Brisbane has apologised after Adam Reynolds’ lap of honour was interrupted by a sponsor promotion during an embarrassingly mishandled farewell at Suncorp Stadium.
The retiring captain was walking around the field with fellow departing players when the stadium’s big screens switched away from the tribute to show a Kia car giveaway.
A power outage earlier in the program prevented Brisbane from presenting some of its planned content and placed the schedule behind time.
However, the club has admitted prioritising the commercial activation over Reynolds’ lap of honour was the wrong decision.
Broncos Admit Reynolds Should Have Been Prioritised
Brisbane issued a formal apology after members and supporters heavily criticised the farewell.
“The Brisbane Broncos apologise to our members and fans for not showing Adam Reynolds’ full lap of honour on the Suncorp Stadium screens last night,” the club said.
“A power outage affecting the stadium screens earlier in the program, for which Suncorp Stadium has apologised and are investigating, occurred without a contingency in place.
“This meant we were running behind schedule and were also unable to show some of the planned tribute content.
“While trying to get the game-day program back on track, a decision was made to proceed with a scheduled Kia giveaway member activation.
“We got that call wrong.”
The club accepted that Reynolds’ contribution should have taken precedence over maintaining the promotional schedule.
“Adam’s lap of honour was a significant moment for our club and our fans, and it should have been prioritised,” the statement continued.
“We sincerely apologise and thank everyone who came to Suncorp Stadium and stood by the team, our captain and our other departing players last night.”
Reynolds Received Almost No Pregame Fanfare
Reynolds was joined by Corey Jensen, Jesse Arthars and Delouise Hoeter for the pregame lap of honour.
There was no complete highlights package shown on the screens, no significant musical presentation and little of the emotion supporters expected for the final home appearance of one of Brisbane’s most influential modern players.
Parramatta legend Nathan Hindmarsh said the Broncos failed to provide Reynolds with the tribute his career deserved.
“Regardless whether he was playing or not, the Broncos could’ve done something to send him off,” Hindmarsh said on Fox League.
“They had a bit of a clap pregame in the middle of the pitch and that was about it.
“There was no fanfare. It just doesn’t seem there was enough build-up.
“He’s a champion player and to not really have a big build-up … there needed to be something special.”
Queensland great Billy Moore was even more direct while commentating for ABC Radio.
“You didn’t even know there was a send-off, that’s how bad it was,” Moore said.
Post-Match Tribute Came Too Late
Brisbane held another presentation after Melbourne completed its 46-20 victory, recognising Reynolds and departing prop Payne Haas.
By that stage, it was approaching 10pm and much of the crowd had already left Suncorp Stadium.
The late timing meant the two players were acknowledged in front of a considerably smaller audience than the 36,476 supporters who attended the match.
Brisbane thanked those who remained after full-time, but the situation should have been anticipated.
The Broncos knew it was their final home match of the season. They knew several important players were leaving and knew Reynolds would not receive an on-field farewell after injury ended his career two rounds early.
The possibility of a technical problem should have been covered by a contingency plan.
More importantly, once the schedule fell behind, the club should never have needed to choose between its captain and a commercial promotion.
Reynolds Transformed the Broncos
The failure was especially damaging because of what Reynolds achieved during his five seasons in Brisbane.
He joined the club from South Sydney in 2022 and immediately provided the game management, leadership and professionalism its young roster desperately needed.
Reynolds guided the Broncos to the 2023 grand final before captaining them to the 2025 premiership, ending a 19-year wait for another title.
He played 92 games for Brisbane and finishes his career with 323 NRL appearances, two premierships and more than 2,500 points.
Reynolds also retires as the second-highest point-scorer in NRL history.
His importance to Brisbane cannot be measured purely through statistics.
The halfback helped transform a talented but inconsistent team into a premiership-winning side and provided the stability required for Reece Walsh, Ezra Mam and the club’s younger players to develop.
A proper farewell should have celebrated that transformation.
Instead, the defining image became a car advertisement replacing his lap of honour on the stadium screens.
Other Departing Players Also Deserved Better
The controversy was not limited to Reynolds.
Jensen, Arthars and Hoeter were also completing their final home appearances with Brisbane, while Haas, Gehamat Shibasaki, Grant Anderson and Jaiyden Hunt are among the players set to leave after the season.
Haas’ departure is particularly significant.
The representative prop has spent his entire NRL career with Brisbane, won a club-record six Paul Morgan Medals and played a central role in the 2025 premiership.
He will join South Sydney next season, leaving an enormous hole in the Broncos’ forward pack.
While Reynolds’ retirement understandably commanded the greatest attention, the farewell should have provided every departing player with clear recognition.
The Broncos had months to prepare for Haas’ departure and knew the final home game would be their last opportunity to thank him at Suncorp Stadium.
Another Failure in a Disastrous Week
The mishandled ceremony completed an awful week for Brisbane.
Reynolds initially said he had been willing to play against Melbourne but had been ruled out following discussions with Michael Maguire and the club’s medical staff.
He later clarified that the final decision to retire immediately was his own.
Ben Hunt revealed the playing group had been shocked, Cody Walker criticised the lack of a farewell appearance and Walsh liked a social-media post describing the situation as embarrassing before removing it.
The club then lost its ninth consecutive match at Suncorp Stadium as Melbourne scored eight tries.
Brisbane’s apology is appropriate and its explanation regarding the power outage provides important context.
However, the technical failure does not excuse the decision that followed.
When forced to choose between honouring the captain who ended a 19-year premiership drought and continuing with a sponsor giveaway, the Broncos chose the car.
They were right to apologise.
Reynolds deserved considerably better.
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