Queensland’s big three of Jordan Petaia, Tate McDermott and Harry Wilson stood up but there was nothing to show for it on the Suncorp Stadium scoreboard.
The 25-12 loss to the champion Crusaders on Friday night was another 80 minutes of chances created but too rarely taken.
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One stats outlet had the Reds making seven clean breaks to two. To convert that into just one Tate McDermott try (the other Reds five-pointer was from a kick) is a poor return on that success at piercing the Kiwi defence.
What did we learn?
1 REDS IN A HOLE
The Reds are limping with a 2-4 record and need a huge bounce back on Easter Friday against the ACT Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium.
There were so many familiar 2023 frustrations in this game, starting with James O’Connor kicking the ball dead in goal off a penalty in the opening minutes.
When centre Isaac Henry scooted into the clear in the final 10 minutes, you sensed that the game might head to a tight finish.
Instead, Henry just held onto the ball too long, ignored his outside supports, took the tackle and the ball was pinched.
Co-captain Tate McDermott struggled to put a finger on it when interviewed by Stan Sport.
“I just don’t know what it is. We are not respecting the ball. We are stuck in a bit of a cycle at the moment,” McDermott said.
2 PETAIA, McDERMOTT AND WILSON...STOCKS RISE
Winger Jordan Petaia had perhaps his best game of the season. His body language was that of a dominator all night.
No back on the field had more than his 15 ball carries. He was decisive and hunted the ball.
It was a great eyes-up play when McDermott spied a chance on the shortside and Petaia scooted through to regather his halfback’s fine grubber kick in the second half.
Petaia is growing as a kicker. He was the go-to man for distance and did not disappoint. He wasn’t tested with a scramble kick from his own line but his confidence in kicking has grown enormously.
One of the reasons he was picked for Test rugby at 19 was his ability on both sides of the ball.
When Crusaders winger Leicester Fainga’anuku had just one man to beat, Petaia lined him up and drilled him over the sideline in a perfect tackle.
No.8 Wilson’s workrate was huge. He made 10 tackles on top of his 18 runs for 104m.
His strong run on an inside angle to split the defence early was just the sort of deceptive running he needs to produce more often. It came to nothing when the hookup with support Henry broke down.
McDermott had his best game of the year. He was involved in both tries and his darts challenged the Kiwi defence around the ruck.
3 JAMES O’CONNOR...STOCKS DIPPING
It was an untidy game from O’Connor. Apart from the early misfire with the boot, he took two poor kicking options later in the game.
He wasn’t at his best when he needed to be to knock the door down to get into Eddie Jones’ first Wallabies training squad.
4 RUCK DEFENCE
You just don’t get beaten on the inside.
Unfortunately, the Crusaders’ first two tries exposed the Reds badly around the ruck.
A straightening Richie Mo’unga put Fainga’anuku by a struggling prop with an inside pass and new halfback Noah Hotham dummied inside Seru Uru to set up another.
5 ANGUS BLYTH RETURNS
Having a big body like lock Angus Blyth back in the fray will be a big help for the Reds.
He played the final 20 minutes and made several strong lineout leaps.
They were his first minutes since an ankle injury in a trial.
