‘We have X-factor’: Broncos captain Adam Reynolds hellbent on Broncos premiership glory

He is Brisbane’s greatest halfback since Allan Langer. Now, Adam Reynolds is hellbent on bringing premiership glory back to the Broncos.

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He is Brisbane’s greatest halfback since Allan Langer.

Now, Adam Reynolds is hellbent on bringing premiership glory back to Brisbane.

Three decades after the little master Langer engineered the Broncos’ maiden premiership win in 1992, Reynolds is gunning for glory – starting in Brisbane’s finals opener against Melbourne at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.

Two years ago, the Broncos outlaid $2.4m to pull off a masterful poaching raid, stealing Reynolds from South Sydney to lead embattled Brisbane back to title credibility.

Adam Reynolds is determined to beat the Broncos 17-year drought.

The champion playmaker has delivered, orchestrating Brisbane’s first finals campaign since 2019, but Reynolds won’t be truly satisfied until he drives the Broncos to the title summit and snaps the club’s 17-year premiership drought.

Reynolds revealed being mentored by Langer, now an assistant at Brisbane, was a key factor in his decision to defect from Redfern to Red Hill and now he is driven to emulate the championship deeds of the player known as Alfie.

“It’s exciting to see the Broncos back in the finals,” Reynolds said ahead of an expected crowd of 50,000 for the Storm-Broncos blockbuster in Brisbane to launch the 2023 NRL finals series.

“It’s great to see Brisbane buzzing, I feel like the town is right behind us.

“It’s been fantastic, the Broncos are one of the NRL’s glamour clubs and it’s exciting to see the club back playing finals football. It’s been a fantastic year, it’s been really enjoyable, but it’s a new competition now and we need to carry that form from the season into the finals.”

The Broncos went within a whisker of winning their first minor premiership in 23 years. They finished equal first with defending premiers Penrith with an identical 18-6 win-loss record, only to drop to second place on percentages.

Now in his second season with the club, the 33-year-old Reynolds has been hailed as one of the club’s greatest recruits.

Brisbane Broncos captain Adam Reynolds. Picture: Richard Dobson

And the 271-game NRL veteran is relishing his time working with Broncos royalty in Langer.

“It was a major reason why I came here,” said the Sydney-born Reynolds.

“I didn’t know too much about ‘Alf’ before I came to the club.

“I had seen what he had done for the Broncos and Queensland, I didn’t like him from a NSW point of view (laughs), but as soon as I signed with the club, I knew I would lean on him and share his knowledge.

“Talking to Wayne Bennett (Broncos foundation coach who mentored Reynolds at Souths), he said I had a lot of the same traits as Alfie, so he felt we would gel quickly.

“It’s important in rugby league to be serious but also have that enjoyment factor.

“When you are enjoying yourself, you tend to play better, that’s one thing that Alf does great.

“He knows how to enjoy himself and help bond the guys here as close as possible to enjoy the outcome and the good times.”

Reynolds knows what it takes to hoist the NRL trophy. He did it as a 24-year-old halfback at Souths in 2014, breaking the Rabbitohs’ 43-year title hoodoo, and his final frontier is smashing Brisbane’s drought.

Broncos legend and trainer Allan Langer with Reece Walsh. Picture NRL

The Broncos No.7 says Brisbane has the fusion of experience and youth, led by young guns Reece Walsh and Ezra Mam, to deliver the club’s seventh premiership this season.

“We definitely have the team do it,” he said.

“We have shown through the season that we can compete with the best teams in the competition.

“We can beat the best teams, including Penrith and the Storm.

“I feel we have the youth, the experience, the talent and the hunger.

“We have X-factor right across the park to score points, but it’s just making sure we turn up with a defensive mindset.

“We’re not just happy throwing the ball around and making life tough for ourselves by not defending well.

Adam Reynolds says his team as the X-factor.

“All the right ingredients are there and on our day we will be very hard to beat.”

Alex Glenn, the man Reynolds succeeded as captain at the Broncos, is adamant Brisbane has the weapons to finally end their Storm nightmare.

Melbourne has won 14 consecutive games over the Broncos and it’s been 14 years since Brisbane beat the Storm at Suncorp Stadium.

But Glenn says the 5284-day drought will come to an end on Friday night on the back of a Reynolds masterclass.

“I was part of the team that beat the Storm (in 2009) and back then we had a guru called Darren Lockyer,” he said.

“I definitely believe with Adam Reynolds steering the ship, with his footy smarts ... he can bring success back to this club.

“I think this team can go all the way – but Friday night is the test.

“If they can trump the Storm here at home, I don’t think anyone is going to stop them in terms of having the confidence to win the premiership.”

Pictured in 2006 then-Brisbane Broncos captain Darren Lockyer with the Tri-Nations, State of Origin and Premiership trophies.

Originally published as ‘We have X-factor’: Broncos captain Adam Reynolds hellbent on Broncos premiership glory