Reds 2011

[RugbyReg]

do you have word on Hynes at all? He hasn't played a trial (nor as Ant Fainga'a, but I've read reports he will be fine). Have heard nothing about Hynes.

 

[Ruggo]

I know Anthony Fainga'a is in Darwin with the team. My brother was chatting to him at a function last night and he said he looked ok. I would say it is only precautionary.

I see the tam has been named but Big Kev was running at blindside during the team run last night. Game time will be interesting as they chopped and changed a lot. They looked bloody focussed in comparison to the Brumbies the night before. I don't know if that is much of a measure though.

Jake Shatz is looking bloody big and really fit. It was an impressive sight. Leroy should be very concerned and I was not impressed with his training efforts. I thought he was lazy in comparison to others. They all looked good but those that stood as the hardest trainers were Horwill, Genia, Quade, Harris, Digby and Van. Quade was the last one off the paddock but sad to report that I did not see him run into a tackle bag.

 

[tranquility]

do you have word on Hynes at all? He hasn't played a trial (nor as Ant Fainga'a, but I've read reports he will be fine). Have heard nothing about Hynes.

If Hynes is out, the candidates for the FB role are Morahan, Davies, Lucas, Toua and I will even throw in Harris.

First of all if we were to play Lucas as FB it means that Ian Prior becomes the backup 9 and this is a risky situation in my eyes. Unless we look to keep Lucas at 15 unless Genia goes down, and then still use Lucas as the backup 9. This is not an ideal situation. Lucas should be back up 9.

Morahan and Davies are both wingers. Even though Davies played 15 at school the bloke can't kick and his position play is not fantastic, add to the fact that his defense is woeful and you don't really have much of a fullback. Morahan can play fullback, but I prefer him on the wing. However he showed last year at the U20s that he is up to the role.

My preferred option would be to throw Aidan in the deep end and hope for the best. The bloke is a genuine FB who can play wing if need be. He has had a full pre-season, destroyed the brisbane club comp last year and if he can get confidence at this level could be one of the most dangerous attacking players in the land. Add to the fact that he has silky hands and an intelligent if not massive boot.

My wildcard for the fullback spot is Mike Harris. Now to be fair, I have not even seen much of the bloke play, but I understand he is a solid distributer and has an excellent kicking game. He is also a pretty big bloke and has by all accounts been training the house down. Im not sure if he can play 15 but he is worth some consideration at least.

 

[TOCC]

Lucas makes the best candidate for 15

 

[Tangawizi]

Reds up 24-0 at halftime in the trial

 

[Slim 293]

Figures...

My prediction was for the Reds to give the Brumbies a flogging...

But the Brumbies will go on and beat the Reds twice during the competition...

 

[Scotty]

tranquility,

Agree that we could see a lot of 5-2 splits from Link, and believe it is the way to go. It should be done more by Australian sides IMO, who have light weight and sometimes average forwards. Add that to the fact that the third back reserve is hardly ever used.

 

[hench]

Daley
Fainga'a
Slipper
Van
Simmonds
Horwill
Higginbottom
Leroy
Genia
Cooper
Hynes
Fainga'a
Digby
Rod
Lucas

 

[Tiger]

38-5 to the Reds at full time

 

[RugbyReg]

from fox:

Queensland Reds have shown why they're tipped to be among the frontrunners this Super Rugby season, thrashing the Brumbies 38-5 at Austar Stadium in Darwin.

Despite dominating much of Friday night's trial match, the Reds' supremacy didn't transfer to the scoreboard during stages of the battle.

Both sides made a number of ill-disciplined errors throughout the game, but it was the Reds who stepped up to take control of the match and come away with their second win of the pre-season.

The Reds showed solid defence, preventing two early break-away tries by the Brumbies.

After missing most of the 2010 Super Rugby season with a shoulder injury, Digby Ioane had a blinder of both in defence and attack.



With the return of Ioane to the backline, the Reds found a fast-paced attack on the left side.

The Reds backline showed great fluency with halves Will Genia and Quade Cooper combining in their usual dazzling style to outplay the ACT side.

The Brumbies first and only try came from Anthony Smith who crossed.

In only his second game back from injury, Reds captain James Horwill showed no sign of the crippling knee injury which saw him out of the 2010 season.

Horwill had a solid game playing most of the 80 minutes in the less-familiar position of blind side flanker.

Reds reserve Mike Harris had a great game off the bench scoring a try and two conversions.

Despite having opportunities, the ACT Brumbies let themselves down with a number of silly mistakes.

Seconds before the end of the match, Don Shipperley showed his soccer skills toeing the ball under control to score his first try in the corner.

Horwill played down suggestions from Brumbies coach Andy Friend that the Reds were the team to beat this season.

"I don't know about the team to look out for, I think every team's the one to look out for," he said.

"We're happy with where we are ... we're building some good depth and ... making it hard for the coach to pick a 22 for the game and that's the way you want it leading into the season."

 

[Slim 293]

Yikes, I hope the Reds aren't already building themselves up after beating a couple of second string teams in the trials...

 

[RugbyReg]

Yikes, I hope the Reds aren't already building themselves up after beating a couple of second string teams in the trials...

they're not.

 

[Reido]

How did the #7 position play out this evening, ie shatz, quirk, gill and Robinson? Predictions for round 1?

 

[spectator]

Good to see the Reds winning handsomely. You can only play what's in front of you so they did a good job of that. Hopefully there were no injuries.

Looking forward to seeing a report from Ruggo. I'm particularly interested to know how the front row and scrum went, given I thought it was the one concern area in the game last week.

Reading what I have so far, it appears Link will have a tough time at the selection table before the first round. Great dilemma to have.

 

[RugbyReg]

anyone seen a crowd figure?

 

[TOCC]

it was sold out apparently, i think the capacity is around 6'000

 

[TheTruth]

Sounds like a good hit out for the Reds - these trials are all about building team confidence and hopefully permanating a winning culture wuithin the franchise - GO THE REDS

 

[Reddy!]

Fantastic result, even against a trial team. I think the most important aspect of the team is Genia and Cooper, and by all accounts they are firing already which is a great sign for the season ahead.

Did Toua play in this trial? I still think Lucas is the man for fullback round 1 if Hynes is unfit. He did a good job last season towards the end when he played there and has been around the Reds setup for a number of years now. I don't particularly want to throw an uncapped player into a starting role in round 1, no matter how good he might be. The Reds in 2011 mean serious business and I am not sure if making gambles like this is in our best interest. Bench spot by all means if he has shown enough in the trials but I'm not sure that he has?

I reckon the Reds vs Waratahs match is building up for one of the biggest of the season going by their equally impressive performance last night.

 

[TOCC]

Toua played and set up the last 2 tries apparently

 

[Reddy!]

Oh really? Thanks for the info. Was that from fullback or wing?