Broncos not done yet: Reynolds chasing Penrith success
Joel Gould |
Penrith have set a benchmark for success that Brisbane captain Adam Reynolds insists the Broncos can also attain after winning the grand final in fine style.
The 35-year-old halfback, who suffered a calf injury early in the second half of the 26-22 comeback win over Melbourne, was bullish about the future under coach Michael Maguire, who he won a title with at South Sydney in 2014.
With freakish talent Reece Walsh, along with guns Ezra Mam, Pat Carrigan, Payne Haas and Kotoni Staggs on deck, the Broncos have the arsenal to replicate the sustained excellence of four-time premiership winners Penrith.
“The team is set up for that. We have got some great players at this club, and there is no reason to stop that legacy,” Reynolds said.
” It is a hard thing to do. We have seen Penrith do it for so many years and it is a credit to them. They have given everyone something to chase and they have inspired the whole competition to be better. We will enjoy this (victory), but that is for down the track.”
Reynolds insisted the Broncos’ best was yet to come. Back-to-back titles are a realistic goal if the side continue their upwards trajectory in 2026.
“We were always going to get better as the season went on after we’d had a fair share of turnover of players and coaches,” he said.
“From the start of the year to where we are now, we are a mile ahead. Another five or six months down the track, who knows.”
Reynolds has been a wonderful signing for the Broncos since joining from South Sydney in 2022. His leadership has been inspirational and he has won many games with his nous. Despite that, he said critics would throw darts at him no matter what.
“They will still question me, but it doesn’t faze me,” he said.
“I believe in my own abilities. I believe in my teammates. That’s all that really matters.”
So does the criticism he cops for being “past it” still motivate him?
“Yeah, it does,” Reynolds said.
“I’ve always been questioned my whole life, as a kid from Redfern. No one is supposed to make it out of Redfern. A lot of people get looked at different because they are from there.
“Going into junior rep footy you are too small, not fast enough. It’s the same when you come into first grade, where you have got your knockers and critics that at every opportunity want to knock you down. You use that as a bit of motivation to keep going, and I will keep going.
“I will keep fighting and trying to get better. It is my teammates that I want the success for. It’s not about me. It is about them, having memories and moments they can look back on and be proud of.”
Reynolds said he felt “a pop” in his calf after he kicked the ball in the second half. He was off the field for most of the second half, but had faith his teammates would rally, as they had throughout the finals series.
After losing the 2021 and 2023 grand finals, his emotions were high after a “quite unbelievable” finish to the season.
“I have been in four grand finals. I have lost two and I know the feeling on the other side,” Reynolds said.
“That’s where the emotions come from. It’s hard to pick yourself back up off the deck and get going again, but there’s always fight in this team and motivation to get back up and keep going.
“I’m glad I did because these moments are all worth the troubles and the fails.”
AAP
