Reds have no shortage of leaders
The Queensland outfit have brought in a number of experienced campaigners to help lift the side after a gloomy few years and there is growing excitement about the side's chances in 2017.
Stephen Moore, George Smith, Quade Cooper and Scott Higginbotham will bring a wealth of experience to the Reds' 2017 squad. However, head coach Nick Stiles says regular captain James Slipper will still be calling the shots.
"We recruited heavily around our leadership side of things," Stiles told reporters in Brisbane.
"One thing I want to make really clear, I was really happy with the work James Slipper did last year. To come through all the drama that we had on and off the field, to come through that he still did a good job behind the scenes.
"I am really happy with what he did and I just think having the rest of the guys here, it just really gives his leadership another leg…I want to see these guys coming in and contribute across the board."
Stiles believes he has a well-balanced squad to take on the best the competition has to offer.
"I have not come out and said we want to win the competition. However, the reality is we are here to win football games.
"I think we got a squad that is really well balanced between not only the senior players, but also the level of ability we got through some of our younger players, so the way Super Rugby is setup, if you win your home conference, you make the finals and that is what we want to do," he added.
Moore is no stranger to the captaincy role as he has captained the Brumbies for the last few seasons. He is also the captain of the Wallabies.
However, he is looking forward to his new role with the Reds.
"A big part of my role here is to help James [Slipper] and the other leaders and the young players that have that leadership ability to be the best they can be," said Moore.
"The team with the most leaders often does the best and if we can establish a really strong culture around leadership and not rely too much on one or two people then we will be going in the right direction."
