Josh Reynolds was almost wooed by the Sharks before he agreed to Tigers move
THERE have been so many stories written about Tigers recruit Josh Reynolds this summer — but it is easy to forget the one about him almost joining Saturday’s rivals Cronulla.
Sharks
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sharks. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THERE have been so many stories written about Wests Tigers recruit Josh Reynolds this summer — but it is easy to forget the one about how close he came to joining Cronulla.
Reynolds met with Sharks coach Shane Flanagan early last season when it became clear Canterbury, his childhood club, were not prepared to keep him.
In the days leading up to his visit to Reynolds’ home in the Shire, Flanagan said in a TV interview: “If he’s going to leave the Bulldogs, I’ll talk to him. He’s one of those players you look for and, if you need points, get the ball in Josh’s hands.’’
Reynolds told The Saturday Telegraph his good mate and former Sharks star Mick Ennis made a point of spruiking the wonderful things about Cronulla after he was squeezed out of Belmore himself a few years earlier.
There was also the chance to visit the club’s facilities, but as Reynolds best summed it up: “It didn’t worry me. I didn’t even check out here (Concord).
IMPACT: Why Cronk arrival at Roosters has that SBW feeling
“I had one of the best facilities where I was (at Canterbury). If a 20kg dumbbell is one year old or five years old, it’s the same thing.
“The Sharks were a very strong club, they had won a comp, and there was the influence of Mick as well.
“But I liked the way the Tigers were going about things.
“I heard some really good things about Ivan, and when I met with him, he was brutally honest and told me how he thinks I should be playing the game.
“I told him the way I had been playing I didn’t like and it didn’t suit me, just being that half controlling team, and he said, ‘100 per cent, and if you come here, ‘Brooksy’ (Luke Brooks) will take control and you can roam around.’’
Cronulla ended up landing Matt Moylan, who like Reynolds left his childhood club for a fresh start this season, and will feature in Saturday’s trial between the Tigers and Sharks at Campbelltown.
Reynolds’ link with Cronulla will extend to another one of their new recruits, Trent Hodkinson, who played in the halves with Reynolds for Canterbury and NSW, and recently moved in with him and Bulldogs playmaker Matt Frawley.
“’Hokko’s’ wife is overseas at the moment, so he’s living with us and could play Saturday as well,’’ Reynolds said.
“He’s a good friend of mine, he doesn’t regret what he did at the Knights, it didn’t pan out the way he wanted to, but he’s around his mates and everything around footy is happy.’’
Reynolds did not disappoint in his first outing for the Tigers in Cairns last weekend.
Brooks was one of his biggest admirers.
“He’s so competitive, he’s on every play, and that’s the player we’ve needed, just someone who can rev us up and get us going,” Brooks told the Saturday Telegraph.
“He’s alive every play. We’re just playing footy, that suits our team, and we’ve got the players who can play that ‘eyes-up’ footy.’’
Reynolds added: “We won’t be a team who will always come up with the silky big plays we score tries off, but we’ll sniff around the ruck, let the big guys get quick play the balls, we’ll push up both sides and feed off each other.’’