Reynolds says players’ families and concerns around the cyclone were never far from their thoughts.
Broncos captain Adam Reynolds admits Tropical Cyclone Alfred and concerns for the team’s family, friends and loved ones were at the back of their minds during Thursday night’s thumping victory over the Roosters. Brisbane began life under new coach Michael Maguire by hammering the Chooks 50-14 in their season-opener in Sydney, before making the mad dash back to the Queensland capital after being granted special permission to fly into Toowoomba by the state’s Premier, David Crisafulli.
With Brisbane airport temporarily closed because of the cyclone, Broncos hierarchy booked a private charter flight that saw them touch down inland at Toowoomba. Reynolds and his men then took a two-hour bus trip back to the Queensland capital, where they arrived home around 1:30am on Friday. It made Thursday night’s victory all the more impressive and Reynolds admits the great “unknown” about the cyclone situation and concerns for their families were never far from the thoughts of his Broncos squad.
“It’s sort of the unknown,” Reynolds said. “I don’t think too many people have been through a cyclone, so for us, it’s about getting home as soon as possible and being with our loved ones and making sure that we’re all okay. We’re thinking of everyone that’s going to be affected by the cyclone. It’s not something we want to go through, but it’s important to hunker down and make sure everyone’s okay and check in on each other.
“We checked in on them (our families) early, and then we had 80 minutes to worry about out there. Everyone is doing fine back home at the moment. We had a job to do here for 80 minutes, and now we can turn our attention to getting back home and being with our families.”
Post-match press conferences with the winning captain and coach don’t normally happen so quickly after the final siren but Reynolds and Maguire were speaking with reporters within minutes so the team could travel back home as soon as possible. Brisbane’s preparations had been far from ideal after flying in to Sydney on Tuesday and leaving their loved ones behind, amid so much uncertainty around the cyclone.
Michael Maguire hails players after big Brisbane win
Fellow Queensland team the Dolphins had their match on Friday night moved from Brisbane to Sydney and three players pulled out of the match to remain home with their loved ones. But Maguire praised the resilience and strength of character of his Brisbane squad after being given the perfect start to his coaching reign at the Broncos, with an attacking masterclass in wet and tricky conditions at Allianz Stadium.
“It says a lot about the players,” Maguire said. “One thing that I’ve seen since arriving at the club is that there’s a strong connection between the players. They’ve experienced plenty, so for myself to come into a group that’s been together for a while and gone through challenging times together, they’ve put their heads down and worked really hard.
“It says a lot about the group and what they’re willing to do for each other.” Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy confirmed Brisbane’s squad returned home safely to Brisbane in the early hours of Friday morning. “The team arrived into Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba at about 11.30pm before boarding a bus back home, getting in around 1.30am,” he told The Courier Mail.
“We are extremely grateful to the team at Wellcamp for opening up their gateway to Brisbane for us to allow us to get the team and staff back to their families. We would also like to sincerely thank the NRL, broadcasters and the Roosters for working with us to ensure we could leave the stadium as quickly as possible after the game. The safety and wellbeing of our people has always been our priority.”
