Skipper to block pain in return
BRONCOS captain Adam Reynolds will have a painkilling injection on his damaged ribs in a desperate bid to face the Cowboys this Saturday night and ramp up Brisbane’s charge towards their first finals series in three years.
Brisbane have received a boost ahead of the Queensland derby in Townsville, with sponsor Firstmac inking a fiveyear extension in a multimillion-dollar commercial coup.
And the Broncos’ finals ambitions have had a major shot in the arm as Reynolds prepares to return from the painful rib injury he suffered three weeks ago in Brisbane’s gutsy 24-18 defeat of the Raiders.
Speaking for the first time since being crunched by Raiders rival Jamal Fogarty, Reynolds confirmed his rib fracture and revealed it could be another two months before he is 100 per cent fit.
But the halfback is nevertheless plotting a Cowboys comeback to help the Broncos (9-5), fifth on percentages, stay in touch with the top four.
“The plan is to play against the Cowboys this week,” said Reynolds, who missed Brisbane’s round 15 loss to the Storm in Melbourne.
“I have to get through training (on Wednesday) and the captain’s run (on Friday).
“I trained (on Monday) and got a knock on it and it felt OK.
“I was a little bit sore afterwards, but I will get a needle for this game and away we go.”
Reynolds, who is 32 on Sunday week, has had a rollercoaster maiden season at Red Hill. He missed the entire preseason due to “general soreness”, had his round 1 blockbuster against former club Souths torpedoed by a bout of Covid, then sat out clashes against Newcastle and the Titans in May with groin and hamstring tightness.
Now Reynolds must overcome busted ribs to steer the Broncos to the playoffs.
“It’s probably another eight weeks until it’s 100 per cent again,” Reynolds said.
“The doctors say it’s a weekto-week thing. It depends on how many whacks I get on it, so hopefully the Cowboys defenders run the other way.
“I have a dislocated fracture of one of the ribs. It was pushed inwards so their (doctors’) main concern was doing damage to my lung, but the medical team has done a wonderful job over the last couple of weeks and I feel good enough to play against the Cowboys.
“I think I can handle the contact. The needles are pretty good these days, they take away most of the pain.
“I was pretty keen to play last week (against Melbourne) but ‘Kevvie’ (coach Kevin Walters) didn’t want to risk further damage. It’s the sign of a great club, looking after their players and not putting themselves first.”