Champion Brisbane halfback Adam Reynolds has endorsed teammate Patrick Carrigan as the man to succeed him as Broncos captain when he retires at the end of the year. Reynolds confirmed over the weekend that the upcoming season would be his final one in the NRL, dealing a double blow to the club’s fans after Payne Haas agreed to join Souths in 2027.
Reynolds is one of just four Broncos captains to win the NRL premiership after leading them to grand final glory last season. Having also won a title with Souths, the veteran No.7 cemented his legacy in Brisbane by joining club legends Allan Langer (1992-93 and 1997-98), Kevin Walters (2000) and Darren Lockyer (2006) as premiership-winning captains with the Broncos.
Retiring Brisbane Broncos Adam Reynolds (L) has named Patrick Carrigan (R image, left side) as the ideal man to succeed him as captain. Pic: Getty
And the 35-year-old says Carrigan is the logical choice to succeed him long-term, having led the side admirably when Reynolds has been absent. Carrigan was also Brisbane’s co-captain during their wooden spoon season in 2020 when regular skipper Alex Glenn missed most of the season through injury.
The Origin and Test star showed tremendous character and leadership during that tumultuous period and he’s one of coach Michael Maguire’s most important players. Centre Kotoni Staggs is considered the other main contender to succeed Reynolds but the veteran halfback says Carrigan would be his choice.
“He’s done a lot of great things for this club and he’s stood in a number of times,” Reynolds said about Carrigan. “Obviously when I’m not there he’s the next man up, and he’s a big part of the fabric of this club.
“He’s been here for a very long time and I see him as an extremely important leader amongst our team as well, so it’s a good headache to manage that. We’ve got a number of leaders in the club that could lead the team out, but he’d be my pick.”
Patrick Carrigan’s focus remains on footy, not captaincy
Carrigan has already played 130 games for the Broncos and is locked down at the club until the end of 2028. But the Origin and Test star says his focus remains solely on delivering continued success at the club, and not the captaincy.
“I’ve always been a big believer in just being myself and trying to uphold that each and every day and perform at a standard I’m proud of and the club can be proud of too,” he said. “I’m really lucky at this club. There’s plenty of boys that are more than capable of leading us into the future, and I think we’re in a good position.”
Adam Reynolds has backed Pat Carrigan as the man to succeed him as Brisbane Broncos captain. Pic: AAP
However, Carrigan admits that if he were to succeed Reynolds as Brisbane captain it would go down as one of the proudest achievements in his career. “It’ll be massive,” he said. “Each and every day you’re learning and you’re growing as a person, not only as a footy player.
“I’ve taken plenty of lessons, ups and downs, over the last eight or nine years that I’ve been in the club. They’re all hypotheticals and what-ifs and I don’t really read too much into those sort of things. I’m loving what I’m doing at the moment and playing with this group of lads.”
with AAP