Reds bolster 2019 squad

The Queensland Reds have signed National Rugby Championship (NRC) trio Harry Wilson, Efi Ma’afu and Will Eadie ahead of next year's Super Rugby season.

 
Hooker Ma’afu and winger Eadie have signed through until next season, while back-rower Wilson has put pen to paper through 2020 at Ballymore.

 
Wilson and Ma’afu are both expected to be selected in this weekend’s Bond University Queensland Country 23 to play the Western Force in Sunday’s NRC semi-final on the Gold Coast.

 
Reds Head Coach Brad Thorn said: “Efi’s a hard-worker who I worked closely with last year with Queensland Country and he’s developing nicely as a footballer.

 
“Both Efi and Will were also part of the Queensland U20’s side when I coached them last year, so it’s good to see two more players come through our Queensland Pathway.

 
“I’ve kept a close eye on Harry’s progress this season in Premier Rugby and with Queensland Country and he continues to work hard on his game which is pleasing,” Thorn said.

 
An Australian Schoolboys representative and a product of the Reds U20s Academy, Wilson was named the Queensland Rugby Union’s (QRU) U19s Player of the Year for 2018.

 
Originally from far-northern New South Wales where he played junior rugby with the Gunnedah Red Devils, Wilson moved to Brisbane aged 10 and attended high school at St. Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace.

 
In just his first year out of school, Wilson forced his way into the Brothers’ Premier Grade forward pack and went on to make his NRC debut for Bond University Queensland Country in Round 1 against the Vikings in Canberra this year.

 
The teenage back-rower also helped Brothers Colts to the 2018 Queensland Premier Grade title.

 
Fellow Queensland Country player, Ma’afu, has also had a strong NRC showing this season having played every game of the regular season in 2018 for Country.

 
During his debut NRC season in 2017 under Thorn as Head Coach, the barnstorming Wests hooker was a member of Country’s premiership-winning campaign.

A Reds U20s Academy member, Ma’afu has also been a member of the Junior Wallabies squad over the past two years which included scoring a try in Australia’s 41-15 victory over Argentina in the Fifth Place Final of the World Rugby U20s Championships earlier this year.

A standout at Australian Schoolboys level, Eadie’s speed and ability to finish on the wing has also seen him receive a Reds contract.
 

The University of Queensland flyer was a key member of Queensland’s U20 Championship-winning side in 2017 and was also a part of the McInnes Wilson Lawyers Brisbane City squad during 2018.