The Queensland Reds in 2014

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In the old days a Queensland Reds pre-season was full of players leaving or coaches being sacked or board member in fighting. These days the Reds are a well oiled machine. They have a fairly stable playing group. The only players leaving are those looking for more game time. They tend to recruit with an eye on the future so there is rarely a star signing. Off the field things appear to run just as smoothly. The only Possible cloud on the horizon is a fairly radical change in the coaching ranks. But even here it seems the Reds have chosen evolution over revolution.

Reds Coaching Staff 2013/2014

Ewen McKenzie grabbed Jim McKay When he left for the Wallabies head Coach position. This left the Forwards coach and Attack Coaches jobs vacant. Richard Graham Officially took over as head coach after learning the reds ‘way’ for 12 months. Richard Graham resisted taking over attack himself and instead stuck with defence. He has done a great job there and his moving to attack would have lead to more disruption.

Forwards

Nick Stiles is the new Forwards/Scrum coach. Stiles was a prop who played 96 times for Qld and 12 for Australia. James Slipper and Stiles put a lot of my concerns to bed in this video. what do you think?

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Attack

Steve Meehan comes with an impressive list of coaching accomplishments. Another Qlder he was assistant coach at Stade Francais and Bath before taking on the head coaching role at bath. He won two French Championships and lost a final while at Stade and won a Challenge Cup while at Bath. the Reds struggled in attack last season and Meehan seems to be making a difference. Have a look at the trial highlights and tell me if you can see the difference.

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Performance

The rest of the changes is mostly a shuffling of the deck chairs. Peter Wilkins is full time coach of the Wider training squad. Michael Todd moves up to Performance Analyst in his place. Damian Marsh has left and Oliver Richardson is promoted to Performance Coach in his place. Tom Van Kalken is the new Performance and Rehab Coach. Etc, etc, etc.

Players

Digby Iaone has left. And to state the obvious we will miss his go forward. Adam Wallace-Harrison has retired. We miss his experience but not his double barrelled last name. I am excited about Samuela Kerevi and Chris Kuridrani coming into the extended playing squad. What do you think?

Reds Transfers 2013-2014