Queensland Reds 2026

[Spamnoodle]

Daylight savings/tail end of summer weather is an issue there, there's a decent chunk of the season where it's just not feasible to play afternoon games in Queensland.

Beyond that it's pretty variable as to whether or not it's good for the fans - once club season has started it's a problem, at least on Saturdays, and Sundays are much rarer now with no more than 5 games a weekend.

Daylight savings isn't an issue unless it's made into an issue.

Plenty of weekends after mid March when the weather is prime for it.
It's about giving families a chance to get along. Night games suck for taking the kids.
Especially Friday nights. It's about generating interest for the next generation. One or two a year isn't asking much.
But it's fine. I'll save my money and watch from home...

 

[Adam84]

Daylight savings isn't an issue unless it's made into an issue.

Plenty of weekends after mid March when the weather is prime for it.
It's about giving families a chance to get along. Night games suck for taking the kids.
Especially Friday nights. It's about generating interest for the next generation. One or two a year isn't asking much.
But it's fine. I'll save my money and watch from home...

Looking at the draw, Tahs haven't been given an afternoon match either, but the Brumbies have one late in the season. I think there are a few factors here to consider as to why we see fewer afternoon games these on the Aus East Coast these days, and the inclusion of the Drua and Pasifka plus the loss of Rebels is a key one.

Fiji don't have the necessary lighting at their stadium to play night games, so they will always take the 2:30 pm Saturday timeslot when playing at home in Fiji.

NZ teams will almost always take the 5:00 pm AEST timeslot Fri & Sat as that's primetime locally in NZ, and given NZ have 6 teams now it's difficult to find space where they won't fill this. Which really only leaves the Fri & Sat 7:30pm AEST timeslot to split between Brumbies/Waratahs/Reds and Force.

Brumbies requesting an afternoon match late in the season, given the artic cold that blows in, makes sense, and can see why they Super Rugby would prioritise this request over Reds/Tahs requesting similar.

 

[Major Tom]

Yeah but Sundays exist.

 

[Adam84]

Yeah but Sundays exist.

It does, but it's then going to create gaps in the scheduling on either Fri or Sat night.. Which was one of the big criticisms of the old Super Rugby comp, there would be some weeks where there wasn't a match on in prime-time on a Friday/Saturday nights. Broadcasters seemingly prefer consistency in scheduling.

Don't get me wrong, i would prefer afternoon matches as well, but looking at the draw, if playing on a Sunday it's hard to see which timeslot you would take a game from, given the inclusion of MP (Moana Pasifika) and Drua. There's 11 teams, so 5 games a weekend, 2 on Fri and 3 on Sat; and Sat afternoon is congested due to Dru & Kiwi Teams.

 

[Strewthcobber]

It does, but it's then going to create gaps in the scheduling on either Fri or Sat night.. Which was one of the big criticisms of the old Super Rugby comp, there would be some weeks where there wasn't a match on in prime-time on a Friday/Saturday nights. Broadcasters seemingly prefer consistency in scheduling.

Don't get me wrong, i would prefer afternoon matches as well, but looking at the draw, if playing on a Sunday it's hard to see where you would take a game from to get that from given the inclusion of MP (Moana Pasifika) (Moana Pasifika) and Drua. There's 11 teams, so 5 games a weekend, 2 on Fri and 3 on Sat, and Sat afternoon is congested due to Dru & Kiwi Teams.

Add in the difficulty of scheduling around NRL and A-League - you can see why it ends up being what it is.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

It does, but it's then going to create gaps in the scheduling on either Fri or Sat night.. Which was one of the big criticisms of the old Super Rugby comp, there would be some weeks where there wasn't a match on in prime-time on a Friday/Saturday nights. Broadcasters seemingly prefer consistency in scheduling.

Don't get me wrong, i would prefer afternoon matches as well, but looking at the draw, if playing on a Sunday it's hard to see which timeslot you would take a game from to get that from, given the inclusion of MP (Moana Pasifika) (Moana Pasifika) and Drua. There's 11 teams, so 5 games a weekend, 2 on Fri and 3 on Sat; and Sat afternoon is congested due to Dru & Kiwi Teams.

Teams value this as well.

Nothing better for Coaches, S&C and Medical Teams to plan out a season with fairly standard gaps between games. Consistency of knowing what day of the week is what in the plan is a great advantage. Players get to plan things as well which is good for the families.

 

[Major Tom]

It does, but it's then going to create gaps in the scheduling on either Fri or Sat night.. Which was one of the big criticisms of the old Super Rugby comp, there would be some weeks where there wasn't a match on in prime-time on a Friday/Saturday nights. Broadcasters seemingly prefer consistency in scheduling.

Don't get me wrong, i would prefer afternoon matches as well, but looking at the draw, if playing on a Sunday it's hard to see which timeslot you would take a game from, given the inclusion of MP (Moana Pasifika) (Moana Pasifika) and Drua. There's 11 teams, so 5 games a weekend, 2 on Fri and 3 on Sat; and Sat afternoon is congested due to Dru & Kiwi Teams.

Seems odd scheduling constraints though. The hardest thing would be ensuring a 7-day break between rounds. I'm not suggesting afternoon rounds for every suncorp game just at least 1 Sunday.

 

[Braveheart81]

Looking at the draw, Tahs haven't been given an afternoon match either, but the Brumbies have one late in the season.

I don't think the Waratahs have had an afternoon game since moving back to Allianz Stadium.

 

[Champagne Rugby]

I don't think the Waratahs have had an afternoon game since moving back to Allianz Stadium.

The effect of having less matches/teams for broadcasters is they want the games in prime time.

 

[The Red Baron]

The lack of Townsville games annoys me more than the lack of afternoon games. I think the last game they played in Townsville was in 2023.

 

[liquor box]

The lack of Townsville games annoys me more than the lack of afternoon games. I think the last game they played in Townsville was in 2023.

Maybe getting a Test is deemed enough to satisfy the F'N Queenslanders?

 

[The Red Baron]

Maybe getting a Test is deemed enough to satisfy the F'N Queenslanders?

Not this one!

 

[Adam84]

In the QPR GF today there was Ross, Blake, Canham, Pakeho, Flook and Ryan from the Reds 2026 cohort.

From the Bond side, Ross, Blake and Canham all seemed to do their jobs in the set-piece and dominated fairly well, Canham was obvious in general play but that’s partly because he is a giraffe. Aidan Ross carried the ball a lot, and was decent without standing out.. Bit like Slipper.

As for the Brothers backs, Pakeho was the most impressive, but i was a little underwhelmed with Ryan and Flook. The gameplan didn’t seem to invite them in too much, but maybe that was Bonds defensive structure. In either case i felt both went missing and lacked the size to inject themselves when needed, given they’re regular Super Rugby players i expected more. In comparison to Tyler Campbell, and Pakeho to a lesser extent who were breaking tackles and getting across the advantage line regularly in the mid-field.

It has me wondering where is Flooks best position, he seems a smart player, runs good lines and has decent speed but isn’t big enough for centre if the pairing is Paisami or Pakeho. Its also left me a little concerned for 2026 if the Reds don‘t get some extra size in the backline.

 

[Major Tom]

In the QPR GF today there was Ross, Blake, Canham, Pakeho, Flook and Ryan from the Reds 2026 cohort.

From the Bond side, Ross, Blake and Canham all seemed to do their jobs in the set-piece and dominated fairly well, Canham was obvious in general play but that’s partly because he is a giraffe. Aidan Ross carried the ball a lot, and was decent without standing out.. Bit like Slipper.

As for the Brothers backs, Pakeho was the most impressive, but i was a little underwhelmed with Ryan and Flook. The gameplan didn’t seem to invite them in too much, but maybe that was Bonds defensive structure. In either case i felt both went missing and lacked the size to inject themselves when needed, given they’re regular Super Rugby players i expected more. In comparison to Tyler Campbell, and Pakeho to a lesser extent who were breaking tackles and getting across the advantage line regularly in the mid-field.

It has me wondering where is Flooks best position, he seems a smart player, runs good lines and has decent speed but isn’t big enough for centre if the pairing is Paisami or Pakeho. Its also left me a little concerned for 2026 if the Reds don‘t get some extra size in the backline.

Ryan looked dangerous early then pretty much didn’t really feature. Flook didn’t do much other than nearly finishing a break in the first half. Pakeho was everywhere and threatened all game. Gonna get better and better and I look forward to seeing how he helps lynagh and HMP getting into first receiver. You’re right we do lack size, a lot rests on Henry’s body.

 

[rugbyAU]

I don't think the Waratahs have had an afternoon game since moving back to Allianz Stadium.

No they haven't

 

[rugbyAU]

Anything below a Top 4 finish would be disappointing

 

[Ignoto]

Its also left me a little concerned for 2026 if the Reds don‘t get some extra size in the backline.

There is some size in the Reds squad, but they need to be fit to be picked. A backline of
10 - Lynagh
11 - Filipo
12 - Hunter
13 - Dre
14 - Jordan (assuming he comes back)
15 - Jock

With Henry and Frankie on the bench / squad. Problem has been injuries especially long term ones have ruled a lot of these guys out.

Hopefully Flooky can get on whatever Mortlock used when he transformed from a winger to an OC! We need Flooks ability to read a game.

 

[PhilClinton]

Ryan looked dangerous early then pretty much didn’t really feature. Flook didn’t do much other than nearly finishing a break in the first half. Pakeho was everywhere and threatened all game. Gonna get better and better and I look forward to seeing how he helps lynagh and HMP getting into first receiver. You’re right we do lack size, a lot rests on Henry’s body.

Flook only played about 50mins as well, Pakeho played the whole game. Tim Ryan also slowed right down after he was smashed late (which resulted in a Bond yellow card) and I reckon that took the wind out of his sails.

I think Flook was below his best yesterday but as mentioned by others, the gameplan wasn't great to get him involved. He also hasn't played a game of rugby in what, like 8 weeks?

 

[PhilClinton]

Was good to see Les Kiss out at Ballymore yesterday, he was walking around the grandstand to watch the main game and stopped to chat and get photos with anyone who asked.

He really does seem like a proper likeable bloke and the few events I've attended where he has spoken, it has always been captivating and well thought.

I'm hopeful his approach can set the Reds up for success in 2026 before he takes the Wallabies through a successful period as well.

 

[Strewthcobber]

Speaking of success - does Mick Heenan have any ambition to get into the pros again?

The body of work is becoming impossible to ignore