How South Sydney played a role in Adam Reynolds’ latest injury

Adam Reynolds says he is hopeful of a final-round return against the Melbourne Storm, but would prefer to wait an extra week for the finals – provided the Broncos reach September – to allow his hamstring to heal.

Reynolds also revealed the long-range intercept try he scored against Parramatta, and the amount of attack and running he did against his former club South Sydney last weekend, may have contributed to his latest injury.

In the space of a couple of weeks, the Broncos have gone from pushing for a top-four berth to clinging to a spot in the top eight.

Reynolds suffered a grade-two hamstring tear, while Ezra Mam and Selwyn Cobbo suffered grade-three strains, which means they are little chance of returning this season.

The Brisbane captain said on Saturday he was still in a lot of discomfort, but backed Ben Hunt, who was being paid $1 million a season to play halfback at St George Illawarra just last year, to get the job done in the next month in the No.7 jumper.

“When I return will depend on how we’re going and how I heal,” Reynolds said.

“Ideally, I’d like to be back for the Storm game [in round 27], but if we have already cemented a spot in the finals, I’ll take the extra week.

“It doesn’t feel good at the moment, but having done both hammys in the past, I also know they can come good quickly.

“I feel like I got snipered the other night. I didn’t even know about Ezra until I was with the doc and he walked in.

“It’s not the worst result, but it’s not ideal for this time of year.

“It was such a weird and unusual scene. We didn’t do much in the lead-up to Thursday night because of the workloads. I did a lot of high-speed running for that intercept try, and there was a lot of running, be it pushing up in support, or chasing back in defence, against Souths. It all adds up.

“It’s not ideal, but we’ve still got a great side, and a lot of depth. I’m backing Benny to get the job done at No.7. He’s played there before, and nearly won the Dally M playing halfback a few years ago [2022].”

Jock Madden, who was expected to return from a pec injury via the Queensland Cup on Saturday, is another halves option for coach Michael Maguire when the Broncos take on the Dolphins next weekend. Newcastle and the Cowboys in Townsville follow, before the final-round clash at Suncorp Stadium against the Storm.

Depending on results, the Storm could yet rest players if they have already locked down a top-two spot – and qualifying final at AAMI Park.

Hunt was the Dragons’ halfback signed to the Broncos as a hooker and back-up half – and now gets the chance to shine.

One thing in Hunt’s favour, which he did not always have at the Dragons, is the chance to play behind a powerhouse pack, including Payne Haas, who was close to one of the best on ground during the 22-2 loss to the Storm.

Ryles addresses Simonsson drama

Adrian Proszenko

Parramatta coach Jason Ryles says the Bailey Simonsson situation has come as “a little bit of a shock” after the out-of-favour three-quarter requested a leave of absence while his future is unresolved.

Ryles confirmed that Dylan Brown will replace the injured Sean Russell for Sunday’s clash with the Cowboys, a move that has prompted Simonsson to make a fresh release request. It appears Simonsson has played his last game for the club, although Ryles could not definitively say whether that would be the case for Brown.

Asked if Brown would be in the team for the duration of Russell’s absence – expected to be four weeks – Ryles said: “A lot of things happen in a week of footy and a game of footy. I honestly can’t answer that; we’ll wait and see. It might not be [his last game for Parramatta].“

Simonsson signed a new two-year contract just after Ryles was announced as coach, but has made just six NRL appearances this year. Four of them have been at wing, said to be his preferred position, with the other two at centre.

“Bailey made that decision to stay away for a couple of days, which we fully supported,” Ryles said. “He’ll get himself sorted, then we’ll get him back into training as soon as we can … It has been a little bit of a shock, but it’s footy, and it’s all part of it. We’ve got to manage the players as best we can.”

Brown was told there was a good chance he would be overlooked for first grade if he opted not to join Newcastle early on a mid-season transfer. However, Ryles said he had never fallen out of favour.

“He hasn’t been dropped or anything like that and things have changed,” Ryles said. “An opportunity came up and we found a spot for him, and I’ve gone that way, that’s the long and the short of it. He was really excited, he’s been good in and around the group the whole time, he’s got a great attitude and a team-first mentality. He gets an opportunity this week.”

Wests Tigers sanctioned over ‘khawd’ gesture

Billie Eder

The NRL has issued the Wests Tigers with a breach notice after some of their players gave Canterbury the khawd – the Arab equivalent of the middle finger – during their heated clash on the weekend.

The Bulldogs asked the NRL integrity unit to look into the behaviour, which occurred following their last try to Samuela Fainu, and have subsequently been issued a formal warning for the on-field conduct.

Tigers player Brent Naden was also given an individual breach notice after he posted a video on social media after the game using the same gesture while saying “f---ing dogs”. Naden later deleted the post and closed down his account. Naden will have five days to respond to the breach notice.

The Tigers have a large contingent of Lebanese players, including man of the match Adam Doueihi, prop Alex Twal and youngster Tony Sukkar. Sukkar was in the huddle during the celebration but did not use the gesture.

The gesture, which is widely known as a “khawd” or “khod” in the Arab community, is given by lowering the middle finger and pointing it in the direction of another person.

While some in Middle Eastern culture find the khawd derogatory, it can also carry a more playful undertone that is becoming increasingly dominant with the younger generation.

Khawd by definition means “take that” or “cop that”. It can be used as an “up yours”, but in recent years it has also become something of an affectionate gesture used among the Australian-Arab community.

Trbojevic returns to fullback for Raiders clash

Rob Dillon

Manly champion Tom Trbojevic will return to his preferred position of fullback on Friday for what shapes as a sensational head-to-head showdown with his former understudy, Canberra dynamo Kaeo Weekes.

Trbojevic has spent the past five games in the centres but coach Anthony Seibold has reinstated him as the last line of defence for the GIO Stadium clash, opting to rest young tyro Lehi Hopoate, who has been arguably Manly’s best player this season.

Hopoate suffered a head knock in last week’s 20-4 loss to Sydney Roosters but was allowed to return to the field after a medical assessment. He did not join his teammates in their ball-work session on Tuesday and instead ran up and down the sideline for the best part of an hour, under the watchful eye of a conditioner.

Trbojevic has played for NSW and Australia as a centre, but of his 165 NRL games, 139 have been while wearing the No.1 jersey. After being hindered earlier in the season with a series of injuries, he was moved to the centres to regain form, fitness and confidence.

“Tom’s been playing really good football, so fingers crossed that he does that for us at the back end,” teammate Reuben Garrick said.

“He’s a world-class fullback. We’ve seen that for many years now, and that’s what he does at fullback - he attacks the game and takes it head-on … I think he’s excited to be back as a fullback.”

Garrick said “load management” was the rationale behind resting Hopoate.

“He’s been up for so many weeks now, and I guess your first full year in grade, it takes a lot out of the body,” he said.

Manly forward Ethan Bullemore, who last week signed a four-year contract extension with the club, said the Sea Eagles were “spoiled for choices” when it came to fullbacks.

“Obviously ‘Hoppa’ is a huge part of our team and he goes out, Tom comes in, and we put Tommy Talau in the centre position,” Bullemore said.

“It’s still a pretty red-hot backline. Both those guys are slightly different in their playing style, but they’re both amazing players, so we’re pretty happy with whoever’s back there.”

Trbojevic’s positional switch should have alarm bells sounding in the national capital, given his prolific record against the Raiders.

In 12 games against Canberra, the 28-year-old has scored 15 tries – his best return against any team – including two hat-tricks and two doubles.

Panthers fined $50k for trainer’s run

Billie Eder

The Panthers have been hit with a $50,000 fine and trainer Corey Bocking has been handed a five-match ban for running in front of a goalkicker in the match against the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday.

Bocking ran across the path of Titans’ kicker Jayden Campbell as he attempted a sideline conversion in the 75th minute of a close match.

Had Campbell kicked the goal, the Titans would have led 28-24. After the interference, he missed. Nathan Cleary then slotted a two-point field goal to force the match into golden point extra time, before Blaize Talagi scored a try to stretch the premiers’ winning streak to eight.

On Monday, the NRL came down hard on the Panthers.

“It is alleged the trainer unnecessarily interfered with and distracted Gold Coast Titans player Jayden Campbell as he was attempting a conversion kick, in breach of the NRL operations manual and NRL code of conduct,” the NRL said in a statement.

“The proposed penalty takes into account previous breaches by Penrith Panthers trainers.”

The Panthers said on Monday: “The club is adamant that the actions of the trainer were an honest mistake and there was no intent to breach the rules or gain an advantage. The trainer immediately apologised upon realising the error.

“The circumstances involved a late change and in-the-moment confusion, but we understand that does not excuse the outcome.”

Penrith trainer Shane Elford and North Queensland counterpart Mitch Dunn were hit with one-match bans for squirting water on the ball earlier this year.

Asked if trainer conduct would be among the NRL’s typical end-of-season review, NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said on the weekend: “At the end of every season, of course, we look at all of that, and look at ways of refining the on-field rules, and that would include trainers. Nothing is planned at the moment, but we’ll definitely look at that at the end of the year.

“I completely understand the frustration of all fans; we’re there to watch the football and see the players. So, we’ll have a close look at it.”

Bocking, who is also Penrith’s strength coach, raised his hand in apology to Campbell on Saturday when he appeared to realise that he had run in front of the sideline conversion attempt.

Campbell complained to referee Liam Kennedy as he realigned the shot at goal.

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary apologised after full-time and said Bocking’s intervention was “an honest mistake”, while Titans counterpart Des Hasler said a breach notice is “the only thing that’s going to come out of it.”

Speaking on The Sunday Footy Show, NRL great and ex-NSW coach Brad Fittler suggested Campbell should have been afforded a second shot at goal from directly in front of the uprights, as is the case in an eight-point penalty try.

While Immortal Andrew Johns did not take issue with what he saw as deliberate “gamesmanship” from Bocking, Fittler said “because of the misdemeanour, you get the goal from in front”.

Meanwhile, Isaah Yeo is unlikely to play against Newcastle on Friday after injuring his shoulder against the Titans.

The Penrith workhorse underwent scans on the weekend, and while he was cleared of serious damage, an extended break will do him no harm, especially with Melbourne awaiting them on Thursday week.

Evergreen machine: Raiders set to offer Papalii new deal

Rob Dillon

Canberra are poised to re-sign Josh Papalii for another season to ensure the club legend finishes his career without playing against them.

Papalii, who recently broke the Raiders’ record for most NRL games, had been expected to head to England at the end of the season – most likely to St Helens – to play out his days in the Super League.

But the 33-year-old’s superb form, as evidenced by his recent recall to the Queensland Origin team for the series decider, attracted the interest of rival NRL clubs.

When asked in the lead-up to Origin III about playing on in the NRL, Papalii said: “Never say never … I feel like I’ve still got a lot to offer as a player and as a mentor.”

The Raiders have since informed back-up prop Trey Mooney, who is contracted for two more seasons, that he is free to explore other options, in a sign of their intentions for Papalii.

Raiders chief executive Don Furner said contract negotiations had not formally kicked off, but added: “We were thinking he would go to England to finish his career, but he’s keen to continue in the NRL, and it wouldn’t have seemed right to see him playing against us.”

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Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.

NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now

Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.