Broncos enforcer Pat Carrigan has quashed speculation he should usurp Adam Reynolds as captain as a new dawn breaks at Redhill under incoming coach Michael Maguire.
Reynolds’ leadership has been called into question following Brisbane’s diabolical season in which they finished twelfth which resulted in the exit of former mentor and favourite son Kevin Walters.
The 34-year-old is off contract at the end of 2025 and played just 13 games in an injury-plagued 2024 campaign.
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Carrigan is no stranger to skipper duties and regularly leads the side when Reynolds is unavailable, while his importance to the club was further galvanised this week when he claimed his second Paul Morgan Medal as Brisbane’s Player of the Year.
The 26-year-old is considered a logical successor to Reynolds after debuting for the club in 2019 before going on to establish himself as a premier NRL, Maroons and Kangaroos prop.
But amid growing calls for him have the ‘C’ next to his name on the team sheet, Carrigan said he firmly believed Reynolds was the man to lead the glamour club.
“No chance, 100 per cent behind Reyno,” Carrigan told Perth Now.
“People that know him as a leader and the influence he has on the club, it’s second to none he should be skipper of our team.”
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Despite Brisbane’s horror season Carrigan is one of the Broncos’ most consistent performers and was duly rewarded with Australian selection for the upcoming Pacific Championships.
And he will be key to the club’s resurgence under Maguire who is tasked with picking Brisbane off the canvas following a scathing end of season review which saw Walters part ways with the club.
Carrigan said player accountability was crucial in acknowledging past mistakes to ensure they right the course in 2025.
“It’s a hard one, to be honest; I don’t think too much about my own performance,” Carrigan said.
“I play a team sport for a reason, and as a club, we weren’t where we wanted to be.
“We had a lot of learning curves this year, and there’s things to build on for next year, and as a playing group, accountability is where it starts.”
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Maguire is expected to bring a hard edge to Brisbane and will need every ounce of grit to bring in line a squad accused of having rock star egos.
Carrigan said he was looking forward to linking with Maguire.
“I’ve had a brief chat to Madge (Maguire); a really nice fella, and he’s had a lot of success previously,” he said.
“I’m excited to work with him and he wants to work hard.”
Maguire won a premiership with the Rabbitohs in 2014 breaking a 43-year title drought and led the Blues to this year’s historic State of Origin series win.
His last NRL post was with the Tigers who he joined in 2019 before being sacked in June 2022 after winning 29 of 80 games for a 36 per cent winning record.
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