NRL 2021: Adam Reynolds determined to bring back the glory days at Brisbane Broncos
Adam Reynolds has outlined his plan to bring the glory days back to the Broncos but, first, he wants to finish his time at South Sydney on a high with supercoach Wayne Bennett.
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Brisbane’s prized recruit Adam Reynolds says Wayne Bennett played a key role in his decision to quit Souths and has outlined his plan to bring the premiership-winning glory days back to the Broncos.
On the eve of Saturday night’s Souths-Panthers finals blockbuster in Townsville, Reynolds spoke of his desire to exit Redfern in a blaze of glory with Bennett by leading the Rabbitohs to this year’s premiership.
But the South Sydney maestro also has one eye on the next chapter of his career: a move to the Broncos in November that will represent one of the most important recruitment moves in Brisbane’s 33-year history.
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At Brisbane’s official awards night on Thursday, Broncos coach Kevin Walters described just scraping into the top eight next season as a “wank”. Forget finals. Walters wants premierships.
That’s where Reynolds enters the picture.
The crafty halfback was the man who engineered South Sydney’s premiership win in 2014, breaking the Pride of the League’s 43-year title drought.
Now the Broncos are banking on Reynolds to smash their 15-year premiership hoodoo and become Brisbane’s most commanding halfback since champion No.7 Allan Langer.
“I just wanted a new challenge for myself and my family,” Reynolds said of his impending move to Queensland’s sporting flagship.
BRISBANE’S NEW ALFIE
The pressure on the Broncos to clinch a seventh title is extreme. The NRL’s richest club is mired in the worst title drought in their history. They haven’t raised the Telstra Premiership since Darren Lockyer skippered the Broncos to the 2006 premiership.
If anyone can understand the expectation, it is Reynolds. The Broncos’ halfback spot has been a poisoned chalice for more than a decade. But after a decade at a South Sydney club that also craved a title breakthrough, Reynolds gets it. He answered Rabbitohs’ fans prayers in the 2014 grand final. Now he is backing himself to make the Broncos great again.
“The Broncos deserve to be back at the top,” Reynolds said ahead of his finals showdown with Penrith in Townsville.
“It is a powerhouse club. They have a great supporter base and are a proud club with a lot of history. A lot of hard work and sacrifice has to go in to get there first.
“It is such a proud club that has been starved of finals footy for a couple of years.”
THE BENNETT FACTOR
Bennett and Reynolds are plotting one last title assault for Souths over the next four weeks, but the super coach was a pivotal figure in the halfback’s shock departure from Redfern to Red Hill.
A Souths junior, Reynolds was expected to finish his career in the red and green. But when the Rabbitohs refused to budge on a 12-month extension, Reynolds took the security of a three-year Broncos deal worth $2.4 million.
No one knows the Broncos‘ DNA better than Bennett, the foundation coach who built Brisbane’s bedrock. After some heart to hearts, Reynolds was ready for a leap of faith.
“I had some chats with Wayne (about his future) and I leant on him for a bit of advice,” Reynolds said. “He just said to be happy with whatever decision you go with.
“He had nothing but good things to say about the Broncos, which probably made my decision easier. It was a big decision at the time and having him in my corner is something I am grateful for.
“I just see this (joining the Broncos) as a new challenge. If I had stayed in Sydney, it probably would have been the same stuff day-in and day-out and hanging with the same group of mates.
“On the field I am going to be excited about working with a new team and trying to take them from one place to another.
“On the other side of things it is good for the family to get out of our comfort zone and experience another side of life in Brisbane.
“It is a new challenge and I am looking forward to it.”
NO PAYNE, NO GAIN
When Souths played the Broncos in round 15 in June, one month after Reynolds signed with Brisbane, he walked to a scrum.
As the packs were about to set, Brisbane prop Payne Haas looked at Reynolds and asked him, mid-game, to speak to Broncos bosses about keeping his good mate Tevita Pangai Jr at Red Hill.
Reynolds chuckled. The Broncos were flogged 46-0 that day, but Reynolds admired Haas’ fighting spirit. The Broncos front-row superstar was a major factor in Reynolds’ desire to be part of Brisbane’s rebuild.
“He is the future of the game,” Reynolds said of Haas, Brisbane’s three-time Paul Morgan Medallist. “We have seen how damaging he is in the short career he has had so far at club and representative level.
“He is one of the factors why I did sign at the club and it will be good to play alongside him in the future.”
THE CAPTAINCY
Reynolds is $1.01 to captain the Broncos next season. He will join some of Brisbane’s most illustrious leaders such as Langer, Lockyer, Wally Lewis, Kevin Walters and Gorden Tallis.
Walters says he will consult Reynolds on who succeeds Alex Glenn in 2022, but the Souths skipper is nonplussed about the prospect of captaining the Broncos.
“I will have a chat to ‘Kevvie’ when I get to the Broncos,” he said. “I am purely focused on trying to do a job at Souths first and then whatever happens, happens.
“There are a lot of great young players that could fill that role and it depends which way he (Walters) wants to go.”
THE CRITICISM
Reynolds has been rocked by reports his body is breaking down. It is claimed he is on a modified training program at Souths and the Rabbitohs were reluctant to commit to a long-term contract for a pint-sized playmaker who turns 32 next July.
But statistics show Reynolds is incredibly durable. The 228-game stalwart has averaged 22 games a season since his NRL debut in 2012. Bennett dismissed concerns the Broncos have purchased an injury-prone halfback.
“It’s rubbish,” Bennett said. “Adam is not on modified training at Souths, it’s a bloody furphy. He doesn’t have hamstring problems, or issues with his back, knees or achilles.
“I’m his coach so I know Adam better than most. Injuries are a part of the game but he is no more injury-prone than anyone else.
“I don’t see why Adam can’t play on for several years. He will fit in fine at the Broncos. He is not a big mouth. He doesn’t talk a lot of rubbish.
“He is the ultimate professional, he will be perfect for the Broncos, no doubt about that.”
GLORY, GLORY
As he enters his final month with the Rabbitohs, Reynolds is keen to depart with Bennett leaving a premiership legacy at South Sydney.
“I am extremely driven,” he said.
“I think we (Reynolds and Bennett) have got a great relationship. I love spending time with people with a lot of knowledge and Wayne has got a lot of knowledge. He has got a great personality. We have worked extremely hard at Souths on perfecting things.
“I want to win the premiership every year. It’s hard to do. There is a bit of luck and a lot of hard work that goes into it all. But there are no excuses for us. We have put ourselves in a great position to do it and it is about us making the most of our opportunities now.
“The club is in great hands. Souths have some fantastic kids coming through.
“All I wanted to do coming into first grade was to leave the jersey in a better place and I’d like to think I’ve done that. I think they should carry on that trend. If they can take that No.7 jersey and leave Souths in a better place, then my job is done.”
HAAS ON TRACK TO SURPASS BRONCOS’ GREATS
— Travis Meyn
Payne Haas is on track to become the most decorated player in Brisbane Broncos’ history after collecting his third Paul Morgan Medal.
Haas was crowned Brisbane’s player of the year for the third straight season at the Broncos’ awards ceremony on Thursday night.
The win brings Haas level with three-time winners and Broncos greats Darren Lockyer, Petero Civoniceva and Corey Parker.
At only 21, Haas has plenty of time to catch Allan Langer, who won the medal a record five times, including four in a row from 1993-96.
Haas scooped the pool at the gala function at the Brisbane Convention Centre, winning four awards. He was also crowned best forward, players’ player by his teammates and won play of the year for his memorable last-second defensive effort against Cronulla in Round 16.
Haas was so dominant he polled 107 votes to finish a remarkable 68 points clear of runner-up Jake Turpin. The NSW Origin prop played 20 games for the Broncos this season and unfortunately suffered a serious ankle injury in Brisbane’s final round win against Newcastle.
Haas is booked to undergo surgery in the coming days which will sideline him for two months and delay his start to pre-season training.
However he is expected to be back in full training before Christmas as coach Kevin Walters ramps up his Red Hill rebuild after finishing 14th in his first season as Brisbane‘s mentor.
Capping off an unbelievable 2021 and his award haul with the Paul Morgan Medal 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Mo795ruzW9
— Brisbane Broncos (@brisbanebroncos) September 9, 2021
While Haas stole the show at the awards night, Brisbane’s other performers were rewarded for their efforts this year.
English centre Herbie Farnworth continued his rise by being crowned the club’s best back following an impressive 20-game season.
Turpin, who suffered a broken jaw in the last game of the year, was most consistent after playing 22 games.
Rookie of the year went to promising forward Kobe Hetherington, who played 14 games in his debut season to prove he is a player of the future for Brisbane.
The Broncos are due to start pre-season training in early November, with key recruits Adam Reynolds (South Sydney) and Kurt Capewell (Penrith) not expected to report until close to Christmas.
TITANS’ BEST FIRED UP FOR MONSTER SHOWDOWN
He has been crowned the Gold Coast’s best player of 2021 and now Titans enforcer Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is ready to go toe-to-toe with Roosters rival Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
Fa’asuamaleaui was awarded the Paul Broughton Medal on Thursday night following a standout debut season with the Titans.
But his focus has shifted to Saturday night’s drought-breaking finals appearance against the Sydney Roosters in Townsville.
The Titans will be looking to Fa’asuamaleaui and fellow Queensland Origin star Moeaki Fotuaika to stand up to Sydney’s big men up front when the Gold Coast makes its first NRL finals appearance since 2016.
Fa’asuamaleaui, 21, has already proven he isn’t afraid of anyone after famously punching on with NSW rival Payne Haas in last year’s Origin series.
Now the hard-hitting Titans forward is ready for the challenge of combating one of the NRL’s most fearsome props in Roosters hit-man Waerea-Hargreaves in the elimination final.
“It’s going to be massive, they are very aggressive players and we’ve got to be aggressive too,” Fa’asuamaleaui said.
“I can’t wait (to face Waerea-Hargreaves). He is one of the best in the game and I look up to that. Hopefully I am like that when I’m older.
Congratulations to Tino Fa'asuamaleaui who has been named the 2021 Paul Broughton Medallist. pic.twitter.com/icQ6PYMfRL
— Gold Coast Titans (@GCTitans) September 9, 2021
“Hopefully he does come after us because it’s a good challenge. It motivates you to try and get that step better than him. I am excited. He is a good player and I look up to him.
“We’ve got to want it just as much as them. We’ve got to be smart with it too, you don’t want to be going out there taking heads off.
“We’ve got to match their energy, be better and want to win.”
Fa’asuamaleaui finished first in the Paul Broughton Medal count with 17 votes ahead of winger Corey Thompson and Fotuaika (tied 14).
Big-money recruit David Fifita did not make the top six in voting despite scoring a club record 17 tries while fullback sensation Jayden Campbell was crowned rookie of the year.
Titans players weren’t allowed to attend the presentation night due to Covid protocols and are focused on springing an upset against the injury-ravaged Roosters.
To do that, they will need to be on song following a patchy final month of the competition which saw them only just scrape into the playoffs.
Fa’asuamaleaui will make his 22nd appearance for the Titans since leaving the Melbourne Storm after their 2020 premiership triumph.
His move to the Gold Coast has so far been a success and Fa‘asuamaleaui said he didn’t want Titans’ campaign to end on Saturday night.
“I can’t wait to get out there,” he said.
“It’s been a while since the Titans got to the finals. I want to keep winning.
“It’s one thing to make the finals but we have to take it with two hands. We have to make it worth something.
“I think we can do that, we just have to prepare well.”
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