THEY'RE intent on ending a decade-long absence from the finals but Queensland won't do it by curbing their reputation as the entertainers of Super rugby.
Reds coach Ewen McKenzie promised the flair and adventure that sparked Queensland's revival will again be a cornerstone of their game in the inaugural Super Rugby season beginning next month.
The Reds were the early adopters of a high-tempo style later to dominate southern hemisphere rugby in 2010 and used it to claim many big scalps, including eventual champions the Bulls.
Queensland fell short of the finals in fifth by just two points and McKenzie said a post-season identified areas to improve to take the next step. The evolution, however, won't involve a swing towards conservatism, he added.
"We developed a reputation and it was interesting, it wasn't so much around winning, it was about our style. We have to concentrate on matching up those two elements," McKenzie said.
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"We're cognisant how people enjoyed that approach, we're mindful of that but we also want to win more games. It's a balancing act but we don't want to be any less interesting and exciting for people to watch. We don't want to lose that.
"People got excited about rugby again and it's good territory to hold."
McKenzie said the review had thrown up 170 recommendations - ranging from minor to major issues - and that the Reds would continue to be innovative. One strategy from 2010 that McKenzie is set to persist with, however, is keeping five-eighth Quade Cooper out of heavy defensive duties as much as possible.
Cooper's defence in both Super 14 and Test rugby was sub-standard and his effectiveness stats made for ugly reading. Rival sides targeted Cooper mercilessly and to the point where it imperilled his Test spot late last year.
McKenzie hid Cooper where possible in 2010, bringing aggressive defender Brandon Va'aulu into the narrow channels and slipping his No. 10 out wide.
He'll do the same again this year but not because McKenzie has a huge concern about Cooper individually.
"Quade will be defending at 10 often and he knows he has to make his tackles. Everyone does," McKenzie said. "But we will have other combinations in there as well at other times. There's adaptation in the game all the time. It's a positive, not a negative, to use a guy in tight who likes to smash people.
"You use your resources in the best places possible, just like you do with attacking players, good steppers, whatever. It's is a bit of a dated idea that a guy has to always defend in one particular area. You don't need to defend in the same order you attack."
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