Quade Cooper may be the main drawcard for this year’s Premier Rugby season, but there are plenty of other big names set to star for their respective clubs in 2018. Here are five players to keep an eye when the competition kicks off this weekend. 

Tai Ford

In a wooden spoon side last year, Bond University flanker Tai Ford was very good. Add a championship winning NRC season with Queensland Country, under Brad Thorn, a full professional preseason with the Reds, again with Thorn, and the only way is up for this hardnosed backrower.

Ford proved he was a step above last year with his performances in the National Rugby Championship – helping the Country boys go from cellar-dwellers to champs. Now he needs to do the same with his Premier club side. Bond were disappointing in 2017, so Ford and co. will be aiming for a resurgence this year.

Nick Jooste

Keen rugby fans will recognise this name: the young fly-half from Perth with a huge wrap and an even bigger boot. He’s done a bit of travelling early in his career; playing with the Perth Spirit, the Brumbies (and Canberra Vikings), and now plying his trade for Norths in Brisbane.

Jooste played Australian Schoolboys in 2015 and featured for the Spirit later that year while still at school. On the back of that, he put pen to paper with the Brumbies; becoming just the sixth player to sign a full contract in Super Rugby straight out of school.

He hasn’t quite reached the heights that were expected as a teen prodigy, but he is only 20 and has spent the off-season with the Reds. Norths are a club who have gotten progressively better over the past three seasons, but one thing they’ve really lacked is a classy number 10 (and an excellent goal kicker). They may have just found the missing ingredient.

Efi Ma’afu

Another product of the Brad Thorn-Queensland Country success. Australian Under-20s hooker, Ma’afu, was one of the best for the resurgent Wests Bulldogs last year. He earned a reward for that form by way of a squad spot for the eventual NRC premiers. That should help Ma’afu’s game immeasurably. He will become an integral cog in the Wests-wheel; especially considering they’ve lost strike weapons Ed Fidow (France) and Filipo Daugunu (Reds) this year.

Matt Gordon 

In 2015, Easts Tigers were Minor Premiers and almost unbackable favourites in the grand final that season (they were beaten in an upset, by Souths). Centre, Matt Gordon, was an integral part of the Tigers’ strong form and earned NRC selection that year, making four appearances for QLD Country.

Gordon has endured a torrid time with injury since then, but is back fit in 2018. The Tigers need Gordon to be back at his best, not only because they have missed the finals in the past two seasons, but also because veteran centre, Toby White, has departed.

Richard Kingi

If starting Quade Cooper at 10 isn’t enough for the Magpies this season, then slotting former Reds and Rebels utility back, Richard Kingi alongside him at halfback should be.

A supremely talented player, Kingi has 35 Super Rugby caps and experience playing overseas in France and New Zealand. He has switched from Sunnybank – where he was captain in 2017 – to Chipsy Wood in the off season. A massive coup for the Magpies.

He will form a formidable halves partnership with Cooper, making Souths a genuine premiership threat.