Maybe if the Bulls and Stormers were performing worse they'd be trotting out that same excuse as the Reds.
I'm guessing there's also a big difference in the amount of Reds related news you're seeing compared to the Bulls and Stormers.
It seems like a pretty natural excuse to run with particularly as you are trying to provide hope to fans and encourage them to keep turning up later in the season, particularly when lots of star players return.
If they get the injured players back and continue to struggle then presumably different excuses will need to be found.
I disagree re the highlight.
The fans aren't mugs, they/we don't just lap this stuff up like it's gospel as it exits the QRU's PR machine.
Way better and with more integrity and honesty would be recognise that there are, along with injuries, genuine performance issues on display as well that are beneath the playing and outcomes standards that Reds' members could reasonably expect or, importantly, have been told to expect by the QRU since 2011.
The Reds PR machine bombarded my email Inbox late in 2014 with extensive claims re how great things would likely be in 2015 given the 'upgraded' squad, new stars recruited etc and that these attributes should justify me in renewing my Platinum membership, etc. They can't have it both ways.
Whatever, communicating with integrity and honesty (which absolutely can be done without damning coaches and players) is always way, way better for fan and member morale than concocting excuses that 90% of these groups know are far from the real story unfolding and are designed to kid us along rather than treat us with some respect that a paying customer (we fund the game, in part) deserves.