Noah Lolesio in line for shock recall to Brumbies

Every grand final week deserves some speculation about selection surprises and the Brumbies look set to play their part.

Noah Lolesio is set for a surprise return in the Super Rugby AU final. Picture: AAP

Every grand final week deserves some speculation about selection shocks and the Brumbies look set to play their part as new Wallabies five-eighth Noah Lolesio is fit and available for the Super Rugby AU decider against the Queensland Reds on Saturday after being out injured since mid-July.

Lolesio occupied the playmaker’s role in the first eight matches of the season and was on the losing side only once, and that was an 83rd-minute defeat, 23-22, to the Highlanders in Canberra.

For a player who had turned 20 only the month before the start of Super Rugby, Lolesio handled himself with remarkable assurance during his debut season, so much so that Wallabies coach Dave Rennie was happy to rely on the youngster’s form before he damaged his hamstring against the Waratahs on July 18 to pick him in the 44-man Australian squad.

Rennie said Lolesio would have been fit to play if the Brumbies had had a game on Saturday night, “so he has got through a fair bit of training. He was in great form prior to his injury, prior to COVID. We see a massive upside in him and so he was an easy selection.”

Watch the 2020 Super Rugby AU Final Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly

The Brumbies have been well-served by Bayley Kuenzle at five-eighth in Lolesio’s absence, but it appeared the Reds targeted him during their recent 26-7 victory in Brisbane. He dropped the high ball Bryce Hegarty put up in the closing minutes for Tate McDermott to race away for the match-sealing try, though generally he was solid.

He would do the side proud if he played in the grand final, but there must be some part of coach Dan McKellar’s brain working overtime on whether Lolesio might be the man to lead the Brumbies around the park at GIO Stadium on Saturday night.

When asked about the possibility, McKellar was all innocence. Questioned on whether anyone other than the players selected for the Brisbane match would be available for the grand final, he replied: “Oh, you’ve got Lolesio there, but it would be a big call.”

Was there a possibility he might sit on the sideline? “Yeah, I dunno. As I said, a big call.”

Yet at no point in this discussion did McKellar actually rule out the possibility.

The Brumbies have played the Reds three times this year and the only game they won with any degree of comfort was the first, when Lolesio played at 10, even if the Reds had closed the gap to 27-24 at full-time. It wasn’t Kuenzle who kicked the winning goal when the Brumbies escaped with a 22-20 win over the Reds on August 1. In a tense, seesawing match, McKellar had taken him out of the play at the 65-minute mark and sent on Mack Hansen at five-eighth. It turned out to be a masterstroke, as Hansen handled the pressure to land the match-sealing goal.

Noah Lolesio has been sidelined by a hamstring injury for the Brumbies since July Picture: Getty Images

Of course, it could be the Reds pulling the selection surprises. Coach Brad Thorn likes to reward outstanding displays and he cannot have been displeased with what reserve backrower Angus Scott-Young has delivered in recent weeks. Initially Scott-Young had been a fairly one-dimensional player, but lately he has produced storming ball-carrying displays. It would be an astonishing call to break up the loose forward trio of Harry Wilson, Fraser McReight and Liam Wright — Wallabies all. Chances are Scott-Young will start on the bench.

Injury could play a part in any Reds selection surprises. Winger Chris Feauai-Sautia’s groin injury has placed him in danger of missing the grand final, though Queensland officials have learned never to rule out him making yet another near-miraculous recovery from a soft-tissue injury.

In the event that he doesn’t, it would not surprise to see Jordan Petaia moved out to the wing, which would give him far more scope to rove about the field than his usual position of outside ­centre.

That would leave the 13 jersey to be filled by Wallabies bolter Hunter Paisami. He is “all duck or no dinner” with his kamikaze tackling style, although it was pleasing to see that the Reds now seem to be making allowances for it. When he came rushing out of the line to shut down a Rebels raid late in the qualifying final on Saturday, he was easily stepped by Reece Hodge, but a split second later Hodge was collared in a ball-and-all tackle by Filipo Daugunu and bundled over the sideline. It darn near looked rehearsed.