South Sydney will never not be proud of Adam Reynolds

Of all the favourite memories about Redfern Oval, this one particular night tops the lot for Adam Reynolds.

“It was when South Sydney played against the USA,” Reynolds says. “It was 1999. Actually, maybe 2000. I’d never seen Redfern so packed. Souths were fighting to be re-instated into the comp. It was the first and only time I ever got to see Souths play at Redfern Oval. I was only young. I remember it being really loud. I’ll never forget it.”

South Sydney fans will never forget the 82-12 victory. Now they will never forget Adam Reynolds.

One of rugby league’s happiest, and saddest, moments will happen just after 9pm on Sunday should Souths defeat Penrith and win the NRL grand final.

Their little general, who spent the first years of his life living in a shoebox-sized unit across the road from Redfern Oval, who bleeds red and green, who used to practice kicking footballs into garbage bins and stop signs in the back streets of Waterloo with his older brother Wayne, who played with St Peters, La Perouse, Kensington, Alexandria and even the Botany Rams, will farewell the club.

Reynolds will leave for the Broncos on a lucrative three-year deal. He would have settled for two years at Souths. They only offered him one.

Yeah, baby ... Cody Walker, Dane Gagai and Mark Nicholls celebrate with Adam Reynolds.Credit:Getty Images

The No.7 has refused to let the exit get him down. Plenty of others would have sulked. Some would have spat the dummy and demanded an early release. But not Reynolds.

“If I kicked stones and carried on, I’d only be letting my teammates down,” Reynolds told the Herald. “There were no tears when I made the decision. I understand the business we’re in. You don’t get to have the fairytale. I can only try and go out on a high.”

So many stories have been written about Reynolds since he debuted in 2012 as Chris Sandow’s halfback replacement.

About his monster right boot (he once kicked the ball 100 metres with some “strong wind assistance” at Redfern). How he was in a ding-dong battle with Ryan Carr that first summer, and only got the nod to wear the No.7 by new Souths coach Michael Maguire during the final trial.

“I remember that NRL debut that year for all the wrong reasons,” Reynolds said. “We got beaten by the Roosters on the bell. I was in the position to potentially save the game.

Adam Reynolds on debut in 2012.Credit:NRL Photos

“We were up by a try, maybe two points, the Roosters made a break, Boyd Cordner had put through a kick, I was coming across in cover, and ‘Mini’ [Anthony Minichiello] raced past me and scored. With a bit more experience I would have done something different. I would have tackled him without the ball and got sin-binned. But it wasn’t to be.”

That debut season produced many standout moments. A Youtube favourite was his length-of-the-field defensive effort to mow down Sandow who had moved to Parramatta.

Maguire, now coaching the Tigers, still shows that clip of Reynolds to young players. That moment summed up the competitor that Souths fans and Madge love.

South Sydney chairman Nick Pappas also quickly recalled that very tackle when asked about Reynolds this week.

“When Sandow first left it was like the heavens had opened, it was a disaster, a calamity, and people were like, ‘How will we survive?’,” Pappas said.

“But there was this little kid called Adam Reynolds we kept talking about, just nobody was listening. That tackle he made on a flying Sandow had a lot of symbolism about it. Apart from the fact it was a great tackle, but the way Adam paced himself just right, then made a diagonal run and knew he had to get him, it was a great moment.”

Pappas says he would be a “rich man” if he had a dollar every time Souths fans asked why the club was letting Reynolds go. He said there were a lot of young players blossoming at the club who will now get a chance to prove themselves.

​Whether Reynolds deserved to be granted his contract wish by the Rabbitohs will be answered on another day. Maybe round six or eight next year if the Rabbitohs dawdle out of the blocks and Reynolds has the Broncos flying.

Souths will certainly be quieter without the pesky halfback in the sheds.

Former footy boss Shane Richardson always used to complain about the $35 dry-cleaning bill for his suits after being sprayed with beer by Reynolds in the sheds after any given win.

Coach Wayne Bennett was clearly annoyed when Reynolds kept trying to grab his hand during the team photo shoot this week.

Another Souths legend, John Sutton, who refers to Reynolds as “Adam” (and only because “he calls me John”) remembers his mate forever making fun of Sam Burgess’ teeth. Reynolds also asked Bryson Goodwin: “Why on earth would your mum think it was a good idea to call you ‘Bryson’.” Reynolds asked the question every day for a year.

Sutton and Reynolds once threatened to get rabbit tattoos above their eyebrows after the 2014 triumph. As premiership celebrations moved from ANZ Stadium to Souths Juniors to Burgess’ unit, somewhere at the back of Darlinghurst, to a fan day at Redfern Oval followed by a pub in Surry Hills, a weary Sutton and Reynolds were ready to go through with the facial ink.

“But mum saw me on the news that night and rang me up to give me a gobful, so we never got it done,” Sutton said. “Reyno and I were keen.”

For all the laughs, Reynolds, a father of four, has shown tremendous leadership qualities. Reynolds may lack the polish and wit of teammate Benji Marshall when it comes to interviews, but he is just as giving with his time.

Even when Reynolds visits his brother in Campbelltown, Wests Tigers’ heartland, fans regularly stop for a chat and photos.

Bennett backed a winner when he handed the captaincy to the local junior ahead of Cook and Cody Walker, Reynolds’ halves partner who almost traded blows with him a decade earlier during a school game.

Party like its 2014 ... Adam Reynolds at the premiership fan day.Credit:Fairfax Photographic

Baby-faced Souths winger Jaxson Paulo said Reynolds did something special for him before kick-off in last year’s semi-final against Parramatta at Bankwest Stadium.

“We’d just run out and ‘Reyno’ saw me looking out at the crowd and how I was a bit nervous,” Paulo said. “So he ran over, looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘bro, I believe in you, just do your thing’. To see him pull himself out of his own little head and help me out, it changed my outlook. It wasn’t much but it was enough to help me play a good game. I got a double that night.”

Even in the Tales From Tiger Town documentary, ostensibly about another club, Reynolds was shown consoling good friend Adam Doueihi after full-time when the Tigers lost one of the most exciting games of the year back in round six.

South Sydney have no shortage of high-profile supporters.

Comedian and popular TV personality Andrew Denton has loved Souths all his life, and would have had no shortage of questions for Reynolds if he sat him down for a chat on his brilliant Enough Rope program from the 2000s.

Reynolds’ first memory of Redfern Oval would have been one of Denton’s openers. Then some questions about “which of his Rabbitohs tattoos he’s going to have to consider changing before he starts walking around Brisbane”.

For the record, Reynolds has had some tattoos removed to make way for new designs.

“And in there somewhere I would have asked Adam, ‘when you play against Cody Walker next year, what’s the thing you know that is guaranteed to get under his skin and put him off his game?’,” Denton said.

Souths Forever ... departing skipper Adam Reynolds.Credit:NRL Photos

Reynolds is carrying a groin injury, but says it is no chance of ruling him out of “The Last Dance” â€" which is how he referred to the grand final on Instagram earlier this week in a nod to the documentary about his favourite NBA team, the Chicago Bulls.

He will be impossible to miss with a fresh haircut. And fresher, bright yellow Nike boots.

For Souths fans and neutrals alike it is a crying shame Reynolds is leaving the club. But before he does, there’s plenty of love for the halfback left in the tank, as South Sydney owner Russell Crowe summed up.

“I love Adam Reynolds. He knows that. His family knows that. It’s no secret,” Crowe said. “Adam has carved his name deep in the history of our grand old club. South Sydney will never not be proud of Adam Reynolds.”

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