Roar Guru
The musical chairs continue at the Queensland Reds with big name players coming and going this week, and it will be interesting to see how they compete when they host Western Force. We’ll have live scores and commentary from 7.40pm AEDT.
Will Genia has finally returned from his six-month injury, and will run on to captain the side.
He’s been missed.
Despite his absence, the Reds have notched the most running metres of any team in the comp.
This is a misleading stat as the Reds have been clunking along like a jet engine on 98 unleaded, and the return of Genia and his blessed partnership with Quade Cooper should be a shot in the arm for the players and fans.
Of course it’s a real shame their jack-in-the-box Digby Ioane sprung prematurely last weekend, allegedly scrapping with a punter while out in Melbourne.
He’s been given the treatment and joins Shane Watson and friends in the dunce’s corner this week.
Let’s hope he’s not contemplating his future, unlike one of his cricketing compatriots.
Last week the Reds managed to hold out the Rebels 13-23 and take their third win in a row, while the Western Force is off a bye.
Before that the Force produced a resilient effort against the Bulls, where they scrapped and slapped the burly South Africans into some form of stupor. And they almost won the game.
The Force would have loved success at Loftus Versfeld, and they do have a curious habit of winning in South Africa. Not this time though, as they were eventually beaten 36-26.
Tonight the Force will want to improve their tackle percentage and lineout conversion rate, both of which are the worst in the comp.
Their scrummaging will also need improving if they are going to make like honey badgers and take down their more fancied opponents.
The Reds are sitting on 23 wins from 26 games at Suncorp.
The bigger the underdog status, the better the Force tends to perform. Look for an upset.
Join us at 7.40pm AEDT tonight on The Roar, the place to be for live scores and where you can have your say on the go.