Adam Reynolds will start his journey towards being an NRL coach in 2027 but in the short-term his goal is to finish a disappointing season on a high.
The 36-year-old Brisbane captain, who will retire at the end of the season, made it clear on Wednesday that he intends to play out the season at halfback unless coach Michael Maguire decides otherwise.
Reynolds has copped heat in recent weeks for his form and there have been calls for Maguire to blood young gun Tom Duffy in the No.7 jersey given the defending premiers won't play finals.
Broncos lock Pat Carrigan said this week that team jerseys are earned and not given out and there can be no doubt 2025 premiership-winning skipper Reynolds has earned the right to finish the season on his terms and continue a career that sits at 322 games.
"I feel like I've still got a role to play here and a job to do," Reynolds said.
"Like Pat mentioned yesterday, you don't just get given jerseys at the Broncos. You've got to earn them, and rightfully so.
"We've got a professional organisation here and the boys are still training hard, hungry to get the job done this weekend. I'm no different."
There have been occasions where Reynolds looks like he is playing busted, after returning from a five-week recovery from a calf injury in round 20.
"I feel all right. I know there's a bit of commentary behind it, but everyone's got an opinion," Reynolds said.
"Unless you're inside the four walls here in Brisbane, I don't think everyone quite understands what's going on. It may look like that at times, but I feel okay."
"I've certainly had my fair share of injuries. It's easy when you're not getting the results to put everyone under the microscope, and rightfully so.
"Whether I could be a bit better or not out there, I'm certainly working hard on my craft to try and affect that."
Reynolds will move into a coaching role in 2027 where he will work closely with the club's playmakers, including Parramatta half Jonah Pezet who will join the club next year.
"When the time comes, I'll be looking forward to helping those fellas out and looking at it from a different view. That certainly won't be this year," he said.
Reynolds has seen first-hand the pressure head coaches are under but still wants to be one in the future.
"It's something I aspire to many, many years from now, but there's a fair bit of work to do before that's even a possibility," he said.
"I've been lucky enough to be coached by some of the best in the game and those experiences play a big part."
Maguire has been criticised ad nauseam this year but that doesn't scare Reynolds off.
"I think as players we get criticised all the time, so we're quite accustomed to it," he said.
"Whether you listen to it or not is how it plays out. You're always going to have your knockers and your people who support you.
"It's the ones that really matter, the people inside the four walls where you are. If you listen to the right people, you shouldn't hear that noise."
