QR Reds return for University
University return an array of QR Reds talent as they attempt to seize the Caxton Cup trophy from Souths at Chipsy Wood Oval in round 14 of Premier Rugby on Saturday (kickoff 3:15pm).
The Magpies took full advantage of the Gold Coast Breakers prolonged break when they won the Caxton Cup for the second time this year with a hard fought 24-19 win.
But retaining the trophy won’t be easy as the Red Heavies field their strongest lineup of the season.
After their two-week annual leave, Reds representatives Laurie Weeks, James Hanson, Adam Byrnes and Brando Va’aulu all return.
“They’re all good blokes, the team gets along with them, and they’re all quality players,” University coach Mick Heenan said.
The challenge of facing three Reds forwards doesn’t overly concern Souths coach Dan McKellar after watching his troops match the Breakers’ physical pack last Saturday, which was labelled this week by Sunshine Coast Stingrays coach Glen Panoho as the best in the competition.
“Even without all their contracted players, Uni have a lot of good young kids there. It is always a danger game,” McKellar said.
“They’re always very enthusiastic, they’re hard at the breakdown, and they’re always hard on the ball. They’re also a fit side, so it will be a tough game this week.
“Even though we beat them in the first round by a few points, the game was tight right up until the last 10 minutes.”
The Magpies also possess a strong Reds contingent with forwards Saia Faingaa, Jack Kennedy and Van Humphries joining an already dominant backrow that includes captain Chris Johnson and number eight Paulo Kaho.
With five Reds back, McKellar expects the club to begin building towards finals.
“We shouldn’t have too many disruptions between now and the end of the season, so it’s just about staying injury free and building combinations,” he said
“We’ve got some momentum going at the moment, so we need to keep that going.”
McKellar said the scrum battle that pits Faingaa and Kennedy against Hanson and Weeks in the front row would be critical to both teams’ chances.
“Jack and Laurie are flatmates I think, so they should know each other pretty well.
“They will be playing on the opposite side of the scrum, but all the guys at the Reds are friendly, so for 80 minutes on Saturday, they will want to get some bragging rights for the end of the game.
“It will be an interesting little challenge for them.”
McKellar said the depth now available at the club with five Reds stars available is the difference from the team in 2008.
“We’ve got depth right throughout the grades. We’ve got some past Premier Grade players playing third grade. We’ve also got kids in colts who can play Premier grade as well.
“Depth is something we’re lucky to have this year. Not in all positions, but in most positions.”
University held premierships hopefuls GPS to 10 points last Saturday - albeit in a mud soaked Yoku Road field - giving the Students confidence before facing the competition’s second best attack.
Souths have scored 328 points this season, behind only Brothers, with 99 of those coming in their past three games.
The Students have shown their ability with the ball in hand, scoring 256, but have allowed 324, better than only ninth placed Wests.
“We’re going to have to defend well as last time we played Souths they put 50 on us,” Heenan said.
“We’re going to have to defend a lot better than we did that day.”
While Heenan was happy with the display against GPS, he said they must start to beat the top teams.
“If we want to actually progress then we need to beat a top team,” he said.
“We have Souths, Brothers and Gold Coast coming up and all those teams we had chances against in the first round, so we want to do well in the second.”
Six teams have won the Caxton Cup trophy in 2009 although the Magpies, on their first attempt, were the only team to successfully defend it for more than one match.
After winning the Cup against Easts in round four, they defended it against the Sunshine Coast and Sunnybank before losing it to Brothers.
“The Caxton Cup is a great contest and it adds a little more interest for the players,” McKellar said.
“It is something we want to hold onto for as long as possible. It’s a trophy and we all like winning trophies, so if we hold onto it for the rest of the year, we’re going to be in pretty good shape.”
