Karmichael Hunt will start at flyhalf in the Reds' final pre-season match against the Crusaders in Queensland on Friday.
Reds coach Richard Graham has announced a 23-man squad for the fixture, with a further three players to be added. In all Graham has made three changes to the starting lineup from last week's loss to the Rebels.
Hunt's inclusion sees 20-year-old Duncan Paia'aua shifting to the reserves bench, Chris Feauai-Sautia has been brought in on the wing and Jamie-Jerry Taulagi has moved to fullback.
Graham said he will use his side's final pre-season match as an opportunity to build some continuity ahead of the Vodacom Super Rugby season.
'I'm also using these pre-season matches as an opportunity to assess all our options at flyhalf,' said Graham.
'I wouldn't be preparing the team the best I could if I didn't look deeply at our flyhalf options for the first round. Karmichael has trained well in the position this week and deserves the chance against the Crusaders.'
The match also sees the return of prop Ben Daley (shoulder) and lock Ed O'Donoghue (ankle) from injury to bolster the forwards on the reserves bench.
Meanwhile, Dan Carter will start at flyhalf for the visitors with Tom Taylor shifting to inside centre, while Colin Slade will make his first appearance of the season at fullback.
Up front, All Black prop Owen Franks will also get some gametime under the belt, while Matt Todd will once again catain the side in Richie McCaw's absence.
Reds – 15 Jamie-Jerry Taulagi, 14 Chris Kuridrani, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Anthony Fainga'a, 11 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 10 Karmichael Hunt, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Curtis Browning, 5 Marco Kotze, 4 James Horwill, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper (c).
Subs (three to be added): 16 Ben Daley, 17 James Hanson, 18 Sef Faagase, 19 Ed O'Donoghue, 20 Beau Robinson, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Duncan Paia'aua, 23 Campbell Magnay.
Crusaders – 15 Colin Slade, 14 Robbie Fruean, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Tom Taylor, 11 Johnny McNicholl, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Matt Todd (c), 6 Jimmy Tupou, 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Alex Hodgman.
Subs: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Ged Robinson, 18 Joe Moody, 19 Daniel Lienert-Brown, 20 Scott Barrett, 21 Tom Sanders, 22 Billy Guyton, 23 Nathaniel Apa, 24 Nafi Tuitavaki, 25 David Havili.
Photo: Chris Hyde/Getty Images
