#3 Nathan Sharpe
Sharpie debuted for the Reds at a time when things were still seemingly good. It was 1999, John Eales was out with a shoulder injury and young Nathan would play most of the Super Rugby season alongside the veteran Mark Connors as the Reds finished first, under the coaching of John Connolly, at the end of the preliminary round, .
Mark McBain took over in 2001 and Sharpe was an established Red and debuted for the Wallabies the previous year, filling the hole left, ironically, by the retired Eales. The team were still performing though and once again made the finals. The team started to suffer however once McBain was fired (having guided the team to 5th place) and a series of seemingly left field choices as coach followed, in Andrew Slack and then Jeff Miller.
Come the 3rd straight year of disappointment, and the arrival of a new Australian Super Rugby team in the Force, Sharpe decided to leave the Reds at the end of 2004 even turning down the Reds leadership that season in consideration of his upcoming departure. It was a sorry time for Queensland Rugby whilst a fantastic pick up for the Force.
Despite being dropped by the Wallabies at times, Sharpe would finish his career with the most Super Rugby caps by an Australian player and with the respect of players and fans both near and afar. The type of respect and experience that could have proved invaluable for a struggling Queensland team over the upcoming challenging period.
