“The Broncos have found their recipe with no Ezra Mam and Adam Reynolds”.
Following a pair of brutal injury blows, the biggest question hanging over the Michael Maguire’s side was who was going to step up in their absence?
During Brisbane’s impressive 38-28 win over the Dolphins, we got an answer – Reece Walsh.
The superstar fullback was sublime in both attack and defence in the Battle of Brisbane, leading to some huge praise from both Matty Johns and Cooper Cronk on their Fox League podcast.
“Reece Walsh’s best performance in 18 months,” Johns said, before Cronk added: “By a country mile, whatever he did before that game bottle it and release it this weekend.
“He was dynamic, he was dialled in… then when he decided to hit the scoreboard and have an impact, a 40/20 to start the second half, went on to score four tries.”
And while Walsh’s performance was excellent, his dominance was indicative of a bigger picture issue.
Without both Reynolds and Mam, Maguire’s outfit needed to find a new way to produce points and win games in the lead-up to the finals.
Losing both starting playmakers would virtually rule many teams of out finals contention, but the Broncos still have several big-name stars in their line-up.
Veteran playmaker Ben Hunt’s job was simply to unlock the attacking prowess of Reece Walsh, and Cronk believes they have worked out exactly how to do just that.
He highlighted one play against the Dolphins, which saw Walsh isolated against Isaiya Katoa – and not many can stay Walsh in one-on-one situations.
“Open up the field, get Reece Walsh involved. There was a try just before halftime when they played from that wide field position,” Cronk said.
“He was one-on-one with Isaiya Katoa, just used his speed and set up his outside man and Shibasaki comes back here and Walsh scores.
“For your team this weekend (against the Knights)… Jack Cogger and Jake Arthur in the halves. Broncos’ game plan should be shift from wide field positions and get Reece Walsh one-on-one.
“He will cause problems.”
For Johns, simply creating mismatches for Walsh is enough to produce points, especially closer to the try line.
“The Broncos look their best when they open the field up, even in that instance they don’t open the field right up, they move just before the scrum line,” Johns said.
“But it’s just enough for Walsh, he creates mismatches and he burns that third last defender.”
However, this new formula shouldn’t be scrapped when Reynolds and Mam return.
Reynolds is expected to be free to take the field ahead of the 2025 finals series, while Mam, alongside winger Selwyn Cobbo could be out for the remainder of the year.
“That is the look they need every game from here… even when Reynolds and Mam return,” Johns said.
“In the mean time, get your main man involved. He was brilliant, that was his best performance in a long time in a Broncos jersey.”
The Broncos now sit in sixth place on the NRL ladder and need to continue to win to play finals football and in the process put to bed their biggest issue.
Cronk was of the belief Maguire’s side “tighten” and lose their attacking flair when games are in the balance, meaning they struggle to win in close contests.
Brisbane lost to the Warriors by two points in Round 7, went down against the Dragons by four in Round 11 and also were beaten by the Eels by two points in Round 21.
Had Brisbane won those contests, they would be firmly inside the top four, giving them a double chance at making the preliminary finals.
However, now Cronk has called for the Broncos to release their shackles to make a deep finals run.
“They are a team that when they skip clear a bit… they look great, but when the game was on the line they tighten,” he said.
“There were periods there (against the Dolphins) when the game was in the balance and they continued to play this style of football.”
