Izaia Perese has thrown his hand up to play fullback for the Queensland Reds this season as they continue to plan for life potentially without Karmichael Hunt.
The Reds confirmed the signing of Aidan Toua from the ACT Brumbies on Saturday, hours before winger Perese lit up the Brisbane Tens with a sizzling two-try display in their win over the Panasonic Wild Knights.
After relishing in the open space at Suncorp Stadium, two-time Wallaby tourist Perese made it clear he was ready for a shot at the No.15 jersey.
"I'd love to give fullback a good crack, simply because you can attack both sides - just roam around, do whatever you want," the 20-year-old said.
"But I'll take what I'm given, beggars can't be choosers at the end of the day. I'm happy to play any position.
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"There's a lot of competition at the Reds at the moment."
Toua has added to it, saying he had "unfinished business" at the club.
The 27-year-old made his Super Rugby debut for the Reds in 2011 but then moved to France and has spent the past two seasons in Canberra as their starting fullback.
"It's really awesome to be back at Ballymore," Toua said.
"It's nice to have this opportunity to resurrect my Reds career and it's something I'm really looking forward to.
"I feel like I'm returning with more experience and hopefully I can have a positive impact here."
Hunt is due to face court again on February 19 and his lawyers say they have a written undertaking from Queensland police that his cocaine charge will be dropped on that day.
However, he is still facing a charge of possessing Xanax and another for contravening a police direction, after not reporting to his local police station in time to provide fingerprints.
The possibility remains he could have his contract torn up by Rugby Australia for breaching their code of conduct by bringing the game into disrepute.
"It's great to get Aidan on board," Reds coach Brad Thorn said.
"He's got a good boot on him and understands the game really well, which is important for his position.
"He'll provide us with good depth in the backline and is coming back because he loves this place and wants to contribute."
Toua will have his first outing for Queensland on Thursday in their final pre-season trail match against the Fiji Warriors at Ballymore Stadium.
