They’ve got the fight and Queensland Reds lock Cadeyrn Neville says the side just needs to find the execution against the Force on Saturday night.
Neville praised his young teammates for the grit they showed in their opening loss to the Waratahs but said the side needed to make the most of chances when they came up.
“It’s disappointing to be in a game that when we look back at it probably had opportunities as good as you’ll get to beat the Waratahs at home,” he said.
“There were some positives, our scrum looked to be a good weapon set piece was quite good as well.
“We’ve reviewed the game and there’s a lot that we’re working on be a lot better this weekend.
“A lot of areas of execution across the board need to come up but particularly in attack, maximising our opportunities and being able to execute them.”
Neville said their new players would keep learning and improving after their first hitout.
“I guess with a young side as well experience and (you have) newer combinations as well where I guess things aren’t as natural as guys who have played together for a few years,” he said.
“So hopefully they can get that started.”
Neville said the Reds were well aware of the stakes of their clash with the Force, with the loser set to be the only winless Australian side in the competition.
“It’d be huge (a win),” he said.
“It’s one way or the other. Get a win at home and we’re going to please a lot of people and if you don’t a lot of people are going to put the knife in a little bit.
“We want to please as many people as we can.”
The former Melbourne Rebels lock has had an easier path to a starting lock spot than he thought he might with the late 2015 signing of Wallabies lock Kane Douglas, before the World Cup finalist suffered an ACL injury.
Neville said he would embrace the competition for a start when the World Cup lock returned from injury in the second half of the year.
“I’ve been in competition with good locks my entire career,” he said.
“It’s a huge challenge to be competing with incumbent Test locks but I just want to be a better player.”
