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Josh Flook was at the dinner table last June when his phone rang. He looked at it, then he turned it over. House rules.
It was shortly after the phone buzzed again. This time it was one of the Queensland Reds analysists.
“You might want to take call,” the text message read.
Having excused himself from the family dining room table, Flook, the former Australian Schoolboys captain, jumped on the blower and was pleasantly surprised the caller was Wallabies coach Dave Rennie.
“It was a pretty quick phone call back,” Flook quipped.
“Dave called me up, which was pretty cool.
“The message was just playing consistent footy and try to put my hand up for a selection spot.
“He pretty much said, ‘just enjoy your footy, get back to how you were playing last year’ because I was playing some decent footy and just see how the year goes.”
Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie called Josh Flook a number of times in 2022 to see how he was progressing from a shoulder reconstruction. Photo: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images
Flook, 21, was out of the selection landscape last Test season after injuring his shoulder in the penultimate regular round of Super Rugby.
Before then, and throughout 2021, the outside centre had quickly found his feet for the Reds.
A balanced, gifted runner, Flook is a natural footy player. He is calm, collected and is strong on both sides of the ball.
The outside centre, who can shift to the wing seamlessly and grew up playing at No.10, led the Aussie Schoolboys to a seven-year drought-breaking victory over New Zealand across the ditch in 2019.
The victory continued the exciting pathways emerging in Australian rugby in 2019, with the Junior Wallabies making the under-20s World Cup final, before COVID-19 struck.
Flook said the victory over New Zealand Schools gave him a boost of confidence before entering the Super Rugby system.
“It was kind of my first little taste of it in around that time, so I think I went in and was able to train with the boys a little bit after that,” he said.
“So definitely. I was a shy, shy young kid coming in, but it let me know that I was able to be there around that group.”
Josh Flook is one of Australian rugby’s most exciting young players. Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Rennie’s phone call solidified that Flook is on the right track. It is also another reminder that despite the Wallabies just completing a 44-man training squad, there are a number of others on the fringes who could mount a late World Cup run.
But you won’t hear the Nudgee product blowing his own trumpet.
Instead, he prefers to let his actions do the talking.
“At the end of the day, if you don’t perform, there’s no use to say the words that you’ve said,” he said.
“You’ve got to go out and perform to back up anything that you say anyway.”
At this early point in Flook’s career, the Reds rising star doesn’t believe he’s entitled to thinking he belongs anywhere.
“They [the Wallabies coaching structure] just checked in on how I was and how the process is going, and what they’d like to see from me this year,” Flook said.
“I thought it was pretty cool that they even started speaking to me because I never thought of it like that, so it was really nice for them to just check on me and see I was going.”
“I never thought it would be last year or in the next couple years. But that is always the end goal to pull on the gold jersey, whether it be for the Wallabies or Australia A.”
Josh Flook of the Reds attempts to break away from the defence of Alex Nankivell of the Chiefs. Photo: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
Flook is remarkably positive.
Two shoulder reconstructions could see a young man rattled. Not Flook.
Instead, he sees the positives out of the past 12 months, which saw him miss out on Australia A selection while others pushed their claims during the Pacific Nations Cup in July and, later, during three unofficial Tests against a Japan XV.
“I did my other {shoulder) one back in 2020 against the Force. I’ve had both gone now, so both locked in at a young age, which is good,” he said.
“It would have been cool to be potentially a part of something like that. But I just took the positives out of it.
“I was lucky enough to have a good season and was able to play quite a few games in last year’s season.
“I enjoyed it. It meant that I was able to get the rest of my body right at the same time.
“I had to go up the Ballymoore stairs up quite a lot, so I made good mates with them.”
Following Hamish Stewart’s move to the Western Force, Flook shapes as a core part of the Reds’ midfield pairing alongside Hunter Paisami in 2023.
It will provide the Reds with the straight, hard running line of Paisami at inside centre, with the elusive Flook out side him.
And with Test outside backs Suliasi Vunivalu, Jordan Petaia and Jock Campbell in the back three, the Reds have a well-balanced backline with James O’Connor fit and healthy to direct them around the park.
Flook believes adapting to the different styles of play across the competition is imperative for the Reds to be consistent in 2023 and says the importance of staying on the right side of the whistle will be imperative.
“We played some really good footy and won most of our games against all the Australian opposition [in 2022],” he said.
“So we’re just going to adapt a little bit better to how the Kiwi teams play.
“Also we worked out that we’re one of the most penalised teams in the competition last year as well, so we’ve put a lot of effort into our discipline and gone hard at that that at training.
If we can fix up those two things up, I’m sure it’ll go a long way.”
A “nice little conditioning set on the sidelines” is the punishment for anyone who steps out of line.
It’s that kind of discipline that was the hallmark of Brad Thorn’s illustrious career.
If the Reds can transfer those values under the bright lights of Super Rugby, it will go a long way in seeing them rise up the standings and, at the same time, push for higher honours.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.