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Slipper's Reds future 'murky at best'

James Slipper. Photo / Getty Images

James Slipper’s return from a two-month suspension following a failed drugs test will be a step forward into a ‘murky’ playing future, with Queensland Reds coach Brad Thorn taking a hardline stance on drug use.

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“I spoke to Brad the week after it all went down and it was clear from that conversation that the future could be murky,” Slipper told reporters.

The two have only spoken once since and Slipper doesn’t want to follow the path of other exiled Reds, Quade Cooper and Karmichael Hunt, to club rugby but he insisted that leaving the Reds won’t be an easy decision.

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“I’d prefer not to be,” he said when asked about leaving.

“Whether I stay or not, it will be tough.

“It’d be tough to go back, it’d be tough to stay and it’d be tough to go.

“Any option would be pretty hard but right now I haven’t really focused on that.”

The 29-year-old prop had only just penned a two-year extension with the Reds months prior but Slipper revealed it was personal circumstances that lead to going down a path of self-destruction.

“I had the [Achilles] injury last year and then I lost someone in the family, that was my first loss,” Slipper said

“Then my mum was diagnosed again so it was a bit of a whirlwind of a few things.

“It was just hard to deal with and by me stuffing up it was pretty hard, because I didn’t want to put that pressure on, especially with mum feeling like she was the reason.

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“But the moment I did it was a relief, a ton of weight came of my shoulders.

“I’ve come a long way because of how I’ve opened up to people around me and especially the family.”

Following the hitout against the Wallabies, Slipper will likely return to play the NRC season with Queensland Country before weighing up his options.

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Nickers 17 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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