Richard Graham concedes Rob Simmons "probably cemented himself as the No.1 lock in Australia" last year, ahead of Queensland Reds team-mate and captain James Horwill, but the coach is set to follow the lead of Wallabies counterpart Ewen McKenzie by playing the second-row as a blindside flanker this season.
McKenzie named Simmons as his starting blindside flanker against Italy on the 2013 end-of-year tour, the coach wanting to see an extra lineout jumper in the pack while making more use of the player's hitting power in defence.
Simmons played strongly in that one experimental start in the No.6 jumper, and Graham told Rugby Gold that "Rob and I have talked about [playing in the back row] at various levels, and I know if the opportunity arises he'd be happy to play there for us".
"There's an opportunity for us because we've got some good depth in the second row,'' Graham said. "A shift from second-row to blindside flanker isn't a big stretch for him."
Simmons said of his start as a No.6 that he "got the ball in the hand a bit more, but at the end of the day I'm a second-rower and that's where my focus is".
The Reds, too, have strong depth in the back-row headed by Liam Gill, Jake Schatz and Ed Quirk, while rising star Curtis Browning is believed to be ready to press for a starting berth.