One game, two halves injured. A genuine nightmare for Michael Maguire and the Broncos.
Both Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam limped off against the Storm after the one play, injuring their hamstrings while attempting to chase down Xavier Coates.
Losing one playmaker is bad enough, but two? It’s almost enough get the red pen out and scrub them out of the list of premiership contenders.
Meanwhile, winger Selwyn Cobbo also suffered a hamstring injury of his own, but Maguire has Jesse Arthars or Josiah Karapani ready and waiting to fill his position.
Reynolds will reportedly return in time for the finals series, but Mam and Cobbo’s seasons are reportedly over.
One halves spot will be filled by Ben Hunt, but it remains to be seen who else he will call on to partner the battle-hardened playmaker who has been plying his trade at hooker.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Maguire admitted he’s never seen anything like the injury toll his side were handed in just 80 minutes.
“But they are all three hamstrings, which is quite strange because the boys are pretty measured about what they do with the players throughout the week,” he said.
“There’s no real evidence of why… but we will dig in and have a look.
“It was crazy to be honest, I’ve never experienced that.
“To the player’s credit, I thought they handled it really well. They were fighting in that game… it just showed what I feel is the character of what the boys have been building.
“The fight that’s in them, they played tough because they had to.”
As for his potential replacements, Maguire was confident the Broncos have the troops to continue their premiership charge.
“We will be alright, we have people in the background,” Maguire said.
“That’s part of the progression, we’ve been able to bring a few people in and change around a little bit. So we will work that out during the week.”
Those potential candidates include young gun Coby Black, Josh Rogers and Jock Madden.
Black has eight try assists and five tries in 15 reserve grade games for the Souths Logan Magpies in the QLD Cup this season.
However, shifting the teenage playmaker into the halves at this stage of the season would be a bold call according to club legend Darren Lockyer.
“I think bringing Coby in at this point in time is a huge risk in terms of their chances of winning big games, because he’s just a kid,” he said on Channel 9.
“I think Ben Hunt goes to No.7 and potentially Billy Walters goes to No.6 and you bring in Cory Paix and Tyson Smoothy as your combination of hookers.
“That’s probably where I think it sits right now, but at the same time if Madge is thinking differently, Coby is an option to try and get an understanding of how good he is.”
