Two of the National Rugby League’s most notable departing players are facing uncertain final chapter outcomes this week, after fresh injury updates rocked the Brisbane Broncos and Cronulla Sharks respectively. For Brisbane Broncos’ legendary captain and halfback Adam Reynolds, a last-minute push to take the field one final time before retirement is now on a knife-edge, after a new training injury has derailed his comeback timeline.
The 36-year-old two-time NRL premiership winner, who is set to hang up his boots at the close of the 2024 season, has not appeared in a match since he was carried off early in Brisbane’s round 22 defeat to the Newcastle Knights. The club has long held hopes that their veteran playmaker would get a fairy-tale send-off in front of a home crowd at Brisbane’s iconic Suncorp Stadium, when the defending premiers host the Melbourne Storm in round 26.
Those plans suffered a major setback on Wednesday, when Reynolds sustained a calf strain during a team training session. Follow-up scans conducted at the Clive Berghofer Centre’s Qscan facility confirmed the injury is a grade 1 strain of the soleus muscle in his right calf, the Broncos confirmed in an official statement Wednesday. “His return-to-play timeline will be determined on a week-by-week basis,” the club added, leaving Reynolds just weeks to prove his fitness ahead of the season’s close. Brisbane closes out their regular season with an away match against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in Sydney after their round 26 home clash, leaving only two possible matches for the halfback to make his farewell appearance.
While Reynolds still retains a narrow pathway to return, another departing NRL star has already seen his season and club tenure come to an abrupt early end. Cronulla Sharks centre Jesse Ramien, who is set to move to the North Queensland Cowboys ahead of the 2027 season, has played his final game in black, white and blue after undergoing surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle.
Ramien suffered the injury during Cronulla’s clash against the St. George Illawarra Dragons on Sunday, and underwent initial scans on Monday to assess the damage. After consultation with a specialist, the club and player agreed that surgical intervention was the best course of action to support his long-term recovery, ending his 2024 season and his overall tenure with the Sharks immediately.
Over his career with Cronulla, Ramien has built an impressive legacy: the 29-year-old proud Indigenous athlete has notched 167 appearances for the club, notching 104 wins, 60 tries, and 39 assists while serving as a respected role model in the community and a beloved teammate in the dressing room. The Sharks confirmed Ramien will remain with the club in a behind-the-scenes support role through the upcoming finals series, where 24-year-old Mawene Hiroti will step into Ramien’s spot on the right edge of Cronulla’s backline. The club will honor Ramien and give fans a chance to farewell the star at their final home game of the regular season.