Reece Walsh set for four to six weeks out with knee injury, all but out of contention for State or Origin

Injured Reece Walsh is expected to be rubbed out of contention for the first State of Origin match - and his absence from the Broncos will only compound Michael Maguire’s spine concerns.

Coach Michael Maguire has turned up the heat on veteran playmakers Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt as the Broncos faltering attack faces up to six weeks without linchpin Reece Walsh.

Walsh has a posterior cruciate ligament injury expected to sideline him for between four to six weeks, meaning Selwyn Cobbo is likely to move from wing to fullback for Thursday’s epic Suncorp Stadium showdown against the unbeaten Bulldogs.

Walsh’s injury may have dominated the fallout of the Broncos loss to the Warriors in Auckland on Saturday but of potentially greater significance was Maguire’s confession he is still unsure of what his best spine is.

The Broncos have lost their past two games against the Roosters and Warriors after being outmuscled and out hustled and their malfunctioning attack faces a massive challenge against a Bulldogs team which has not conceded a point in its last two games.

Hunt, so buoyant in the opening rounds of the season, had a poor night against the Warriors and was even switched to hooker with Billy Walters moved to the halves as Brisbane searched for missing spark.

Reece Walsh suffered a PCL injury against the Warriors. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Asked whether he was still mulling over what his best spine was, Maguire said “Yeah I still am ... I am still learning about the players.’’

“We went through a bit of pressure when things weren’t going our way and I wanted a bit of a change there. Hunty came into dummy half and Billy moved into six.

“There was a lot of fatigue in the game and I just felt a subtle change could put us back into the game, so it was nice to see how the boys adapted to that.’’

Brisbane’s completion rate, so poor in their two recent losses, needs to improve urgently if they are to beat a Bulldogs team who, on average, have conceded, less than 10 points per game this year.

Immortal Andrew Johns said on Channel 9 the Broncos were struggling to perform in high intensity games.

“Gee they’re poor the Broncos - in the really ugly games and the real high pressure games this year they just haven’t performed,’’ Johns said.

“Canberra bustled them out of the game. The Roosters bustled them out of the game. This was another ugly night and they could not get over the line in that arm wrestle.’’

Leading Brisbane physiotherapist Brien Seeney, who runs the popular NRL Physio social-media account, said Walsh faced an uphill battle to play in Origin I at Suncorp Stadium on May 28.

“The good news with PCL injuries is they have relatively good healing potential and rarely require surgery,” Seeney said.

“Even with high-grade PCL injuries or complete ruptures NRL players are often back in three to six weeks.

Brisbane’s halves have struggled to click this season. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

“While it’s usually a quick return-to-play time, it’s return-to-performance that can be the challenge.

“A great recent example is Dylan Edwards - he tore his PCL last season and returned in just four weeks.

“But he appeared quite limited by that knee for at least three to four weeks after he came back.”

Bookmakers have eased the Broncos price to win the premiership out to $7.50 after being as short as $5 when they surged out of the gates in the opening rounds.

Originally published as Reece Walsh set for four to six weeks out with knee injury, all but out of contention for State or Origin