Josh Reynolds isn’t sure whether he’ll break into Canterbury’s top squad and feature in the NRL in 2023, but for the time being he’s feeling like a Bulldog again after his return to Belmore.
Once a fan-favourite in blue and white, Reynolds is going about his business in a quiet, yet effective manner after returning to Australia following two seasons in the Super League.
The Bulldogs have three spots left in their top 30 roster and while there are no guarantees, the 33-year-old is hopeful to return to where it all started in the NRL next season.
The original departure
A crowd pleaser, an entertainer and a passionate clubman who would always get under the skin of rivals.
Reynolds was a Bulldog through and through with his departure at the end of 2017 sending shockwaves through the NRL.
Reynolds was flocked by fans and carried off the Belmore turf in his final game at the venue after he confirmed earlier in the season he’d signed a lucrative four-year deal with the Wests Tigers.
It was a move largely motivated by money - the joint venture offering up the type of coin that any player would be silly to knock back - and Reynolds was given a blessing to take up the deal.
Canterbury didn't make the finals that year, and they haven't since either with Reynolds watching on from afar.
"I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t watching them from afar when I left," Reynolds told NRL.com.
"I still had mates here that I’d played with. Players like Jacko (Josh Jackson) and Ray [Faitala-Mariner].
"Those guys, you’ve got to take your hat off them to stick around in those tough times.
"You don’t want to see anyone go through a rough patch – not just them personally but the club itself.
"My time at the Tigers wasn’t how I wanted it to pan out or how I envisioned it would all go down when I left.
"I almost came back to the Bulldogs after that contract but ended up over in the UK."
Why the Super League
Reynolds had a year left on his contract with Hull FC but with an option in his favour he called it quits mutually with the club to return to Australia in June.
While his time in the UK didn't work out entirely as planned, Reynolds came back in a much better mind frame than when he originally left.
His departure from the NRL in 2020 came after 12 months of turmoil that included a domestic violence case - in which he was later cleared - in an event that was played out so publicly.
Two years on and Reynolds now has a new fiancé and has put his time at the Wests Tigers behind him.
"It’s quite true that when your off-field life is in check then your on-field life tends to go well too," he said.
The great Entertainers are back
"Life’s good. It’s the happiest I’ve ever been off the field with my new fiancé, and just being back home with my mates.
"It’s so much easier when you haven’t got the outside pressures weighing you down.
"That’s one thing I do speak up to with the boys, to make sure the off-field life is in check because it does flow into training and on the field.
"You can’t let it affect the way you train and play."
The body factor
At 33, Reynolds will be one of the oldest players in the NRL next year if he goes on to land a contract.
His body was a hot topic at the Wests Tigers with the former NSW five-eighth playing just 22 games in three seasons.
He was dogged by a few more injuries in the Super League before he sought a release.
"I’m feeling a bit older in my brain but my body, it’s a bit tougher to recover," he said when asked about his physical shape.
"I’ve got to do everything right, and that’s not just coming off the field and throwing the boots in the locker room.
"It’s about the ice baths, stretching. I’ll be brutally honest, I didn’t do it enough when I was younger. It had a bit of an effect on the body when I did get older.
"But now, I don’t rush home, I hang around and I talk to the coaches with Bobcat (Andrew Ryan), Steve Turner, Ogre (Mark O'Meley) and Mase (Willie Mason) – guys I used to play with or look up to.
"For the first time I’m taking pre-season as I do. It’s not about waking up every day thinking how hard it’s going to be or what my scores are going to be in fitness drills.
"It’s more about getting in there and enjoying it because you don’t know what’s going to happen."
The Bulldogs homecoming
Reynolds got on the phone to Phil Gould a few months ago when he returned to Australia. He also spoke to retiring captain Josh Jackson.
Both were eager to see him return to the club in some capacity.
"I said to 'Gus' I’d love to be a part of what they’re building here, whatever that looked like," Reynolds said.
"It is a young squad. I had a chat to 'Jacko' about it and thought it wasn’t a bad idea that I try and give it a crack.
"I had a lot of older guys say to me you’re retired for a long time and that stuck with me a bit. When the wheels did get rolling I was very excited.
"I still don’t know what’s going to happen or what’s going to come of it but at the same time it’s just nice to be home to a club that I love and that’s heading in the right direction.
"If there’s one thing I do know it’s what it takes to be a Bulldog. We’ve got a loyal fanbase and all they want is effort. That’s what Cam [Ciraldo] wants too.
"He’s made sure we all know that the hard workers and talkers will get in his team."
The reality
As it stands, Reynolds is on a three-month train and trial contract with no guarantees of a full-time deal at the end of January.
"I want to play, that’s my priority," he said.
"But I also walk into the sheds and there’s 18-year-old kids training with us and I know how daunting that can be, to walk into a first grade team.
"It’s my 13th year in the NRL and any sort of tips I can give to those boys I’m happy to do that and if that's the role that's needed I'll be OK with that.
"Hopefully I can have a little impact on the group in this pre-season and we'll see what happens from there."