In-demand playmaker Quade Cooper looks set to join the growing list of Wallabies re-signing beyond the World Cup after revealing his desire to notch a century of games for Queensland.
Cooper plays his 50th Super Rugby match against the Western Force at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday and says he wants to double the milestone for the Reds.
Still just 22, the 24-Test five-eighth believes he has plenty of improvement left in a rising team and is keen to join the likes of mentor Tim Horan and former teammate Chris Latham in the state’s revered 100-club.
As the code’s hottest property on the back of an exhilarating 2010 season, Cooper signed just a one-year deal with the Australian Rugby Union after attracting attention from clubs in the NRL.
He is yet to begin formal negotiations on a new contract but the Reds are extremely confident he will stay at Ballymore for at least the next three seasons.
“I remember coming out here as an 18-year-old and hoping to play 50 games, and then setting a goal to play 100,” Cooper said on Wednesday.
“Running out for my 50th is going to be a big occasion for me and something that I’ve really looked forward to and aimed for.
“As a player you look to the guys who go before you – Chris Latham, Tim Horan, Mark Connors those kind of guys – who have played 100-plus games and to be mentioned in the same sentence as them would be a great honour for me.
“Hopefully I can make it that far.”
Beyond this year’s World Cup, the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour and the confidence of a Wallabies revival have helped see Test stars Stephen Moore, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Drew Mitchell, Berrick Barnes and Ben Alexander already re-sign this year.
Determined to see the reborn Reds live up to their exciting potential, Cooper’s intentions are no surprise to Queensland Rugby Union officials, who contracted him to a two-year state deal last year before he tested his worth with the ARU.
“I have absolutely no concerns about Quade going anywhere else next year and am also confident we’ll see him stay with the Reds well beyond that,” said QRU chief executive Jim Carmichael.
Cooper said he was not about to rush into contract talks and was primarily focussed on doing his best for the Reds and Wallabies.
“My order of priority at the moment is playing this year and playing well,” he said.
“I’m not going to put a timeframe on (contract negotiations) as I just want to concentrate on playing well for Queensland first and foremost, and then hopefully for the Wallabies.”
Reds coach Ewen McKenzie will on Thursday announce his team to play the Force with skipper and Wallabies lock James Horwill likely to play at blind-side flanker with Scott Higginbotham on the bench.
Queensland likely starting side: Peter Hynes, Rod Davies, Will Chambers, Anthony Faingaa, Digby Ioane, Quade Cooper, Will Genia; Leroy Houston, Ed Quirk/Beau Robinson, James Horwill, Rob Simmons, Van Humphries, James Slipper, Saia Faingaa, Ben Daley.
Crashy
Guest
You are right King - jeez that backline looks very, very sharp. I am starting to worry about the 26th of Feb!
Jerry
Guest
Cause you get to reset the defensive line every tackle in league.
King of the Gorgonites
Roar Guru
very impressed by the reds team just annouced. i love that backline. good to see rockin rod in the starting team. not sure abotu horwill on the side of the scrum though.
soapit
Guest
he would definitely need to pick up his defence in league or else they'd have to stick him on the wing in defensive sets (pretty humiliating). lockyer was considered a poor tackler for a while there but he is streets ahead of cooper.
Ken
Guest
I must say I think the guys above are over-thinking it, the truth is in RL you can't really hide a poor defender either. Efforts are made of course, smaller halves for example, are often pushed to the outside of good defending 2nd rowers or centres but the opposing team will always pick out the weaker players and run at them, around them, through them. Similarly centre's that are known for making bad decisions in defence will find more plays run down their side than the other.
Ken
Guest
Hmmm, who got played for fools again? How much more did he get on his Union contract?
The Bush
Roar Guru
Less people defending in the line. As pointed out above, you have at least ten (10) blokes in the line of defense in League. In rugby you have the two (2) or three (3) blokes in the ruck, then your pillar and post either side of the ruck (think of them as the "markers"), and then your back three (3) are usually behind the line defending the kick (something you only have to worry about on the last tackle in League). That is as many as seven (8) players that are not in the defensive line proper at any given time, hence Quade is expected to defend his channel. There is a reason why tackling in Union can frequently be one on one, whilst almost all tackling done in League involves two (2) tacklers (at least), unless they've thrown the ball wide in an attempt to score and they've actually got some space (rare in League, in fact one of the things I admire about the sport is those occasions when great players create space).
Ryan
Guest
Watch a Reds game and you will see that they do manage to hide him in the defensive line usually next to AFinga or on the wing but for International Rugby there are not many places you can hide a player. He doesn't strike me as a soft player, i think he just needs to work on technique and plenty of team mates and coaches that can help him with it. I think it will improve this year.
Roy
Guest
It's easier to protect weak defenders in a League defensive line because you have at least 10 blokes (plus 2 markers plus a fullback = 13) standing 10m behind the play the ball, spread evenly across the field. In Union your defence is closer to the attack (only need to retire to the last feet), there is often more players comitted to the ruck and wingers usually defend back (as well as the fullback). Basically the defence is often spread thinner and there's less space and time, so more one on one tackles.
itsuckstobeyou
Roar Pro
A question regarding Quade's tackling. Why is rugby league able to hide their poor defenders in the d-line with 13 players, yet union seems incapable of this with 15 men? I know he's a liability in defense and it needs to be corrected, but why isn't he being protected until he improves?
Gary Russell-Sharam
Guest
It will be the usual merry-go-round when it gets near the time for Cooper to sign and the media will thrash around like headless chooks and it will be a huge beat up and in the end if Cooper Signs with union or league I really couldn't care. Someone else will come along and take his place and we will all rave over him like we are about Cooper at the moment. I stress at the moment. Because I can remember walking away from Suncorp stadium a year or two ago saying why oh why would they keep this jumping jack rabbit that can't catch a ball. He has improved greatly since then but when you really think about it he has only hit his straps last year 2010. I will be keen to see if he can maintain the same standard in 2011, if he can I will give him his due, but I am acutely aware that some or a large % of players have the second year yips and don't do as well. As I said if he survives this season and goes on to improve I will be one of his admirers but I'm hedging my bets at the moment.
Willy
Guest
Of course he'll stay with rugby. He's got a good agent though - played Parra for a bunch of fools to maximise his value to the ARU. Very clever.
CraigB
Roar Guru
If thats true, sign a heads of agreement so we can move on and sort out the details later