Franco Molina produced a stunning hat-trick as the Western Force pulled off a 42–19 bonus-point upset over the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium — their first bonus-point win over the Reds since 2012.

The result keeps the Force’s finals hopes alive as they improved to 2–5, while the Reds slipped to 4–3 and dropped to sixth on the ladder — a defeat that could have shot them into third place with a win.

Key moments

12 mins – TRY FORCE: The Force build through phases before Franco Molina snipes around the ruck to dot down beside the posts. Ben Donaldson converts. (Force 7–0)

17 mins – TRY REDS: A slick set-piece move from the lineout sees Hunter Paisami pop a lovely ball out the back, sending Tim Ryan through a massive gap to score under the sticks. Jock Campbell converts. (Force 7–7)

24 mins – TRY REDS: The Force collapse at scrum time and Kalani Thomas taps quickly, stepping past two defenders before firing to Joe Brial, who barges over. Campbell hits the post. (Reds 12–7)

32 mins – TRY FORCE: Molina burrows low through multiple pick-and-goes before muscling his way over for his second. Donaldson converts. (Force 14–12)

40 mins – TRY FORCE: A brilliant counter sparked by Dylan Pietsch opens space down the left. Nick Champion de Crespigny strides away and draws the fullback before linking with Mac Grealy on the inside to score. Donaldson converts. (Force 21–12)

Half-time: Force 21–12. The Force head into the sheds with a nine-point lead after a lively first half. Molina has been immense, while the Reds have looked dangerous but let themselves down with errors at key moments.

50 mins – TRY FORCE: Donaldson stabs a perfectly weighted cross-kick to the right wing and Darby Lancaster flies high above Campbell to take a clean catch and score in the corner. Lancaster limps off with an ankle injury. Donaldson converts. (Force 28–12)

54 mins – YELLOW CARD REDS: Harry Wilson is sent to the bin for head-on-head contact with Molina. The Force immediately attack with a man advantage.

59 mins – TRY FORCE: The Force win the lineout and charge around the corner. Brandon Paenga-Amosa shrugs off a defender and dots down beside the posts. Donaldson converts. (Force 35–12)

76 mins – TRY REDS: Josh Flook gets a brilliant short ball from Wilson on the right wing and breaks clean through from 70 metres out. He draws the fullback and fires to Filipo Daugunu, who streaks away to score in the corner. Harry McLaughlin-Phillips converts. (Force 35–19)

80+1 mins – TRY FORCE: Molina gets it one-off the ruck, bumping off defenders and carrying two players over the line with him to complete a stunning hat-trick and seal the bonus point. Donaldson converts. (Force 42–19)

Full-time: Western Force 42–19 Queensland Reds

Match report

NRL convert Zac Lomax was expected to make his rugby union debut off the bench, but the former St George Illawarra and Parramatta star was ruled out less than an hour before kick-off due to hamstring tightness.

“Zac trained fully on Thursday but only got up to 80 per cent speed,” Force head coach Simon Cron explained. “He was just a bit tight in his hamstring. Maybe got a very minor strain in there. Because he’s a power athlete who, if we put him away down the edge, he’s going to sprint, it’s just too high a risk for him and for us.”

Lomax, who signed a two-year deal with Rugby Australia with the 2027 home World Cup the obvious carrot, will now target his debut against the Fijian Drua in Lautoka next weekend.

In the absence of injured captain Jeremy Williams, Argentina international Molina stepped up with a performance that drew gasps from commentators. “What have we just witnessed from the second rower?” Tim Horan said on Stan Sport after Molina completed his hat-trick.

The Pumas lock opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a smart snipe around the ruck. Brandon Paenga-Amosa wound up close to the line, with Jack Daly hammering away just short before Molina caught the defence napping, dotting down beside the posts for a converted try.

His second came just past the half-hour mark after a 50-22 kick put the Force in prime position. Molina burrowed low through multiple pick-and-goes, with Daly having another dig before Molina muscled his way over with help from his fellow forwards.

His third was the most emphatic. With the clock red and a bonus point at stake, Molina got it one-off the ruck, bumping off defenders and carrying two players over the line with him to complete a stellar performance. Beyond his tries, Molina was influential in several clutch lineout plays, including a crucial steal inside his own 22 when the Reds were threatening in the second half.

The Force had started brightly, with Darby Lancaster making a brilliant catch from Henry Robertson’s box kick before breaking the line. Fraser McReight’s work at the breakdown won a penalty to relieve pressure, but the visitors maintained their stranglehold on territory.

The Reds responded well to Molina’s opener through a beautifully worked set-piece move. Joe Brial secured the lineout cleanly and Seru Uru shifted the ball right, finding Hunter Paisami to dig into the defensive line. Paisami then popped a lovely ball out the back after sucking in defenders, sending replacement Tim Ryan through a massive gap to score under the sticks.

When the Force collapsed at scrum time, halfback Kalani Thomas showed quick thinking by tapping immediately. He stepped past two defenders before firing a great ball to Brial, who barged over to give Queensland a 12–7 lead after 24 minutes.

But the Force regained control through Molina’s second try and then struck a hammer blow right on half-time. A brilliant counter sparked by Dylan Pietsch saw him make a damaging run beyond halfway. The ball went left as Mac Grealy spotted space, firing it to stand-in captain Nick Champion de Crespigny on the wing. Champion de Crespigny strode away with no one around him, drew the fullback, and linked with Grealy on the inside, who strolled in to score down the left flank.

The Force headed into the sheds with a 21–12 lead — and crucially, they had finally converted a halftime advantage into victory after four losses this season despite leading at the break.

The Reds came out firing after the interval, with Paisami making an early break following Harry Wilson’s decoy line. But the Force’s scramble defence held firm, and they soon took complete control.

Ben Donaldson produced a moment of magic to extend the lead. With advantage being played, he stabbed a perfectly weighted cross-kick to the right wing. Lancaster flew high above Jock Campbell in the contest, taking a clean catch to score in the corner. The winger landed awkwardly, rolling his ankle badly, and limped off to be replaced by Kurtley Beale — one of several casualties on a brutal night.

When Reds captain Wilson was sent to the sin bin for head-on-head contact with Molina, the Force capitalised immediately. They won the lineout and charged around the corner, with Harry Johnson-Holmes getting close before Paenga-Amosa went at pace, shrugged off a defender, and dotted down beside the posts to extend the lead to 35–12.

“We spoke about it all week, sticking to our process,” Champion de Crespigny said afterwards. “We’ve been in a lot of games and haven’t been able to seal it out. Key moments letting them back in. We wanted today to have the complete performance.”

Josh Flook sparked an 80-metre counter-attack in the 76th minute, receiving a brilliant short ball from Wilson on the right wing and breaking clean through. Flook drew the fullback and fired to Filipo Daugunu, who had the gas to streak away and score in the corner. Harry McLaughlin-Phillips converted from the sideline, and the try threatened to deny the Force their bonus point.

But Molina had the final say. The Force won a scrum in the Reds 22 and attacked with intent as the siren sounded. Nic Dolly and Beale had cracks before Molina got it one-off the ruck and powered his way over for his hat-trick.

“It keeps our fire going inside of us,” Champion de Crespigny said of the result. “We’ve got that belief of where we want to go. We want to be the first team from the Force to be in the finals. That’s our objective.”

While Molina grabbed the headlines, flyhalf Donaldson was outstanding in his battle against Wallabies rival Carter Gordon. He finished with a perfect six-from-six off the tee, ran incisive lines, and kicked potently both in-play and at goal.

“Thursday I thought was his best training of the year,” Cron said of Donaldson. “Vocal. Flattening up. Taking on the line. He did that tonight again which was awesome for the team.”

The Force’s stats told the story: 42 defenders beaten to Queensland’s 17, 514 metres gained, and 180 carries compared to the Reds’ 94.

Both sides suffered casualties. Teenage Reds winger Treyvon Pritchard, earning his first start on his 19th birthday, lasted less than 10 minutes after failing his Head Injury Assessment following a cover tackle that helped stall a Force attack. Force prop Tom Robertson followed soon after when he was caught out of position tackling Tim Ryan, appearing to be knocked out after collecting Ryan’s elbow to the head.

For the Force, both starting wingers failed to finish — Pietsch limped off with a foot injury at half-time (described as precautionary), while Lancaster’s ankle injury from his spectacular try finish left him on crutches at full-time.

“It’s tough. I’m feeling flat. We were off tonight,” Reds captain Fraser McReight said. “At times, we were not clinical or accurate enough. Our discipline let us down and, at times, we were not up to scratch with our physicality. We’ll come back in at the start of next week, we’ll figure out what went wrong and get back into it.”

Reds coach Les Kiss — the Wallabies boss-in-waiting — acknowledged the challenge ahead. “Credit to the Force. They held the ball well and they punished our error rate. We’ll assess that game as hard as we always do. It’s not a throwaway line… we find out about ourselves in moments like this and we will go hard at our next challenge against the Crusaders.”

Cron praised Champion de Crespigny’s leadership: “We lost two Wallabies before this game in Carlo (Tizzano) and Jeremy who couldn’t play. Tom Robertson goes down 13 minutes into it, then Pietschy goes off, Darby goes off. Crep just led them all the way without any fault.”

He was also glowing about former Reds fullback Grealy’s display against his old side: “He played brilliantly tonight. He’s one of the players in our group who’s a bit of a lifeblood. He’s a funny man, or thinks he is. As you saw tonight, he’s talented.”

What’s next

The Reds host the Crusaders at Suncorp Stadium next Saturday in one of the biggest games of the season. The Force will remain in Brisbane before flying to Fiji to face the Drua in Lautoka.

Teams

Reds: 15 Jock Campbell, 14 Filipo Daugunu, 13 Josh Flook, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Treyvon Pritchard, 10 Carter Gordon, 9 Kalani Thomas, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Fraser McReight (c), 6 Joe Brial, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Seru Uru, 3 Nick Bloomfield, 2 Josh Nasser, 1 Aidan Ross.
Replacements: 16 Matt Faessler, 17 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Hamish Muller, 20 Vaiuta Latu, 21 Louis Werchon, 22 Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, 23 Tim Ryan.

Force: 15 Mac Grealy, 14 Dylan Pietsch, 13 George Bridge, 12 Bayley Kuenzle, 11 Darby Lancaster, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Henry Robertson, 8 Vaiolini Ekuasi, 7 Jack Daly, 6 Nick Champion de Crespigny (c), 5 Darcy Swain, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Misinale Epenisa, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Tom Robertson.
Replacements: 16 Nic Dolly, 17 Sef Fa’agase, 18 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 19 Lopeti Faifua, 20 Will Harris, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Hamish Stewart.

Match details

Western Force 42 (Tries: Molina 3, Grealy, Lancaster, Paenga-Amosa; Conversions: Donaldson 6/6)
Queensland Reds 19 (Tries: Ryan, Brial, Daugunu; Conversions: Campbell 1/2, McLaughlin-Phillips 1/1)
Half-time: 21–12
Yellow card: Harry Wilson (Reds, 54′)

Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ)
Assistant referees: Todd Petrie, Warwick Lahmert
TMO: Richard Kelly

Teams

Reds: 15 Jock Campbell, 14 Filipo Daugunu, 13 Josh Flook, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Treyvon Pritchard, 10 Carter Gordon, 9 Kalani Thomas, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Fraser McReight (c), 6 Joe Brial, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Seru Uru, 3 Nick Bloomfield, 2 Josh Nasser, 1 Aidan Ross.
Replacements: 16 Matt Faessler, 17 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Hamish Muller, 20 Vaiuta Latu, 21 Louis Werchon, 22 Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, 23 Tim Ryan.

Force: 15 Mac Grealy, 14 Dylan Pietsch, 13 George Bridge, 12 Bayley Kuenzle, 11 Darby Lancaster, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Henry Robertson, 8 Vaiolini Ekuasi, 7 Jack Daly, 6 Nick Champion de Crespigny (c), 5 Darcy Swain, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Misinale Epenisa, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Tom Robertson.
Replacements: 16 Nic Dolly, 17 Sef Fa’agase, 18 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 19 Lopeti Faifua, 20 Will Harris, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Hamish Stewart.

Match details

Western Force 42 (Tries: Molina 3, Grealy, Lancaster, Paenga-Amosa; Conversions: Donaldson 6/6)
Queensland Reds 19 (Tries: Ryan, Brial, Daugunu; Conversions: Campbell 1/2, McLaughlin-Phillips 1/1)
Half-time: 21–12
Yellow card: Harry Wilson (Reds, 54′)

Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ)