Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\nPreston Riki gets a shot off the bench against the Bulldogs.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
Others, such as 20-year-old Cameron Bukowski, have been thrust into the Broncos NRL side much sooner than expected. Bukowski started the season as Brisbane\u2019s fifth-ranked hooking option \u2013 before suddenly being parachuted in to make his debut with 31 minutes against the Tigers last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means everything,\u201d said Bukowski, the son of Brisbane\u2019s long-time salary cap manager, Louise Bukowski.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a ball boy when guys like Payno made their debut so to be playing with them is a huge pinch-myself moment and an incredible feeling. I probably got my opportunity a bit quicker than what I thought, in Round 7. But I wouldn\u2019t have it any other way. It was so special.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Perham, Riki and Bukowski are the Broncos\u2019 saviours, then captain Adam Reynolds is their steady hand. The veteran half put together a masterclass in the Bronco\u2019s 21-20 victory over the Wests Tigers last weekend, proving the difference with his controlling kicking game, composure in attack and winning field goal to ice the occasion.<\/p>\n
Cameron Bukowski, plays his first game in the senior team Brisbane Broncos – photo Supplied Facebook Brisbane BroncosSource: Supplied Source Known<\/p>\n
This week, Reynolds was again a picture of calmness at Broncos training \u2013 even in the face of injury scare to Deine Mariner, who was unable to complete training on Tuesday due to a locked knee.<\/p>\n
While insiders at the Broncos say Reynolds has categorically ruled out playing beyond 2026, his presence on and off the field is being noticed. It\u2019s understood levers are being pulled internally for the 35-year-old\u2019s transition into coaching next year. <\/p>\n
Reynolds says his brief as captain and halfback can be stripped back to a very simple formula: keep the group calm, get them around the park and kick them into corners, waiting for your opposition to make a mistake. Friday\u2019s Bulldogs blockbuster will be no different.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur depth is being tested at the moment but it\u2019s a credit to the coaches and the leaders in the group. We\u2019re going to need it all this week,\u201d Reynolds said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t control what\u2019s happened, it\u2019s just about staying present at the time. We\u2019ve still got a job to do, and everyone has got a role to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Maguire, Brisbane\u2019s resilience in 2026 reflects the culture among the playing group \u2013 one that even he has had to wrap his head around as a premiership-winner with decades in the trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something there that\u2019s really telling at the moment,\u201d Maguire told foxsports.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe boys have faced a fair bit over a fair period of time. All that goes on up in Brissy, the noise and all that \u2013 they put it aside and keep working hard the way they are. It galvanizes them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drinkwater reportedly on the move south | 00:42<\/p>\n
For rookies like Bukowski, Reynolds is not only proving the difference in the big moments, but in the lead-up to big games too.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s massive, he makes it 100 times easier out there,\u201d Bukowski said. \u201cHis communication, his calmness, everything about it. He makes it so easy to do your job out there, he directs all the boys around, and as a hooker you know where the ball has got to go all the time. Reynolds is telling you.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason why he\u2019s a champion halfback is because of all of those things. I grew up watching him play so I pinch myself playing alongside him. He has been massive for me, absolutely massive. He\u2019s always checking up on me, always telling me to relax, and to treat it just as another game.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It has been 965 days since Hayze Perham last wore a number one jersey in the NRL: playing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[32730,75637,203087,204007,5636,9504,101736,20174,9498,204010,203888,62727,204002,183239,172954,203168,20183,25484,111,139,101771,69,204011,204003,203892,23489,101749,93377,22589,204008,213,94698,204009,204004,79747,39974,35194,33815,175220,204005,204006],"class_list":{"0":"post-394739","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-adam-reynolds","9":"tag-assistant-coach","10":"tag-awkward-halves-headaches","11":"tag-ball-boy","12":"tag-benji-marshall","13":"tag-brisbane-broncos","14":"tag-cameron-bukowski","15":"tag-cameron-ciraldo","16":"tag-canberra-raiders","17":"tag-controlling-kicking-game","18":"tag-dean-young","19":"tag-head-coach","20":"tag-incumbent-coach","21":"tag-injury-crisis","22":"tag-injury-scare","23":"tag-injury-toll","24":"tag-michael-ennis","25":"tag-michael-maguire","26":"tag-new-zealand","27":"tag-newzealand","28":"tag-noah-martin","29":"tag-nz","30":"tag-preston-riki","31":"tag-profound-contribution","32":"tag-ref-fury","33":"tag-ricky-stuart","34":"tag-scott-drinkwater","35":"tag-shane-flanagan","36":"tag-sin-bin","37":"tag-special-dispensation","38":"tag-sports","39":"tag-st-george","40":"tag-starting-role","41":"tag-starting-side","42":"tag-talking-pts","43":"tag-title-defence","44":"tag-vaa","45":"tag-wests-tigers","46":"tag-winning-field-goal","47":"tag-young-face","48":"tag-young-guns-looking"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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