Reds loose forward puts his hand up to take over goalkicking duties

The talk is, for a young No.8, Harry Wilson is a surprisingly good goalkicker.

The Queensland Reds youngster isn’t so confident however that coach Brad Thorn would view him as the solution to the Super Rugby franchise’s kicking woes.

A miserable zero-from-four haul by the Reds with the boot last Friday was the difference as they fell 24-20 to the Crusaders in Christchurch despite scoring four tries to three against the reigning champions.

It was a bitter pill for Wilson to swallow after the 20-year-old was one of the Reds’ best against the New Zealand powerhouse.

Across the season Jock Campbell has now made just 12 of 21 efforts from the kicking tee and the Reds must be considering other options after his dismal Christchurch display.

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Wilson wouldn’t shy away from taking on the kicking duties against the Bulls at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday if asked, but he doesn’t genuinely think he’s a contender.

“I would love to get the opportunity but I think Thorney and everyone else would just tell me to be quiet,” he said.

“I’ll keep working on it at training but.”

The news Hunter Paisami will sit out for the next month with a knee injury may allow a path back into the starting XV for proven goalkicker Bryce Hegarty.

The 27-year-old had made nine-from-nine attempts before being demoted to the bench four games ago and could come into fullback with Campbell moving to Paisami’s vacant wing position.

Whoever gets the nod for Saturday, Wilson is confident the Reds kickers will find their radar soon.

“It’s never ideal to leave the points out there but we’ve just got full trust in them to keep working hard,” he said.

“I’ve got no doubt soon it will come good. We’ve just got to stay positive with it.”

– AAP

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