South Sydney captain Adam Reynolds is set to take up a three-year Broncos deal as the club’s first marquee halfback signing in Red Hill history.
NRL.com understands Reynolds is yet to sign any contract beyond 2021 after being tabled three-year offers by the Sharks and Broncos.
No comment has been made by either club or South Sydney, however it’s understood Reynolds is poised to agree to terms on a three-year Broncos deal worth around $750,000 a year.
A final medical conducted by Brisbane’s doctors must also be passed before any contract is lodged with the NRL.
Reynolds has told some Rabbitohs teammates he will officially exit Redfern at the end of the season, with South Sydney unwilling to budge all year on their original one-year extension offer.
His decision is set to bring the longest-running contract saga of the season to a close after Cronulla put a Wednesday evening deadline on their own offer, which was upped earlier this week.
Brisbane and Cronulla baulked at suggestions of taking their offers to four-year terms given Reynolds already turns 31 in July.
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He has been named to return from a thumb injury for the Rabbitohs, coincidentally against the Sharks, this Saturday at Magic Round.
It is expected he will sign off on a Broncos contract that runs until the end of 2024 while in Brisbane over the weekend.
His signature ranks as sorely needed boost for Kevin Walters’s rebuild of the club after the losses of highly touted Broncos products Xavier Coates (Storm 2022), Reece Walsh (Warriors), Tom Dearden (Cowboys 2022) and David Fifita (Titans).
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Given Allan Langer, Wally Lewis and Walters and Darren Lockyer all reigned supreme over the first three decades as Brisbane’s chief playmakers, the club has rarely gone to market in search of an elite halfback in its history.
But following the new lows plumbed in last year’s wooden spoon campaign and an unprecedented roster overhaul, Reynolds was targeted as a signing priority last month.
He has spoken with Walters on several occasions and met new Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy last week when he flew to Sydney alongside his coach.
His decision is set to have a major impact on the rosters at both clubs, with Cronulla holding fire on several contract discussions, including star half Shaun Johnson, until receiving an answer from Reynolds.
