He’s had an up-and-down start to the season but overall, Adam Reynolds is an improved player since his 2016 Origin experience.
The South Sydney halfback has had to cope with difficult circumstances at Redfern this year; he was diagnosed with appendicitis in February which saw him miss the Rabbitohs’ Round 1 match, when captain Greg Inglis ruptured an ACL to rule him out of the season. He performed well as the club registered wins in Rounds 2 and 3, before falling short against the Roosters on Thursday night.
“Individually I don’t think it was my best game (against the Roosters),” Reynolds tells NSWRL.com.au. “There was errors there that weren’t too crash-hot on the night, but in saying that it’s Rugby League and we get to do it all again next week.
“Obviously fairly disappointed about the result and the outcome and we’ll use that moving forward.”
The 26-year-old, who surprised many by returning to the NRL earlier than expected, is feeling fine now and credits the red-hot form of five-eighth Cody Walker on his smooth transition back onto the field.
“The staff here got me in good shape, I thought I progressed fairly quickly with the condition there and I’m feeling good at the moment,” Reynolds says. “He [Walker] is a great player and he’s shown at the back end of the year last year what he’s capable of.
“It’s a credit to him – he works really hard and it’s paying off.”
With the 2017 State of Origin series officially launched at ANZ Stadium today, Reynolds was keen to return to the arena after missing the 2016 series finale through injury. He knows the NSW VB Blues opportunity has made him a better player in general.
“No doubt that’s on the to-do list but first I’ve got to play good consistent football with Souths and that will look after itself,” Reynolds adds. “[Origin's] the toughest game of all - to go through two games, it’s something that I highly regarded as one of the highlights of my career.
“It’s just about taking confidence out of that, growing and also becoming more of a leader within my own team.”
The Alexandria and Kensington junior will get the chance to show his improvement in another tough task, squaring off with Maroons and Cowboys halfback Johnathan Thurston in potentially cyclonic conditions in Townsville on Friday night.
