Andrew Ready to captain McInnes Wilson Lawyers Brisbane City in 2017 National Rugby Championship
Queensland Rugby Union today announced Andrew Ready will captain McInnes Wilson Lawyers Brisbane City in the 2017 season of the National Rugby Championship.
The St.George Queensland Reds hooker is preparing to pack down for his fourth season of NRC and will take the field as one City’s most experienced players.
The QRU’s announcement comes ahead of Ready presenting a 2017 Brisbane City jersey to Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Graham Quirk at Ballymore later today.
Brisbane City head coach Mick Heenan: “We looked at a number of factors. Andrew is well respected within the group and his attention to detail so far in training has been great.
“We think he’s got a point to prove in the NRC after the year he’s had and I’m expecting him to respond to the responsibility.
Ready said he felt privileged to lead the two-time NRC champions and he is looking forward to leading by example.
“I’m extremely excited to be named Brisbane City captain. I want to lead from the front and set a good example for the club guys coming through,” Ready said.
“I’m a big believer that good leaders create leaders, so I’ll be encouraging everyone to speak up and I want to ensure that Brisbane City is a really open environment.
“The NRC is an opportunity for both club players and Super Rugby players to make a stamp on the game and to prove themselves in a semi-professional environment,” he said.
City have been training for three weeks now but training has intensified in the last week with all club players now on deck.
As two-time premiers in 2014 and 2015, Brisbane City have previously set high standards but that only excites Ready ahead of Round 1 this Saturday.
“We’ve been pretty successful as a City team and I’m keen for this squad to back up what’s been done before.
“We’ll take it week-by-week starting with the Fijians on Saturday,” Ready said.
The Brisbane City squad features 18 players with Super Rugby experience and 18 returning Brisbane City players from last season. Seventeen players have been selected directly from Queensland Premier Rugby, with all nine clubs represented.
Now entering its fourth year, the NRC is an exciting brand of Rugby featuring eight teams from across the country and for the first time ever, a team from Fiji.
Brisbane City’s season kicks off at Ballymore on Saturday September 2 when they host competition newbies Fijian Drua at Ballymore, 3.00pm.
In 2017 the QRU will be taking more home matches out to local clubs than ever before to further engage the Queensland Rugby community. The university of Queensland will host Brisbane City v Canberra Vikings on 16 September and Wests’ new Sci-Fleet Stadium will host Brisbane City v Melbourne Rising on 14 October.
All Brisbane City home matches are FREE entry. For more information, visit www.redsrugby.com.au
Andrew Ready – captain
Position: Hooker
Height: 180cm
Weight: 107kg
Born: 11/07/1993
Place of birth: Brisbane, QLD
Senior Club: Easts
Junior Club: Norths
School: St. Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace
Representative Honours: Queensland Schoolboys (2010), Australian A Schoolboys (2010), Reds A (2013-2014), Australian U20s (2013), Brisbane City (2014-2017), Queensland (2015-), Wallaby XV (2016)
Super Rugby debut: 2014 v Sydney Stars
Super Rugby Caps: 27 caps
Super Rugby Points: 15 (3T)
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