Queensland Suburban will dust off their rep jerseys once more after answering an eleventh-hour call to this year's Australian Rugby Shield.
The October tournament was set to be contested by Northern Territory, however a late change has handed the "Subbies" men and "Kelpies" women a chance to shine once more on the national stage.
"We did it last year too at Ballymore so we’re quite used to jumping in and throwing it together, that's kind of what Subbies is about," Queensland Suburban president Philip Coates told rugby.com.au.
"Playing rep games is always something we've enjoyed but playing this kind of tournament is a step up from any other competition for our teams.
"It's a great opportunity for us to be involved in another Australian Rugby Shield and as soon as we found out, we had so much interest from all our teams so we'll have a great spread of players and coaches from all our clubs."
Goodna and Redlands are set to be well represented in the Subbies side eying multiple wins this year after their 2023 win over Tasmania while Sunnybank and Brisbane Irish are expected to form the bulk of a Kelpies side chasing their breakthrough victory.
The Kelpies fell agonisingly short in last year's 7th place final, losing to South Australia 15-14, but will have their shot at redemption after drawing round fixtures against QLD Country, ACT & SNSW Kestrels and the ADRU.
"We'll have a few players who'll also get a crack in the trial matches against the ADRU on September 28 so we're looking forward to that," Coates said.
"It's always exciting to be involved and help out, so we're keen to get up to Caloundra and have a go."
The Australian Rugby Shield is supported by Sunshine Coast Council and will be streamed live and exclusive via rugby.com.au and Rugby Xplorer.
