Injury risk, Jonah Pezet signing not enough to guarantee Adam Reynolds retirement in 2027
Despite the fact Adam Reynolds will be 36 when the 2027 season begins - the year that Jonah Pezet joins Brisbane - the Broncos captain says there is no guarantee he will cede his spot in the side.
Adam Reynolds has fired back at suggestions he is an injury hazard next season and says the signing of Jonah Pezet is no guarantee the Broncos champion will be forced into retirement.
Reynolds has vowed he won’t be holding back in 2026 as the Broncos skipper looks to chalk up another special milestone by captaining Brisbane to back-to-back premierships next year.
Reynolds tore his calf in the 48th minute of Brisbane’s grand-final defeat of Melbourne this year, raising concerns as to whether the Broncos’ No.1 playmaker can survive a 15th season of NRL in 2026.
But the inspirational skipper hit back at claims he is a ticking time bomb at the Broncos as the newly-minted premiers prepare to roll out the Red Hill red carpet for Pezet in 2027.
“I will dive straight into it,” Reynolds told Code Sports.
HALF THE BATTLE
Season 2026 could be The Last Dance for Reynolds.
He is off-contract next year and has already inked a brace of one-year extensions after his initial three-year, $2.4 million transfer from South Sydney at the end of 2021.
Reynolds has been plagued by an assortment of injuries at the Broncos, including bicep, neck, pec, hamstring and calf ailments.
But through it all, Reynolds has hung tough, playing 78 of a possible 102 games for the club.
Reynolds turns 36 next July.
There is a view he will be walking a dangerous injury tightrope next season, but the two-time premiership winner is confident he won’t be a burden for the Broncos.
“There’s no point holding back,” Reynolds said of his injury risk in 2026.
“I am there for a reason - to try and get the job done.”
Injuries are simply an unfortunate part of the game.
“It’s not just this year, in my first two and three years of first grade at Souths I picked up injuries as well,” Reynolds said.
“Touch wood I can have a good run, but if they (injuries) do come about, there’s plenty of quality players in our squad to fill the void.
TWIN TURBO
Captaining Brisbane to a premiership was seen as the final frontier for Reynolds.
But now that he has ticked that box, there is another summit to scale: becoming just the second player in Broncos history to lead the club to consecutive titles.
Only the legendary Allan Langer has captained the Broncos to back-to-back premierships.
“Personally, I’m excited to get back out there,” said Reynolds, who returns to Broncos training on December 12.
“I’m ready to work hard with my teammates and try to get back to the heights we reached this year.
“I know that takes a lot of effort, hard work and sacrifice. But that’s something I will be putting my head down and trying to achieve.
“It’s going to be a big year - every team is out there to chase us now and it makes for a wonderful season of footy.”
He says his calf is feeling good.
“I never got it checked out (with scans). I was too busy on the beers celebrating, my priority was celebrating the grand final,” he said.
“It was good to have a rest and get away from football for a while. It recharged the batteries and allows me to go again next season.”
REYNOLDS INC
Broncos mentor Michael Maguire has flagged plans for Reynolds to eventually join Brisbane’s staff as an assistant coach.
But Reynolds, a handy artist, is a man of many talents and is determined to build on his new fashion label, Ayer.
The 309-game warrior recently returned from a business trip to China, where he met clothing manufacturers and suppliers in his quest to make Ayer a global brand.
“It was good to see their business and how they operate,” Reynolds said.
“They (Chinese manufacturers) were unreal.
“We had a translator on the phone, it was good, they were super respectful, everything flowed nicely over there and I will get across there again in the future.
“I met a couple of manufacturers, it’s better to put some face value to this process and they respected that. It was easier to source fabrics and go over measurements and the finer details.”
Fashion has long been an off-field interest for Reynolds.
“I have always been into fashion. I love American sports and the way their stars look and express themselves,” he said.
“As athletes in Australia, we often get told what to wear, but it’s cool to express yourself from time to time.
“Plus I was sick of buying clothes ... so I thought I would make my own.”
FADE TO BLACK
Reynolds was shocked by protege Coby Black’s decision to sign with Canberra for 2027.
The Broncos were grooming Black to be Reynolds’ halfback successor over the past two seasons, but Brisbane’s signing of Pezet last month muddied the waters.
Black clearly viewed Pezet’s impending arrival in 2027 as a major roadblock and has opted to chase his NRL dreams at the Raiders.
The Queensland under-19s halfback is contracted to Brisbane next season but may yet end up in Canberra in pre-season.
Reynolds rates Black’s booming kicking game and is adamant he is an NRL-quality playmaker.
“I was a little bit surprised,” Reynolds said.
“The signing of Pezet probably caught us off guard.
“But when you sit back and look at the quality of halves in the competition, you need to be chasing those fellas and Jonah is a great signing by the club.”
Reynolds said losing Black wasn’t ideal.
”But it’s another opportunity for him to go down there (to Canberra) and press to play first grade,” he said.
“They are a team that’s ready-made and they will be challenging for grand finals year after year. They have a wonderful coach in Ricky Stuart who will no doubt get the best out of Coby and it will be great for Coby’s development as well.
“I’ve got a good relationship with Coby, I’ll miss him, so I wish him all the best.”
PRINCE PEZET
The signing of 22-year-old Pezet, who will have a 12-month stint at the Eels next season, could be a sign Reynolds is headed for retirement.
The Broncos are clearly planning for Pezet to wear the No.7 jumper, but Reynolds insists he has not made a final call on his future.
“He has done some great things at Melbourne,” Reynolds said.
“Jonah gets a year of learning under Mitchell Moses (at the Eels) and can develop his game before he comes to the Broncos, which already has a star-studded spine.
“I suppose the start of the season will give me an indication of how the body and how the mind’s feeling.
“I think the mind’s the most important thing, whether it still wants to go another 12 months or if the body can handle it.
“Those questions will pretty much answer themselves throughout the season at some stage.”
But he has no doubt Pezet will fit in nicely.
“I haven’t seen too much of him, I’ve only seen a handful of games, but every time he has played first grade he has been comfortable and handled it with ease,” he said.
“He looks to be a great young quality player and in 12 months we will see him up here in Broncos colours.”
CAM INJECTION
Reynolds says Maguire’s signing of Storm legend Cameron Smith as a mentor to Broncos players is a masterstroke that can take the squad to another level.
“He will be great,” he said.
“Cam is one of the most respected players to ever play our game.
“He knows the game better than most and to get some advice and hear what Cam is thinking, it’s going to be great for not only myself, but the club.
“I still don’t know exactly what sort of position he will be in, but hopefully we can pick his brains both on and off the field.
“That’s a wonderful thing to have. He has been there and done it.
“He has seen it all, he has lived every experience in rugby league and to get someone who has been in that position, it means a bit extra.
“The respect he has in the game, not just from us at Brisbane, but across the game means a lot as well. No doubt us as a club and individuals will benefit from that.”
PAYNE RELIEF
Superstar Brisbane prop Payne Haas has been targeted by R360, which has been delayed until 2028, and Reynolds believes the NSW Origin enforcer has more to achieve in spearheading a Broncos dynasty.
“I still don’t know too much about the competition itself,” he said.
“You hear certain things through the media but like the rest of the public, I don’t know too much about what’s going on or what’s going to happen.
“No doubt it will be a threat towards rugby league with the offers that are getting tossed up, but one thing is the NRL is tried and it’s proven.”
Reynolds believes the NRL is unmatched as a sport and would be hard to walk away from.
“Anyone who leaves the game, it would be a surprise,” he said.
“The NRL offers such a magnificent product on and off the field for the players, so to see anyone walk away from the game would be a surprise.
“We have a knack of finding talent on a yearly basis that excites us day to day, but Payne is one of the true elites of our game.
“I love playing with him at the Broncos.”
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