By LIZ MOORE

Former Reds backrower Michael Gunn has returned to rugby and Easts in 2020, and is keener than ever to play good rugby.

Gunn took last year off following five years with the Reds, and the 25-year-old believes the time away has reignited his passion for the game. 

“I had a year off last year just to reassess my priorities,” the undergraduate engineer said. “Then I got itchy and I’m back in the game again.

“Turns out it was the right decision, cos I’m back now and keener than ever to play.

“It wasn’t really cos I didn’t enjoy playing, I think it was more because I’d graduated from school (in 2012) and was playing rugby fulltime and that was kind of all I’d ever known as an adult.

“I thought I just need to take 12 months to reset.”

Gunn was recruited to the Reds in 2013, his first year out of school, and also played Premier Rugby for Easts, who won the Premiership that year.

The talent of the Easts coaching staff, especially head coach, Moses Raulini, was also part of the appeal to return. 

“When I found out that Moses was coaching, that was one of the things that made me even itchier,” Gunn said of his former Under 15s Easts coach.

“Honestly, the full complement of coaching staff, I think that’s our defining feature. They’re just excellent. 

“It’s the right balance of technical knowledge and then knowing how a rugby culture and team culture works, and knowing how to get the best out of individual players. 

“It’s a really good balance, and on that front alone, we’ve been put in a really good position.”

Gunn also praised Easts general manager, Michael Lucas, for the way he steered the club through Covid-19.

“He is probably one of the best things that has happened to our club in a while.” 

As for his 2020 teammates, Gunn describes them as “best mates”. 

He said while there have been quite a lot of changes to the line-up since he last played for Easts in 2018, the team has quickly forged strong bonds.

“We’ve got a bunch of new players, and obviously I had last year off so there’s a few people I didn’t know, but you honestly couldn’t tell. If you walked into a room with our team, you’d think everyone had been playing three to four years at least together. It feels really good.

“Everyone’s relaxed as well, all excited to come to training. You can tell, because throughout the session, everyone’s smiling. And at the end, everyone happens to stick around and have a yarn for 10-15 minutes.”

On the field, Gunn said fans can expect “typical Tigers” play.

“Expect a bit of fizz from us, the energy. I think that’ll be the highlighting feature. 

“Fast and flowing rugby, the typical Tigers rugby that’s been played for however long.

“We’re very confident, we’ve been training really well.”

Part of a strong leadership group, Gunn will be guiding his teammates by example. 

“I’ll bring my energy throughout the game. I think I’ve always been one to lead through my actions. I’ll talk when necessary, but I tend to leave that to other people and let my actions do the talking. So I’ll continue to be doing that.

“Specifically in the game, I’ll bring my impact in the breakdown obviously as a backrower, and my running game as well.”

Gunn kept fit with a lot of road-running and body-weight exercises through the Covid-19 period, and is assessing his rugby options into the future.

“I’d love to go and travel the world and play a bit of footy abroad, but even within Australia, I’m open to exploring options. 

“I did just need a bit of a reset. I’m pretty excited to get back out on the field and show people what I can do.”

IMAGE: BRENDAN HERTEL / QRU MEDIA UNIT