Brisbane could field the second-oldest halves combination in top-flight Australian rugby league history if Ezra Mam is suspended for the start of the NRL season.
And should Ben Hunt and Adam Reynolds, both 34, strike up a handy combination and remain the halves until at least round 22 next year – against Reynolds’ old club South Sydney – they will break the record held by Manly legends Cliff Lyons and Des Hasler for almost three decades.
Lyons was 34 years and 317 days old and Hasler 35 years and 197 days old when the Sea Eagles took on Souths in the final round of the regular season in 1996.
Hunt will officially start training with the Broncos in the new year and play at five-eighth alongside skipper and halfback Reynolds if Mam is suspended by the NRL, which appears very likely.
Regular five-eighth Mam was fined $850 and had his licence suspended for at least six months at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday. He was driving with drugs in his system in Brisbane’s west on October 18 when the car he was driving collided with an Uber carrying a mother and four-year-old girl.
“At so many levels you’re fortunate to be able to stand where you are today given you were involved in a two-vehicle accident,” the sentencing magistrate said. “You could have been injured or killed, or the other [people] could have been injured or killed. You’ve got to learn from this.”
Mam later told reporters out the front of court: “Today is an important step in owning my actions and starting to make things right. To all the people involved in this accident, I’m truly sorry.”
The sentence was savaged by several media commentators as being too light. The NRL is now weighing up its penalty for Mam. The governing body hopes to arrive at a decision before Christmas, but sources with knowledge of the process not authorised to speak publicly confirmed there remained a possibility a verdict would not be rubber-stamped until the new year.
Broncos half Adam Reynolds.Credit: NRL Photos
Reynolds said if Mam was suspended by the NRL for the start of the season, the Broncos would have a lot of experience suddenly guiding them around the park.
“The first positive I can think of when it comes to our combination would be experience,” Reynolds said of Hunt.
“He’s a senior figure, and the more senior voices you have in a team, the better you will be right across the board.
“He’s a classy player who has represented Queensland and Australia for many years, a great attacking threat, and he will also help raise the standards at training.
“It’s exciting he’s come on board. He’s been here before, he’s a big part of the club’s history – he started here when he was 13 – and when you hear him speak about what this club means to him, it’s really refreshing to hear. He was gone all those years [at St George Illawarra], [but] Brisbane was still a big part of him.”
Ben Hunt after Brisbane’s grand final loss to the Cowboys in 2015.Credit: Getty Images
Hunt was a halfback at the Dragons and defended mostly on the right side of the field, the same side Reynolds likes to defend. Hunt was brought to the club as cover for five-eighth and halfback, as well as to play hooker.
“I don’t want to give too much away about how we want to play, but I’ll be in that middle third, playing through the middle, and trying to get Ben and Reece Walsh and our outside backs some clean ball,” Reynolds said.
“Ben can be so damaging when he runs the ball. My job will be to create space for those two on my outside so they can go to work. Walshy has played a number of Origin games now, and has plenty of experience himself.”
When told his combination with Hunt meant Lyons and Hasler’s record could finally fall, Reynolds said: “That makes me feel old. I watched those guys play, and they’re a lot older than I am. I guess there will be young kids who look at me and Benny that way now.”
Legendary league statistician David Middleton said Lyons and Hasler were the oldest pairing he could unearth. Luke Keary and Cooper Cronk are the oldest halves pairing to win a premiership, in 2019, at 27 years and 245 days and 35 years and 305 days respectively.
Middleton, whose Official Rugby League Annual is now out at rugbyleagueannual.com.au, added Broncos favourites Kevin Walters and Allan Langer remain the only two halves aged 30 years or over to win the title, in 1998.
David Middleton’s Official Rugby League Annual is now out at rugbyleagueannual.com.au