Queensland Reds 2009

[formeropenside]

Leroy Houston will skipper the Reds in their trial against NSW


A talented ball runner, Houston is leaner after shedding four kilograms in the off-season.

"I've got my weight down from 121 to 117 kilos," Houston said. "I'm a bit lighter, mate. We'll see how we go this weekend. See how I get around the field."

There we go Noddy, 117kg for Houston. Down from 121kg. I wonder if he was playing at 121kg last year when he jogged slowly on for AustA.

EDIT: Lindommer beat me to it in the other thread.

 

[formeropenside]

Queensland props are keen for a willing contest in their trial against NSW
By Jim Tucker
January 23, 2009 QUEENSLAND coach Phil Mooney is confident the Reds front row will command respect this season despite losing the authority of Stephen Moore and Rodney Blake.

Mooney intends to give four props and two hookers exposure in their trial in Toowoomba when he starts his engine-room makeover against New South Wales Waratahs.

One-game forward Ben Daley, 20, and Sydney University recruit Laurie Weeks, 22, will be the starting props, and new face Jack Kennedy, a former Australian under-21 representative, and 2008 regular Dayna Edwards will earn second-half chances.

At hooker, James Hanson and Saia Fainga'a, a pick-up from ACT Brumbies, will push their cases while first-choice hooker Sean Hardman is held back for a January 30 trial.

"While we've lost a big, damaging ball runner with Rodney's move to France, the trade-off is better set-piece work from our new props, who are versatile too," Mooney said.

"Trial form will be important to establish the pecking order. All four props are basically in the hunt to partner (2007 World Cup prop) Greg Holmes in the first Super 14 game or figure on the bench."

Losing Wallaby hooker Moore's size and powerful charges to the Brumbies compounds the loss of dynamism and go-forward with the ball from the front row.

"As I've said, it's a trade-off. You lose some wider running but you pick up some work in the tight five with the different styles of players," Mooney said.

"I'm very comfortable with the front-row stocks we've got."

Just how long it takes to mature as a prop with all the tricks should never be under-estimated. Tom Court, who played briefly for the Reds from University in 2006, was hoisted into Ireland's Six Nations squad from the Ulster base where he has learnt his craft.

The trial is an important lift-off for Kiwi rock Edwards, a discovery at tighthead last year but making his comeback from surgery that repaired a back disc problem.

It should be willing up front, with the Reds props keen to challenge the big reputation of NSW tyro Dan Palmer.

Lock Adam Byrnes, a 2.01m gain from Sydney, can make a strong audition against his former NSW academy cohorts with an aggressive, non-stop effort.

Equally, Tasi Luafutu is bidding for a starting Super 14 jumper in the back row, which is possible if influential Wallaby Hugh McMeniman is used as a lock.

That first bolded quote may point to Hardman being a first choice hooker after all.

The second one may explain why Edwards' scrummaging regressed as the season went onwards. There was talk of a back injury but thats the first time I have seen it actually explained.

 

[RugbyReg]

That first bolded quote may point to Hardman being a first choice hooker after all.

I thought the first quote was more a subtle dig at Stephen Moore's play.

 

[rugbywhisperer]

agree, but we have 5 props don't we? I'd love McKibbon to get it because he did it solely on club footy form. That would be a great example for all other club players.

Et tu Brutus. Slipper has a stellar year last year in club colors - being carefully weaned into the senior side by the Breakers and Reds management doing a careful job. he may have been in the acadeny squad but he cemented his standing with good club performances.

 

[RugbyReg]

beware the ides of March. Cause that's the day after we play the Sharks....

anyway...

A group of former rugby players who once put their bodies on the line for state or country are doing so again to raise money for sick children.

A group of 11 Vintage Reds, including recently retired Reds flanker David Croft and former World Cup winning Wallaby Daniel Herbert, set out in pre-dawn gloom on Friday, January 23 to ride bikes from Brisbane to Toowoomba, to raise funds for the Paediatric Unit at the Toowoomba Hospital.

The ride is also timed to coincide with the QR Reds v Waratahs pre-season trial match in Toowoomba on Saturday night and a Friday night fund-raising dinner for the local rugby union.

Co-organiser and former Wallaby and Queensland prop Andrew Heath said the group's initial target was to raise enough to buy a Massimo Cardiac Monitor, which is used to closely and accurately monitor oxygen saturation levels and heart rhythm.

"That's a target of around $6,000, but if we raise more we can also help support a Toowoomba-based addition to RACQ's CareFlight Rescue Service," Heath said.

Those taking part with Heath are: David Croft, Daniel Herbert, Anthony Herbert, Dan Crowley, Pat Howard, Damian Smith, Drew Barrett, Mark Anderson, Christiaan Knapp and Fletcher Dyson.

Heath said the ride will be a major test for many of the riders who have never attempted even half this distance before - let alone a ride that finishes with such a punishing climb up the Toowoomba range.

"From a cycling perspective, the goal is extremely difficult," Heath said.

"The route covers over 145km and travels through Ipswich, Rosewood, Gatton and Laidley before heading up the range where the boys will be tested to the limit.

"The ride is also likely to be dominated by a head-cross wind with rain and thunderstorms expected from early afternoon onwards. We'll probably come out of it feeling like we've been rucked over by a succession of New Zealand forward packs!"

Steady rain had already started when the group left Toowong in steamy 25 degree temperatures just after 5am.

One of the wobbliest was nervous first time rider Croft, riding a donated $2300 Merida race bike that will later be auctioned for the cause.

The pack hopes to finish at Toowoomba Hospital sometime between 12 and 2pm.

Riding under the coaching and experience of Cycling Science, the Vintage Reds will ride as a peloton and work together as efficiently as possible.

Heath said the group's progress can be tracked online using the latest GPS tracking technology and a web portal from SkyNET Mobile Communications.

Donations can also be made online at www.data3.com.au/ride/vr.html

Heath said cycling is great fitness and fun, "particularly for ex-Reds player who tend to let the body go after their contracts have finished".

"Bike sales have exceeded car sales for the seventh consecutive year in Australia. In the corporate world they are saying 'cycling is the new golf'.

"If this year goes well we'd look to do the ride again next year, and involve a lot more people."

You can track them via GPS here http://www.skynetsattrack.com/data3.php

They've got some nice climbs ahead of them, and the weather is awful for riding. I fear we won't get them all back. I can't see Knappy staying with them. He's an ultra-ironman type guy now. Does those 24 hour races. A ride to Toowooma is warm up for him. Compared to the Herbert brothers...who are starting to look more and more alike, if you get what I'm saying about the previously quite stealth younger brother.

Great cause though.

 

[TOCC]

the Vintage Reds are just about to start the rise up the range

 

[RugbyReg]

this bit, will kill.

I expect to see a few of these lads tomorrow night at a party. I would expect they'll be immersed in the eskies, icing their bodies. Except for Knappy who will probably just be laughing at them.

And me.

 

[TOCC]

are you going to the match tommorrow night?

have you read that article on the Brisbanetimes, its a big article on Quade and what he expects in 2009.

Man, this kid sounds confident, he seems to have a fair understanding about what he needs to do in 2009 and he also wants the Barnes - Cooper combo to be one of the best in the competition.

 

[RugbyReg]

nah, not going to the game.

Quade will be very interesting this year. The key to his best form is not overplaying his hand. Hopefully he can do that this season, but still interlace it with his natural brilliance.

haven't read the article, will track it down now.

Fed up with playing the underdog, self-assured Queensland fly-half Quade Cooper has put rivals on notice by insisting he and Berrick Barnes can become one of the most feared one-two punches in the Super 14.

Still soaring from a breakthrough mission to Europe with the Wallabies, where he was one of the finds of the Spring tour, Cooper has also raised the bar for his young band of Reds, saying the time was nigh for Queensland?s generation next to make their presence felt.

Still just 20, Cooper will enter his third season of Super rugby bearing the weight of responsibility that comes with being entrusted the number 10 jersey.

With stand-in skipper Barnes, a veteran at 22, playing in the centres and sharing play-making responsibilities with the Churchie product, their combined efforts look to be the seed of any potential Reds success.

Cooper said he expected their output to be much more than merely functional. With an untamed confidence that has permeated his game since schoolboy days, come rain or come shine, Cooper believes he and Barnes have the makings of match-winning twosome.

?I?d like to think so. We?ve had a year under our belts playing together and both of us went on the Wallaby tour. I got a lot out of it. Barnes has been there for the past two years. Looking at that, there?s no reason to say we can?t do well,? Cooper said.

?That?s where we want to be ? teams watching out for us. We don?t want to be the underdogs every game and have teams saying ?we?re going to beat these blokes?. We really want to put it back so sides fear us.

?If me and Barnsey are playing well, the team should be playing well. We?re two of the directors. If we?re on our game there?s no reason why the team shouldn?t do well.?

Cooper showed a new sense of maturity in Europe that should translate into his best season in Super rugby. His faith in his ability is higher than ever, although he has had to endure more than his share of knocks over the past two years.

Gaining a reputation as a flaky and unreliable showman with questionable hands, Cooper became internet fodder. One particular collage, assembled by a ruthless Waratahs fan, shows him dropping ball after ball as Benny Hill music jingles in the background.

It?s enough to make Reds fans grimace but Cooper says that player is nothing more than pixels on a PC screen. With a new outlook on the game fashioned by time in the Wallaby camp with Matt Giteau and Barnes, he says his decision making and consistency has improved in leaps and bounds, although the natural goose-stepping flair will never leave his repertoire.

?If you are too off the ball, you?re not going to be consistent. If you lose that flair, you?re not going to be much of a threat. I?m just trying to find a balance,? Cooper said.

?If you look at the Wallaby tour, I was very happy with how I went. That just comes with games and experience, especially with guys like Giteau, Barnes. I?m just very happy to get that opportunity.

?I?m in one of the most key positions on the field. I?d like to think I took a lot out of those last two seasons. There was a lot of questions over my hands, the options I?d take. If I look back now, I can look at where I went wrong.

?I don?t worry about it too much. I?m pretty confident in the way I go about things, in my own ability. There are always going to be mistakes there but you just need to learn off them.?

Even if his words may yet exceed his achievements, Cooper?s unfailing belief in himself and his ability to win are exactly what the Reds need in camp bubbling over with enthusiastic youth.

The first hurdle will be to conquer the demons still lurking at the Bulls home ground in Pretoria, the destination for Queensland?s demanding season opener.

It was there, in the final game of 2007, that the dire Reds were flogged in nightmarish scenes to the tune of 92-3. Cooper wore the number 12 that night in a line-up virtually unrecognisable from the one he will direct around the park in 2009.

?It?s going to be a good trip. People say it?s tough but we have to be optimistic,? Cooper said of the South African assignment to kick off the year.

?If we get over there and turn up in the right frame of mind, we can really put it to these blokes. We don?t want to be losing to the Bulls in their home ground.

?Last time we were there we lost by 90 points. We really have a point to prove. We?ve got everything to prove and nothing to lose.?

Along with most of Queensland?s big guns, Cooper will sit out this weekend?s trial against the Waratahs in Toowoomba but he is likely to play next Friday against the Blues in Auckland.

 

[RugbyReg]

they made it! Top efffort!!

A group of 11 former Reds rugby players has completed a gruelling 150km charity bike ride from Brisbane to Toowoomba, despite a couple of spills and some minor disagreements with semi-trailers.

The Vintage Reds, many of whom had little or no cycling experience, did the ride to raise money for the paediatric ward of Toowoomba Hospital and co-organiser, World Cup winning Wallaby Daniel Herbert, said they looked like achieving their goal of buying a much-needed cardiac monitor.

Herbert said the last stretch up the steep Toowoomba range was "absolute torture".

"I had to get off and walk part of the way and we had some of the more experienced riders literally pushing us in the back to keep us going, but we made it," Herbert said of the group, which also included fellow former Reds David Croft, Anthony Herbert, Dan Crowley, Pat Howard, Damian Smith, Drew Barrett, Mark Anderson, Christiaan Knapp, Fletcher Dyson and Andrew Heath.

Once at the top the riders had to cope with impatient semi-trailer drivers in the home stretch through Toowoomba, with Daniel, his former Wallaby brother Anthony, other former Wallabies Howard and Croft and a support rider all getting "nudged" out of the way.

"It was pretty scary," admitted Herbert.

Herbert also lost some skin right at the start of the trip when he came off his bike on the wet road and brought down a fellow rider. But he said it was worth it for the achievement and to raise over $5,000 for the hospital with more to come.

Herbert said fellow former Wallaby and Triple-M radio host Greg Martin, who was to have joined them before he broke his arm last week, auctioned his plaster cast on air and raised $1300, while other donations including via the ride website http://www.data3.com.au/ride/vr.html had swelled that to $5,000.

"And that's before we even auction the $2,300 Merida race bike that Crofty rode up on."

Toowoomba Hospital Foundation CEO Peter Rookas said the Vintage Reds were simply amazing. ?What these former greats of rugby have achieved in completing the trek is outstanding. And to think they did it to raise funds for equipment for our kids here on the Downs is truly remarkable and very humbling.?

And would Herbert do it again next year, as co-organiser Heath has suggested?

"At the moment I can barely walk. Ask me again later..."

The Vintage Reds are due to attend a fund-raising dinner tonight for the Darling Downs Rugby Union, ahead of tomorrow night?s trial match between the QR Reds and NSW Waratahs at Gold Park, Toowoomba.

anyone know who Mark Anderson is?

 

[rugbywhisperer]

the Barnes - Cooper combo to be one of the best in the competition.

Lucas - Cooper - Barnes -
I think it is a great combo if it can stay together

 

[TOCC]

all the reds need is a good outside centre, and they have all the ingredients of a great team..

 

[RugbyReg]

spoke to a couple of participants in the charity bike ride over the weekend. Paddy H had never been on a road bike before, so a great effort from him. But they were in awe of Crofty.

They got to about 80 km, (just over half way) and had a rest. They less experienced ones (namely Paddy and Crofty) were fooked. The cycling coach (Andrew Heath's wife, who rode with them) was time conscious particularly with the media due at the hospital at midday or something. So she says "ok why don't we take the ones struggling a little to the bottom of the range so they can get a head start".

Crofty is throwing up and just says "get stuffed. Fuck the media, I'm finishing this". Gets back on his bike and keeps going.

Then they get to the range and the support van is riding alongside Crofty. THe passenger sticks his hand out, and goes to support Crofty on the back as he rides up the hill. Crofty pushes him off/away and gets peddling. Slow as anything, powering one leg at a time up the hill.

What a gutsy little prick!

 

[formeropenside]

Braid to debut, Holmes to captain against Blues

Holmes to lead QR Reds in Blues trialTuesday, 27 January 2009

Former All Black flanker Daniel Braid will make his Queensland debut against his old team the Blues in the QR Reds' trial match in Auckland on Friday night.

Braid is one of eight internationals in the beefed-up Reds tour squad of 24, which will be captained by Wallaby prop Greg Holmes in the absence of regular skipper James Horwill (injured foot) and his 2009 Investec Super 14 understudy Berrick Barnes (knee).

"Greg is part of the leadership group and with Berrick and James out I believe he is probably the best suited to lead the team this week. It's a great reward for him. He's worked very hard in the off-season and this is more responsibility that he deserves," Reds Head Coach Phil Mooney said.

Mooney expected there to be a lot of interest in Auckland in Braid's Reds' debut.

"He's obviously a guy who's been a great servant to Auckland rugby and I suppose he'll have some mixed feelings running out in a different coloured jersey against a lot of his friends. But he's been excellent for us and I guess if he wanted to pick a place to start his Queensland career it'd probably be over in Auckland against the Blues."

2008 Wallaby Quade Cooper will run the backline at flyhalf, with Wallaby tour team-mates Peter Hynes and Digby Ioane on the wings and flanker Hugh McMeniman all making their 2009 returns.

World Cup Wallaby hooker Sean Hardman will come off the bench for his first appearance this year while former Wallaby outside centre Morgan Turinui will start the match after coming off the bench in the opening trial match of the year against NSW in Toowoomba on Saturday.

A less experienced Reds side lost last week's trial 17-5 but Mooney said it served the purpose of giving the wider squad some much-needed match practice, especially code-switching fullback Mark McLinden, who will again start for the Reds against the Blues as the coaching staff weigh up different options for the Super 14 season, which kicks off against the Bulls in Pretoria on February 14.

"It'll be a great opportunity for Mark to play in the back three with Peter Hynes and Digby Ioane this week. It's a step up from last week's game but it is a trial and we're still looking at combinations for that first game against the Bulls," Mooney said.

The team is:

1. Greg Holmes (Sunnybank) (c)
2. Saia Fainga'a (Souths)
3. Dayna Edwards (Sunnybank)
4. Robert Simmons (Sunnybank)
5. Van Humphries (Souths)
6. Hugh McMeniman (Wests)
7. Daniel Braid (Sunshine Coast Stingrays)
8. Leroy Houston (Norths)
9. Will Genia (Wests)
10. Quade Cooper (Souths)
11. Peter Hynes (GPS)
12. Anthony Fainga'a (Souths)
13. Morgan Turinui (Sunshine Coast Stingrays)
14. Digby Ioane (Sunnybank)
15. Mark McLinden
Reserves:
16. Sean Hardman (Brothers)
17. Laurie Weeks (University)
18. Ben Daley (Gold Coast Breakers)
19. Scott Higginbotham (Wests)
20. Poutasi Luafutu (Wests)
21. Ben Lucas (Sunnybank)
22. Brando Va'aulu (Sunnybank)
23. Blair Connor (Norths)
24. Rod Davies (GPS)

The trial match will be played at Auckland's Waitakere Stadium, kicking off at 6pm local time.

 

[RugbyReg]

Rod Davies at GPS. Excellent.

Other than that, Benny Lucas on the bench behind Will is interesting.

As is Fainga'a getting a shot at 12 (warming it for Barnes) ahead of Fetoai.

 

[formeropenside]

Rod Davies at GPS. Excellent.

Other than that, Benny Lucas on the bench behind Will is interesting.

As is Fainga'a getting a shot at 12 (warming it for Barnes) ahead of Fetoai.

That's starting to look a bit more like a S14 side than the Toowoomba trial team. Only Barnes and Horwill to come back really.

 

[TOCC]

yes, really starting to look like the probable S14 starting side, i expect Hardman and Lucas to start ahead of Genia and Fainga'a though, but its a close call either way

also:

Communications specialists Comscentre sponsors QR Reds

Queensland-based communications specialists Comscentre has become the newest sponsor of the QR Reds, signing up as a Major Sponsor.

http://qru.com.au/library/news/2009/...sor,67407.html

 

[RugbyReg]

great to be signing sponsorships in this time. 2 in the last week. No idea what the amount is.

Anyway, to the team. Interesting that Simmons is starting with Hugh Mc on the side and Tasi and Higginbottham on the bench.

And no Adam Byrnes in sight.

 

[rugbywhisperer]

And no Adam Byrnes in sight.

NSW have asked for a review of a hit he made on Thompson

 

[TOCC]

great to be signing sponsorships in this time. 2 in the last week. No idea what the amount is.

Anyway, to the team. Interesting that Simmons is starting with Hugh Mc on the side and Tasi and Higginbottham on the bench.

And no Adam Byrnes in sight.

i have to say, Robert Simmons and Higginbotham both looked very good on saturday night, QLD is a constant production line of good locks and i suspect these two are next in line..

Also, did i mention that Andrew Shaw actually played the other night? i think they changed the team around before kickoff but he definetly came on