Reece Walsh responded to the recent criticism about his erratic displays in a standout performance against the Dolphins that has all but locked up an NRL finals spot for Brisbane. The Broncos fullback was electric in Saturday night’s 38-28 comeback win that dented the Dolphins’ own top-eight hopes and gave Walsh’s men bragging rights in the Battle of Brisbane.
Brisbane coach Michael Maguire has praised the way his influential No.1 has responded to some of the backlash around his game, after praising Walsh’s work ethic and willingness to continually improve his game. The Broncos fullback is often described as a ‘rocks or diamonds’ player and was guilty of a litany of errors in Brisbane’s big loss to the Storm last week.
But with first-choice halves Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mma and Selwyn Cobbo all missing with hamstring injuries for the Dolphins clash, Walsh provided the spark to reignite his side’s finals push. A sea-sawing first half saw the scores locked at 14-all at the break as Walsh and Kotoni Staggs traded tries with Dolphins pair Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Jake Averillo.
However, when the impressive Trai Fuller scored a stunning solo try on his NRL return and Jeremy Marshall-King also crossed for the Dolphins after the break, the Broncos were in trouble. It gave Kristian Woolf’s side a 28-14 lead with 30 minutes to play, with Brisbane staring at the prospect of a loss that would have sen them tumble out of the finals spots into ninth on the ladder.
Reece Walsh turns match on its head with crucial 40-20 kick
A moment of magic from Walsh ultimately shifted the momentum in Brisbane’s favour and proved the catalyst for a game-winning second half onslaught. The Broncos No.1 kicked a superb 40-20 that shifted the balance of play and gave Brisbane crucial field position, which they used with ruthless efficiency to punish the Dolphins.
Deine Mariner crossed for a try off the resulting set and Brisbane rode the wave of momentum to score three more times in less than 15 minutes to turn the game on its head. Ben Hunt was also outstanding after taking on the No.7 jersey from injured skipper Reynolds, with the Brisbane halfback setting up three tries in a display that answered plenty of questions around the resolve of this Broncos outfit.
But it was Walsh’s display that had the NRL world talking after he finished the superb comeback victory with a whopping 249 run metres, a try and try assist and 12 tackle busts. Walsh was also on song with the boot, kicking seven goals from eight attempts in a man-of-the-match display described by many as one of his finest in a Brisbane jersey.
“Tonight, he really got the balance right,” Broncos captain Pat Carrigan said about his superstar fullback. “He’s done some really special things but at the end of the day, we just need Reece Walsh to be Reece Walsh. He was massive for us.”
Dolphins captain Isaiya Katoa admitted afterwards that Walsh’s ’40-20 changed the game’ and fans echoed those sentiments across social media. Walsh also sparked a last-tackle a short time later that resulted in a try of the year contender to Josiah Karapani, who caught a cross-field kick from Billy Walters to finish off a slick Brisbane move.
Ben Talty put the gloss on the Broncos’ stirring comeback with the final try off Hunt’s clever grubber kick. The win cemented the sixth-placed Broncos’ spot in the top-eight, with the Dolphins dropping behind the Roosters into ninth spot on the ladder.
