The Broncos have been handed a dual boost in their bid to win the World Club Challenge, with both Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt given the rgeen light to take the field.
Reynolds hadn’t endured a full training session since October, when he suffered a torn calf in Brisbane’s grand final triumph over the Storm.
However, according to Code Sports, he got through the Broncos’ first season in England on Thursday as Michael Maguire’s side prepare to face Hull Kingston Rovers on Friday.
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“I’m all good,” Reynolds said only a few days after he revealed the 2026 season would be his last in the NRL.
“Preparations will be a little bit different to Brisbane. It’s nice and cold over here, so we have a few more layers on.
“We’re taking this extremely serious. We’re here to get the job done. These experiences for the club can be terrific.
“I’ve been extremely fortunate enough to (play in the WCC) a number of years ago (with South Sydney). I think we started 6-0.
“This is a great experience for the team. It’s one that we’re looking forward to, we’ll be trying to bring that (WCC trophy) back home to Brisbane.”
Hunt, meanwhile, was reportedly battling a hamstring complaint but got through training unscathed and will be free to take the field at the sold out MKM Stadium.
Elsewhere, Ezra Mam and Xavier Willison trained with no-contact bids in their final session before travelling abroad, but both are expected to be free to play.
CRONK’S BIG LATRELL CALL
NRL Hall of Famer Cooper Cronk believes if Souths are to win a comp this season, don’t expect to see much of Latrell Mitchell in the centres.
When he’s on, Mitchell is one of the best attacking players this game has seen. While he’s played fullback for the vast majority of his Rabbitohs career, Mitchell is set to start 2026 at left centre.
However, Cronk – a former teammate of Mitchell at the Roosters – thinks the Bunnies are better served with Mitchell playing attacking sets at five-eighth or fullback.
“In centre, he’s going to touch the ball ten times a game. Six of them will be carries from his own end which means he’s going to have four (meaningful) touches,” Cronk said on the Kayo NRL podcast.
“But if you play him close to the ball and he has 20 to 30 touches, that ratio goes up.
“I think he would struggle defensively at five-eighth … I could see a world where he can defend at centre and play at five-eighth.
“If Souths win the premiership under Wayne Bennett, I don’t think Latrell is the centre. He might defend there, but I think he’s either fullback or five-eighth (in attack).”
With Jye Gray at fullback and Mitchell able to play there as well, the Rabbitohs are well stocked at that position.
However, there are some question marks over the club’s halves, which is why Bennett may need to turn to Mitchell for some playmaking spark.
Jamie Humphreys and recruit Jonah Glover are talented but inexperienced. Cody Walker is dangerous when on song but injuries have been prevalent of late while Jayden Sullivan has failed to make his mark despite several first grade opportunities.
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Cronk unpacks Haas’ shock departure | 15:59
‘PRETTY TOUGH’ BRONCOS REALITY AWAITING SOON-TO-BE RECRUIT
Jonah Pezet has been warned about the challenges ahead after the young gun playmaker signed one of the most unique deals in NRL history.
Pezet will spend 2026 at the Eels before he joins the Broncos long term.
The deal has major benefits for both sides after Pezet made the big call to leave the Melbourne Storm for more opportunities, with the youngster stuck behind established stars Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster.
The Broncos get a star on the rise to replace the retiring Adam Reynolds in a key position, while the Eels get a quality playmaker with something to prove to partner rep star Mitch Moses in the halves.
Parramatta is still searching for their long-term five-eighth following Dylan Brown’s departure on a record-breaking deal to join the Knights, but Pezet is a dream replacement albeit for just one year.
“He’s a very confident kid and he’s very loud which is something we needed,” Moses said.
“He loves his footy and I love my footy, so we haven’t had any dramas connecting on the field.
“He’s very smart and he’s very mature for his age. He hasn’t played too much first grade, but he’s got a strong footy mind.
“He’s coming from one of the best clubs of the past 20 years and he would have learnt a lot off Jahrome and Munster who are two of the best halves in the game.
“He’s been really good for us, but everyone thinks they can win the premiership in the pre-season, so we just need to transition what we’re doing well now out onto the field.”
Pezet will have big boots to fill when he arrives in Brisbane following Monday’s announcement that Reynolds would retire at the end of the season.
The 35-year-old captain of the Broncos helped them win a drought-breaking premiership and will go down as one of the best halfbacks of the modern era.
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“He’s done a lot for the whole NRL. He’s been so good for us at the Broncos and he was so good at the Bunnies when he was there,” Broncos utility Billy Walters told the NewsWire.
“He’s probably been one of the top three halfbacks of the past 15 years, and we definitely wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are without ‘Reyno’.
“It probably wasn’t too much of a surprise because he was getting to the point where it was either going to be this year or next year, and I think he just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t about him and wanted to get it done so we could focus on this year.”
What happens next year is exciting, but Walters doesn’t want to heap any unnecessary pressure on Pezet, with Brisbane players more focused on winning another title before Reynolds and Payne Haas (Rabbitohs) leave.
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“We get Jonah next year, and he’s an exciting young prospect,” Walters said after joining Brisbane in 2022 following stints with the Storm and the Wests Tigers.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on him because I know that it can be pretty tough coming to the Broncos as a young halfback to take the reins.
“But he’s got a year at Parramatta where he can ply his trade, and hopefully they’re priming him so he’s ready to go when he comes to us.
“We’ll worry about that next year. Rugby league is a funny game, so you never know what’s going to happen in 12 months’ time. Who knows where we’ll be at and who’ll be in our team?
“We just have to enjoy this last year with Payne and Reyno and make sure we go back to back.”
BRONCOS STAR OPENS UP ROAD TO RECOVERY
Speaking of Walters, he is hoping to be back on the field before his side’s round 20 blockbuster against the Panthers, with the utility the latest player to give his take on how the expanded benches will affect guys like him.
Walters missed Brisbane’s grand final win over the Storm after he required an ACL reconstruction following an injury to his knee during the epic qualifying final victory in Canberra.
The 32-year-old was invited up on stage to lift the trophy by skipper Adam Reynolds in a touching moment on grand final night, with Walters desperate to return as soon as possible in 2026 to help his side go back to back.
“I’d like to be back playing before round 20. That would be about nine months after the injury,” he said, with Brisbane having a bye in round 19.
“I didn’t want to put a date on it too much in case you get caught up on it and things don’t go to plan, but hopefully I can be back by round 20 which would give me enough time to play some footy before the finals.
“Who knows, though? Rugby league is a funny game, so there might not even be a spot for me in the team when I get back, so it’s a bit of a weird one for me.”
The injury and subsequent rehab ruined Walters’ festive period, but the hurt of missing out on the premiership has helped him fight through the pain.
“It was pretty tough because I wasn’t able to enjoy my off-season as I normally would,” he said.
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Haas breaks silence on shock switch | 02:25
“It was all about getting my knee right because I’d just had surgery, so I was a bit knocked around for a couple of weeks.
“You always think about end goal, and I suppose it helped winning the comp last year and me wanting to get back so I can actually play in the grand final this year.
“I’m starting running on the field hopefully next week, so that’s a nice little goal to check off, and then I’ll build from there.
“I’m nearly halfway through the rehab, so there’s still a long way to go. These injuries are part of rugby league, but I’m just really happy with how everything finished last year, and hopefully we can do it again this year.”
Off contract at the end of the year, Walters faces a new challenge this season with the NRL recently announcing an increase from four to six players on the interchange bench.
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He says it’ll be “interesting” to see how coaches adapt to the new rule, with plenty of speculation that they will pick specialists on the bench ahead of guys like Walters who can play hooker or in the halves.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out in the first couple of rounds,” he said, hopeful of a new deal at the club.
“I feel like it won’t change too much for players, unless there are early injuries in games. If an outside back gets injured before I get on, then I probably won’t play that game, but that’s what the rule is there for to protect injuries to key players.
“You never hope for anyone to get injured, so I’ll be praying all of our players get through and I get to get on the field.”
‘HURRY UP’: KANGAROOS URGED TO MAKE COACHING CALL
Kangaroos captain Isaah Yeo has urged head office to “hurry up” and appoint Kevin Walters as the Australian coach for this year’s World Cup to give him enough time to put things in place to ensure they can defend their title.
Walters was appointed coach last July following news that Mal Meninga would lead the Perth Bears, but the deal was only for the Ashes series that Australia won 3-0 in England.
The former Brisbane and Queensland coach beat out Cameron Smith and Brad Fittler for the top job, with a lack of preparation time one of the reasons Fittler pulled out of the race.
The World Cup kicks off on October 15 when Australia hosts New Zealand, and Yeo wants Walters appointed as soon as possible, with reports the Australian Rugby League Commission will wait until the Las Vegas games are played in a few weeks.
“We just whitewashed England 3-0 in their backyard, so you’d think with that and the success we’ve had, you’d think he’d be the automatic fit,” Yeo told the NewsWire.
“You’d like that to be named sooner rather than later just in terms of planning because I do feel like you need to make sure that you’re planned, and I’m sure ‘Kevvie’ would want that as well.
“From all reports, it sounds like they’re leaning towards that after the Vegas trip.
“He did a wonderful job for the group, especially on short notice where he only found out he was coach a couple of months before.
“He was able to bring everyone together, so I certainly feel like you need to hurry up and name the coach because it’s a big job and we’ve got a World Cup in our backyard as well as New Zealand and PNG.”
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Walters’ passion impressed Yeo and his teammates during the tour, even if the star lock forward didn’t get to play much because of a head knock in the opening game.
“He certainly led on the past and lessons he learnt on tours,” Yeo said when asked how Walters had inspired the team.
“The way he was able to bring the group together meant we didn’t want to let him down because we could see how much he cares about that jersey.
“I thought he was outstanding and I loved playing for him. I didn’t get to play as much as I would have liked because of the head knock, but I liked being around him.
“You can tell how passionate he is about it all – not just for the jersey – but the players as well. You could see that through the Broncos boys and how they all gravitated towards him.
“He’s someone the players want to play for, and I think he’s the right fit for the World Cup and the Australian job. You just want them to hurry up and appoint him so he can plan everything.”
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Meanwhile, superstar playmaker Mitchell Moses has declared he wants to represent Australia after running out for Lebanon in the past two World Cups.
He was on the Ashes tour but didn’t play, with Walters opting for Cameron Munster and Nathan Cleary in the halves.
“Australia is definitely the goal,” he said.
“Ever since I was a young kid, all I ever wanted to do was play for Australia.
“I feel like what Australia has done for my family when my grandparents came over and gave them a life to live with opportunities has created everything for what I was able to be brought into.”
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