‘The point of difference': The mental edge shaping Fraser McReight’s game

When Fraser McReight and his Queensland Reds teammates run out for their season opener they might feel like they’ve seen it all before.

On the eve of their Super Rugby Pacific campaign, the Wallabies flanker and two-time defending domestic player of the year has revealed how high-performance psychology is taking his game to another level.

Visualisation, decision-making under pressure, anxiety management and mental preparedness exercises are now part of the Reds’ program.

They’ll be put to the test against Moana Pasifika on Friday in Brisbane for the first time this season, after a round-one bye.

The stacked squad is entering a second season under aspirational coach Les Kiss, determined to improve on back-to-back quarter-final exits.

And while their list has been strengthened, it’s a handful of off-field signings that could prove influential.

Dietitian Cassie Ferguson and Professor Dimitri Perrin, a French data science expert, are new additions at Ballymore.

And Hayley Cronin is now the Reds’ head of psychology after serving last season as player development manager.

Cronin will be on the road with the team, working closely with Kiss and his assistants, as well as the medical staff, in a high-performance role.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

4

Draws

0

Wins

1

Average Points scored

35

27

First try wins

60%

Home team wins

60%

“Obviously I had a good year last year, I want to hopefully have a great year this year,” McReight, introduced by Kiss at the team’s season launch as the world’s best No.7, told AAP.

“It’s been an area I’ve used before and having Hayley around the team more, it’s helping find those little moments where we can get better.”

Tight losses away to the lower-placed Western Force and Moana Pasifika cost the Reds a top-four finish and home quarter-final last season, with McReight red carded in the latter and admitting they were inexplicably flat in Perth.

The Reds were 3-2 in regular-season games against New Zealand opposition in 2024, both losses coming from tries conceded after the 80th minute.

Cronin meets individually with players and also conducts “psycho-education sessions” to equip players with tools to better manage those moments.

The psychologist is tuned into the team’s weekly themes and game plans, McReight revealing mental rehearsal – popular in the NBA and with NFL quarterbacks – had resonated.

“That visualisation, or mental awareness, it’s a great way to get wins off the field,” he said.

“(Wallabies coach) Joe Schmidt talks about it all the time; your neurological pathways can be triggered the same amount, without any physical stress.

“You can just be sitting here, testing your brain.

“And if you get the whole team doing it together, that’s the point of difference.

“If it can just help one per cent.”

Cronin said McReight, a star on the Wallabies’ end-of-year European tour, had engaged “phenomenally”.

“His growth as a player and a person has been incredible,” Cronin told AAP.

“It’s exciting to be part of a team who are really aligned in where we want to go and how we want to play.

“It’s such a mental game so it’s about understanding our minds and how our brains work under pressure.

“You give them the practical tools and skills to understand themselves better and cope better and there’s a natural transfer onto the field in terms of performance.

“It depends on who I’m talking to, but it’s useful to have an understanding of positions and plays to best support them.”

The Reds’ 2024 campaign showed promise but ended tamely, the Chiefs racing out to a 28-0 lead after just 24 minutes in their quarter-final before winning 43-21.

The arrival of Wallabies Josh Canham, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Filipo Daugunu from the defunct Melbourne Rebels has created fresh depth, although Friday’s clash shapes as an early banana skin moment.

“They play a tough, physical and adventurous game and stretched the Western Force to fulltime last weekend,” Kiss said of Ardie Savea’s Pasifika.

“They scored six tries against the Force when their speed of play off turnovers was a feature.

“As I say, we have to be prepared to work hard.”