UQ dropped just one match in the second round of last year’s regular season and took plenty of confidence into the finals after finishing third.

But the Red Heavies came unstuck against a Wests in the grand final qualifier and are looking to rebuild with a new look roster in 2025.

Overview with Elton Berrange:

“We’ve had a bit of a disjointed preseason with quite a few injuries, some bad weather and a new-look playing group to an extent,” Berrange told Rugby News. 

“But we’ve got through that and I guess we’ll see what sort of preseason it’s been come Saturday after round one against GPS.

“We didn’t have the best start to the year last year but fought our way back into contention. 

“No one likes losing, particularly come finals time but I don’t think we did all that much wrong against Wests in the preliminary final. 

“They were just very, very good that day and there wasn’t much we could do to stop them. 

“In my time at UQ, we’ve got to the finals in a lot of different ways. One year we were one win off an undefeated season, another year we were eighth at one stage and ended up winning the competition.

“It doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you’re there and in the mix when it matters.”

2024: 3rd (lost to Wests 39-27 in preliminary final)

Ins: Tim Nanai-Williams (France), Reece Tapine (Japan), Pama Fou (Italy), Lachlan Connors (injury), Charlie Wigan (Wests), Slater Galloway (Souths), Morgan Rees (Wales), Dougal Perrers (Wellington), Kody Edwards (Spain), Gideon Kautai (Noosa Dolphins), Tasei Haguchi (Japan).

Outs: Chace Oates (Brumbies), Kye Oates (Brumbies), Jake Tierney (Gordon), Jackson Clarke (Eastwood), Brad Twidale (retired), Tom Molloy (Oxford), Alex Davies (sabatical), Jethro Felemi (Easts).

What style of rugby will UQ play this season? 

“Fundamentally, we want to play an attacking, entertaining style of rugby and score more tries than our opponents,” the coach said. 

“It’s easy to overcomplicate rugby but whenever we have done that well in the past, we’ve been successful, so we won’t try to change things too much. 

“Of course, we have analysts and coaches that pour through a lot of data and of course, I take that into consideration, but at the end of the day, I really enjoy coaching a style of rugby that results in lots of tries.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“Ethan McFarland has been in and around our Premier Grade set-up for a couple of seasons, but he’s been enormous through preseason and looks fast and aggressive. 

“He’s really matured and has gone from being a guy that’s happy to make Premier Grade to a bloke that wants to dominate in our competition, so I think he’s in for a big season. 

“Flynn McDermott is in a similar position and on the back of a really good backend of last year, looks sharper and stronger again. 

“Reece Tapine is back with us after spending time in Japan and with Eastwood in Sydney. 

“Then we’ve also got Dougal Perres back. He was with us a few years ago and didn’t really know if he wanted to play hooker or in the backrow. 

“He’s come back from a bit of a rugby apprenticeship over in Wellington and he’s gained a lot of confidence from that.”

Which two teams will play in this year’s grand final and why? 

“It’s hard to go past Brothers and their consistency,” Berrange said. 

“They recruit really well at colts level and build a lot of depth off the back of that, which I think is a great model and I’ve got enormous respect for Ben McCormack. 

“They’ve created a habit of winning and it’s up to the rest of us to stop them. 

“I think we’ve got the squad depth to be there as well. We’ve got players with x-factor right across the park, so I hope it’ll be us and them in the grand final.”