The ultimate pro
WAYNE Bennett has likened Adam Reynolds to Broncos legend Allan Langer and revealed his futile fight to keep the champion South Sydney junior at the Rabbitohs for life.
Bennett opened up about the machinations of Reynolds’ Redfern exit - and why he has a Langer-like influence - as Brisbane’s $2.4 million recruit prepares to face his former Rabbitohs club for the first time on Thursday night.
Reynolds missed the Broncos-Rabbitohs premiership opener due to Covid, setting the stage for his round 9 Homebush homecoming at Accor Stadium - the scene of his NRL debut for Souths in 2012 and maiden premiership win two years later.
Reynolds’ big-money move to the Broncos was preceded by a protracted contract battle with the
Rabbitohs, whose refusal to budge on a one-year offer convinced the pint-sized playmaker to chase the security of a three-year deal at Brisbane.
There is a view the Rabbitohs should never have lost one of their finest local juniors of the past 20 years and former Souths coach Bennett revealed his wish for Reynolds to finish his career in red and green.
“Souths had a tough decision to make and they made it, OK,” said Bennett, who, like Reynolds, left Souths after last year’s grand final loss to Penrith. “Personally, I would have liked for Adam to stay at Souths.
“I fought for that - but I also had to understand that Souths had salary cap issues and you have to take the reality with the bad medicine. “The bad medicine was we might have to let him go and the reality is there is a salary cap in place, and if we tried to keep Adam, then we might lose this guy over here and that guy over there.
“It would have been nice to see Adam finish his career at Souths, but I also know keeping him would have impacted on their roster enormously.” Reynolds has been superb in the past fortnight, spearheading Brisbane’s charge towards the top eight with wins over Cronulla and Canterbury, and Bennett sees parallels between the 31year-old and the Broncos’ greatest halfback.
“He is very much like ‘Alf’ (Langer) with his character traits, his teammates love playing with him,” Bennett said.
“Adam is a bloody tough bugger. Like Alf, he has great courage. He is only a small bloke, but he has played 11 years now against the biggest and best players in the NRL and he has handled it all.
“Adam is the ultimate pro. One thing that pisses me off is people who question his training because he is committed to his preparation. He is a great team guy and you can already see what he has brought to the Broncos.”
Souths chief executive Blake Solly dismissed suggestions the Rabbitohs only offered Reynolds a one-year deal because of concerns his body was at breaking point.
“The truth is we could have kept ‘Reyno’ for a second year, but it would have meant letting go of someone last year,” Solly said.
“Wayne, to his credit, and
we all agreed, we were in it to win it last year, so we shouldn’t let anyone go from our roster. We never had concerns about Adam’s body, that wasn’t right.
“We offered Adam a deal to stay in 2022 and we were hoping we could have been in a position to offer him something at a later stage.”
Broncos coach Kevin Walters said Brisbane players are primed to ensure Reynolds earns bragging rights by sinking Souths.
“We need to play well for Adam, it’s a big thing for him going back there and we want to make sure it’s a special night for him,” he said.
“Adam has had a big influence over everything we do every game.
“We have had our best start at the Broncos for five years and he has had a huge influence on that.
“I feel he is putting his stamp on our team, certainly.”