Queensland coach Grant Anderson has stacked his squad full of familiar faces for the Reds’ trip to Perth with eight Bull Sharks named to take on the Western Force at HBF Park on Saturday.
Anderson handed Jemma Bemrose a debut in the opening round clash against the Drua and she repaid the faith with a standout performance that earned her the VPA Australia Player of the Match award.
With his confidence in the Bond University Rugby Club girls sky high, the first-year Super W coach has now added debutant Grace Baker to the starting line-up while her premiership winning teammate Dianne Waight comes on to the bench.
Unfortunately, Anderson has lost the Bull Sharks’ Wallaroo Mel Wilks to an ankle injury, one of four changes to the starting side.
He will take a remodelled backrow into the game with Baker to line-up alongside fellow Bull Shark Lucy Thorpe in the backrow with Bemrose shifting to No.8 .
“Jemma was one of our best against the Drua. She led our stats for tackles and she had a high workrate generally,” Anderson said.
“Lucy had good lead-up form in the trials and Grace has the excitement of a debut ahead.
“We had some good scrums against the Drua but it is an area to work on for more consistency."
“If we can win a good share of clean ball, we have the backs to do some damage. We’ve worked at reducing our handling errors and the team is excited to step up again.”
The big news is the elevation of 16-year-old schoolgirl Shalom Sauaso to the starting side following a stunning try scoring cameo off the bench against the Drua.
Shalom, who also played for the Bull Sharks 7s program over summer but has not appeared for the club’s QPR side, has been named on the wing.
Anderson said her form on debut demanded a spot be made for her in the starting side.
“In the 30 or so minutes that Shalom played against the Drua, she showed a real maturity and made some strong carries with excellent post-contact metres,” she said.
“We’re keen to see her start.”
Madi Schuck, Ava Wereta and Charli Jacoby are the other Bull Sharks in the side.