{"id":504657,"date":"2026-02-26T05:41:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T05:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/504657\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T05:41:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T05:41:07","slug":"reds-debutant-carter-gordon-a-little-choir-boy-no-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/504657\/","title":{"rendered":"Reds debutant Carter Gordon a ‘little choir boy’ no more"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Harry Wilson has dared the Highlanders<\/a> to run at Carter Gordon<\/a> in the No.10\u2019s Queensland Reds<\/a> debut.<\/p>\n

The pair will make timely returns from injury in Friday\u2019s Suncorp Stadium clash, the Reds fresh off a bye after an underwhelming defeat to the NSW Waratahs<\/a> in the Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> opener.<\/p>\n

Gordon will finally run out for the Reds, eight years after signing with the club as a 17-year-old prodigy.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old left Ballymore for a Super Rugby shot with the Melbourne Rebels<\/a> and was catapulted into the Wallabies\u2019 2023 World Cup campaign, before a code-switch to Gold Coast in the NRL.<\/p>\n

That stay was marred by a serious back injury that led to a spinal fluid leak, Gordon eventually recovering to make his NRL debut before promptly returning to rugby with the Reds.<\/p>\n

Minor leg injuries have interrupted the Sunshine Coast talent\u2019s pre-season and forced him out of the 2025 opener, but he\u2019ll wear the No.10 on Friday with fellow Wallabies playmaker Tom Lynagh<\/a> (hamstring) sidelined for at least another week.<\/p>\n

Wilson was happy to play along when asked if Gordon, who now boasts a heavily tattooed arm, had been influenced by his NRL stint.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember him as a little choir boy and he\u2019s come back a new man, Carter,\u201d Wilson laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he\u2019s always been strong defensively and played a lot of centres in league. I\u2019ve got no doubt his defence will be a threat for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cNormally, people go at that No.10 channel, but I\u2019m not sure people will try to run over him as much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wallabies captain Wilson revealed on Thursday he had managed knee pain through most of last year\u2019s hectic schedule, and there was some relief when the decision was made to operate in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was something I\u2019ve had to deal with, even though I could manage it well and play some good footy,\u201d the No.8 said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut to come back and the way it felt in pre-season, it made sense to get it fixed up for what is another massive year ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a massive year that definitely takes it out of you mentally and physically, but I enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Highlanders, powered by wrecking-ball captain Timoci Tavatavanawai<\/a>, beat the Crusaders<\/a> in round one before a two-point loss to the Chiefs<\/a> last weekend.<\/p>\n

Josh Nasser, Filipo Daugunu<\/a> and Kalani Thomas<\/a> \u2013 all capped Wallabies \u2013 will return from injuries on the bench for Les Kiss\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

Wallabies flanker Fraser McReight<\/a> will captain the Reds at home for the first time, having led the Australian under-19 world championship side and deputised for an injured Wilson at Test level last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Harry Wilson has dared the Highlanders to run at Carter Gordon in the No.10\u2019s Queensland Reds debut. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219500,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-504657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}