The new coach has revealed who will be skipper for the NRL season in 2025.
Michael Maguire has resisted calls to make a captaincy change at the Brisbane Broncos, going against Gorden Tallis’ wishes to retain Adam Reynolds as the skipper. Broncos legend Tallis had been leading calls for Reynolds to be dumped as captain in favour of Patrick Carrigan, and it was thought a change of coach (from Kevin Walters to Maguire) might usher in the change.
Maguire has been busy fixing the culture and attitude at the NRL club, and it looked like he might elevate Carrigan to the captaincy to rubber-stamp his new era. But the Broncos announced on Thursday afternoon that Reynolds will continue to skipper the side in 2025 – in what shapes as his last season before retirement.
The club also announced that Carrigan, Ben Hunt, Payne Haas and Kotoni Staggs will make up a newly-formed leadership group. There will undoubtedly be games throughout the season that Reynolds misses through injury, while Carrigan, Hunt and Haas will all be away on State of Origin duty at times.
Reynolds has been captain since arriving at the Broncos in 2022, and described it as a “full circle” moment after Maguire handed him his debut at South Sydney in 2012. “I feel like it’s gone full circle with Madge,” Reynolds said on Thursday. “He obviously gave me my debut jersey and now, I’m a little older but he’s still showing faith in me. We’ve got a really strong group of senior players here, and having Hunty as part of that now is huge.”
Michael Maguire praises Adam Reynolds’ leadership
Maguire explained his decision to retain Reynolds, saying: “I’ve always said Reyno is a leader, and it’s very clear to me that this group of players really enjoy playing with him, but importantly, for him. I’ve had a deep connection with Reyno for many years and am proud of his journey, and I know how hungry he is to keep leading from the front.
“The past few months has given me an opportunity to see the leadership styles we do have in the team, and I’m confident we’ve got the right pieces of the puzzle in this group. Everyone brings something different to the table in terms of the way they go about their business, that’s what makes special teams.
“Everyone should be a leader at this club, from the youngest to the oldest, through our behaviours and our actions every day. That needs to be our mindset moving forward.”
Gorden Tallis had called for Brisbane Broncos captaincy change
Maguire’s decision comes after Tallis declared last year that Carrigan should be skipper. Speaking after a woeful performance at home against the Bulldogs, Tallis said: “I think the team is lacking leadership. I watch them closely… on Saturday somebody needed to stand up and put a stake in the ground.
“(Reynolds) didn’t do it, and in the grand final (in 2023) he didn’t get them home either. If he’s the captain and he’s not doing it, there might be a chance to put Pat Carrigan there. It’s about putting your ego in your pocket because Allan Langer left to go to England and they put me as captain. When he came back, Alf was the captain again but he said ‘no you’re our leader’.
“In that game on the weekend, under the pump, if I’m playing with Allan Langer, he gets out from dummy-half, he does three or four tackles in a row, he looks at us and challenges us. There’s none of that happening at the moment. So maybe there should be a change with (the person) who gets the C next to their name.”
Tallis was also critical of Reynolds’ decision to take Billy Walters’ place in a weekly radio segment with Triple M radio in Brisbane after Walters boycotted it due to criticism of coach and father Kevin. Tallis said Reynolds should have showed solidarity with Billy and Kevin and also boycotted.
NRL fans divided on Brisbane Broncos captaincy decision
Tellingly, a poll of Yahoo Sport Australia readers has revealed how divisive the Broncos captaincy situation has been. In a poll of over 60,000 readers, Reynolds and Carrigan both have 41 per cent of the vote. And while many praised the decision to retain Reynolds as captain on Thursday, some disagreed and pointed to the halfback’s ageing body and likeliness to miss games throughout the year.
Speaking on SEN radio on Friday morning, Broncos great Corey Parker and cricket legend Ian Healy both said they had “no issue” with Reynolds retaining the captaincy. Healy said: “There’s going to be plenty of times throughout the year that Patty Carrigan is the captain. Reynolds isn’t going to play all 26 games. He might get through 15 games and I reckon that’s how they need to start thinking about managing him too.”
Parker said Carrigan had been thrust into the captaincy “way too early” before Reynolds’ arrival at the club. But Parker said Carrigan will make a great skipper in due time.
