Kevin Walters has reaffirmed that Adam Reynolds will continue as the Brisbane Broncos captain for the duration of his career, amidst rising calls to appoint Pat Carrigan as the new leader in 2025. Despite the Broncos reaching the NRL grand final last year and entering 2024 as strong contenders for the premiership, their recent performance has been shaky, losing seven out of their last eight games.
Former Broncos player Gordon Tallis has been vocal about the team’s apparent lack of direction, suggesting a leadership change might be necessary. “I think the team is lacking leadership. I watch them closely… on Saturday somebody needed to stand up and put a stake in the ground,” Tallis commented on Fox Sports’ NRL 360. He criticized Reynolds’ performance, particularly in crucial moments, and proposed Carrigan as a potential captain.
Tallis recalled his own experience, saying, “It’s about putting your ego in your pocket because Allan Langer left to go to England and they put me as captain. When he came back, Alf was the captain again but he said ‘No you’re our leader’. In that game on the weekend, under the pump, if I’m playing with Allan Langer, he gets out from dummy half, he does three or four tackles in a row, he looks at us and challenges us. There’s none of that happening at the moment. So maybe there should be a change with (the person) who gets the C next to their name.”
However, Walters stood firm, assuring Reynolds and the media that his captaincy is secure. “I mentioned to him through the week that when (CEO) Dave Donaghy and I went down to sign him in Sydney that he was our captain. As long as he is still playing, he will be our captain,” Walters said.
He acknowledged the criticism Reynolds faced but emphasized his importance to the team. “It was a tough thing for him to read but he is a tough fella and he has been around the game long enough to understand how important his captaincy is to our club. When he is playing well and gets his own game moving well he has a huge influence over our team. We saw that against Newcastle (in the 30-14 win in round 20) and we will see that again tomorrow against the Titans.”
