Broncos join the winner’s list but face nervous weekend over skipper’s knee injury
Brisbane will be sweating on scans of captain Adam Reynolds’ right knee after he sustained a recurrence of an earlier injury during the club’s drought-breaking 28-18 win over South Sydney.
Adam Reynolds of the Broncos reacts after sustaining an injury during the NRL Round 2 match between the Brisbane Broncos and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY
The Broncos halfback left the Suncorp Stadium arena on Thursday night with 10 minutes remaining after battling on in clear discomfort in the second half.
He will have scans on Friday which will determine whether he is any chance of playing against Penrith in a grand final rematch at BlueBet Stadium.
Reynolds sustained the injury initially in Las Vegas in the round-one loss to Sydney Roosters.
He did his rehab and said he felt fine at the start of the clash with his former club.
“I felt it a little bit before halftime and thought I’d be right to get back out there, but I hurt it in a tackle,” Reynolds said.
“The plan is to get a scan in the morning.”
Asked what type of knee injury it was, Reynolds grinned and said that he “couldn’t give those secrets away”.
“It is just a knee injury,” he said, adding to the intrigue.
When quizzed further over whether it was a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury, he said it was “along those lines”.
If Reynolds can’t play the Panthers his likely replacement will be 24-year-old back-up half Jock Madden, who filled in for five games last year when Reynolds or five-eighth Ezra Mam were unavailable.
“If Reyno is no good we have all the faith in Jock,” Broncos winger Jesse Arthars said.
“We have full faith in anyone that steps into a role at this club. The boys train really hard for those jumpers.”
Brisbane coach Kevin Walters agreed the side must find another gear to beat Penrith after a win that was far from perfect.
“We were a long way off where we need to be and so were Souths to be fair but there were some things to like with some individual players,,” Walters said.
“As a team we aren’t quite nailing it … yet. I am just happy we won because you need to win this time of year just to breathe.”
Two-try hero Reece Walsh at fullback, blockbusting centre Selwyn Cobbo and hard running and tackling second-rower Brendan Piakura were among Brisbane’s best.
Winger Deine Mariner also scored a double and showcased the speed that has led to him being selected ahead of veteran Corey Oates.
