Brisbane captain Adam Reynolds has responded in the best way possible to his critics with an elite display in the victory over the Dolphins that proved he is the side's best halfback.
The 35-year-old returned for Friday's 26-12 victory after missing the win over Melbourne with a rib injury, where Ben Hunt stepped up from his bench role to shine in the No.7 jersey.
Reynolds has copped stick from former Broncos captain Gorden Tallis and there had been commentary around whether he should share the halfback role with Hunt in future.
But against the Dolphins, he controlled proceedings with his elite kicking, scored a crafty try and led his team superbly with game management.
Broncos outside back Deine Mariner was emphatic when asked whether the skipper was still the side's best option at half.
"One hundred per cent. He's copped a lot but he showed tonight that he is our number one and I will always back him up," Mariner said.
"He is our captain for a reason. He gets us around the park and makes our game plan real simple. We know we can count on him."
Reynolds showcased shades of the great Allan Langer with his sublime short grubber kick close to the tryline before gathering to score.
"I saw Alf in the sheds actually. He taught me that a couple of years ago," Reynolds grinned.
"I saw a bit of space and took a chance. We a had game plan about that during the week and it is a credit to the coaching staff for being able to ID those things.
"I felt good through the week and was confident I'd get through. It's a long season and I didn't want to risk it last week.
"The team performed well in the second half in Melbourne so I didn't have to come in and reinvent the wheel, just do my job."
Coach Michael Maguire said Reynolds showed the qualities of a true leader. The defending premiers had been under siege all week after the resignation of defence coach Ben Te'o and had copped flak after losing their opening two games.
"It is never easy going through weeks like that, and what we have in the past, but as players all we can control is our performances on the field and what we do at training. It is business as usual," Reynolds said.
"We showed that throughout last year. Just because we had a few losses to start the year it didn't change who we are as a group.
"The upside of us is that there is still more there. We are not playing our best football but you don't want to be playing your best at this time of year. You want to build throughout the season and ramp it up at the back-end. We are still just scratching the surface."
