Adam Reynolds is back for the Brisbane Broncos.
In what will be the second key return for a halfback in the preliminary finals, Adam Reynolds, the controller of the keys to Brisbane's attack, follows Jahrome Hughes back out onto the field in returning from injury.
While Hughes at the Storm had to deal with a shoulder injury into a broken wrist, Reynolds has had hamstring injuries.
That's almost not a surprise at this point. It has been an ongoing problem for the halfback, and just when it looked as if he would return ahead of the end of the regular season, he re-tweaked the injury at training, missed Brisbane's last two games, and then had to watch on as fill-in halfback Ben Hunt kicked a stunning 94th minute field goal a fortnight ago to sink the Canberra Raiders.
That booked the Broncos a week off - something of a godsend for Reynolds - who now returns alongside Ezra Mam, who is also back from a hamstring injury.
Mam comes from the bench, while Reynolds slots straight into the starting side. Billy Walters is out with a knee injury, and it's a fair shout that once Mam comes into the game, Ben Hunt will shuffle across to dummy half after starting things out in the number six jumper.
Match fitness is potentially the big question for the first-choice halves as they return.
They have none of it. Neither of them have played a competitive game since since Round 23 on that fateful night in Melbourne when both players blew their hamstrings out in the same defensive chase.
The Storm went on to win that game 22 points to 2 as the Broncos scrambled mid game.
The predictions - including from us here at Zero Tackle were dire without their two first-choice halves. The Broncos still needed to win probably two of their remaining four games at that point to make the finals.
As it turned out, those predictions were bang on the money, but it didn't matter to the Broncos, who went on an absolute charge through the final month of the regular season.
The Red Hill-based outfit not only won all four games, but won them well, with their attack being the shining light.
38 points against the Dolphins, 46 points against the Knights, 38 points against the Cowboys, and maybe most impressively, 30 points against the Storm.
They then scored 29 against the Raiders in an incredible comeback to book a much-needed week off after that aforementioned 94-minute instant classic in the nation's capital.
The key to all of that, both statistically and via the eye test, was fullback Reece Walsh.
One of the game's most talented players, Walsh had a mixed start to the year. Brisbane seemed a little clunky, with Walsh trying to get himself into games, and potentially, get his hands on the ball too often in a team with other high ball usage players in Reynolds and Mam.
It resulted in Walsh making a lot of errors throughout the first half of the campaign, and an injury in Round 7 would bring things to a grinding halt for the fullback.
His return in Round 14 continued to see him mix moments of brilliance with moments of utter bewilderment, but the transition to Reynolds and Walters in the halves was as smooth as they come because of Walsh's instant form turnaround.
He has scored tries in every game since the injuries to Reynolds and Mam, and has eight try assists to go with it.
That's six tries and eight assists - for 14 try involvements - in his last five games.
He has also had more than 200 kicking metres in his last three games, has been breaking tackles for fun with 48 in his last 5 games, and has increased his output running the football almost two fold on his average across the first 23 weeks of the season.
The bottom line is that Walsh is Brisbane's most dangerous player, and that only goes up the gears in daytime rugby league, which of course is what will be taking place on Sunday afternoon at a likely sold out Suncorp Stadium as Brisbane push to return to the grand final, and break a nearly two-decade premiership drought.
Reynolds' return is important on the kicking front though. Against the Panthers, they need his controlling influence to ensure there is a chance to force drop outs and create pressure for long period.
You simply must do it to the Panthers, because you know Nathan Cleary is going to do it back the other way.
The opening two weeks of the finals have been a kicking masterclass from Cleary, particularly the opening week against the Warriors where he forced four drop outs.
But Reynolds must not overplay his hand.
Direct traffic? Yes.
Kick to the perfect spots? Yes.
Interfere with Walsh when he wants the ball? Absolutely not.
If the Broncos are going to beat the Panthers in this preliminary final, they aren't going to do it by out grinding the four-time premiers.
They are going to do it by scoring points and putting scoreboard pressure on Ivan Cleary's side.
For that to work, Walsh has to be the key man from start to finish.
Whichever way it goes, Reynolds and Mam returning can not take the ball away from Walsh, who simply must continue putting in performances like he has been.
Brisbane's chances of playing in a grand final really could bubble down to that one simple question.
