Reds trust fitness ahead of ‘physical’ Super W final

Fraser Barton | May 4, 2023

Queensland Reds Super W coach Simon Craig has projected a “physical” grand final against Fijiana Drua but backs his team to deliver late when the teams clash in Townsville for glory.

Craig’s side edged the Brumbies by three points in a thrilling semi-final last week and will be buoyed by a 45-22 final-round victory over the Drua before Saturday’s decider at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

Facing the defending Super W champions in just the Drua’s second season in the competition, Craig has backed his side’s fitness to be the difference.

“We came together and it’s no secret fitness was a big issue,” he said on Thursday.

“I think we are the fittest team in the comp and that’s proven if you look at the stats. 

“We score a lot of our points in the last quarter, so it shows that we can go the whole way.”

Craig has challenged his players to match the physicality of the Drua, after last year’s champions chased down a 17-0 lead in their semi-final to triumph 20-17 over the NSW Waratahs in Sydney.

Craig identified capitalising on a tiring Brumbies outfit in their own semi and expects the same on Saturday.

“We were just good enough to recognise that they were running out of gas and that the second half was really where we could play our footy and win it,” he added.

“You want to have a tough game to test your mettle and we certainly got that.

“(Fijiana) they’re very physical. They’ll try and dominate us through the middle and then they’ll shift wide. We’ve got to win that collision zone if we’re going to take them down.”