Reece Walsh suspended, found guilty of abusing referee after marathon NRL judiciary hearing

Reece Walsh has learned his fate after he faced a marathon NRL judiciary hearing over his foul-mouthed tirade for the Broncos.

Reece Walsh has been suspended for three games after being found guilty in a marathon NRL judiciary hearing of abusing the referee in the Broncos’ loss on the weekend.

After a two-and-a-half-hour hearing and an hour-long deliberation, the two-person panel reached a split decision, with the chairman being forced to cast the deciding vote that found Walsh guilty for abusing the referee.

The judiciary then deliberated on Walsh’s punishment, before deciding to suspend him for three games.

It means the Broncos fullback will miss Brisbane’s NRL game against the Dolphins this Saturday and the Broncos’ games against the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs. He will miss State of Origin Game III as well.

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An on-field microphone picked up the Broncos fullback launching an expletive-laden spray over a penalty during Brisbane’s 18-12 loss to the Titans on Sunday.

The 20-year-old was referred straight to the judiciary, accused of directing his comments at referee Chris Butler, which Walsh strongly denies.

The comment was heard by Butler, prompting the referee to march the penalty an extra 10 metres downfield.

“What the f*** do you mean, c***?” Walsh said.

Walsh claimed the comment was directed at Broncos teammate Patrick Carrigan and not Butler.

He rushed over to the referee, insisting: “I was talking to Patty, I was talking to Patty.”

The NRL counsel may have summed up the whole saga best, saying: “Even if (words) aren’t directed towards referee, they were directed at the referee’s on-field ruling of a penalty.”

In a marathon three-hour hearing, the judiciary and the players started off saying the ‘F’ and ‘C’ word, but eventually let loose and said the swear words in full.

A brief bit of confusion… Patrick Carrigan said he said “Slow your fucking brain c***”. Questioned as to why he just added the word “c***”. Back and forth now establishes there was no “c***” and the “c***” was from Reece Walsh. Quite the hearing #nrl@10NewsFirst

— Jelisa Apps (@JelisaApps) June 27, 2023

WALSH UPDATE: Now heard the ‘c—t’ word repeated about 128 times at hearing. Is there a more brutal word in English language

— christian nicolussi (@mrchrisnico) June 27, 2023

Tuesday night’s judiciary hearing began at 6.30pm AEST and heard evidence from Butler that Walsh had been questioning his decisions all game long.

After an obstruction call in the second half, based on Walsh’s body language he was marched 10 metres.

“I could hear he was saying something but didn’t hear what. He was warned about similar behaviour just before halftime,” Butler said.

Butler warned Broncos captain Adam Reynolds at halftime that Walsh needed to watch himself.

“Reece keeps coming at me,” Butler told Reynolds.

“Three times he’s come out really passionate about decisions. Can’t continue.”

But Walsh, who was flown to Sydney for the hearing, told the judiciary he was angry at Carrigan.

“He (Carrigan) came over and was saying to me slow your f***ing brain,” Walsh said.

“I just felt like at the time I was trying to help a teammate and help out and he (Carrigan) was coming at me telling me to be smart.

“We have that relationship where we can pull each other up on the field and speak to each other the way we do.

“I was agitated. I said what the f**k do you mean c*** to Patrick.

“I just felt at the time I was trying to do the right thing for the team and when the penalty was given Patrick came at me I snapped at him.

“Afterwards, I was just letting the referee know I wasn’t talking to him.

“I said that to him because he blew another penalty. I said I was talking to Patty.

“With me and Patrick we do have a good bond and are honest with each other and can have a tough conversation. It’s not the first time. It’s pretty common but it’s something I’m working on.”

The NRL’s representative then challenged Walsh’s testimony.

NRL: Did you hear the referee say obstruction?

Walsh: No, I was talking to Patty.

Walsh then told the panel to rewind the tape and froze it to show himself talking to Carrigan.

NRL: You were one metre away. I suggest you did hear him.

Walsh: No I didn’t, I was in a conversation with someone else.

NRL: You said what you said because you disagreed with the call of obstruction.

You told the referee you stopped running, the reason you said that is you were trying to explain the penalty for obstruction shouldn’t have been awarded because you stopped running. There’s no other reason to say it.

Walsh: No. That’s not why I said it.

Walsh was then asked why the audio didn’t pick up Carrigan’s comments.

“I’m erratic in the way I play football, I play fast and speak fast. Patty is a more senior player and level headed (so he speaks quietly),” he said.

Carrigan was then called in to give his version of events.

“I wasn’t concerned with the ref, my mind was with Reece,” Carrigan said.

“Earlier in the game Reece tried to throw an offload that cost us. I told him to stop going for big plays. On this play I thought he was trying to overplay again and I told him to slow his brain.

“Right or wrong we don’t shy away from going at each other for what’s in the best interest of the team.

“When things are crazy and tense, Reece can be going 100 miles and it can disadvantage the team so I told him to slow his brain and we can still get a result. I thought his actions were stopping us getting a result.”

“I heard him say what the f**k do you mean c***. He said that to me,” Carrigan said.

The judiciary chairman argued with the defence Carrigan couldn’t know who Walsh was talking to.

Carrigan said “He was looking straight at me. I don’t know how to say that any (clearer).”

NRL: To use your words, Mr Walsh’s arguing with the ref was in hindering the team, that’s why you told him to slow his f***ing brain.

Carrigan: I can’t comment on that mate. (He is told to answer by the chairman.) My words were based on his play. I didn’t even know this was an issue until Monday lunch time. That’s how much I thought it was between us and not the ref.

NRL: Have you spoken to Walsh about it?

Carrigan: Yes it was mentioned at training.

NRL: Did you speak about the evidence?

Carrigan: No. We just spoke about how we had an argument that was misinterpreted by the referee. We both just recalled what happened.

NRL: Did you talk today at training about what you meant about slow your f***ing brain?

Carrigan: No.

The defence also called the Titans’ David Fifita, who backed up Carrigan’s account that Walsh wasn’t speaking to the referee.

Asked if he was friends with Walsh, Fifita said: “I’m friends with all those boys.”

“Nah, I was just giving it to him (Walsh). I tapped him on the head, I know he’s a fiery person so I was just trying to get under his skin,” Fifita said.

“I was right there and had the perfect view of Patty and Walsh, and Patty said ‘Walsh control your head… slow your brain’.

“Walshy said what he said to the ref - I mean Patty, the ref was behind him.”

Asked to clarify, he said: “I didn’t mean that. I just get nervous ... I get intimidated by speaking to you guys because I think I’m in the wrong.

“I reached out (to Walsh). I just said if you need me to do anything let me know. We just spoke about how he was wronged. I knew he wasn’t talking to the ref.

“It was me who said to Walshy he wasn’t speaking to the ref. I knew he was talking to Patty because I was right there.”

The judiciary argued Carrigan and Walsh had spoken in a bid to “get their stories straight”.

“Some of Walsh’s evidence was demonstrably untrue,” the judiciary said.

“You wouldn’t give great weight to Carrigan’s evidence of where Walsh was looking.

“All players have spoken about their evidence before speaking it tonight.

“Give weight to the video evidence here tonight and give greatest weight to your own common sense.”

The defence argued: “None of the NRL’s case is based on what the referee said…. the referee’s report is first port of call. Not once did the NRL’s address refer you to the referee’s report.”

Originally published as Reece Walsh suspended, found guilty of abusing referee after marathon NRL judiciary hearing