Photo: Sportography

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Wallaby back rower Caleb Timu has re-committed to the Queensland Reds for the 2019 Super Rugby season.

The former Brisbane Bronco star had a difficult transition to rugby back in 2016 when he suffered a serious knee injury before he’d barely pulled on the Reds jersey. But he battled back in some style to help Queensland Country lift the 2017 NRC title, being named Player of the Tournament in the process, before completing a dominant debut year of Super Rugby under incoming coach Brad Thorn.

The 24-year-old was one of the Reds best in a year where they didn’t quite make the initial progress hoped for under Thorn. But with so many young players blooded into the side across the season, expectations for a vastly improved performance in 2019 are high.

His form was good enough to see him called up for the June test series against Ireland, where he made his Wallaby debut on his home turf of Suncorp Stadium. He has just been named in the Queensland Country squad that will begin the defence of their title in a grand final rematch against Canberra Vikings on Saturday, September 1st.

“I’m feeling at home at Ballymore. It is a great place to develop as a Rugby player,” he explained. “I feel like I’ve grown as a player in the last 12 months and I really want to continue to learn and contribute to the team.

“I’m looking forward to the NRC season, it’s a great opportunity to play footy and work on your game. It will be a good chance to continue to learn and improve and hopefully I can carry that form into the next Super Rugby season with the Reds.”

His coach at both Country and the Reds over the last two years, Brad Thorn has had a front-row seat to watch Timu’s rapid progress in his new code. He feels it’s just the beginning.

“It’s great to see Caleb commit for another season. He really came into his own during last year’s NRC and backed it up with a strong season for the Reds.
 
“Probably the most pleasing thing about Caleb is he hasn’t yet reached his full potential. We’ve seen glimpses of what he is capable of, but he definitely has a lot more to offer the Reds and the Wallabies. He’s a great man who works hard to better himself as a player and a person.”

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Caleb Timu
Position: Back row
Height: 190cm
Weight: 117kg
DOB: 22/02/1994
POB: Auckland, NZ
School: St. Joseph’s Nudgee College/Marsden State High School
Club: Souths
Representative honours: Queensland U16s, Queensland Schoolboys (2011), Australian Schoolboys (2011), Queensland (2017-), Queensland Country NRC (2017), Wallabies (2018-)
Queensland Representative Number: 1317
Super Rugby debut: 2017 v Brumbies, Suncorp Stadium
Super Rugby caps: 16
Super Rugby points: 25 (5T)
Test debut: 2018 v Ireland, Suncorp Stadium
Test caps: 2