Reynolds on ice as forgotten man set to shake up Broncos No.9 battle: NRL Pre-season Daily

LAUNCH: Brandy’s bold finals prediction as another Blues great makes unthinkable call

Ironically Reynolds’ absence could see Walters spend some time in the halves, which could open the door for Paix to make an impression at hooker.

Broncos coach Michael Maguire allayed fears 34-year-old Reynolds’ body might be breaking down on him as he enters his 14th and likely final season before retiring.

“Reyno is good,” Maguire said.

“He isn’t doing full contact but he has been doing a lot of work away from the group on his body and fitness.

“He has been around watching training and giving feedback and that’s the reason he is captain of this club.

“Reyno is really healthy which is pleasing.

“He had some bumps and bruises through (last) year, but he has worked really hard on his body. I am happy with where he is at.

“He was told a long time ago he wouldn’t be able to play week in, week out, but Reyno has definitely showed his toughness.

“There’s no reason he can’t get through this season in good shape if he does the work, which he is doing.

“He is such a tough warrior. As I learned at Souths, when Reyno is up and about, he gets the team buzzing.

“If we get his body right, he can have a big year for us. I know he can withstand the weekly grind.”

Paix didn’t play any NRL last season, but the 25-year-old Toowoomba native has impressed Maguire in his four-way showdown with Walters, Tyson Smoothy and Blake Mozer.

“No-one is guaranteed a spot here,” Paix said.

“He (Maguire) has put it down to who wants to work hardest and displays the qualities he wants in a hooking role. I will keep chipping away.”

JOHNSON REPLACEMENT OPENS UP ON REINVENTING WARRIORS

Warriors halfback Luke Metcalf says his side’s attack “is going to look a bit different this year” as they look to reinvent themselves following the retirement of club legend Shaun Johnson.

The Warriors are one of the most intriguing teams in the competition given Johnson and former skipper Tohu Harris have retired, while try-scoring prop Addin Fonua-Blake is now at the Sharks.

They slid down the ladder last year after their brilliant 2023 campaign, and a lot of the focus will be on the halves pairing of Metcalf and Te Maire Martin who looked solid in their first trial game against Cronulla.

Johnson was the main conductor of their attack for so long and had 48 try assists in the past two seasons alone, while Metcalf has set up eight tries in 26 NRL games and will make the move from five-eighth.

The attack was a bit clunky on Friday night, with Martin bombing a try in the second half, but Metcalf is excited about what they can do, with the speedster set to shift to the right having mainly played on the left in the NRL.

“I’ve always played on the right in my junior career, so it’s the more natural side for me with a right-arm carry,” he explained.

“Our attack is going to look a bit different this year. Not so much right, left and middle. You’ll see both of us floating around and being able to connect with each other.

“We showed a bit (against the Sharks) but probably not everything we’ve been working on. I’m keen to see that flourish in the big games.

“It felt good. Connecting with ‘T’ was cool. You know not everything is going to go to plan in your first game, but that’s what trials are for, so it’s cool to get out there and test ourselves to see where we’re at.”

Metcalf nailed a 40/20 in their 12-all draw against the Sharks and will have to step up big time given Johnson did the bulk of the kicking.

But it’s a fine balance because his strength is his running game and he doesn’t want to sacrifice his biggest weapon.

“I feel like that’s a strong part of my game that I haven’t really shown yet in my career,” he said.

“It’s something that I’m confident in but I reckon I can get a bit better at it.

“Part of the job as a footballer and maturing with the job is understanding what your strengths are and how you can manipulate a defence to bring your strengths into it.

“That’s probably something I’ll grow with each game because it’s something I’ve been working really hard with ‘Webby’ and Rich Agar, who is our attack coach.”

Injuries have plagued Metcalf throughout his NRL career, but Warriors prop Mitch Barnett is backing him to succeed in the new role.

“He’s only going to get better,” he said.

“People forget that he’s had a lot of injuries and he’s now taken the reins of our side.

“I’m interested to see how he goes. You can see that class that he’s got in him and I’m excited to see where his game goes to.”

— Martin Gabor NCA Newswire

TEDESCO WON’T GIVE UP ON REPRESENTATIVE GOALS

James Tedesco says he hasn’t closed the door on a potential rep return after he lost both his Kangaroos and Blues jerseys last year despite statistically having the best season of his glittering club career.

The former NSW and Australia captain was outstanding for the Roosters, with Tedesco putting up better numbers than in 2019 when he won the Dally M Medal.

The Roosters skipper finished the year with the most tackle busts in the league, while he was second in run metres, fourth in try assists and set new career highs in three major attacking categories.

But those numbers weren’t enough to impress everyone, with the former Blues skipper dropped for the series opener, only to be recalled after Dylan Edwards got hurt.

Tedesco didn’t play the final two games of the series and was then overlooked for the Pacific Championships having led the side in 2023 when they lost the final, with Edwards and Tom Trbojevic now seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order.

“I hadn’t heard anything before that so it wasn’t a shock,” he said after finding out that he hadn’t made the team.

“Usually, there are calls before that, so I knew that it wasn’t looking great because I hadn’t heard anything, which is all right.

“I played my best footy last year, so that’s all I can hold myself to. I know that’s a high standard for me and I want to keep chasing my best every year, every week, every game.

“I’m not going to get down based on someone’s opinion of me making a team or not. If they want me to play, then I’m 100 per cent available because I’d never say no to a chance to represent NSW or Australia.

“You always want to play for your country because it’s the pinnacle of rugby league, but having that extra time off and having that time with the family and going to Hawaii is something I’ll always cherish.

“You don’t always get those opportunities with a young family, so I definitely saw it as a positive where I could unwind and relax, which has made me really fresh going into the pre-season.”

Tedesco will again be the main man in a Roosters team that’s lost attacking weapons Joseph Manu, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Luke Keary, which has led to some people predicting them to slide down the ladder.

Injuries to Sam Walker and Brandon Smith won’t help either, but Tedesco has been impressed by veteran halfback Chad Townsend, who has communicated well at training and played square to give Tedesco space out the back.

While it’s easy to focus on what they’re missing in attack, Tedesco says the bigger issue this pre-season has been fixing their defence that went missing at crucial times.

“Our attack last year was really good. I think we were first in tries and points scored, but our defence wasn’t up to scratch to win a premiership, and that’s what showed against the big teams,” he said.

“We lost because we leaked too many points, and to win those big games you can’t let in too many tries, regardless of how many points you score.

“That’s been a big focus for us. If that means we don’t score as many points in the first 6-8 weeks, then so be it. I’d rather win games on our defence, so that’s been the focus.”

That defensive resolve has been the backbone to their premiership wins, with the Roosters holding opponents scoreless six times in 2013, while they were held to single digits in attack four times in the first eight rounds in 2018 but found their groove when it mattered most.

“We’ve had superstars in the past – and we still have them – who could score points and we’d rely on them, but we’ve lost a few of them,” Tedesco said.

“In 2018 and 2019, our attack wasn’t great at the start of the year so we were winning games on the back of our defence. That got better and better so we started to score more tries, and I think that’s a similar vibe this year.

“We’ll be judging ourselves on our goal-line defence because it wasn’t where it needed to be last year.”

— Martin Gabor NCA Newswire