Slipper confident of revival

Editor

Reds captain James Slipper is confident the Queensland franchise will experience a reversal of fortunes during the 2016 Super Rugby campaign.

The Reds finished their last campaign fourth in the Australian Conference, having accumulated just four wins in 16 outings. As a result, they also finished among the bottom three in the overall Super Rugby standings.

History dictates that the Reds can be unpredictable in this competition and Slipper is adamant that they will produce one or two surprises this term. They are a team in transition and the prop believes that is an element that might work in his team's favour.

"Losing some of the senior players that we've had for the last 10 years or so, it's definitely been a different start to the year," Slipper told foxsports.com.au.

"There are a lot of young guys coming through with a lot of promise and at the moment we've got that squad mentality of everyone buying into what we want to achieve.

"With youth comes enthusiasm and we're going to have an abundance of that and it's about tapping into that," he said.

The jury is out on just how significant a role Slipper will be able to play for the Reds during the early stages of the season, given that he is still grappling with a shoulder injury that is expected to keep him out of the fray for a protracted period.

"At some stage you've got to play new players. You've got to bring them in and give them an experience," explained Slipper.