Inexperienced Reds full of belief
The Queensland outfit finished a lowly 13th in last year's tournament, winning only four games out of 16 and many pundits are writing off their chances again this year because of their young squad.
The Reds lost the services of a number of players, which included the likes of flyhalf Quade Cooper and scrumhalf Will Genia who both moved to Europe after last year's World Cup.
Slipper himself will not be available to play in the opening half of the tournament as he is still recovering from a shoulder injury. However, the 26-year-old prop prefers looking on the brighter side of things.
"If you look at the overall squad it is very inexperienced," said Slipper. "In saying that it brings enthusiasm. At the moment there is a really good vibe around Ballymore and the boys are training really hard and really looking forward to the season ahead.
"We are not putting any marks on the season yet, but we are really excited to start."
One of the main objectives the Reds will be trying to achieve when Super Rugby gets underway next month is instilling confidence back into their game and in their fans.
"We need to prove a point, but in saying that we got to be confident and comfortable in our own game. I think the hard work that we are putting in at the moment is going to do that for us.
"What we have to do is just work hard and make sure we go into the season full of confidence.
"One of our main goals at the Reds is to play a game that all Queenslanders can be proud of – if you a rugby fan or not. Walking away from the game, barring the result, and you can be proud of us, that is something we are striving towards and it is something we driving at the moment in training," added Slipper.
The Reds will have to pick a new captain while Slipper recovers on the side-lines and with an inexperienced squad this might be a problem, especially if some of the remaining senior players pick up any injuries in the current pre-season.
However, Slipper believes they have enough candidates in the squad to fulfil the role.
"We haven’t really spoken about it [captaincy] at the moment. It's still pre-season – I don't think it is necessary to pick a captain this early in the season, but it is going to have to be addressed at some point.
"There is plenty of players you can pick from – there is plenty of experience in the team," he said.
One of the candidates for Reds captain will be Wallaby lock Rob Simmons. He played an integral part in Australia's run to the World Cup Final last year and Slipper believes he has what it takes to step up to the role.
"He is a natural leader. I have had the privilege of playing with Simo [Simmons] since the age of 15 so I know him pretty well and he is well respected in the group so. He is the vice-captain at the moment and I am sure he will do a great job – he has captained before," said Slipper.
Australia was lauded for their performances in the World Cup, despite losing the Final to rivals New Zealand and lock Simmons just wants share what he learnt during the tournament with some of the youngsters in the squad.
"We are trying to apply the stuff we learnt over there with Michael Cheika here with the Reds and trying to bring the young guys here to the level of consistency we were performing over there," said Simmons.
"We want to try and harness these young guys, get some experience under the belt and just try and get some consistent performances on the field and get a few more points on the board."
