Moore is heading 'home'
The hooker had substantial offers from European clubs such as Munster, and the Brumbies did all they could to keep him in Canberra, but Moore signed with the Reds on a three-year deal from 2017 through to the next World Cup in 2019.
Raised in Brisbane from a young age, Moore made his Super Rugby debut for the Reds in 2003. He played 47 games for them between 2003 and 2008, before signing with the Brumbies in 2009.
Moore made his Wallabies debut while with the Reds in 2005 and has gone on to play 102 Tests for Australia. He has played at three World Cups, captaining them at the most recent tournament in England, where the Wallabies finished second.
Queensland Rugby Union Executive General Manager – Reds, Daniel Herbert, said: “Stephen is a world-class player and a talismanic leader with unquestionable integrity and durability.
“He is a product of the Queensland Rugby pathways and the value he will provide to this team and organisation is immense.
“Our Head of Pathways and List Management, Sam Cordingley, is doing an excellent job in retaining and recruiting the very best talent available and we will continue to be very active in this space.
“In the meantime, we have a big year ahead of us and out of respect for our Reds squad, the Brumbies and Stephen himself, our focus is solely on the upcoming season.”
Moore said he was looking forward to returning to Brisbane ahead of the 2017 season.
“It was a really difficult call to make but we were keen to get back to Brisbane to be closer to family and felt the timing was right.
“My family and I have really enjoyed our time in Canberra and the Brumbies are a fantastic organisation who have been great to us since we arrived here from Brisbane in 2009.
"Queensland is where I started my career and from a distance, it looks like the Reds are building a strong program, which I'm looking forward to being a part of from 2017."
After considering opportunities to continue his playing career overseas beyond 2016, Moore said he had unfinished business in Australian rugby and is motivated to build on the success of the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign.
“I really feel we are building something special at the Wallabies under 'Cheik' (Michael Cheika) and his coaching staff, but there’s a lot more that we want to achieve and I really wanted to be a part of that.
“As a team we set some goals for the year and despite falling short in the World Cup Final, we achieved a lot of those goals and it was one of the most enjoyable seasons that I’ve had in my career.
Moore acknowledged that although the 2019 World Cup is on the distant horizon, part of his motivation in continuing his career in Australia was the goal of playing on the game’s biggest stage for a fourth time in his career.
“I’ll be 36 at the next World Cup and obviously form and a lot of other factors come in to it. If I am playing well and healthy, and if I’m the right fit for the team when the time comes, I’d love the opportunity to play at another World Cup.
“It’s extremely rare for a player to play in four World Cups and I’m under no illusions that it’s going to happen for me without a lot of those factors working in my favour.”
