# 2024 Queensland Reds season

The 2024 Queensland Reds season was the 28th Queensland Reds season in the Super Rugby since entering the professional era in 1996. In addition to the domestic competition (Super Rugby Pacific) played across the Tasman and the Pacific, the Reds also hosted Wales on their tour of Australia (July) following the conclusion of the season, and toured Tonga, playing a development XV fixture in Nukuʻalofa.
It was the third back-to-back Super Rugby Pacific season in which the Reds successfully competed in the Finals Series.

## Squad and personnel
### Coaching personnel

Following the resignation of former Reds coach Brad Thorn at the end of the 2023 season, the Queensland Rugby Union (QRU) unveiled Queenslander Les Kiss as coach of the team just 39 days later. It was believed in June that the QRU had interest in a number of coaches with significant experience domestically and internationally. One such coach was The Sydney Morning Herald-endorsed candidate Michael Cheika. Cheika had vast top-tier experience, coaching Australia at the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups (RWC), and previously won the Super Rugby with Queensland Reds rivals the New South Wales Waratahs in 2014. Cheika's coaching duties with Argentina were to end following the 2023 Rugby World Cup, making him available before the 2024 season. The other two speculated interests of the QRU were London Irish coach Les Kiss and the former Wallabies Director of Rugby Scott Johnson.
With reporting in early July pointing to Kiss being the favourite candidate, it wasn't until late July that Kiss was confirmed as the new head coach. Kiss was selected over forty-plus prospective coaches, which included former Wallaby and Tonga coach (2016–2023) Toutai Kefu, former New Zealand assistant coach (2020–2022) Brad Mooar, former Australia defence coach and Australia U20 coach Nathan Grey, and Queensland Reds assistant under Thorn Mick Heenan.
Once Kiss assumed the coaching position he brought along much of his coaching staff at London Irish.
Coaching personnel :
| Position | Name |
| Head Coach | Les Kiss |
| Assistant Coach | Jonathan Fisher |
| Assistant Coach | Zane Hilton |
| Assistant Coach | Brad Davis |
| Academy Coach | Dale Roberson |

### Squad
#### Senior squad

The Queensland Reds squad for the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season was announced in November 2023.
| Reds senior squad |
| Props George Blake Massimo de Lutiis Sef Fa'agase Alex Hodgman Zane Nonggorr Peni Ravai Jeffery Toomaga-Allen Hookers Richie Asiata Max Craig Matt Faessler Josh Nasser Locks Angus Blyth Cormac Daly Taine Roiri Ryan Smith Connor Vest | Loose forwards Connor Anderson Joe Brial John Bryant Fraser McReight Seru Uru Harry Wilson Liam Wright (cc) Scrum-halves Tate McDermott (cc) Kalani Thomas Louis Werchon Fly-halves Lawson Creighton Tom Lynagh Harry McLaughlin-Phillips James O'Connor | Centres Taj Annan Josh Flook Frankie Goldsbrough Isaac Henry Hunter Paisami Outside backs Floyd Aubrey Jock Campbell Mac Grealy Jordan Petaia Tim Ryan Suliasi Vunivalu |
| (cc) denotes team co-captains, Bold denotes internationally capped, $^{DEV}$ denotes a development squad player, $^{ST}$ denotes a short-term signing, denotes a player ruled out for the season with injury. ↑ Hilton has also been cited as the Forwards Coach. |

#### Academy squad

| Reds academy squad |
| Props Nick Bloomfield Trevor King Baguio Johnson-Tiumalu Hookers Ollie Barrett Locks Charlie Brosnan Ben Daniels | Loose forwards Joe Liddy Tom Robinson Scrum-halves Willem Johnstone Fly-halves Will Nason | Centres Xavier Rubens Outside backs Jarrod Homan |

### Transfers
## Season results
### Pre-season trials

Reds score shown first.
2024 Pre-season trials :
| Date | Venue | Team | Score | Result (Margin) | Ref. |
| Saturday, 3 February | Ballymore Stadium, Herston (Brisbane) | Western Force | 19–21 | Lost (2 points) | |
| Saturday, 10 February | Gallas Fox Park, Roma | Waratahs | 32–7 | Won (25 points) | |

### Summary and fixtures

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | A | H | — | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | L | W | W | L | L | — | L | W | L | W | W | L | W | W |
| Position | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Reds score shown first; only non-Australian teams with flag displayed.
2024 Super Rugby season :
| Rnd. | Date | Venue | Team | Score | Result (Margin) | Attendance | Pos. |
| 1 | Saturday, 24 February | Lang Park, Milton, (Brisbane) | Waratahs | 40–22 | Won (18 points) | 14,593 | 4th |
| 2 | Sunday, 3 March | Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Olympic Park (Melbourne) | Hurricanes | 33–38 | Lost (5 points) | 10,339 | 4th |
| 3 | Saturday, 9 March | Lang Park, Milton (Brisbane) | Chiefs | 25–19 | Won (6 points) | 16,725 | 3rd |
| 4 | Friday, 15 March | Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Olympic Park (Melbourne) | Melbourne Rebels | 53–26 | Won (27 points) | — | 2nd |
| 5 | Saturday, 23 March | Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth | Western Force | 31–40 | Lost (9 points) | 5,462 | 5th |
| 6 | Saturday, 30 March | Lang Park, Milton (Brisbane) | ACT Brumbies | 19–20 | Lost (1 point) | 17,782 | 5th |
| 7 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | 6th |
| 8 | Friday, 12 April | Okara Park, Morningside (Whangārei) | Moana Pasifika | 14–17 | Lost (3 points) | — | 6th |
| 9 | Friday, 19 April | Lang Park, Milton (Brisbane) | Highlanders | 31–0 | Won (31 points) | 13,000 | 6th |
| 10 | Saturday, 27 April | Lang Park, Milton (Brisbane) | Blues | 34–41 | Lost (7 points) | 16,325 | 6th |
| 11 | Saturday, 4 May | Rugby League Park, Addington (Christchurch) | Crusaders | 33–28 | Won (5 points) | — | 5th |
| 12 | Friday, 10 May | Lang Park, Milton (Brisbane) | Melbourne Rebels | 26–22 | Won (4 points) | 10,864 | 5th |
| 13 | Saturday, 18 May | HFC Bank Stadium, Laucala Bay (Suva) | Fijian Drua | 19–28 | Lost (9 points) | — | 5th |
| 14 | Saturday, 25 May | Lang Park, Milton (Brisbane) | Western Force | 59–13 | Won (46 points) | 12,321 | 5th |
| 15 | Friday, 31 May | Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park (Sydney) | Waratahs | 27–26 | Won (1 point) | 12,018 | 5th |
| Finals series |||||||||
| QF | Friday, 7 June | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton | Chiefs | 21–43 | Lost (22 points) | 11,639 | — |

### Season standings

2024 Super Rugby Pacific standings :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 3 | Brumbies | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 410 | 311 | +99 | 54 | 41 | 4 | 0 | 52 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 4 | Chiefs | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 486 | 311 | +175 | 66 | 43 | 5 | 2 | 43 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 5 | Reds | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 444 | 340 | +104 | 66 | 46 | 4 | 4 | 40 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 6 | Highlanders | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 305 | 402 | −97 | 37 | 54 | 2 | 2 | 28 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 7 | Drua | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 325 | 427 | −102 | 40 | 60 | 1 | 1 | 26 | Advance to Quarter-finals |

### Wales tour

Reds score shown first.
2024 Wales tour :
| Date | Venue | Team | Score | Result (Margin) | Ref. |
| Friday, 19 July | Lang Park, Milton (Brisbane) | Wales | 35–36 | Lost (1 point) | |

### Tonga tour

Reds score shown first.
2024 Tonga tour :
| Date | Venue | Team | Score | Result (Margin) | Ref. |
| Friday, 26 July | Teufaiva Sport Stadium, Nukuʻalofa | Tonga | 41–14 | Won (27 points) | |

## Statistics

Does not include tour matches.
Top point-scorers :
| Pos. | Player | Position | Tries | Con. | Pen. | Drop. | Points |
| 1 | Tom Lynagh | Fly-half | 0 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 56 |
| 2 | Lawson Creighton | Fly-half | 3 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 50 |
| 3 | Tim Ryan | Wing | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 |
| 4 | Matt Faessler | Hooker | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| 5 | Fraser McReight | Flanker | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| 5 | Tate McDermott | Scrum-half | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| 7 | Josh Flook | Centre | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| 8 | Harry McLaughlin-Phillips | Fly-half | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| 9 | Seru Uru | Lock | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 10 | Jock Campbell | Fullback | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 10 | Hunter Paisami | Centre | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 10 | Josh Nasser | Hooker | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 10 | Peni Ravai | Prop | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 14 | Harry Wilson | Number eight | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 14 | Suliasi Vunivalu | Wing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 14 | Jeffery Toomaga-Allen | Prop | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 14 | Penalty try | Penalty try | Penalty try | Penalty try | Penalty try | Penalty try | 10 |
| 18 | Zane Nonggorr | Prop | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 18 | Liam Wright | Flanker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 18 | Jordan Petaia | Wing / Centre | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 18 | Ryan Smith | Lock | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 18 | Floyd Aubrey | Wing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 18 | George Blake | Prop | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 24 | James O'Connor | Fly-half | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Top try-scorers :
| Pos. | Player | Position | Tries |
| 1 | Tim Ryan | Wing | 9 |
| 2 | Matt Faessler | Hooker | 8 |
| 3 | Fraser McReight | Flanker | 7 |
| 3 | Tate McDermott | Scrum-half | 7 |
| 5 | Josh Flook | Centre | 6 |
| 6 | Seru Uru | Lock | 4 |
| 7 | Jock Campbell | Fullback | 3 |
| 7 | Lawson Creighton | Fly-half | 3 |
| 7 | Hunter Paisami | Centre | 3 |
| 7 | Josh Nasser | Hooker | 3 |
| 7 | Peni Ravai | Prop | 3 |
| 12 | Harry Wilson | Number eight | 2 |
| 12 | Suliasi Vunivalu | Wing | 2 |
| 12 | Jeffery Toomaga-Allen | Prop | 2 |
| 2 ||
| 16 | Zane Nonggorr | Prop | 1 |
| 16 | Liam Wright | Flanker | 1 |
| 16 | Jordan Petaia | Wing / Centre | 1 |
| 16 | Ryan Smith | Lock | 1 |
| 16 | Floyd Aubrey | Wing | 1 |
| 16 | George Blake | Prop | 1 |