The Queensland Reds will take their biggest gamble since Wendell Sailor when James O'Connor and Karmichael Hunt are officially unveiled as blue-chip signings in Brisbane on Friday night.
Neither man will be at the Reds Gala Ball but speculation about their whereabouts next year can finally end when former Wallaby O'Connor and triple-code warrior Hunt are named as part of the revamped Reds' Super Rugby squad.
Sailor played 47 games for the Reds from 2002-2005 after being signed by the ARU with Mat Rogers (Waratahs) as part of a cross-code raid.
O'Connor's return to Australia has been an open secret in rugby circles, while Hunt all but gave the game away when he announced on Thursday he was leaving the AFL's Gold Coast Suns five years after his code swap from rugby league.
He declined to confirm his next move but the 27-year-old will head to Ballymore to return to the code he played as a schoolboy at Churchie. Reds skipper James Horwill played with Hunt in Queensland age sides. ''He was a talent then so I don't think there's anything stopping him,'' Horwill said.
The Reds' front office and coach Richard Graham will be hoping Horwill is a sound judge, as will they hope O'Connor can get his life on track off the field after he was effectively exiled from Australian rugby after a string of indiscretions.
After stints with London Irish and Toulon, he returns to his home state with eyes on a return to the Wallabies. But it will be the Reds, not the Wallabies, who take on the bulk of the risk.
Phil Lutton