By Nick Wright
Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds has confirmed the 2026 NRL season will be his last, announcing his retirement as the club prepared to embark on their England venture for the World Club Challenge clash with Hull KR.
In what has been a colossal 24 hours for the Brisbane outfit, one which began with the news superstar prop Payne Haas had inked a three-year deal to join the South Sydney Rabbitohs from 2027, Reynolds revealed he had been mulling the decision since lifting the premiership trophy at the end of last season.
“It’s always in the back of your mind when you get to my age that it’s coming to an end. I felt like it was the right time to get it over and done with before the season starts,” Reynolds said.
“We’ve got some exciting talent coming to the club, so I thought it was the best time to get it out of the way, and that way we can focus on getting across to England and having a really good game over there, and then come back to the season and put all our eggs in the one basket and try to achieve some success.”
Reynolds and Haas’ looming departures leave the Broncos with two huge voids to fill, but presents the Broncos with close to $2 million in salary cap space to retain their talent – Gehamat Shibasaki and Billy Walters their biggest off-contract names – and bolster their squad.
That figure could grow further depending on what veteran Ben Hunt opts to do beyond the end of his 2026 contract.
Adam Reynolds picked up his second premiership ring last year.Credit: Getty Images
Highly touted halfback Jonah Pezet will arrive in Brisbane from the 2027 season, but who fills Haas’ enormous shoes will be hotly debated.
While the Rabbitohs confirmed they had lodged the contract with the NRL, it remained in a 10-day cooling-off period, during which time the Broncos can still negotiate with the 117-kilogram wrecking ball.
Reynolds grinned he would “try and twist his arm” to remain in Broncos colours before the end of those 10 days, but denied there was any rift between the enforcer and coach Michael Maguire behind the decision.
“It’s an easy and obvious one to speculate on, but we’re a tight group. We wouldn’t have reached the heights we did last year if the boys were off Madge,” Reynolds said.
“But it is what it is, obviously we’ve got to focus on getting over to England and getting the job done. I’m sure the boys will be into him to try and get him [Haas] to stay at the club – we love everything about him and what he’s done for this club, he’s a huge reason why we got success.
“I didn’t see it coming, I haven’t really sat down and spoken to Payne – obviously you respect everyone’s decisions, I don’t know the exact reasoning by I know he is fully committed to this year.”
The player market is light on representative-standard props Brisbane could target for next year – Penrith’s Lindsay Smith and Francis Molo from the Dolphins the biggest names following Tino Fa’asuamaleaui’s declaration he would see out his Titans contract until the end of 2030.
Payne Haas celebrates victory with his family.Credit: Getty Images
By November 1, however, the Broncos would be able to negotiate with players who come off contract at the end of 2027 for the 2028 campaign – Corey Horsburgh, Moeaki Fotuaika, Mitchell Barnett and Stefano Utoikamanu among the high-profile props who will assess their futures.
Until then, boom Brisbane forwards Xavier Willison and Ben te Kura will be eager to prove they can fill Haas’ place, with Broncos lock Pat Carrigan adamant the duo would rise to the challenge that awaited them in 12 months.
While Te Kura has endured an injury-riddle introduction to the NRL, Willison is coming off a career-best campaign – averaging 111 running metres and 22.95 tackles a game from 21 appearances – and believes he is ready to graduate from his usual role off the bench and into the starting side as soon as this year.
“It’s all about opportunity, one door closes and another one opens. There are some really good young kids who have had the opportunity to learn off guys like Payne, so it’s exciting,” Carrigan said, who shapes as a contender to succeed Reynolds as skipper.
“He’s got 12 months left … I know the decision is the best thing for him and his family, and as a mate, I’ll always be supportive.
“But the opportunity for those younger guys is something that doesn’t present itself every day, and I know they’ll want to grab it with both hands.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
