'I certainly learnt from that': How Reynolds put demons in past

Adam Reynolds has revealed how missing a sideline conversion that helped start Penrith's premiership four-peat had prepared him to land the goal that ended their reign.

In his first match back after a six-week lay-off with a hamstring injury, Reynolds let fullback superstar Reece Walsh retain the goalkicking duties but with Deine Mariner levelling the scores in the 75th minute, the Broncos skipper stepped up.

Revealing that Walsh had told him to take over the goalkicking after hitting the upright with his previous attempt, Reynolds calmly placed the ball and hit it sweetly to give Brisbane a 16-14 lead and place in Sunday's grand final against the Storm.

Reynolds played down suggestions that the goal had buried past demons from his missed conversion of Alex Johnston's 74th minute try in South Sydney 14-12 loss to Penrith in the 2021 grand final at Suncorp Stadium.

However, the veteran playmaker admitted that was a kick he had always wished he could have over again.

“I wouldn’t say it put to bed a few demons," he said. "I mean, you’d want those kicks over again for sure, but there are moments in your career that you learn from and I certainly learnt from that.

“A few years ago I didn’t separate the emotion from the actual kick and something that’s been going over my head for a long time, if I ever got that opportunity again, was to just shut off completely, and just focus on the basics, and making sure I’ve got good contact with the ball, and just go through my routine.

"I’ve done it over and over and over again and once you’ve got that trust and belief in it, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t kick it.”

Reynolds, who is the second highest pointscorer in premiership history after former Melbourne Storm great Cameron Smith, will now play in his fourth grand final - 2014, 2021 (Souths), 2023 and 2025 (Broncos).

"It's something that I’ve been practising for a hell of a long time,” Reynolds said.

“I knew once we scored the try, I sort of had to separate the emotions from what was going on at the time.

“The crowd was amazing, they were so loud. It was good to just sit back and take that in, and then completely shut off from everything, and just focus about the kick.

“And it’s just process over and over and over again. I've been practising that since I was a little kid at Waterloo Oval, back home (in Sydney), but replicated that in my mind a thousand times. To nail it tonight was a good feeling.”

The Broncos are now in position to avenge their 2023 grand final defeat to Penrith after leading 24-8 midway through the second half only to lose 26-24 after a Nathan Cleary masterclass.

The club's last grand final win was against the Storm in 2006, while Reynolds only premiership was in 2014 with the Rabbitohs.

“I play the game to win grand finals and as a club and as a team, that’s what we’re chasing,” Reynolds said.

“The opportunity’s in front of us now, and we’ve got to enjoy the week. Lucky that we’ve had a fair bit of experience in that arena, and we get to get back there and have another shot.”