QUADE Cooper will be missing, so too, most likely, Anthony Fainga'a but on balance the Queensland Reds are set to field a stronger side against the Chiefs on Friday night than the one that beat the Blues in Toowoomba on the weekend.
Cooper's absence from the Caloundra trial against the Chiefs, the defending Super Rugby champions, has long been budgeted for, with the Wallabies playmaker's boxing debut scheduled for the same night at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
It is yet to be determined whether Fainga'a, the Reds' interim captain when they defeated the Blues 41-35 on Saturday night, will be fit to take his place in the centres. He finished the first trial match with a swollen hand and will be sent for X-rays today.
But on the positive side of the ledger, the Reds will welcome back Test lock Rob Simmons from suspension and today will assess whether his second-row partner James Horwill (hamstring), hooker Saia Fainga'a (calf), backrower Jake Schatz (shoulder) and wingers Dom Shipperley (wrist, groin) and Chris F'Sautia (lower leg soreness) will also be ready to return.
Horwill, the Reds and Australia captain, is close to being ready but if there is any doubt at all about him, he will be held back, even if that means he will have to go in cold against the Brumbies in the season-opener in Canberra on February 16.
Cooper quipped that the pleasantly cool conditions in Toowoomba on Saturday night would prepare the Reds for what Canberra might turn on. In that same light-hearted sense, the gentle smack in the chops he took in a tackle at the Clive Berghofer Stadium might just be the conditioning he needs ahead of his fight against Barry Dunnett.
"A bit of a bruise on the lip but I'm sure I'll be getting one next Friday as well," Cooper reported when asked how he had come through the trial.
"I just wanted to get in there and just link as much as possible. Get my hands on the ball and just link with the other boys. That's what it's all about, building those small combinations where we're just shifting the ball, not necessarily trying to score a try but building combinations and the tries come off that."
Of most interest were the partnerships Cooper tried to forge with two men vying for the halfback role while Will Genia completes his recovery from knee surgery, Ben Lucas and Mick Frisby.
Lucas was given the first 40 minutes, which meant his chance came through the softening-up period when opportunities to shine in attack were more limited. Nonetheless, he impressed with his speed to the breakdown, which is not necessarily Frisby's forte. That said, he was very alert to attacking chances when he came on at the start of the second half.
"They're definitely both good players," said Cooper. "Frisby really showed some attacking nous. And Benny has shown he's a very solid player."
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