Defection sure to add to the reception for Force’s Luke Morahan from ex-Red teammates

JAMES Slipper has a “welcome home” hit waiting for defector Luke Morahan yet he is not sure how he’s going to catch him to deliver it.

Reds prop James Slipper is looking forward to running into former teammate Luke Morahan again.

REDS prop James Slipper has a “welcome home” hit waiting for defector Luke Morahan yet he is just not sure how he’s going to catch the Western Force winger to deliver it.

The intense rivalry that the Force have taken into every game against the Reds since their 2006 birth in Perth takes on a fresh dimension at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

Slipper and centre Ben Tapuai have been close mates with Morahan since playing together for The Southport School side which won the 2007 GPS premiership.

“We grew up together on the Gold Coast, so it was tough to see him go,” Slipper said on Monday.

“Moz told me what he was thinking a bit earlier than the rest of the Reds boys. It was hard to take.

“You wish him the best, as a mate, to play well but obviously not too well on Saturday night.

“He’s a winger who finds himself a lot of space. It’s hard for a prop to get his hands on a player like that but I’ll be trying.”

News_Image_File: James Slipper takes part in a contact drill at Reds training at Ballymore.

No one in the British and Irish Lions managed it when Morahan scored his breathtaking 75m kick-and-regather try against the tourists for the Reds in his last game at Suncorp Stadium.

Morahan left Brisbane to seek more playing time and a shot at the fullback role that seemed blocked at the Reds by the strategy to play a defensive swing man there.

Ironically, the Reds have ditched that Ewen McKenzie idea because Quade Cooper is now a frontline defender. They have gone for more spark from fullback which is the Morahan game.

Slipper is certain the best is still ahead for the 3-3 Reds.

‘There is a lot of improvement in us and there has to be because you could say the Force are our bogey team right now and always seem to play their best game against us,” Slipper said.

“We obviously haven’t been up to par the last month.”

News_Image_File: Luke Morahan crosses the line to score a try for the Force against the Melbourne Rebels.

In the past, some “it’s only the Force” complacency may have played a small part in four losses and several close calls. No longer.

The Reds are on high alert against an in-form side with Wallaby No.8 Ben McCalman leading an abrasive pack and former All Black halfback Alby Mathewson guiding a sharper back division.

As a former Force coach, Graham knows exactly the attitude they will bring to Suncorp Stadium.

“The feeling against Queensland comes from their inception and the number of players (Nathan Sharpe, Tai McIsaac, Richard Brown and co) who left to play there,” Graham said.

“Beating Queensland is something the club always wants to do. I remember what it was like.”

Flyhalf Cooper’s excellent tackle to force a turnover against the Stormers and his smart field goal are all part of a refashioned player, according to Slipper.

News_Rich_Media: Will Genia saluted the grinding must-win attitude of the Reds as the perfect mindset for the “warfare” they can expect when the feisty Western Force visit Suncorp Stadium next Saturday night.

“When the going is tough we have lots of guys putting their hand up,” Slipper said.

“One guy who sticks out for me is Quade. In the past, he might have lost his head in hard times.

“In the last two years, I’ve really seen him put his hand up and direct the team around.

“He doesn’t really carry the team around on his shoulders any more. He’s about putting the team in the position to win.”

Skipper James Horwill sweated off 7kg during the game against the Stormers such was the humidity.

Rookie fullback-winger Jamie-Jerry Taulagi is certain to make his debut on Saturday night. It will be in the starting side not off the bench if Graham selects boldly.