![\"Berrick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/d33f5c6c0c94b3b279b707f9440f9769940dcff0.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n\u201cIt takes time, massively, and it will take him a good few games to get that under his belt again. But the good thing for him is he was a rugby player through and through, and then he went to league.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone like myself, I grew up playing mostly league, so rugby was a tougher switch for me. He\u2019s coming back to a game he knows well, and he\u2019s incredibly talented \u2013 if you\u2019ve seen him play golf and a bunch of other sports, he\u2019s gifted in that sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he also works hard, and with this new lease on life after looking at your career that could potentially be done and realising you\u2019ve got another good 10 years ahead of you is exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Berrick Barnes Credit: Getty<\/p>\n
Gordon\u2019s ascent to the Wallabies\u2019 jersey may be a formality for the looming tour, but his arrival at the Reds will keep him on his toes once Tom Lynagh recovers from a hamstring issue.<\/p>\n
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Lynagh, who featured in the British and Irish Lions series as the first-choice five-eighth, will not travel with the Test squad, but the pair will join forces with youngsters Harry McLaughlin-Phillips and Finn Mackay to compete for Queensland\u2019s chief play-making duties.<\/p>\n
Mackay, still just 18 and yet to make his Super Rugby debut, set up four tries in Toowoomba as the Reds beat the Wild Knights 59-19.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, you want competition across spots because it pushes you,\u201d Barnes said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung Finn Mackay, on the weekend that\u2019s as good a young 10 performance as I\u2019ve seen from anyone in a long time. The decisions he made, and he\u2019s your fourth-string 10? Jeez, you\u2019ve got some riches there.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt bodes well for a good 2026 campaign if they can keep everyone fit.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the Wallabies prepare to face Jones for the first time since his Wallabies exit, Barnes felt his coaching education took an enormous leap under the controversial helmsman.<\/p>\n
Now with the Wild Knights, where he coaches a backline featuring 59-Test Wallaby Marika Koroibete, he felt he was ready to take on greater duties in his off-the-field role.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great experience and I learned a lot. I know it didn\u2019t go to plan, and I know there\u2019s been a lot of criticism, but as a young coach getting the opportunity to work with Eddie in that environment was fantastic,\u201d Barnes said.<\/p>\n
The Reds and Wild Knights will kick off at 1.30pm on Saturday, with the Wallabies and Japan clash to be viewed on a big screen at Ballymore afterwards.<\/p>\n