A good starting season for Thorn’s young Reds

So ends the most successful season on the field since 2013 for the Queensland Reds, with a 48-27 victory over the Sunwolves at Suncorp Stadium.

This was another game marred by a referee making a controversial red card decision, but a win is a win and it was especially great to see the Queensland backs, who have been overshadowed by the pack in 2018, stepping up with five tries.

With the season over it is an opportune time to reflect on what the Reds’ season means going forward into 2016.

Six wins over sixteen games and holding 13th place from 15 is a modest improvement off a low base, following on from four seasons of terrible results for the team.

However, it is important to note how close the results have been for the six teams from the eighth-placed Sharks to the thirteenth-placed Reds on the Super Rugby ladder, all of those teams winning six or seven games.

For the Reds what really cost them position on the ladder was the rookie error of coming off the high of beating the highly placed Lions, then underestimating the cellar-dwelling but much-improved Sunwolves during round 13. The Reds copped a 63-28 flogging that I doubt the team members will ever forget.

Apart from that the Reds only lost the games that they would reasonably expect to at this stage of their development and had a couple of unexpected wins, like the Lions and the Jaguares at home.

They also managed to push some stern opposition hard at times, losing to the Hurricanes in Wellington by 34 to 38 points probably being the biggest message to the competition that the Reds should be taken seriously.

(PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP/Getty Images)

So there is cause for cautious optimism for fans about where the team is headed next year. Of course the elephant in the room is the cost of paying Quade Cooper, James Slipper and Karmichael Hunt, senior players who have currently been stood down from the Reds.

The three are still under contract with the QRU until at least the end of 2019 and are reportedly costing the union around $2 million a year not to play, which is not only expensive but is using up the QRU’s salary cap.

This in turn will limit the ability of the QRU to recruit and retain good players. The QRU clearly has to do something about the situation if the Reds are to expect a significant improvement in 2018.

Based on the publicly available information, it seems that Thorn’s refusal to select Cooper has been based on Thorn’s opinion that Cooper is not a good fit for what he wants from the team.

As coach it is Thorn’s prerogative to select his team, but Cooper still being under contract means that the financial and salary cap implications are a problem that the QRU has to wear, unless Cooper decides that he wants to play elsewhere next year.

Slipper’s case, associated with two failed tests for cocaine, is complicated by the fact that Slipper has reportedly been suffering mental health issues associated with his mother having a terminal illness.

Of course none of us outside of the parties concerned know the full story, but based on the publicly available information I doubt many fans would want to see a long-serving, highly-respected former captain dumped for making a (admittedly bad) mistake under the worst sort of pressure. Hopefully Slipper will be given a chance to redeem himself.

Equally I doubt that the majority of Queensland fans want to see Hunt back in red. He was charged for illegal possession of a prescription drug this year on top of a previous conviction for supplying cocaine.

However, he was only issued with a fine and a playing ban in both cases, so the QRU is required to honour his contract.

For players to be appropriate role models for young people in rugby, is something which many in the game take very seriously, and as such the QRU should be supported in keeping Hunt out.

I think there is a case for Rugby Australia to step in and relax the salary cap for the Reds, if Hunt doesn’t leave of his own accord.

It wouldn’t provide the Reds with an unfair advantage, rather it would just allow them to cover for a player made unplayable by very difficult circumstances, and wouldn’t cost Rugby Australia anything.

I don’t know that that the other Super Rugby teams could reasonably object under that circumstances as the entire code in Australia has an interest in maintaining the reputation of Rugby as a clean sport, so it is a potential solution which is worth the QRU and Rugby Australia discussing.