Broncos Games: Reynolds and Haas exits shadow Brisbane's top-eight surge
Broncos games have put Brisbane back in the top eight after the club fell to 11th during an injury crisis. Two straight wins over the Wests Tigers and the Canterbury Bulldogs flipped the position quickly, and Michael Maguire has done it with a group of inexperienced players stepping into bigger roles.
Michael Maguire Finds Answers
The recent rise came over the past fortnight, when Brisbane won its past two matches and climbed back into finals contention. Maguire leaned on several unheralded players to cover gaps in a depleted squad, and those selections have kept the season alive while the roster has been stretched thin.
That matters because the Broncos were not just chasing form; they were trying to climb out of 11th after the injury crisis had pushed them down the ladder. The swing in results has given the club a far better position without needing a full-strength side to carry it.
Adam Reynolds Succession Shift
Brisbane’s lift is only part of the story. Adam Reynolds will leave at the end of the season after five seasons at the club, and Payne Haas will also depart, leaving major holes in the group that carried the side through the latest run.
Reynolds won two premierships in his career, and his exit leaves the halfback picture unsettled. Coby Black had been groomed as his successor, but he has moved to the nation’s capital to learn from Ricky Stuart, while Jonah Pezet was signed at the end of last year and will switch from the Parramatta Eels next season.
Ben Hunt And Thomas Duffy
Ben Hunt, 36, has so far indicated that he intends to play on, and he and Thomas Duffy are both unsigned. The pair are set to ink extensions in the coming months, which keeps the next phase of Brisbane’s halves planning in motion even as the current side is trying to hold its place in the top eight.
Greg Alexander said, “I’ll have to see Jonah Pezet’s form over the remainder of this year for Parramatta and see what sort of form he takes to Brisbane” and added, “Ben Hunt’s still got a long season out injured at the moment to get through before he might make a decision and a call on whether he plays or not next year”. He also said, “we’ll have to wait and see” and “obviously they’ve signed Jonah Pezet as the future number seven to team up with Ezra Mam”.
For Brisbane, the immediate story is the climb back into the top eight. The longer one is how Maguire keeps the winning run going while the club reshapes its halves and manages the exits of Reynolds and Haas at season’s end.
