Injury chaos and looming Wallabies call: Can the Reds still end the drought?

Queensland Reds captain Tate McDermott insists he and his teammates “don’t need to go back to the drawing board”, as they seek to ensure consecutive defeats do not derail a season of such promise.

Two weeks ago, they sat atop the Super Rugby Pacific ladder, instilling a belief Australia’s long wait for a title would soon be over.

Defeats to the Chiefs and Brumbies have since followed, leading into this week’s bye, while a year plagued by injuries has claimed another victim in Wallabies hooker Matt Faessler (hamstring), who is now in doubt for their next clash against the Blues.

Tate McDermott is adamant the Reds are rolling towards success, despite suffering back-to-back losses.Credit: Getty Images

Coach Les Kiss has also confirmed outside centre Josh Flook (hamstring) is still several weeks away from making a return, while fellow Wallabies back Filipo Daugunu remains “three or four weeks away” with a leg issue.

But despite their recent challenges, McDermott is adamant the foundations have been laid for a top-four end-of-season berth and, with that, ambitions of a second Super Rugby title in the multi-nation format.

In the coming weeks, the fourth-placed Reds will only face one side currently ahead of them in the standings (Brumbies), and will likely be favourites against the Fijian Drua (11th), the Hurricanes (eighth), the Blues (ninth), and the Waratahs (fifth).

“The competition has got a long way to go, and we’re sitting pretty well at the moment. It’s not all a catastrophe for us,” McDermott said.

“We’ve been really happy with how we’ve been playing. We’re nowhere near where we want to be, but we’re trending in the right direction.

“There are areas of our game that are a massive strength of ours, and [that] we need to continue to work on, and we get the chance to do that in the bye week.

“We don’t need to go back to the drawing board.”

Harry Wilson (fractured arm), Liam Wright (shoulder) and Josh Nasser (shoulder) are the other high-profile casualties to remain sidelined for the foreseeable future.

Kiss has backed the depth of his squad to get the job done, having used 33 players this year while employing a rest and rotation policy.

Centre Dre Pakeho, halfback Kalani Thomas, hooker Richie Asiata and backrowers Joe Brial and John Bryant are the standouts who have proved themselves in the absence of their Test stars.

The absence of Nasser, who is expected to return to training in the next two weeks, and Faessler have put the hooker stocks at an alarming low, with Asiata now to shoulder much of the burden, with George Blake a chance to earn a recall.

Wallabies hooker Matt Faessler will be sidelined for the Queensland Reds with a hamstring injury.Credit: Getty Images

Asiata has cast aside an injury-plagued 2024 to become a staple of the side, capitalising on a stint in New Zealand’s Mitre 10 Cup before starring throughout the Reds’ off-season clashes – namely with a hat-trick against Wales.

He will now be tasked with overturning his team’s inconsistencies at the lineout, where they rank last in the competition for wins.

“Richie’s been impressive all year. Last year he had a few injuries, but when we went away and opened up an opportunity for him to play in New Zealand ... he just started to find his rhythm and mojo,” Kiss said.

“He knows there’s improvement in his set piece and a few things, but he’s going to keep working hard. He’s going to be essential when we’ve got some injuries in hooker for sure.”

Throughout the club’s injury woes, another constant narrative has been talk about Kiss’ future.

The former State of Origin flyer looms as the leading contender to replace current national coach Joe Schmidt after this year’s Rugby Championship.

There has been speculation that Kiss – signed to the Reds until the end of 2026 – might juggle the two roles if he gets the nod, with Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh confirming they would be open to exploring that possibility.

“I can’t juggle at the best of times. I’m not in a space to entertain it at the moment, we’ve had some massive matches lately,” Kiss said.

“We know what’s capable for us here, my focus is on that. That will take its natural course … those things are out of my hands.”

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