Queensland Reds captain James Slipper says the players were stunned by the news of Karmichael Hunt's pending drug charges but discussed the matter for less than five minutes before moving onto Saturday night's game against the Western Force.

After suffering a 47-3 thumping in round one, the injury-ravaged Reds managed to shut out two days of high drama at Ballymore to record an 18-6 victory over a flat Force outfit that couldn't produce anything near the fire that helped them defeat the Waratahs in round one.

Slipper was left unable to remember an incident in the first half that left him concussed and taken off the field. But he wouldn't go without a fight, trying to out-run the team doctor before finally being collared and escorted to the sideline for treatment.

He did remember the address from coach Richard Graham and Hunt on Friday morning when news broke of Hunt facing four counts of supplying cocaine, to which he will answer in a Southport Court on March 5.

He said the players were understandably shocked but banded together to ensure there wasn't a repeat of the round one debacle against the Brumbies, which ended in a 47-3 loss.

"I was pretty shocked. But the boys dealt with it fine. We moved straight on. Nothing that we could say or do was going to change any outcome. The best thing for us to do was switch our minds back to the job at hand," Slipper said.

Graham said the team had a smooth preparation until Thursday and Friday, which saw the Reds plunged into turmoil after the Hunt charges became public.

The coach, who was under fire a week ago from angry Reds fans, said he had little doubt the group would be able to keep their focus despite the distractions, which also included torrential rain that almost saw the game washed out.

"You could see mentally they were ready to play. We talked as a group for maybe three minutes and we got on with things. We knew we couldn't be distracted," Graham said.

James O'Connor still hasn't played a game for the Reds after being ruled out pre-match with a knee aggravation. He stepped on the foot of team-mate Samu Kerevi at training on Thursday and the Reds played it safe given their glut of backline injuries.

Slipper suffered a concussion and lock James Horwill also missed the second half after a gruesome cut to the webbing on his finger.

Force coach Michael Foley said his side simply didn't stand up in the forwards but some key injuries also didn't do any favours to a set piece that was heavily pressured.

Prop Francois Van Wyk is out for the season with a torn pectoral that requires surgery, while flanker Chris Alcock will be treated for an ankle injury that could sideline him next week.