1:03 Watch Reynolds’ long-range try for Wests Tigers against Gold Coast Titans in the NRL in 2018
The stand-off now hopes his experience will benefit Hull’s younger players in the same way former Bulldogs captain Michael Ennis, now a pundit on Fox Sports in Australia, helped him make the step up to first-grade rugby.
“I was playing with the likes of Mick Ennis, who was really big for me,” Reynolds said. “The way he played and the way I played was a tad similar – not in skill, but the little things.
“He always made me back myself and that’s one thing I think helped me a lot. You always have self-doubt, especially when you’re young and being in the halves, but he was always good for a chat.
“He made sure I knew what I did well, and always reminded me of those things and helped me out a lot.”
Hooker Ennis was noted as a player who got under the skin of both opponents and referees which saw him earn the nickname ‘Ennis the Menace’, and Reynolds has attracted a similar reputation during his career.
That has seen him tagged with the moniker of ‘Grub’ – a nickname he has told his new Hull team-mates he does not mind them using – although the man himself insists he has toned down that side of his game given the responsibility placed on him at stand-off.
“I’ve grown as a player,” Reynolds said. “A lot of the time when I was younger, I’d get caught up in all of that and it would take me away from what I needed to do as a player.
“In saying that, the competitive side does come out of me sometimes and sometimes I will get myself into little altercations, but in saying that I feel I have grown out of it as a player.
“As a half, you’ve got to keep a cool head because you’re the one the guys are looking towards for direction. If I’m too worried about doing that silly stuff my head is not in the right spot.”
Reynolds’ main focus at the moment is getting used to the unfamiliar playing conditions of the English winter as well as working on his new half-back partnership with Marc Sneyd, with under eight weeks to go until the 2021 Super League season is due to start.
He has been impressed with some of the young players around the first-team set-up too, not least of all fellow half-back Ben McNamara, and believes it is important he does what he can to ensure they are ready when called upon this year.
“A lot of the young boys are probably only one step away [from starting] and I suppose as a squad you all want to be on the same page because if someone goes down, they’ll be filling the void,” Reynolds said.
“I think we’ve got a really good squad to do that and a lot of our young guys are really keen to learn. I’m still keen to learn too and I’m learning a lot off our coaches and other players in our team.
“That’s one good thing about our squad, no-one thinks they have got it and everyone is willing to learn, and I think that’s the best way to get better.”
Sourse: skysports.com
