last season, but to me, I see the Reds as a carbon copy of the 98/99 Brumbies. Genia/Cooper play with the confidence and skill of Gregan/Larkham, Ione destroys defences virtually every time he touches the ball like Mortlock could in his younger years, while Hynes runs Joe Roff lines.
Add to that a strong, skillful set of mobile forwards with some serious speed, and a few hungry youngsters out wide, and you have the foundations for a seriously good side.
I will admit that I was upset Mooney was replaced. He should get plenty of credit for picking those young players and developing their attack. Good on Ewen though for allowing that to continue. I knew he would improve the forwards and tighten up the defence (as he always did with the Tahs), but I was sure he would crush the attacking flair of the young guys – particularly Cooper. Good on him for letting them play to their instincts.
Any Reds players who leave this side have rocks in their head. I dont see them winning the S14, but a S15 is title over the next couple of years is my pick. It also is a good sign for the Wallabies. At last we can emerge from the post Gregan/Larkham era! Genia and Cooper are incredible talents – they have skills than cannot be taught – but can be tempered and directed in a more effective manner. Thats exactly whats happening right now.
Note to Robbie Deans – if Ewen can let these kids play attacking rugby – can you please take note and do the same!
March 15th 2010 @ 6:46pm
ballboy said | March 15th 2010 @ 6:46pm | Report comment
As good as he’s playing with ball in hand or on the toe, until Cooper is safe in defense he’ll never be considered a true contender. Don’t get me wrong, he is the form 5/8 in attack in the S14 and I’m loving his work. But he misses at least one crucial tackle a game which will be costly against tpo opposition.
March 15th 2010 @ 7:00pm
JK said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:00pm | Report comment
Dave, c’mon……….. I’m impressed with the Reds, and in particular Genia and Cooper, but Gregan and Larkham? But I’m more than happy to be proven wrong, in fact I’d be ecstatic if I was proven wrong, from the national point of view anyway.
March 15th 2010 @ 7:20pm
Dave said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:20pm | Report comment
JK,
Not saying that they WILL match Gregan/Larkham (both once in a generation players in my opinion and basically impossible to top), just that they have the skill set required to bring good things to Australian (and Queensland) rugby in the future.
The 98/99 Brumbies didn’t win all that often, but they played an intelligent, attacking style that made me love rugby. Within a couple of seasons, their faults were ironed out, and the result was the 2000 Brumbies and 5 years of beautiful and successful rugby.
The wheels can still fall off for sure, but I tell you – I am once again LOVING watching an Australian side play – thats the first time I can genuinely say that since 2004!
March 15th 2010 @ 7:45pm
JK said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:45pm | Report comment
You’re definitely right on the playing with the confidence, that’s a good place to start.
March 15th 2010 @ 7:07pm
Dave said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:07pm | Report comment
I agee Ballboy, but defence can be fixed (and Ewen is the man for the job), and Coopers defence was once far worse so he is improving.
His talent and potential is huge however and he brings skills to the table that cannot be taught. He plays with a mix of Larkham and Carlos Spencer. Now thats a combination! He will win the Reds and Wallabies games in the future – but he is also going to lose them by trying too much.
He has matured greatly (on the field at least) over the past couple of seasons however due to what must obviously be some good coaching from Mooney, Deans, and now Ewen. Long may it continue so that he can have Spencers flair with Larkhams coolness under pressure.
March 15th 2010 @ 8:48pm
JamesI said | March 15th 2010 @ 8:48pm | Report comment
The Reds will obviously lose players to the Rebels, there’s nothing we can do about that if they decide to go and the fact that the former administration incredibly allowed a huge number of players to be off contract at the end of this year. That in itself deserves a bloody investigation.
But, what I am interested in seeing is how the team and administration react this time as opposed to 2005 when Sharpe decide to leave for the Force and the dominoes fell after him.
Yes that was a huge blow and they ripped the guts out of the team, but for God’s sake we as a team and a group of supporters (me included) have whinged and bitched and used that as an excuse for poor performances ever since rather than trying to look and move forward. And the only people that kind of outlook has affected has been the team and us.
Redsfan hit the nail on the head earlier when he said he believes Link is building something that will survive any player losses. If we are going to lose Weeks then make sure we have the next wave of good props signed up. But I think the QRU has a much better attitude this time in that I’m sure I read a quote from McCall the other day saying they would wish Kingi well if he moved to the Rebels as it would be better if he was somewhere where he was getting a regular start. You wouldn’t have heard a statement like that from the former administration. And as others have said, if we keep playing like this we may even attract a few players. Now that would be something.
The only player they need to do everything they can to keep is Cooper. But if he decides to go maybe they can bring back some old-school Joh Bjelke era style Policing and justice and have the Special Branch pay him a visit and if that doesn’t persuade him that when his case comes up in July it’ll be presided over by ‘the hanging judge’ and the only view he’ll be seeing with a Rebels contract in his hand is out the window of Boggo Rd. (Yes I knwo it closed years ago but I have no idea what the new prison is called.)