NRL 2022: Every NRL spine for 2023, Walsh move shakes up Broncos plan
Reece Walsh’s controversial move back to Brisbane next year has shaken up the league’s playmaking market. We take a look at each team’s crucial spine combination for the 2023 season.
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Adam Reynolds has torpedoed suggestions he will fail to see out his Brisbane contract as he begins grooming teenage sensation Ezra Mam to be his halfback successor at the Broncos.
The Broncos’ crucial clash with the Dragons on Sunday at Suncorp Stadium also represents a birthday bash for Reynolds, who turns 32 and is determined to prove age will not weary him.
Reynolds has endured a rollercoaster maiden season at Red Hill.
The champion Broncos halfback missed the entire pre-season with general soreness, contracted Covid before his round 1 showdown with former club Souths and battled minor groin and hamstring complaints that ruled him out of back-to-back games against Newcastle and the Titans in May.
SEE THE FULL LIST OF 2023 PLAYMAKERS BELOW.
Then came Reynolds’ latest injury blow, the Broncos skipper suffering fractured ribs against the Raiders three weeks ago that have yet to fully heal and will see him play through the pain barrier in Sunday’s Dragons showdown.
The Broncos signed Reynolds to a three-year, $2.4 million deal that expires at the end of 2024.
Reynolds’ battle with injuries this season has raised concerns as to whether he can survive in the NRL beyond his 34th birthday, but the former Souths schemer is adamant he will honour his Broncos deal.
“I have no worries about my body long term,” Reynolds said.
“If you ask everyone else, they would probably feel different, but I know what I am capable of.
“I have confidence in my body, the squad around me and the medical staff at the Broncos.
“Yes, I’m getting older, but I am not feeling any worse than what I was two or three years ago.
“If anything, I feel more refreshed this year and I feel better than I did in some of my final years at Souths.”
Since qualifying for the 2015 grand final, the Broncos have struggled for a consistent scrumbase pairing, but Brisbane are finally constructing the playmaking spine that can break a 16-year premiership drought.
Reynolds forms the experienced centrepiece of a Broncos spine set to be turbo-charged by the signing of Warriors whizkid Reece Walsh, who will return to Red Hill next season eyeing the No.1 jumper.
Walsh is one of a handful of high-profile playmaking switches that could shake-up the league next season.
Among them include Apisai Koroisau’s move from premiers Penrith to the Wests Tigers, Parramatta rake Reed Mahoney’s jump to Canterbury, and Brandon Smith leaving the relative anonymity of Melbourne for the bright lights at the Sydney Roosters.
Then there’s veteran Josh Hodgson joining the Eels, and another elder statesman in Kieran Foran linking up with the battling Gold Coast Titans.
But it’s the Broncos that could be the biggest beneficiaries.
Billy Walters and Cory Paix have formed a handy partnership at hooker, while the Broncos believe rising Queensland under-19s rake Blake Mozer is the NRL’s next Cameron Smith.
Then there’s the emergence of the brilliant Mam at five-eighth.
The 19-year-old plays his sixth NRL game against the Dragons and Reynolds says he is keen to soldier on at the Broncos to provide mentoring for Mam, who could succeed the skipper in the Brisbane No.7 jumper made famous by Allan Langer.
“Ezra has been outstanding,” Reynolds said.
“He caught my eye early in the pre-season. That’s what got me excited. There’s a number of other young kids coming through but I have enjoyed working with a young playmaker like Ezra and helping him out.
“I think Ezra, long-term, can transition into the halfback role.
“Hopefully that’s where I can help him at the back end of my career.
“I can pass down a bit of knowledge and try and teach him things I learnt along the way that might help him become a seven if he wants to be that.”
Currently fifth on 20 competition points, the Broncos can move within striking distance of their first finals appearance in three seasons by disposing of the Dragons.
Reynolds has been pivotal to Brisbane’s fightback this season and says he was always confident the Broncos were top-eight material.
“I didn’t have any doubts it would take long for the Broncos to turn things around,” he said.
“I played against this Broncos team at Souths and as an experienced player on the field, I could see what they needed and how much talent they had.
“That’s what excited about me about coming to the club, the youth and the excitement levels with the younger players.
“For me, it was a challenge to work with the youth here and guys like Ezra and Selwyn (Cobbo) have kept me young.”
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