Broncos legend Gorden Tallis has backed Selwyn Cobbo to fill some huge grand final shoes and also declared Adam Reynolds must live up to his price tag in 2024.
Cobbo will get first crack at replacing Herbie Farnworth in the centres and Tallis believes the young indigenous superstar can become the next Greg Inglis.
Farnworth and Tom Flegler have joined cross-town rivals the Dolphins, while fellow grand final stars Kurt Capewell (Warriors) and Keenan Palasia (Titans) have also departed.
They’ve only signed two players which means marquee man Reynolds won’t have the same strike power around him this season when Brisbane chase their first premiership in 18 years.
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Tallis admits Farnworth and Fleger are huge losses but he backed the Broncos’ depth and said the journey back to the decider starts with Cobbo bursting out of the blocks.
“Those two players (Farnworth and Fleger), the way they finished the season, most NRL clubs would love to have them and Redcliffe have them now and it’s a new challenge for Brisbane,” Tallis told foxsports.com.au.
“Cobbo is such a young talent, he’s like Greg Inglis. He’s been compared to Greg as one of those guys that are just natural footballers and he’s just still so young and raw and the more football he plays the more experience he gets, the better he’s going to be.
“It’s going to be new for him and he’ll make some mistakes but there’s no doubt he’ll end up slotting into that position well, without a doubt.
“As for replacing Flegler, I like Xavier Willison, I watched him play against the Dogs last year, he’s such a big body and can wreak a bit of havoc.
“With Willison it’s about playing quality minutes because he’s just so raw, and that will come down to how hard he’s worked this pre-season.”
Tallis controversially criticised Reynolds for failing to ice the grand final despite leading 24-8 with 18 minutes to play.
Tallis warned the club against rushing to offer Reynolds a contract extension for 2025 and he doubled down when foxsports.com.au asked if the halfback would be feeling the pressure to deliver a premiership this season.
“What are marquee men paid to do?” Tallis said.
“Look at the NFL, Lamar Jackson is going to get the MVP, he’s been the best player all year but he failed at the last hurdle. Patrick Mahomes was solid and he’s going to the Super Bowl, they call it game management.
“The fact is they bought Reynolds to win them a title so that’s what you’re judged on. When you’re a big player that’s what you’re judged on. You’re not going to judge Selwyn Cobbon on that, you’re not even going to judge Reece Walsh on that. If Reece Walsh fails in a big moment when he’s 30, he’ll get the same.
“Payne Haas is paid to deliver, so is Pat Carrigan, you’re paid to do your job and Adam Reynolds is experienced in game management and if you break it down, he knows himself he’d be really disappointed.
“There would be moments of that game where he would think ‘God I would like to have that moment again’.
“If Nathan Cleary’s first half was his second half and Brisbane won, he’d have the same demons. Cleary scored the winner in the 77th minute so if that game ends three minutes earlier, do we carve up Nathan Cleary?
“We do. Because every time they win it’s ‘how good is Adam Reynolds’ or ‘how good is Nathan Cleary’. They get all the praise, so they’ve got to take the good with the bad.
“If you want to sit there and read good articles about yourself, you’ve got to be prepared to read the bad ones too.”
Here foxsports.com.au breaks down all the key factors for the Broncos heading into the 2024 season.
STRENGTH
Belief
The Broncos are finally premiership contenders again and it’s thanks to the confidence oozing out of Red Hill, which couldn’t be said just a few years ago.
Kevin Walters is unfairly criticised as a subpar coach, but ask around and you’ll soon learn his man management skills are up there with the best.
It’s about finding that fine line between knowing when to work and when to play and very few do it better than Walters – who won six premierships as a player.
The critics glaze over the fact that Walters inherited a Broncos side in 2020 that has just collected the club’s first ever wooden spoon.
Fast forward three years and he had taken them all the way to the grand final. That can only be done when belief bounces off the walls at a club.
Walters got his side humming in 2023 and even with the loss of some key players this year, they’ll be brimming with confidence again heading into the 2024 season.
IT’S A BIG YEAR FOR
Selwyn Cobbo
Broncos coach Kevin Walters has confirmed Cobbo will fill the void left by departed English superstar Herbie Farnworth.
It’s a tough ask to change positions and fill the boots of the reigning Dally M Centre of the Year, but if anyone can it’s Cobbo.
The 21-year-old Kangaroos winger was playing for the Maroons as a teenager and remains one of the most exciting young players in the game.
Cobbo has played four of his 49 NRL games in the centres and has drawn comparisons with NRL legend Greg Inglis.
There’s plenty of power in his 190cm and 100kg frame and Cobbo will continue to dominate in attack, but will need to work on his defence in his new position.
WHO’S UNDER PRESSURE
Adam Reynolds
It was harsh but ultimately justified criticism when some critics blamed Reynolds for the Broncos’ grand final loss.
Reynolds was a marquee signing brought to the club on big money to deliver a drought-breaking premiership.
But when the whips were cracking in the biggest game of the season he made a number of questionable plays, including running on the last tackle in the final 10 minutes.
Reynolds and fellow veteran Kurt Capewell were the only premiership players in Brisbane’s grand final side, but the halfback couldn’t get his side home.
Instead it was Reynolds’ opposite number, Nathan Cleary, who stood up and dragged his side to victory despite trailing by 16 points in the 62nd minute.
Reynolds, who turns 34 in July, is contracted until the end of the year and will need to prove he can deliver in the big moments to earn an extension for 2025.
THE RISING STAR
Deine Mariner
Mariner has been limited to six NRL games since making his debut in 2022 but the young gun has impressed every time he’s taken the field.
Mariner has played in the centres and on the wing, while also coming off the bench, and he scored five tries in four appearances for the Broncos last year.
The 20-year-old has speed to burn and is expected to get first crack over veteran Corey Oatres at filling Cobbo’s vacant wing spot.
Brisbane officials have big raps on Mariner – who was picked in the 2021 Australia Schoolboys – and have locked him down until 2027.
THE UNLUCKY ONE
Corey Oates
The Broncos veteran endured an injury-ravaged 2023 and was in and out of the side in a trend that looks set to continue in 2024.
Despite a spot on the wing opener up with Cobbo shifting into the centres to replace Farnworth, Mariner looks set to get it over Oates.
Oates, who has played 201 games for Brisbane, was 18th Man in the grand final before agreeing to take a pay cut to sign on for 2024.
The 29-year-old played for the Maroons as recently as 2022 but he might only be used as injury cover this year which could be his last in Brisbane.
PREDICTED FINISH: 2nd
BEST 17
1. Reece Walsh
2. Jesse Arthars
3. Kotoni Staggs
4. Selwyn Cobbo
5. Deine Mariner
6. Ezra Mam
7. Adam Reynolds
8. Corey Jensen
9. Billy Walters
10. Payne Haas
11. Brendan Piakura
12. Jordan Riki
13. Patrick Carrigan
14. Tyson Smoothy
15. Kobe Hetherington
16. Fletcher Baker
17. Xavier Willison
2024 SQUAD: Adam Reynolds (2024), Ben Te Kura (2026), Billy Walters (2024), Blake Mozer (2025), Brendan Piakura (2027), Corey Jensen (2025), Corey Oates (2024), Cory Paix (2025), Deine Mariner (2027), Delouise Hoeter (2024), Ezra Mam (2024), Fletcher Baker (2025), Jaiyden Hunt (2025) Jesse Arthars (2026), Jock Madden (2026), Jordan Pereira (2024), Jordan Riki (2027), Kobe Hetherington (2025), Kotoni Staggs (2025), Martin Taupau (2024), Patrick Carrigan (2028), Payne Haas (2026), Reece Walsh (2025), Selwyn Cobbo (2025), Tristan Sailor (2025), Tyson Smoothy (2024), Xavier Willison (2025)
Development players: Coby Black (2024), Israel Leota (2025), Josh Rodgers (2024)
GAINS: Fletcher Baker (Roosters), Jaiyden Hunt (Dragons)
LOSSES: Herbie Farnworth (Dolphins), Tom Flegler (Dolphins), Keenan Palasia (Titans), Kurt Capewell (Warriors), Logan Bayliss-Brow (unsigned)
COACH: Kevin Walters
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