Adam Reynolds insists his and Brisbane’s horror records against Melbourne are irrelevant headed into the NRL finals series opener.
Reynolds must overcome a nightmare history against the Storm on Friday night, if he is to guide Brisbane into their first preliminary final since 2017.
The key man in the qualifying final at Suncorp Stadium, Reynolds has won just two of 17 career games against the Storm since his debut at South Sydney in 2012.
And while Souths are renowned for struggling against the Storm, Brisbane’s record is hardly any better.
The Broncos have now lost their last 14 games straight against the Storm, with their last victory coming way back in 2016.
But as far as Reynolds – their captain and halfback who arrived ahead of the 2022 season – is concerned, that is irrelevant.
The 33-year-old is quick to point out that he did not play in last week’s match against the Storm, and lasted only 17 minutes in their other clash this year in round 11.
Before that, Reynolds also sat out the Broncos’ 32-20 loss to Melbourne last year, with his only full game against the Storm for Brisbane a 48-point defeat in August 2022.
“We’re playing a different brand of football than they’ve probably experienced from a Brisbane team in the past couple of years,” Reynolds told AAP.
“They’ve been a great team for a long time now, and when you’re not the best team in the competition it’s hard to beat the best team.
“But it’s a different story this year. We’ve gone down to them twice, once in Melbourne where I got injured and I didn’t play last week. We rested a lot of players.”
Friday night’s qualifying final looms as crucial, with the winner to earn a week off and a home preliminary final.
“Obviously the record is still there, but records are meant to be broken,” Reynolds said.
“We’re a different team with completely different structures and the confidence is a lot different to when (Brisbane) were playing them in the previous years.”
Melbourne prop Christian Welch said it was because of the Storm’s respect for Reynolds and his kicking game that they had done such a good job on the half in the past.
Storm players have already vowed to ensure they keep the pressure on Reynolds on Friday night, fearing if they don’t it will allow Brisbane’s big men to control the territorial battle.
“It’s Adam Reynolds. He’s probably the best kicker in the game. You have to go get him, because if you don’t, he will kill you,” Welch said.
“One of the biggest thing with this club is putting pressure on. You don’t want to give guys like Adam Reynolds, because they’re so lethal, time to make decisions.
“So it’s always been a big role for us forwards at the Storm. You need to come out of the line and pressure a kicker.”
