Re-signed Reds coach Brad Thorn says his desire to see the job through was a driving force in in him recommitting to the Reds until the end of 2020.
The Queensland Rugby Union today confirmed the one-year extension for Thorn, bringing his contract into line with assistants Peter Ryan and Jim Mackay.
Thorn is in his second year as a Super Rugby head coach and while he said he wanted to continue to learn and grow personally, he conceded his real drive was for the Reds to play finals footy for the first time since 2013.
"A lot of hard work's been put into the program, into the players, I'm very lucky with the staff that I have and we feel like we're on a good path, we feel like we're seeing some continued improvement with the squad and I want to continue to see it through and hopefully looking to get more and more pay as we go on," Thorn said.
"We don't just want to be participators in Super Rugby, we're there to win games and we want to play finals footy.
"I know every team says that but that's what we're really driven to compete to win and be there at the business end."
Thorn has made some polarising decisions in his time at the Reds, implementing cultural changes that led to Quade Cooper, James Slipper and Karmichael hunt leaving the program for other Australian franchises this year.
And while his young group is improving, he faces more challenges on the horizon, with several players set to leave the club in the off-season after the World Cup.
Duncan Paia'aua (Toulon) and Sefa Naivalu (Stade Francais) have confirmed they will move on, while Samu Kerevi (Suntori), Scott Higginbotham (Bordeaux) and Caleb Timu (France) could also be on their way out of Ballymore, leaving Thorn with a very raw Reds group.
But Thorn is passionate about developing the group he has as players and young men.
"I'm proud to represent Queensland, I obviously have a passion for rugby and I just think it's a good cause to be a part of," he said.
"There's good positive signs and in saying that, there's a lot more hard work to be done.
"(I've enjoyed) working with my staff to help these young men improve with their rugby but also hopefully have an impact with them as young men off the field.
"Obviously not being in the coaching game long, mainly being as a player, (I want to) continue personally to grow and learn and improve my coaching."
Thorn is in his second year as Reds coach after taking over from Nick Stiles ahead of the 2018 season and Queensland has had mixed results under the dual international.
The Reds have a 3-4 record so far this year, ahead of their two-week South African tour.
Queensland Rugby CEO David Hanham said the organisation was confident that Thorn and his assistants Jim McKay and Peter Ryan were taking the team on the right path.
"We remain focused on our medium and long-term coaching strategies that are aimed at creating a strong Rugby program at Ballymore," he said in a statement.
“Brad and his coaching team emphasise the importance of leadership, hard work and humility to the squad each day and we continue to be confident we will reap the rewards of this approach as this squad gains more Super Rugby experience.”
Thorn said he was committed to continuing the growth of the group.
“It’s an honour to coach Queensland. The club is headed in a good direction and I want to continue being a part of that.
“We’ve got a good group of humble and hard-working men. We’re all here to support one another and put in for each other. We have an established coaching group here now too, with Jim McKay, Peter Ryan, Cameron Lillicrap (scrum coach/physiotherapist), Dave Alred (kicking coach) and Brynley Abad (strength and conditioning head coach) all on board.
“Our focus remains on growing our game and improving as a group every week. There’ll be obstacles in front of us, but we’ve established a good Rugby program and will build on it moving forward."
