Win now or bust: Inside Broncos’ fragile halves puzzle and curious case of hidden prodigy

The Broncos sit in a precarious position.

Michael Maguire has a star-studded squad, seemingly peaking at the right time and firmly in the mix for premiership glory.

But there are also many moving parts that threaten the NRL heavyweights’ chances, with their title window closing — fast.

FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer >

The biggest issue: two of Maguire’s most important players, Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt, are coming to the end of their careers.

Reynolds has already indicated he will hang up the boots at the end of 2026, having prolonged his retirement with a one-year extension.

Hunt, meanwhile, had considered retiring from the NRL before securing a move to the Broncos, with his current deal also coming to an end after next season.

It remains to be seen if he will play on — but with two key spine players potentially departing, two gaping holes will be left.

It’s a fascinating scenario: a win-now pair of veteran halves alongside Ezra Mam, under a notoriously win-now coach who has previously been known to wear out his players.

So is the next 13 months all or nothing for the Broncos?

It certainly looks that way, when you assess the club’s overall halves position.

Should both Reynolds and Hunt move on after next year, Maguire has a host of options but no sure things in his succession plan.

Mam will wear the No.6, while the player widely considered to be Reynolds’ heir is young gun Coby Black, who has long been touted as an NRL halfback in the making.

The 19-year-old has played 21 Queensland Cup games to date, and a big opportunity arose for the rising star to slot into the halves after Reynolds and Mam’s injuries in Round 23. It didn’t happen.

But for former coach Kevin Walters, it was the right call to hold back the teenager, who is also signed until the end of next year.

“I’ve watched a fair bit of him this year. I really liked his improvement again this year,” Walters said to foxsports.com.au at the time.

“He’s still young but he has made some big improvements this year to his game, particularly defensively. He’s obviously matured a bit as a person and I think he’s got all the skills for mine.

“Coby certainly has a long-term future in the NRL… It’s probably not the right time … I feel like Coby’s turn in the NRL will happen.

“Short-term is probably the most important, but long-term is very important.

“The bigger picture of certain players is equally important. And certainly in this case for Coby, I feel it’s the right decision to make (to not pick him).”

Jock Madden is departing for the Tigers after this season, which has seen the Broncos hit the open market and sign Cowboys gun Tom Duffy for 2026.

That gives the 22-year-old one year to prove himself at Red Hill, having been unable to lock down a starting spot under Todd Payten.

Similarly to Black, Duffy was considered the next big thing in North Queensland, but having won the No.7 jersey to start this season he was dumped after two games.

While the Cowboys were keen on retaining him, Duffy made an astute move and now gets a chance to complete an apprenticeship under Hunt and Reynolds.

There’s not many players going around with more experience than that duo, and it was a “clear attraction” to being mentored by them that sparked a move.

“I had a chat to ‘Madge’ (Broncos coach Michael Maguire) and he said you will be learning off two halfbacks who have played over 300 games,” Duffy told CODE Sports.

“I have done that under Chad Townsend (former Cowboys halfback) up here the last two years.

“I learnt a lot from him and I’m keen to get a fresh look at the game from Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt, tap into what makes them great and see if I can add that to my game.”

By making the switch, Duffy is taking a punt on himself — and it’s one that could work for the Broncos, who will need a No.7.

Outside of that pairing, the versatile Billy Walters is signed until the end of 2026, when Josh Rogers’ contract also expires.

Therefore, Broncos powerbrokers have a big decision on their hands regarding who their long-term halfback is, and the position is well and truly up for grabs.

Should Maguire not have a surefire No.7 who can steer a star-studded squad around the park, Brisbane’s premiership credentials will take a major hit in 2027.

So for the time being, Maguire’s focus, should they not win the title this year, should be keeping both Hunt and Reynolds fit and firing.

Some critics have suggested that Maguire’s tough methods influence Brisbane’s heavy injury tolls, yet the Broncos coach revealed that the playing group asked for a torturous regime.

“When I arrived here, I felt they wanted more,” Maguire said to CODE Sports.

“People say I’ve pushed them too hard but the players were the ones coming to me saying, ‘Madge, go harder on us’.

“I’m proud of where we are because the players have driven this culture. They drive the tough standards. Not me. Ultimately, as a coach, you can’t do it without the buy-in from your players.

“I can’t comment on past coaches and past regimes, I don’t know what happened then, but every coach has a different mentality and style.

“When I first arrived, while it was a change, they embraced it and they moved towards it very quickly. The work ethic of this squad is not being driven by me … the feedback was they wanted it.”

With Reynolds, Mam and Selwyn Cobbo all sidelined with soft tissue injuries, the big injury toll already hurting the Broncos in 2025 will become a full-blown crisis next year if it continues. That looms as the last roll of the dice, for the time being.

Reece Walsh has also spent time on the sidelines with a knee injury this year.

Payne Haas battled with a back problem, while Xavier Willison and Jack Gosiewski both suffered fractures to their arms and Ben Hunt also tore his hamstring.

Throw in the mix a quad strain for Kotoni Staggs, and a syndesmosis injury to Brendan Piakura and it’s been tough for Brisbane on the casualty front.

Yet with a late surge into the top-four, Brisbane now have a double chance at reaching the grand final and earning an opportunity to break a 19-year title drought.

The signing of Hunt has proven to be a masterstroke, with the veteran plugging a gaping halves hole after both Maguire’s first-string playmakers went down.

And with the Broncos now arguably playing their best football, does he deserve to keep his position?

Reynolds is due back in the second week of finals, while Mam’s fitness remains unclear — but a league legend was certain the club’s veteran No.7 needs to return.

“(Reynolds goes) straight back in. I think he’s the Jamal Fogarty of Brisbane, he makes really good decisions,” Cooper Cronk said on the Matty and Cronk podcast, having explained that the minor premier Raiders would live or die by the form of their halfback.

“Yes, the Broncos have played well since he’s gone down and Ben Hunt is an experienced campaigner.

“But Reece Walsh has gone through the roof in terms of his performance and I feel like in big games, he’s gonna sit on the red line and he could tip over either way.

“If he gets it right, he could be damaging, but I think Reynolds needs to come back in (to control him).”

That still leaves the No.6 jersey up for grabs, with Hunt, Mam and Billy Walters all contending for the five-eighth spot to close out the season.

Both Hunt and Walters have previously shared duties at hooker, with Mam’s talents almost impossible to ignore, especially considering his hat-trick in the 2023 grand final. Yet there’s no guarantee he will be fit to play in the finals.

MORE NRL NEWS

SHARKS STUNNER! Roosters crash out of finals race as Cronulla’s hoodoo vanishes

‘HAPPENS TOO OFTEN’: Gutted Warriors coach’s honest ‘missing piece’ admission

‘GEE WHIZ’: Controversy over stunning Panthers try as brave Wahs eliminated

Hunt’s experience, and ability to slot in almost anywhere, are also impossible to deny — but Walters’ form throws a spanner in the works.

The 31-year-old has been excellent off the bench and in the No.6 to close out this season, which forced former Kangaroos playmaker Matty Johns to question whether he should retain his spot.

“Billy Walters has been so good in the six. He’s been outstanding. He’s fantastic at 14, great at nine, but almost at six he’s gone to another level again,” Johns said.

Walters’ ability to inject pace around the ruck, and cause chaos against tiring middle defenders, however, means he’s most likely to come off the bench as a utility once again, while Cory Paix is the odd man out.

Then comes the next problem: how do the Broncos get the best out of Walsh, in a delicate balance between free rein and restraint?

The superstar fullback has arguably played his best football with Hunt in the No.7. Hunt has embraced the fact that Walsh needs the ball in his hands as early as possible.

But the biggest question is, when Reynolds return, will he still get the same liberties?

A pair of league legends believe the Broncos now have a new blueprint to deliver a title; one in which Reynolds will need to free the handbrake on Walsh.

“He was first receiver for a lot of that (game), so without a dominant No.7 and Ben Hunt playing a role, I think he’s got early ball,” Gorden Tallis said on NRL360.

“He just made the play. Sometimes when Reece is out the back, defenders rush up on him… when he’s first off the ruck, he has more time.”

Before Braith Anasta added: “I think before Adam Reynolds’ injury it was Reece trying to fit in with the style that the team plays with Adam.

“After this last month it will be Adam coming back to acclimatise to the style they are playing now… I think he can, he’s experienced in big games.

“I think it’s better for him, less is more for Adam Reynolds. But the big thing for Brisbane, is when they do go off the rails… I think he can bring that composure but still let Reece play.”