The Sharks will have arrived in Brisbane yesterday to learn that the Reds’ chief playmaker, Quade Cooper, will not play against them because of a one-week suspension handed out for a dangerous tackle on New South Wales centre Berrick Barnes at the weekend.
Good news indeed for the Sharks given that Cooper was rediscovering his best form after missing the first half of the competition because of a horrific knee injury sustained late last year.
Cooper was sin-binned for the offence yet has received further off-field censure which seems tough, but the Sharks will not be complaining because Cooper’s combination with scrumhalf Will Genia is vital to how the Reds play.
Either utility back Ben Lucas or goal-kicking centre Mike Harris is expected to take Cooper’s place at No10.
Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford gave his thoughts on the quarterfinal against the Queenslanders.
“They had a lot of players injured at the start of the tournament, including Quade Cooper, and as a lot of those key players have come back, they’ve gained rhythm and flow and confidence in the way they’ve played,” Bashford said. “Cooper had been quite instrumental to their comeback. They’ve played most of the year without him and still managed to crack the play-offs. They will obviously miss him.”
Bashford said that it should not be forgotten that the Reds are the defending champions and have a lot of pride in defending their title.
“They are a championship side that knows how to win this tournament. And at home they’ll have huge support. The Suncorp Stadium will be sold out. We’ll have our hands full but it’s a challenge the boys are looking forward to,” the backline coach said.
The Sharks played the Reds in Durban in the pool stages and had the upper hand in that game in Durban, winning 27-22 in March.
“We have the belief that we can do it, it’s just about getting our act together and getting it right on the day,” Bashford said.
“A lot of our key players like Willem Alberts, Beast Mtawarira and Ryan Kankowski have all come back from injury and are all playing well, so we’re certainly in a better position now than we were earlier in the tournament,” he pointed out.
“We know that if we play well, we can beat any side in the tournament and I think we showed that in our games against the Stormers and Bulls,” Bashford said.