He won’t be leading his team out but Adam Reynolds has confidence that the Broncos' style of play can overcome their terrible record against Melbourne to go into the finals with some winning momentum.
The Broncos are on the wrong side of a lopsided 39-13 win-loss ratio against the Storm - including losses in their past 13 clashes - but given it looks like they will face off twice in a week, it is a record they’ll be wanting to overturn.
“We don't need to change the way we're playing,” Reynolds said. “I think we're playing a great brand of football, and it's an exciting brand.
“We like to move the ball around and ask questions of the defence and if they're good enough to stop us, they stop us.
“But we just need to make sure we turn up with the right mentality. I've only been involved in one or two games against Melbourne and we've probably tried to change the style that we play and it didn't suit us.
Match: Broncos v Storm
Round 27 -
home Team
Broncos
2nd Position
away Team
Storm
3rd Position
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
“So, if we just stick to what we know best and if we do that and play a good style of footy and complete well, it goes a long way to winning the match.
"We have just got to make sure we turn up ready to play and play for the full 80 minutes, because they're a team that's performed in big games and they've been one of the best teams over the last decade and no doubt they're going to be a tough competitor again this year.”
The Broncos skipper sat out last week’s win over Canberra with an injured calf, as did forward Pat Carrigan with a foot injury. Both are also out for this week’s game and will be joined on the sideline by Kotoni Staggs (suspension), but Reynolds said he thought everyone would hopefully be right for the opening week of finals.
“The calf’s feeling really good, I’ll do some running today,” Reynolds said.
“But no, unfortunately, won't be playing Thursday; it's a bit of a quick turnaround.
“I could potentially play it and push it, but the risk of doing something again is probably too great for where we're at at the moment and I think that Jock (Madden) did a fantastic job on the weekend and deserves another opportunity there.”
If the Broncos can beat Storm, as well as locking in a home final at Suncorp Stadium, they can also claim the minor premiership which would be a notable achievement after missing out on the eight last season.
“It hasn't been really talked about, it’s one game at a time for us, we want to make sure we're just performing at the right time of the year and getting our performances right for 80 minutes,” Reynolds said.
“We're lucky enough to be in this position where we get the chance to win it.
“It's on our terms. If we win, we, we win it.
“No doubt, it would be great to have, I've never won one in my career and it's a goal of mine.
“Unfortunately, I won't be out there trying to get the job done, but I'll still have an involvement throughout the week in trying to (work out a) game plan and help the boys around where I can, so I am looking forward to a good contest this week.”
