Brisbane Broncos name Ben Hunt and Billy Walters in halves to face Dolphins NRL round 24
The Broncos lost halfback Adam Reynolds and five-eighth Ezra Mam on the same play during the club's 22-2 loss away to the Melbourne Storm last Thursday.
Both men were chasing Storm winger Xavier Coates when they pulled up with hamstring injuries and limped off the field.
Ben Hunt and Billy Walters will suit up in the halves for the Broncos this Saturday against the Dolphins, as the club attempts to reset and push for the finals.
Hunt has played the majority of his 348 NRL matches in the halves, including the first 10 rounds of this season. Hunt was Brisbane's halfback in their 2015 grand final defeat to the North Queensland Cowboys.
Despite spending most of his career at Brisbane as a hooker, Walters — the son of former coach Kevin Walters — has experience in the halves for both the Melbourne Storm and Wests Tigers.
Walters and Hunt have been Maguire's first and second choice number nine. Their move to the halves has opened the door for Cory Paix to be named the starting hooker.
The Broncos are sixth on the NRL ladder, but are only one win better off than the Sydney Roosters, who sit ninth.
Brisbane could end next weekend as high as fifth on the NRL ladder with a win over the eighth-placed Dolphins. But a loss on Saturday, and other results going against them, could drop the Broncos down to ninth with three matches remaining before the finals.
Reynolds and Mam both injured their hamstrings while chasing Melbourne winger Xavier Coates last Thursday.
Late in the same match, Brisbane's night worsened when outside back Selwyn Cobbo also limped off with a hamstring injury.
In a statement released by the club, 35-year-old Reynolds was said to be hopeful of returning before the finals, but the season could be over for Mam and Cobbo.
"Adam Reynolds suffered a hamstring injury in last night's game against the Storm and will not return to play for a period of four weeks," the club said in a statement.
"Scans have confirmed Ezra Mam and Selwyn Cobbo each suffered more significant hamstring injuries during the Storm game and are not likely to return to play for a period in excess of six weeks."
Josiah Karapani will come back into the Broncos' starting side as a straight swap for Cobbo on the wing.
Brisbane's triple injury blow against Melbourne came one week after the Broncos lost prop Xavier Willison, who fractured his right forearm during the round 22 win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
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