Quade Cooper wants to feature alongside Sonny Bill Williams on the Footy Show Fight Night © Getty Images

Enlarge

Just imagine for a second or two you're a football coach. You're on a terrific salary, and want to keep it that way, but you're under enormous pressure to hold onto your job. That happens when your team falls apart the previous season and is now well down among the also-rans, with repeated claims of bickering among the troops.

The punters are restless. The media is hovering, demanding immediate improvement - especially as you have at your disposal countless notable international performers who should be vying for a finals spot rather than avoiding last place.

Despite the public announcements from head office that you have their full support, you cannot ignore the endless mumblings that others from overseas are just waiting for the call-up to take over. No wonder you keep looking over your shoulder, while checking other coaching options … just in case.

Then a star performer whom you rely upon heavily to direct the team, but with whom you've had some problems, comes up to you and says he wants to again enter the boxing ring and be part of a whiz-bang TV presentation.

Logic demands only one answer.

Reds coach Richard Graham finds himself in an uncomfortable position © Getty Images

Enlarge

"No."

It is just too crazy, too dangerous to consider any other option. Losing a player for the season due to an unnecessary boxing injury is another obvious drawback.

But it is a more troublesome situation in the case of Queensland Reds coach Richard Graham and his chief playmaker, Quade Cooper, who, like numerous high-profile footballers, is proud of the fact that he is a part-time pugilist. The right answer can easily lead to the wrong outcome.

Not allowing Cooper to get inside the ropes, or just providing a barrier against him getting his brain cells re-arranged could have the ill-effect of destabilising the Reds campaign for another season. And with it - adios coach.

The Australian report this week that Graham and Cooper are "at loggerheads", as the player had been forced to withdraw from his planned return to the boxing ring due to Reds coaching staff concerns, will probably be ignored by most. Summer minds are not yet fully attuned onto rugby. But for those who have remained close to the scene, this is rated as an issue that could lead to enormous problems in a Rugby World Cup year.

The report explained how Cooper had a minor elbow injury that, according to the Reds, would hinder his chances of doing the required lead-up work for him to enter the ring with any confidence. And if he does overcome his elbow complaint, the Reds instead want him to play against Melbourne Rebels in a trial match that clashes with the Footy Show Fight Night in Sydney on January 31 that Cooper has been billed as being part of.

The Australian report added that Cooper had made no official comment but it was understood he had "let his displeasure at the decision be known to Reds officials".

Woop! Woop! Woop! Alarm bells are again going off in Brisvegas.

Players often feel jilted. But Cooper is a special case, and there is invariably fallout when he is unhappy - most often to the detriment of the team structure.

Robbie Deans knows all about that, after Cooper once described the Wallabies environment as "toxic". That did nothing to help Deans, only amplifying the fact that the Wallabies were far from a harmonious camp. It led to further festering.

Cooper often creates his own problems, and his relationship with other Wallabies has often been tender with numerous senior players underwhelmed by what have been perceived as moments of selfish behaviour. But Cooper does have a way of rallying players around him; especially those who love his free spirit and willingness to play and live on the edge. He is divisive, but he also can be an endearing character.

And in a World Cup year, no one needs reminding how Cooper can become such a massive central figure. There remain hideous memories of the 2011 tournament in New Zealand, and how he failed to handle the on-field pressure that was amplified by an often-cruel anti-Cooper off-field campaign by the locals.

Greg Growden reports there is invariably fallout when Quade Cooper is unhappy © Getty Images

Enlarge

It is no secret that Cooper isn't as close to Graham as he was with former Reds and Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie, or with the current Australia leader, Michael Cheika.

Cooper knows he is in a reasonably strong position, as he is the Reds chief draw card, and always works well with those who respect him. Those who question him, or put barriers up in front of him, can find dealing with Cooper exasperating. Graham also knows what can occur if you do not have your main playmaker firmly by your side. Everything can go wonky, and the team fragment. It can become an enormous distraction.

That appeared to happen with the Reds last year. Brisbane sources constantly explained during 2014 that the team was "shackled by internal problems". In the end, they were lucky they didn't finish last on the Super Rugby ladder; instead, their dismal 13th showed the glory days of 2011 had quickly passed.

Then there is the tricky situation of James O'Connor returning to Australia with the Reds; he was a player at odds with Graham during their days together at Western Force. By the time O'Connor left the Force, the relationship with his coach was 'toxic'.

O'Connor and Cooper are kindred spirits, with a longstanding friendship, and it will require diplomacy of the highest order from the Reds team management, in particular Graham, to keep them both happy.

This will all have to be handled extremely delicately, otherwise the Reds may soon know everything they don't want to know about a TKO.