Reds ready to combat whatever is thrown at them

The Queensland Reds women’s team is ready to take on whatever is dished out at them in Saturday’s Super W semi-final by the hosts McDonald’s Fiji Drua.

The Andrew Fraser coached-side is going to take on the Fijian flair, fanatical fans and frogs- as they are prepared to combat everything that a semi-final can throw at them at Lautoka’s Churchill Park.

Team cohesion will at a high for the clash against the Drua now the Super W has hit finals time.

Fraser named an unchanged starting side and a single tweak on the bench.

Wests hooker Mary Tuaana comes in on the bench for Ella Hopper as the back-up for in-form Roni Setu.

The Reds will harness the belief and confidence generated from their history-making 26-19 upset of the NSW Waratahs in Sydney which earned them this play-off chance.

“A lot of what we have spoken about is the internal game, the mindset. That win really proves it’s all kind of mental in a way,” Reds flyhalf Lori Cramer told rugby.com.au.

“It’s not like we had any magic training or anything. We didn’t get 100 times better in the week leading up to that game.

“It’s just how you prepare, how we turn up and put bodies on the line for each other and the jersey.

“So, yes, we got a lot of belief from that result in Sydney for what we face in Lautoka.”

Cramer is one of the Reds’ women remaining from the side that upset the Drua 22-19 on the same field in Lautoka to open the 2025 season.

“We’re expecting a lot of noise and energy from the crowd. That’s obvious. It’s Fiji but it is also a historic day with the Drua women hosting a home semi-final for the first time,” Cramer said.

“It’ll be exciting, one to remember. We’ve spoken a bit about last year’s game for the girls who haven’t experienced playing in Fiji.

“There’s the crowd, the way the Drua do catch fire and things like frogs jumping around on the field before the game last year.”

Cramer’s cool as a playmaker was pivotal in the win over the Waratahs when it also brought out the best in former Wallaroos halfback Sarah Dougherty.

Fraser said the go-forward generated by the workrate, carries and tackling of forwards like Setu, captain Jemma Bemrose, Zoe Hanna and Dillyn Blackburn set a strong tone against the Waratahs that must be repeated.

“We’ve set the bar higher with the performance against the Waratahs. There were excellent performances across the field and the players will take extra belief into this game because of that result,” Fraser said.

“The wins in Fiji and Sydney over the past two seasons show how the Reds programme has developed and demonstrates one of our core values of resilience