Reynolds returns in style as Broncos burst Bunnies' bubble

Embed from Getty Images

South Sydney Rabbitohs v Brisbane Broncos

Lachlan Ilias will only continue to improve and in the long-term, the decision to part ways with Adam Reynolds may have been the right one.

But all we can judge South Sydney on is what we see now - and that is a team in desperate need of a cool head in the halves.

Unfortunately for last year's grand finalists, that cool head was on the other side of the field, guiding the Brisbane Broncos to a 32-12 upset win at Accor Stadium on Thursday night.

Reynolds had his hand - and boot - in everything, setting up two tries, scoring one and kicking for over 500 metres in a masterclass.

All the talk head into Thursday night's meeting between the Rabbitohs and Broncos was about him. 

Reynolds has said all the right things throughout the week, that this was "just another game", that coming up against his former teammates "doesn't really matter". 

But when the Broncos halfback surged onto a Patrick Carrigan offload to score under the posts, you could just see it in the way Reynolds celebrated, the way he beat his chest.

Sure, this was never just about Reynolds but it meant just a bit more than "just another game". 

You could see it from the opening set of the game, when Reynolds touched the ball on almost every play, stamping his authority on the occasion early. 

It was not just Reynolds though. The entire Broncos team lifted around him, upping the intensity in defence to hold a usually lethal South Sydney side to just one try in the first half.

Kobe Hetherington was in the thick of it, with try-saving plays to force errors from both Cameron Murray and Jai Arrow while a last-ditch effort from Herbie Farnworth saw Taane Milne spill the ball with the line in sight.

And those efforts in defence were rewarded on the scoreboard, with Reynolds putting the ball in the air for winger Corey Oates, who came down with it to score the opening try in the 14th minute.

Reynolds then took it upon himself to score off the Carrigan offload and give Brisbane a commanding 12-0 lead. 

South Sydney eventually capitalised on poor ball security from Brisbane late as a well-executed scrum play saw Milne go over in the 38th minute.

But execution was lacking for the Rabbitohs otherwise throughout Thursday night, with Cody Walker and Damien Cook both coming up with errors early in the second half.

The Broncos then re-established their lead as Selwyn Cobbo pounced after Blake Taaffe fumbled a Reynolds kick.

An error from Brisbane fullback Te Maire Martin invited South Sydney back into the contest though and the Rabbitohs took full advantage, with Milne grabbing his second. 

Fortunately for the Broncos, the Rabbitohs relinquished any momentum it had gained with that try as Tevita Tatola coughed it up off the restart and a penalty then saw Reynolds extend the lead to eight.

Reynolds was at it again moments later, passing to Oates off a scrum as the winger burst through a few tackles and then linked with Herbie Farnworth to set up Brisbane's fourth try of the night.

Reynolds' ghost did not just haunt the Rabbitohs when he was setting up tries for the opposition team. 

It lingered every time a pass went to ground, when those left-side raids South Sydney made so lethal instead broke down and went awry. 

Like it did when Walker coughed it up in the 74th minute and this time it led directly to points as Cobbo sprinted away to seal the win in emphatic fashion.

The Broncos face the Sea Eagles at Magic Round next week while the Rabbitohs face the Warriors.