Injured Reece Walsh produces match-winning play to seal all-time Broncos comeback over Cronulla

Reece Walsh looked like pulling out of the match minutes before kick-off after tweaking his troublesome knee in the warm up. 80 minutes later he helped seal Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium comeback.

Reece Walsh overcame a painful knee injury to orchestrate a remarkable comeback victory as the Broncos produced a Shark attack to stun Cronulla 34-28 on Sunday afternoon.

Walsh looked like pulling out of the match minutes before kick-off after tweaking his troublesome knee while warming up at Suncorp Stadium.

But Brisbane’s No. 1 took his place and put on a show for the 39,042 in the stands as he ramped up his case for a Queensland Origin recall.

Walsh and captain Adam Reynolds played decisive roles as the Broncos put a lethargic first half behind them to record back-to-back wins for the first time in three months.

The Sharks coughed up a 16-point lead in the final 26 minutes, making a number of errors to invite the Broncos back into the contest as Cronulla’s top four aspirations took another hit.

“They were good in the second half,” Broncos coach Michael Maguire said.

“We had a really good chat at halftime and I felt they were in a pretty good place. I’m proud of the players.

“The backs were against the wall, it was pleasing to be able to fight the way they did.”

REECE’S DAY OUT

Walsh limped out of the sheds for kick-off and looked like he should have withdrawn after coming up with two seven-tackle turnovers in the first half.

Lacking line speed and defensive cohesion out wide, the Broncos trailed 28-12 after 48 minutes to a 12-man Cronulla.

But the Sharks opened the door for Brisbane and Walsh bashed it down, finishing with three try-assists as left-side flankers Gehamat Shibasaki and Josiah Karapani bagged doubles in an 18-minute blitz.

After missing five matches with a PCL injury, Walsh has sparked a Brisbane revival in his two games back at fullback.

He must be in serious contention for Queensland’s No. 1 jersey for the July 9 series decider in Sydney following Kalyn Ponga’s unconvincing efforts.

“It’s good, I was trying to hide it (laughs),” Walsh said of his knee.

“It’s a work in progress. I am still trying to get used to the feel of it.”

HAAS TO HAVE A BREAK

Maguire has to look at his management of superstar prop Payne Haas.

Haas was below his best in the first half and looked inconvenienced by a quadriceps injury he picked up a month ago.

Haas took a groin complaint into Origin II in Perth last Wednesday and backed up four days later to face Cronulla.

His limp attempted tackle on Sharks rival Addin Fonua-Blake was so unlike Haas and he left the field in the first half to have his left thigh strapped.

Reece Walsh's match-winning play.

He returned to the field determined to make a difference and bashed out 21 runs for 189m and nine tackle busts in another stellar effort to inspire Brisbane’s comeback.

Haas has been in spectacular form this year but he has now played 16 games, including Origin, in 16 rounds and the Broncos need to be careful with how they manage their No. 1 player.

“It’s more referred pain from his back, that’s what it tends to come from,” Maguire said.

“We are managing him. There’s days where they don’t train.”

SHARKS IN STRIFE

The Sharks have lost three of their past four games to raise serious questions about their title credentials.

Cronulla playmakers Braydon Trindall and Nicho Hynes had a field day exposing Brisbane out wide in the first half and should have guided the team home.

Instead they imploded after Ronaldo Mulitalo produced a lazy knock-on midway through the second half.

That invited the Broncos back into the game and what followed was a series of Cronulla bungles, with Trindall kicking out on the full and Hynes attempting to milk an obstruction penalty.

Sharks winger Sione Katoa submitted a contender for the dumbest play in NRL history when he found himself sent to the sin bin just seconds before half-time after one of the great brain explosions with Cronulla leading 22-12.

Reece Walsh and Gehamat Shibasaki after combining for the match-winning. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

To make matters worse, backrower Teig Wilton was hospitalised after copping a knock to his eye.

“We got points in the first half but we were flat, I wasn’t feeling like we put the game away at any points,” Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said.

“Our discipline to stick to our plan and defence has been poor for weeks. Even when we were leading you could see signs we were hanging on.

“We’ve got to focus on getting a better performance together at the moment.

“We’ve been unsettled the whole year for different reasons.

“I’m not going to sit here and make excuses. We need to do something about it.

Originally published as Injured Reece Walsh produces match-winning play to seal all-time Broncos comeback over Cronulla