Queensland captain James Horwill was forced from the field with an ankle injury as NSW recorded a comprehensive 30-6 victory over the Reds in their Super Rugby clash at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
It must have felt like groundhog day for Horwill who did his knee in round two of last season, and the Reds will be holding their breath that the left ankle injury isn't as serious.
The Wallabies lock got his leg tangled in a tackle and despite medical staff spending minutes with him on the field trying to get him right, he wasn't able to continue and limped off.
Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie has plenty of other headaches to worry about as well, with last year's entertainers struggling to sustain any kind of pressure with their attack in Sydney.
Although they beat the Western Force last week, the Reds struggled in doing so, and on Saturday night they were never in it against a confident Waratahs.
Led by destructive hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau, the `Tahs dominated field position from the outset in front of a 33,846-strong crowd, and have now cruised to victory in the opening two rounds of Super Rugby without conceding a try.
A fourth try scored by interchange prop Benn Robinson 15 minutes from fulltime secured the Waratahs only their second bonus point over Queensland since 2003.
Waratahs five-eighth Berrick Barnes took advantage of the flying start, potting two early penalty goals, before Drew Mitchell scored the first try of the match in the 10th minute.
Kurtley Beale caught the visitors napping with a quick tap inside the Reds' 22, and worked a clever run-around with Kane Douglas before popping a basketball pass over the top for Mitchell to cross in the corner.
Waratahs flanker Dave Dennis then scored a soft try from a short line-out option to help advance the lead to 16-3 with seven minutes left before halftime.
Lachie Turner joined in on the act early in the second half, when halfback Luke Burgess saw the Reds were short down the left blindside.
The Waratahs weren't without injury worries of their own, with Barnes and Polota-Nau concussed and Phil Waugh suffering a bicep problem.
