A “calm” Reece Walsh stepped up to save the Broncos in their comeback 38-28 win against the Dolphins but his team will need him to continue to deliver as the finals approach.
In a side missing big guns Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam and in danger of being blown away after just after half-time, Walsh delivered a 40/20 in the 52nd minute to turn the tide in Brisbane’s favour, helping spark a run of four unanswered tries to secure the win.
Often a lightning rod for criticism, Aboriginal and Māori man Walsh said he was just “doing his job” for his side’s home Indigenous Round game, and a narrowed focus set out for him by coach Michael Maguire kept him on the task ahead.
Walsh said:
“I just did my job, my role is pretty simple out there, it’s been pretty simple for the whole year,”
“Madge challenged me just to do my job and I felt like that’s all I tried to do out there.
“I felt like I just try to do my job for the team … the boys go out there and compete and they do their job each week … I feel like I just had a really narrow focus and I didn’t think about too many things.
“I just go back to the process … I can touch on I’m doing my job; I’m just trying to narrow my mindset and really just nail that and do my job for the boys.
“I know if I asked Patty [Pat Carrigan] and Payno [Payne Haas] and all those big boys in the middle to do their job, they’re going to do that. What sort of team mate would I be if they need me to do mine and I don’t do it?”
Carrigan – who was captain in the absence of the injured Reynolds – said Walsh had inspired the team and while everyone knows he can produce flashes of brilliance, it was his composure that impressed in the win.
Carrigan said:
“He really got the balance right, he’s done some really special things,”
“The end of the day, we just need Reece Walsh to be Reece Walsh and he was actually really calm out there, talking really well to the boys and I think that instilled a lot of confidence in them …
“He’s a hard taskmaster on himself, but I think he found that balance (tonight) and he was massive for us …
“I think (picking his moments is) always the growth for him, but in saying that, his mindset’s always to take the game on, that’s why we love him, that’s why we love playing with him.
“He’s a special player. He works hard at those sort of things at training and, and he’s reaped the rewards for that.
“We just need Reece to be Reece, and we can all support each other, and that’s what we’re doing as a team.”
Such is the tightness in the middle part of the ladder, when the Dolphins had surged ahead early in the second half, the Broncos looked in danger of losing their place in the eight.
While they are now in sixth spot, with three regular rounds to play, including two away trips and a tough home match against the Storm, there are no guarantees.
Starting with the Knights in Newcastle this Sunday, Walsh had belief his team could “go all the way” and atone for their 2023 grand final loss to the Panthers.
“I think 100% we do (have the team to go all the way), we look at the roster that we have.
“(We had) a lot of adversity last week (against the Storm) and we all just wanted to do our jobs and go out there and compete really hard … we know that we have to be better getting towards the back end of the season.”
“We took a lot out of last week and the way we fought, a lot of lessons.
“Obviously it hasn’t been the best season for us, but I feel like if we can keep knuckling down, working hard for each other, anything’s possible.”
