Star Brisbane Broncos' recruit Adam Reynolds has revealed Wayne Bennett has been helping him through the move to the south east corner of Queensland.
Reynolds has turned into something of a megastar at the Broncos, with his signature hoped as the key catalyst for the club to turn around back-to-back bottom-four finishes.
Bennett coached Reynolds to the grand final at the South Sydney Rabbitohs before the pair both left the Redfern-based club.
While they couldn't deliver a premiership to South Sydney together, Reynolds has now turned his attention to getting the Broncos out of their rut.
Not only is he expected to be a leader on-field, but off it as well, with coach Kevin Walters confirming on Saturday evening ahead of Brisbane's first NRL-level trial against the Gold Coast Titans that Reynolds will be involved in the selection process to pick his halves partner, with Tyson Gamble, Albert Kelly, Billy Walters and young star in the making Ezra Mam all in contention to wear number six.
Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Reynolds said Bennett is a great mentor and has provided him with feedback during the pre-season, telling Reynolds to "not get caught up in the hype."
โHeโd told me not to get caught up in all the hype,โ Reynolds said.
โThereโs a lot of outside noise and outside expectations that you know come with that responsibility, but [his advice was] just to stay focused and do whatโs important. Thatโs obviously working on myself and working on my teammates and my team, and making sure we get the best outcome possible for the club.
โIโm getting a feel for what itโs like to be in a one-team town. Souths was a huge club, but there were other teams to focus on in Sydney. Right now in Brisbane, itโs the Broncos. You donโt want to get caught up in the hype. As people we can tend to look sideways and get distracted, but the moment we do that we end up in a hole.
โFor me, itโs about staying focused and staying relevant ... relevant to whatโs important and what really matters, and thatโs the opinions of our coaches or teammates. I have to say that itโs a bit strange to see your face up on the billboards about the city. The feeling I get is the city are all behind us and itโs a good feeling. Iโm so lucky that Iโm still living out my dream.โ
Reynolds has signed a three-year deal with the Broncos, leaving the club he has played for his entire career after the Rabbitohs failed to offer him more than a single year.
He also recently said he wants to play for longer than three years at the Broncos.
He is expected to play his first game for the Broncos in next week's trial against the North Queensland Cowboys.
