Queensland Reds set to be boosted by return of Izack Rodda for Super Rugby opener against Brumbies

Fresh from a big trial win over the Rebels, the Queensland Reds got some great news on the injury front with Wallabies lock Izack Rodda set to be fit for the Super Rugby opener against the Brumbies.

Izack Rodda of the Reds (right) reacts following the Round 15 Super Rugby match between the Queensland Reds and the Highlanders at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Saturday, May 26, 2018. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Frontline Wallabies lock Izack Rodda is on track to be fit for the Super Rugby lift-off against the ACT Brumbies in Canberra in a timely boost for the Queensland Reds pack.

The 25-Test forward has spent the past 10 weeks recovering from an ankle stress fracture which required corrective surgery after the Wallabies’ premature exit from the World Cup last October.

He will upgrade his involvement in training at Ballymore this week but is still expected to play the season-opener on January 31 without a minute of play in the pre-season trials.

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Izack Rodda is looking good to play against the Brumbies in two weeks.

The Reds will have their major pre-season hitout against the NSW Waratahs in Dalby next Friday night after thrashing a sub-standard Melbourne Rebels selection 57-5 in Gladstone.

Rodda’s fitness is all the more imperative because young lock Harry Hockings had surgery on a broken bone in his hand last week and seems certain to be sidelined for the Brumbies game.

The Reds started Angus Blyth and the versatile Lukhan Salakaia-Loto as locks in Gladstone, with rookies Ryan Smith and Tuaina Taii Tualima getting a shot there in the second half.

No injuries in Gladstone was a major plus for coach Brad Thorn but the suspension looming for quicksilver winger Filipo Daugunu may as well be a costly injury break.

Daugunu scored five tries against a disorganised Rebels defence when his knack for bobbing up in support and catching a Bryce Hegarty cross-kick were the best features.

To that stage, there would have been plenty of smiles at Rugby Australia that they’d wisely thrown in top-up money for Daugunu’s new four-year Reds deal now he is an Australian citizen.

He torpedoed all his good work with a dumb spear tackle with five minutes to play that is certain to cost him several weeks as a ban.

“You can have all those tries back without the tackle from my point of view,” Thorn said.

New skipper Liam Wright was upbeat about the nine-try start.

“It feels really, really good to put down some foundations after a tough pre-season,” he said.

Liam Wright was more than happy with the nine-try performance.

“It was pretty handy for a first outing to get rid of some rust and start the work on our timing.”

The Reds scrum powered ahead in the first half and hookers Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Alex Mafi both scored tries off strong lineout drives to the line.

Young 128kg Norths prop Dane Zander, 20, played the full first half beside Wallabies Taniela Tupou and Paenga-Amosa in the front-row to fast-track his education.

How strong those pack features really are will get a proper test against the Waratahs, who scored an upbeat 40-21 trial win over the Highlanders in Sydney on the same night.

Junior Wallabies graduates Mark Nawaqanitawase, a winger shining at fullback, and Carlo Tizzano, a two-try dynamo at flanker, repaid new coach Rob Penney’s faith that backing youth will be a big part of the Waratahs’ makeover.