The brain hacks helping Wallabies star drive Redsâ rise
Wallabies star Fraser McReight has tapped into the power of visualisation and other brain hacks as he attempts to lift the Reds to Super Rugby Pacific glory.
When Fraser McReight and his Queensland Reds teammates run out for their season opener they might feel like theyâve 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 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 Redsâ program.
Theyâll 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, itâs 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 Redsâ head of psychology after serving last season as player development manager.
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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.
âObviously I had a good year last year, I want to hopefully have a great year this year,â McReight, introduced by Kiss at the teamâs season launch as the worldâs best No.7, said.
âItâs been an area Iâve used before and having Hayley around the team more, itâs helping find those little moments where we can get better.â
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 âpsycho-education sessionsâ to equip players with tools to better manage those moments.
The psychologist is tuned into the teamâs weekly themes and game plans, McReight revealing mental rehearsal â popular in the NBA and with NFL quarterbacks â had resonated.
âThat visualisation, or mental awareness, itâs a great way to get wins off the field,â he said.
â(Wallabies coach) Joe Schmidt talks about it all the time; your neurological pathways can be triggered the same amount, without any physical stress.
âYou can just be sitting here, testing your brain.
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âAnd if you get the whole team doing it together, thatâs the point of difference.
âIf it can just help one per cent.â
Cronin said McReight, a star on the Wallabiesâ end-of-year European tour, had engaged âphenomenallyâ.
âHis growth as a player and a person has been incredible,â Cronin told AAP.
âItâs exciting to be part of a team who are really aligned in where we want to go and how we want to play.
âItâs such a mental game so itâs about understanding our minds and how our brains work under pressure.
âYou give them the practical tools and skills to understand themselves better and cope better and thereâs a natural transfer onto the field in terms of performance.
âIt depends on who Iâm talking to, but itâs useful to have an understanding of positions and plays to best support them.â
The Redsâ 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 Fridayâs clash shapes as an early banana skin moment.
âThey play a tough, physical and adventurous game and stretched the Western Force to fulltime last weekend,â Kiss said of Ardie Saveaâs Pasifika.
âThey scored six tries against the Force when their speed of play off turnovers was a feature.
âAs I say, we have to be prepared to work hard.â
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