Former Hull FC man Josh Reynolds on “outside pressures” that led to Super League stint being cut short

Josh Reynolds was a big coup for Hull FC when he arrived prior to the 2021 season with the NRL star joining in a hope to rediscover the form that he had shown early in his Canterbury Bulldogs career.

What followed though was a fractious time and an eventual release only 18 months into a two-year contract with both Reynolds and the club failing to perform to expectation.

Now back in the NRL and training with the club he loves and debuted at he’s opened up on his time in Super League including why it didn’t go right and what he’s learned from the experience.

“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,” said Reynolds when speaking to NRL.com.

“It’s quite true that when your off-field life is in check then your on-field life tends to go well too.”

Reynolds joined FC in the backdrop of a domestic violence case in which he was cleared, but it was one that had been covered intensely by the Australian media, hence his move to Super League, however it also followed a drop in form which was something that followed him to Hull.

“It’s so much easier when you haven’t got the outside pressures weighing you down,” Reynolds told NRL.com.

“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.”

For now Reynolds will try force his way into the Bulldogs top 30 where he’ll earn a spot on the roster as he’s currently on a $1,000-a-week train-and-trial deal in the hope of extending his NRL career, something he wants to do with the team he loves and followed intensely during his time abroad.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t watching them from afar when I left. 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.”