For the majority of this decade now, the Red in Queensland Reds stands for ugly losses.
While ‘BT’ and co delivered some surprisingly good results earlier this year, the team seems to be tiring out. The next few weeks ahead might lead to a gush of claret in terms of points, attendance, and the bottom line.
After a thrashing by the Chiefs last weekend, Queensland will face the rampaging Lions in a fortnight. Not long after this, they will face New Zealand teams the Hurricanes and Highlanders. The Waratahs and the Blues then follow. These opponents will view the Reds as a source of bonus point wins.
There’s no sign that Brad Thorn’s Reds team are getting any better than last year. It can be argued this team would have been trashed by last year’s Western Force.
Queensland, as one of the four surviving teams of the Australian Conference, must do the “sacrifice of the Force” some service and deliver a good job.
The jury is still out for the coaching, but it is very clear that the roster will not be good enough to win against even the weaker teams anytime soon.
Last year, the Reds were a mix of the ‘too old’ and the ‘too new’. It is a bit like making a milkshake from fresh milk and spoilt cream. This year the Reds are full of newbies, which is like eating raw bananas.
It must change for 2019. The first player to bring in, if possible, is Liam Gill. Gill is an all-around player who is excellent in attack, great in defence, and a good leader of men. He is reliable, fast and smart. The other is Sean McMahon, for the same reasons.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
If you put Gill and McMachon on the pitch at the same time with the locking giants and players like the Tongan Thor and backs, the Reds will be hard to beat. This is assuming the coaches do a half-decent job.
The set-piece is a big problem. None of the Reds’ hookers are displaying consistent performances to date. However, I suspect (hope) this will change over time. Otherwise, 2019 will be a painful year again.
The selection of 2019’s flyhalf is also a mystery, because while it’s obvious Jono Lance will vacate this position next year, his replacement is not.
Hamish Steward is still too raw to be an on-field general, nor does he display the pace needed to threaten oppositions. Quade Cooper is not in contention, for well-documented reasons. Perhaps the man is Duncan Pai’aua. But he has not been sighted at all.
As we head towards the June Test season, it is a good time for the Queensland Rugby Union administrators and coaches to start reflecting on the roster. They should not leave these things too late and commit schoolboy mistakes like announcing a squad then dumping their senior players.
This is supposed to be the professional era, after all.
Scott
Guest
Sacking him for losses whilst rebuilding is not sensible, ignoring an option who is better than the others available for that position because you don't want to admit you were wrong is a sacking situation. QC is the best option the Reds have at ten so he should be picked
Scott
Guest
From what I've seen to date a losing culture
Train without a station
Guest
2 more wins doesn’t necessarily make us better than last year. Because our draw isn’t the same as last year. This year we play the Sunwolves twice. Didn’t we not get to play them at all last year? The Brumbies who we play twice have declined. We play the Lions at home, not in SA. We will likely finish with 5 wins, 2 against a team we never got to play in 2017. Otherwise we play teams above us for the rest of the year.
Ruckin Oaf
Guest
I'd like to see em developing a point of attack to begin with :)
Daveski
Guest
Isn't Mack Mason a Qlder? Foley is pretty resilient so Mason isn't getting any chances especially with Hegarty and Beale as 10 options. Angus Sinclair at Norths is a very solid player but just not fashionable enough to get a look. Liam McNamara is another one to watch. Bad ACL Injury at tail end of last year's sevens series ( or was it the U20s) but very Maddocks like in having the pace for wing and ball playing abilities of a 10.
Bootlicker
Guest
No they won the comp when he was there .
Bootlicker
Guest
It`s no coincidence the Magpies are atop the table, Quade is just toying with the opposition and having fun with $1.2 million in his back pocket form the QRU.Meanwhile the Reds backs are not having fun even though they get paid handsomely too. Jono Lance is terrible at 10. He looks like a bunny in the headlights whenever he receives the ball.Thorn must act now. Lance is going in two months forever. Now is the time to play Hamish Stewart Thorn, ya deadset mug.
mick
Guest
This please! Bring back Gill. McMahon would be very handy as well. Ben Mowen is also still doing a pretty good job overseas. I wish it was possible to quantify much good talent has Australia given up because of bad selection policies as opposed to market forces?
mick
Guest
I'm generally a fan of QC but this clip doesn't make him look all that flash! In that short clip I saw him: - overrun the player he was supporting, potentially botching a try - completely miss a cleanout, though in doing so he did milk a penalty - miss/halfass a bunch of tackles - throw a pretty average sloppy long pass - get pinged for offside on his own line He did hit is up pretty well a couple of times. There was a good hitup where he drove through 3 defenders (and it looked like a couple of them were forwards). That was good to see. There were also a few deft touches leading to a couple of tries. Actually it looked a lot like QC was just having a bit of a run around out there and enjoying flogging a team. I don't blame him for that! Everyone loves beating Brothers!
Fionn
Guest
Nick, you wouldn't call Toua a playmaker? I think he has that ability, he just isn't being used as second receiver. I think Perese has finesse also, it just isn't much help if the ball never gets out to the wings. I also cannot understand why Paia'aua isn't getting a run. Good player. Good playmaker.
Bootlicker
Guest
We need to make the finals for this to be a success for Thorn. He has many many Wallabies in his squad. No excuses
shooshiner
Guest
You may live here Jacko ,but you aint no Queenslander,and never will be.I can tell from the tone of your comments mate.
shooshiner
Guest
Jacko cos the Tahs 10 was unbelievable !!.
MARTO
Guest
How " Magnificent " were your Horratahs Machocka Block ? ..Struggled to beat zero at home, but they looked splendid in doing so didn`t they ?. I heard they trained very hard again, tackling pillows , stepping past witches hats and running up and down hills non stop all morning at Bronte. The warm down consisted of eating low Gi Brown Rye Toast with goats cheese dip, whilst sipping on skinny Almond Milk Latttes at Coogee ... All of the above is " Master coach" Michael Cheikas Wallabies detailed training and game plan .. Well done Horratahs ...well done .....Michael would be so proud of you. hahahahahahahahahahahaha..
Captain Sensible
Guest
What Culture is Thorn bringing ?. I haven't seen it yet ? Please englighten us with your knowledge of what this culture is.
Jameswm
Guest
Toomua- yes but Kerevi and CFS are going well. How good would he be at 10? Good player though and would improve them. Horwill - not needed Gill OR McMahon, not both. Holmes - useful as backup Tomane - not as important JOC - really? Wouldn’t fit the new culture Thorn is correctly trying to build. So in summary Toomua plus Gill or McMahon, and maybe Holmes.
RobC
Roar Guru
QC gets in there. Head down, legs driving through He can steal the pill by ripping in the tackle. Never seen him pilfer in a BD. That would be interesting
RobC
Roar Guru
Thanks Stephen. Agree, there's still fun ahead of us for the rest of the season. Perhaps an upset or two. But the contest for 2018 is basically over, based on the form we've seen. Not just of the Reds. But all the other teams. In this I hope Im dead wrong, haha SR18 needs forwards to be fast, fit and accurate for a good part of 80': - We shall see if G Smith has speed to win the comp. - Slips and Higgers are injured because they are trying too hard to prop up the team. - Tan Tup the same. As Nick Bish mentioned, the grunt approach is not going to work. imo it's just going to lead to more injuries. But thats another topic. Myself, Im not disappointed. The Reds have done better than my expectations to date. However, improvements are clearly in order as well.
RobC
Roar Guru
thanks Neutral. I was going to say raw mangoes. Except I LOVE raw mangoes!
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
Last year, the Reds were a mix of the ‘too old’ and the ‘too new’. It is a bit like making a milkshake from fresh milk and spoilt cream. This year the Reds are full of newbies, which is like eating raw bananas. Brilliant RobC