Brisbane captain Adam Reynolds is embracing his role of guru, playmaker extraordinaire and ratbag as he prepares for a NRL preliminary final with the Warriors.
The 33-year-old has been a mentor and guide for the young Broncos, has picked apart opposition teams on the field and also had a healthy dose of fun off it to become the perfect foil for coach Kevin Walters and his assistant Allan Langer ahead of Saturday night's blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium.
Broncos' 2000 premiership winning half Ben Ikin summed up Reynolds' contribution.
"Kevvie wants an astute playmaker out on the field for him and there aren't many players who think as deeply about the game as Adam Reynolds does," Ikin said.
"He can talk the talk and guide team meetings but he has the capacity to take that knowledge onto the field and execute and guide that team around the park the way it needs to happen.
"The other thing about Adam Reynolds is that he is so beautifully aligned with Kev and Alf. They were both thinking players and they were both ratbags and Adam Reynolds ticks both those boxes ... so compatibility is high."
Reynolds embraced Ikin's ratbag reference.
"They are obviously great traits to have and I see myself in the same mould," he grinned.
"When you work you need to be switched on and focused but you can't be 24/7.
"I like to enjoy myself away from the field and be a pest but those aspects lead to becoming a better team player. If you can have that connection off the field it usually leads to on the field."
Former captain Alex Glenn said Reynolds was the side's new guru of big moments.
"When I played our captain Darren Lockyer was the guru out on that field and that's why I wished I played alongside Reyno," Glenn said.
"With him steering the ship, his footy smarts and being on-field general ... that's something we have been missing and it's good to have it back again."
Reynolds at South Sydney was a vital cog but at the young Broncos he is the main man.
"It has been enjoyable. I am loving the role I am playing here. I've flipped that from when I first came in as a kid," he said.
"Now I have got those (Broncos) kids pestering me in the background. It is a pleasure to be where I am. I never thought I would be playing for the Broncos in a prelim final. It is a great feeling."
The 2014 title winner said his Brisbane move had "put me in love with the game again."
"You can go through the motions when you have been in the one place for so many years. I loved my time (at Souths) but you put yourself around new faces, new people and with a new outlook on life," he said.
"Not only for myself, but my family have enjoyed the move."
