Senior forward Izack Rodda says he's disappointed to miss out on the Reds captaincy but has thrown his full support behind new leader Liam Wright as Queensland chases a return to the Super Rugby finals.
Wallabies lock Rodda captained the Reds in Samu Kerevi's absence last season and was among candidates interviewed for the permanent position after Kerevi linked with Japanese club Suntory following the World Cup.
Queensland followed a rigorous process to select their new leaders, with players interviewed by a panel including head coach Brad Thorn, general manager of professional rugby Sam Cordingley, chief executive David Hanham and Olympian and specialist high performance consultant Bo Hansen, who was involved in the recent review of the Wallabies' season.
It's understood Wright performed particularly well in the interview process, with Thorn eventually appointing the 22-year-old as captain.
Rodda, only slightly older at 23 but with 25 Tests already under his belt, admitted missing out on the captaincy was a blow.
"I always desire to be a captain, it's definitely what I want to do in the future, so I was a little bit disappointed," Rodda said.
"But it went through a panel and the panel selected Wrongaz (Wright) as the best fit, which I back 100 percent. They picked the right guy to lead the team and I'll back that 100 percent.
"At the end of the day, it doesn't really change anything. I still do what I do."
Thorn admitted it was a tough decision, with Rodda also a leading candidate.
"(Rodda) is still a leader in the group - him, Bryce Hegarty and Henry Speight, they're the leadership group," Thorn said.
"Izack was right there, Bryce, and there were other guys that were talked about as well.
"It was a tough decision and I'm pleased about that. I'm pleased that there's going to be tough decisions around those sort of things - hopefully tough decisions around selections every week as well.
"And that's where we need to go. We need to go where it's quite tough to choose these guys. The big thing is with the captain, you've got the captain and that's a big deal but it's the support around him and there'll be strength from that."
Rodda is not about to kick stones though.
Having extended his contract with the Reds through to 2023 just before the World Cup, he is in for the long haul and excited by the opportunities he believes are ahead for the Reds.
"I was super stoked to sign until the end of the next World Cup," he said.
"I was super keen just to stick around in Queensland, I see a good thing happening here and it's good to see a lot of young guys in the same boat and signing on for four years.
"To keep that consistency, we're going to have more of the same guys around the club for a few years and that's good to build those combinations, build that team and keep going as well."
The Reds have spent the first two years under Thorn blooding several young players and gaining experience as a unit and Rodda believes now is the time to deliver on their promise.
"I feel we've got to make the finals this year definitely," he said.
"We've had a couple of building years now and it's now time to put it to the sword and have a go. I think it's definitely the minimum of our goals is to make finals and try and keep building on that.
"We are still a young team but plenty of experiences come along that we're going to want to experience and it's just about harnessing that and that will to win."
Expect a pack led by Rodda and Wright to be a weapon in that charge.
The Reds' forward depth is the best it's been for years and competition for spots in the pack is at a premium, with even Wallabies like Rodda, Wright and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto knowing they face a battle from within.
"Depth is something we really have this year and it's a great thing, it keeps everyone on their toes and keeps healthy competition around the team," Rodda said.
"It keeps people playing the best footy they can and training against the best opposition, which essentially pushes us towards (becoming) one of the better packs.
"We're all competitors and we all want to be the best and want each other to be the best. It doesn't matter who's in the position, we want to get the end goal of winning.
"But the competition's there day-in, day-out because there's a lot of good players fighting for a limited number of spots."
