It wasn’t supposed to end the way it did for Adam Reynolds at South Sydney.
The man who played his junior football in the area, who helped lead the Rabbitohs to their first premiership in 44 years was almost a shoe-in to spend the rest of his playing days in the famous cardinal and myrtle.
Yet after a highly publicised difference of opinion between club and player – South Sydney only offered him a one-year contract extension – Reynolds made the move north to the Broncos, spurning the opportunity to end his career as a one-club player.
Speaking to Sporting News’ Ebbs and Flows podcast, the 34-year-old admits he was initially happy to see his old side undergo a turbulent period after his departure.
“Early on, I was happy [to see Souths struggle], not gonna lie, [I was thinking], ‘yeah, they’re struggling, yeah, I’m happy,'” Reynolds said.
“But I’ve got a lot of mates in that side, and obviously I’ve struggled in seasons as well and you know the pain and whatnot that it brings and you don’t want to see your mates go through that.
“I still talk to a lot of them regularly and when they were struggling this year, I had a soft spot there for them and wanted to see them do well. They’re coming good, but I feel for a lot of them.
Some of the strong initial emotions Reynolds felt can be traced back to his departure, where the lack of security afforded by South Sydney in their offer of a one-year deal made Reynolds know his time with the club was coming to an end.
“It was hard at the start, [I] didn’t want to leave in the first place,” Reynolds said.
“We obviously talked about trying to get another year there, nothing about money, pretty much just security. [We] couldn’t come to an agreement there, so [I] pretty much knew my time had been up at the club.”
It is understandable why Reynolds was reluctant to leave his boyhood club, after all he made 231 appearances in nine seasons, scoring a try in that Grand Final win in 2014 and coming agonisingly close to a second premiership in his final season at the Rabbitohs.
Being a premiership winner who also represented New South Wales, interest in his services has high; whilst he admits he was close to joining another Sydney side, he was eventually persuaded to make the move to Red Hill.
“I just loved the challenge, I knew there was a talented team there, I knew there was talented individuals,” Reynolds said.
“You play against them the previous year or the year before and you go, ‘Geez, this is a good side, they’re just not getting the results on paper.’
“There’s certain sides in the NRL now, you play against them and think, ‘They’re gonna be a good side in two or three years time.’ I could see evidence of that when I was at Souths and that probably made my decision easier when they came knocking.
“Kevvie [Walters] did a terrific job, coming down, him and Dave [Donaghy] the CEO, turned up in my living room and pretty much pitched an idea to me and it struck pretty much straight away that I wanted to be a Brisbane Bronco.
“I was close to going to the Sharks, had a meeting with Fitzy [coach Craig Fitzgibbon] and the board and liked the direction they were going in, but for me as a family, getting away from Sydney was a big part of the move as well.
“It worked out well. I’m happy where I am now.
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