By LIZ MOORE

GPS stalwart prop Fred Burke is unworried by the front-row injuries his team has sustained in recent weeks, instead pointing to the depth in the club and especially the number of players returning from the Reds.

Having tweaked his neck three weeks ago, front-rower Burke is hopeful to run on again against Wests this weekend. He said his team had been fine without him.

“We’re fortunate we got two or three players back from the Reds so not too much disruption there,” Burke said.

He said hooker is the position with the most issues for his side currently, with Maile Ngauamo out with an ankle niggle and Alex Casey potentially out with lower back troubles.   

“I think JT will be starting at hooker again,” Burke said of reserve-grade Josh Tuquiri who delivered a man of the match performance in GPS 47-20 win against Norths on the weekend. 

“He played really well on the weekend,” Burke said of Tuqiri’s run-on Premiership debut.

“We’ve got a few selection decisions to make. But in saying that we’ll get a flood of players back come finals time, including two or three, maybe four props.”

But for now Burke’s focus remains on the next three weeks.

“We’re definitely not playing to our full potential, but we’ve shown enough to show what we are capable of. It’s now coming to crunch time where we’ve got three games left and they’re all away games that we have to win so we’re pretty excited for the challenges of playing in those sort of circumstances. 

Burke will have his eye on the Wests’ pack this weekend. “I think they look stronger upfront. They have a really good scrum so we know they’ll come at us there.

“They’re always a good side. I wouldn’t take any notice of that game we played them in round one,” Burke said of the pre-season trial match GPS won 59-45. “They’ve got a few guys back from there and they’re always a different side at home. 

“It’ll be a top-four type clash this weekend with them. It’s really important for our season to get the W, so it’s shaping up to be a very important game for us.”

Burke has made it through his first training session for the week, and remains hopeful of running on for most of this weekend’s game. 

The 31-year-old Burke has been with GPS since 2014 after moving to Brisbane from Christchurch. He has played several seasons of NRC, and helped GPS to Premiership glory in 2018. The experienced player believes GPS remains a contender for another Premiership.

“I think we’ve still got some tough away games, especially Bond at Bond will be hard. 

“I think if we make the finals, which we should, we’ll be a good shot. Everyone’s going to get their Reds back. Someone like Easts who are going well at the moment, won’t really get anyone back. They’ll get a couple, but Uni and Brothers will get heaps back, and we’ll get a few back as well in key positions. 

“So it will be a really, really good final series. Us, Uni and Brothers will be pretty good shots at it. It’ll be hard to separate us.”

IMAGE: BRENDAN HERTEL / QRU