Broncos season hamstrung in Storm disaster—where now for Michael Maguire?

Contributor
Peter Maniaty
Broncos season hamstrung in Storm disaster—where now for Michael Maguire? image

It’s one thing to lose a match. 

But the injury fallout from last night’s disastrous 22-2 loss to the Melbourne Storm could cost the Broncos their season.

With Adam Reynolds, Ezra Mam and Selwyn Cobbo all succumbing to hamstring injuries—Reynolds and Mam incredibly on the same play in the first half—Michael Maguire’s side will have a decidedly different look for next week’s match against cross-town rivals, the Dolphins.

In a massive disruption to the under-pressure Brisbane spine, Ben Hunt—who only recently shifted to hooker after returning from his own serious hamstring injury—will almost certainly be back in the number seven jersey.

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Given Blake Mozer is already out for the year as he recovers from a broken jaw, Billy Walters could slot in as the new number nine, or potentially Cory Paix which would allow the Broncos to continue unleashing Walters in an impact role from the bench.

What happens at five-eighth in Mam’s absence is far less clear.

Maguire and his coaching staff will need to decide whether they want to play things safe, or roll the dice with the Broncos’ season on the line.

With Wests Tigers-bound Jock Madden out since early May due to a pectoral injury, the safe option is 29-year-old Josh Rogers who made six appearances for the Broncos in 2024 when deputising for injured Adam Reynolds. 

Rogers has played the bulk of 2025 in the Queensland Cup with Burleigh Bears and is yet to appear under Michael Maguire.

Another option with potentially big upside, but equally big risk, could be to blood boom 19-year-old Maroons halfback Cody Black who has been starring for Souths Logan Magpies in Queensland Cup.

Neither option is ideal so late in the season, but with Reynolds and Mam expected to miss multiple weeks in the run-in to the NRL finals, big changes are coming—and the stakes couldn’t be any higher.