Brisbane Broncos legend makes staggering call to strip Adam Reynolds of NRL captaincy

Broncos legend Gorden Tallis has not held back on his former team having called for the NRL club to make Pat Carrigan the captain in 2025 instead of current leader Adam Reynolds. The Broncos suffered a humiliating 41-16 defeat to Canterbury in round 21.

Reynolds was unable to replicate his performance from the previous round as the Bulldogs ran riot on the Broncos with question marks remaining over the team's attitude in the second-half. The Broncos have now lost seven times in their last eight games. "We were just flat. I can't explain why. We just weren't there for most of it," coach Kevin Walters said after his side's loss.

Although Walters' comments have not saved the team from criticism with the team's position on the ladder a worry. The Broncos made the NRL grand final last year and entered 2024 as one of the favourites. But the Bulldogs added to their misery on the weekend as they piled on on 27 points in the second-half as Reynolds, Reece Walsh and Carrigan were unable to overturn the onslaught.

The Broncos will now need to win their remaining matches if they are going to have a hope of making the NRL finals. And Tallis is fed up with the Broncos' attitude and has called for a change of leadership.

“I think the team is lacking leadership. I watch them closely… on Saturday somebody needed to stand up and put a stake in the ground,” Tallis said on Fox Sports' NRL 360. “(Reynolds) didn’t do it, and in the grand final he didn’t get them home either. If he’s the captain and he’s not doing it, there might be a chance to put Pat Carrigan there.

“It’s about putting your ego in your pocket because Allan Langer left to go to England and they put me as captain. When he came back, Alf was the captain again but he said ‘no you’re our leader’.

“In that game on the weekend, under the pump, if I’m playing with Allan Langer, he gets out from dummyhalf, he does three or four tackles in a row, he looks at us and challenges us. There’s none of that happening at the moment. So maybe there should be a change with (the person) who gets the C next to their name.”

Kevvie Walters under pressure after Broncos season

While Tallis has called for a change of leadership, there has been wider questions asked of the Broncos. Walters' record has come under criticism. Despite making the NRL grand final last year, the Broncos are looking at another year of no NRL finals footy. That would mean the club has only played finals footy once in four years under his leadership if they fail again.

And NRL reporter Phil Rothfield claimed Walters could find himself under more pressure next year if results don't turn around quickly. “I think it comes back to attitude and ego,” he said.

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“I don’t want to blame Kevin Walters but this is the third out of four years that they’re going to miss finals, so there’s a problem there. I guarantee if we put dollar figures on every player on the park on the weekend, the Broncos would be worth, minimum, $2 million more than Canterbury."

With Reynolds only having one year left on his contract, the Broncos could be looking for a replacement No.7 wit the Roosters' Sam Walker tipped to be a popular candidate. Although there has been no indication Walker is keen to leave the Roosters, despite the November 1 deadline approaching where he will officially be allowed to talk to other clubs about his future beyond 2025.