2025 NRL: Brisbane Broncos Season Preview

A new coach and a new attitude are coming to Red Hill in 2025 as the Brisbane Broncos look to end a 19-year premiership drought.

Season Preview

After coming within a few minutes of premiership glory in 2023, 2024 will go down as nothing short of a disaster for the Broncos. Question marks around attitude and culture lingered over the team’s heads and eventually the poor results cost coach Kevin Walters his job.

Maguire’s no-nonsense attitude will appeal to key stakeholders who believe that too many of the younger players, headlined by Reece Walsh, have spent too much time focusing on their so-called ‘rockstar’ image.

The Broncos will already be a man down to start the season after Ezra Mam accepted a nine-game suspension following his off-field incident in October. The club has additional cover though, having signed Ben Hunt on a reported two-year deal following his release from St George Illawarra. Hunt’s signing will also take the pressure off halfback and captain Adam Reynolds, who only managed 13 games in 2024 due to a series of niggling injuries.

Hunt joins Hayze Perham (Canterbury) as the only additions to the Broncos playing roster for 2025, while Tristan Sailor (St Helens), Corey Oates and Jordan Pereira (both retired) have all departed.

The Broncos have a good start to the season travel-wise, only leaving Brisbane four times in the first 11 rounds, including back-to-back trips to Sydney (Roosters at Allianz Stadium) and Canberra (Raiders at GIO Stadium) to open the season. It’s a different story to end the season, with trips to Melbourne, North Queensland and Newcastle in the final five rounds.

Of the eight teams the Broncos face twice in 2025, four of them (Sydney Roosters, Canterbury, North Queensland and Melbourne) reached the finals in 2024, while the remainder (Dolphins, Warriors, Gold Coast and South Sydney) will be expecting to push for a top 8 berth this season.

Best Signing

The return of Ben Hunt to Brisbane after seven seasons at St George Illawarra could be the masterstroke that the Broncos needed. With Ezra Mam suspended to begin the season, Hunt will start the year in the halves with Adam Reynolds. Given the injuries starting to catch up with Reynolds, Hunt may also find himself holding down the halfback role on occasions throughout the season also. Another experienced head to support the young talent around the club will also be a massive boost for the club.

Key Player

After a very stop-start 2024 season, Adam Reynolds will be keen to put his injury concerns behind him and get back to his best if the Broncos are to challenge for the title in 2025. It’s no coincidence that the Broncos form largely followed Reynolds’ availability, and his longest absence saw the Broncos suffer six consecutive defeats, dropping from 5^th to 10^th. Although they managed a few good wins following his return, the damage was well and truly done. With a return to the man who coached him to a premiership at the start of his career, Reynolds can mount one final charge to help break the Broncos 19-year title drought.

Player to Watch

Giant forward Benjamin Te Kura got a brief taste of first grade in 2024, making his debut in round 5 against Melbourne and playing three games for the season. The 205cm front rower had a strong year for the Souths Logan Magpies in the Hostplus Cup, averaging more than 120 metres and 3.7 tackle busts per game. With an extra preseason under his belt, the 20-year-old will be a strong chance of playing plenty of first grade in 2025.