Reds coach Stiles rues costly close losses
May 24, 2017 - 3:55 AM Queensland Reds coach Nick Stiles admits he is still kicking stones about two close losses that have left them needing a Super Rugby miracle to make the finals.The Reds take on the Western Force on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium, needing a win to stay in the hunt for an automatic finals spot.
They sit seven points behind Australian conference leaders the Brumbies, who they will host in the first week after the international break.
Mathematically, the Reds are still in with a chance but, with two away games to come against New Zealand teams, Stiles admits it is a long shot.
But were it not for their last-gasp defeats earlier this year to the Crusaders and the Waratahs, he said they would potentially be leading the conference.
"I'm still kicking stones about that and I reckon I'll still be kicking stones for a long time," Stiles said on Wednesday.
"If you had those two wins, (we'd have) played the same amount of games as the Brumbies and you're probably on the same sort of points, knowing you've got to play them at home.
"The conference is still alive. (The) Brumbies have nearly got a two-game jump on everyone so it's going to be tough to get that back but the reality is we're just focused about winning football games.
"We want to finish with as many wins as we can get. If that's good enough to make finals, it's an added bonus."
Stiles has made just one change to the starting side who beat Melbourne two weeks ago with Chris Kuridrani replacing Campbell Magnay (concussion) on the wing.
Magnay has failed to recover from the head knock he suffered early against the Rebels and is still showing symptoms after Queensland's bye week.
"There's nothing worrying ... (but) you want to be very careful," Stiles said.
"It's a scary thing. He's had three bad concussions now in two-and-a-half years.
"Concussion protocols are really strict now which is fantastic for the safety of the players but just means that until he gets symptom-free, that he can't progress to the next stage."
The only other changes are on the bench, where backs James Tuttle, Jake McIntyre and Lachlan Maranta have been brought in for Moses Sorovi, Hamish Stewart and Izaia Perese.
REDS:
Karmichael Hunt, Chris Kuridrani, Samu Kerevi (capt), Duncan Paia'aua, Eto Nabuli, Quade Cooper, Nick Frisby, Scott Higginbotham, George Smith, Hendrik Tui, Lukhan Tui, Rob Simmons, Sam Talakai, Stephen Moore, Sef Fa'agase.
Res: Alex Mafi, Kirwan Sanday, Taniela Tupou, Izack Rodda, Adam Korczyk, James Tuttle, Jake McIntyre, Lachlan Maranta.
Source: AAP
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