The 'compromise' Madge should consider for retiring Reynolds

As Adam Reynolds gets closer to playing his final game in the NRL, Justin Horo has proposed that coach Michael 'Madge' Maguire should not play the Broncos captain until Round 27 to give the club a head start on its 2027 preparations.

On the same day that Payne Haas’ bombshell move to South Sydney was announced at the start of the year, Reynolds confirmed that 2026 would be his 15th and final season in the NRL.

While it was hoped that the star halfback would get the perfect send-off at season’s end by leading the club to back-to-back premierships, it has been anything but, with Brisbane now eight points behind the eighth-placed Bulldogs with five games to go.

And with Reynolds suffering a concussion during their 30-6 loss against Newcastle on Saturday, it now means that the Broncos captain could play at most four more games before hanging up the boots.

With their season appearing to be all but over and Reynolds set to remain at Red Hill as a coach, Horo suggested that Maguire should look at getting Reynolds into the coach’s box for their next four games to help start their preparations for next season with the promise of guaranteeing one last game to celebrate his career.

“If I was Madge and I was coaching, because it's important that they start well next year,” Horo said on SEN’s NRL Crunch Time.

“I would go to Ren, we're gonna look at (our) options for the next three or four weeks, but I'll give you the last game of the year.

“That's a compromise.

“I think just sitting up in the box with (Madge), let's start working on next year.

“Start telling me what you're seeing that can help out with coaching, and no matter what happens, I don't care if we win three in a row, you're in for the last round, and you get to go out and retire.”

Should Maguire go through with his plan, it would see Reynolds play his 324th and final NRL game against the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium in Round 27.

That was the same venue and side he played in the 2014 Grand Final which he won with South Sydney.

The Broncos’ next clash is back at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday as they take on their second Queensland side in the space of 14 days in the Dolphins.

Kick-off takes place at 5:30pm AEST with SEN having live coverage of the match through Broncos Radio from 5:05pm on SENQ and on the SEN app.