Inside Michael Maguire, Reece Walsh’s private Broncos training session ahead of finals
Broncos fullback Reece Walsh is on the grind, never satisfied, in pursuit of breaking Brisbane’s 19-year premiership drought. Day to day, very few see him, but this is the real Reece Walsh.
This is an insight into the unbreakable mind of an NRL superstar.
Amid the brickbats and daily, vitriolic social-media abuse that could crush many professional sporting souls, Broncos fullback Reece Walsh is on the grind, never satisfied, in pursuit of breaking Brisbane’s 19-year premiership drought.
Walsh has claims to being the most polarising figure in Australian sport. For all his 541,000 followers on Instagram, Walsh has scores of invisible haters. They lambaste his mistakes, criticise his every move and question if Brisbane’s $5 million man is too pretty to get down and dirty in the hunt for a seventh Broncos premiership.
After his masterclass against the Dolphins last week, Walsh walked over to the awaiting media pack in the Broncos dressing room.
His fingernails and toenails were covered in shimmering dark red nail polish.
It’s hard to imagine another Broncos one-time fullback whiz-kid, Darren Lockyer, rocking the same look, but it is tangible evidence Walsh is content to walk to the beat of his own drum.
What Lockyer and Walsh do share is an insatiable desire to be the best.
The evidence? Walsh’s one-on-one session with Broncos coach Michael Maguire at training in the lead-up to Sunday’s clash against the Knights.
Day to day, very few see the real Walsh. Maguire does. He has coached for two decades in all sorts of guises, across the northern and southern hemispheres, at club, Test and Origin level.
Maguire knows a football fraud when he sees one. Then he sees Walsh. The footy nerd. Dissecting, planning, tweaking, refining and, if necessary, cajoling, almost abusing, his Broncos teammates to turn a collective mirage into a Red Hill reality: bringing the NRL trophy back to Brisbane.
“Reece Walsh works harder than anyone,” Maguire says.
“Just the other day, I had 45 minutes at training on the paddock with him and it was friggin’ unreal.
“We were working on plays.
“I was out there with him, tinkering around, having a look at his game. He loves watching video and suggesting things we can do in games.
“Everyone at this level works hard, but some guys really want it and Reece wants it.
“’Reecey’ would be happy to talk footy for hours on end. That’s the type of player you want in your club.
“It’s bloody brilliant.”
Scarily for NRL rivals, Walsh appears to be hitting top gear at the right time. His wizardry against the Dolphins last week, amassing 170 metres and 10 tackle busts and blasting the 40-20 kick that turned the Battle of Brisbane on its head, was his best game since his pop and crackle inspired Brisbane’s 2023 grand-final charge.
The past 18 months have been physically and psychologically taxing for Walsh. He’s fractured his eye socket, undergone wrist surgery and suffered the sickening concussion that saw Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii sent off in Origin I.
Off the field, he’s been derided as a self-absorbed rock star who is hard to manage. Brisbane legend Gorden Tallis said earlier this season: “Reece Walsh runs the Broncos.”
Australian cricket legend Shane Warne had a remarkable capacity to compartmentalise any off-field abuse, scandal or melodrama and steel the mind to be a matchwinner on the field.
Walsh has the same ability. Blunders are buried in a millisecond. Maguire disputes any suggestion he gives Walsh preferential treatment, but admires the full-back’s ability to separate potshots at his personality from performance.
“I do feel Reece is maturing now, in footy and in life,” he said.
“He’s grown into the man and that’s part of his progression here.
“I see him with kids and families. I see him after the game in the sheds, he’s walking around saying g’day and finding time for people and they say to me, ‘Mate, I can’t believe this is what Reece Walsh is like’.
“All the greatest players I have coached, they go through stages where people have a crack at them, but Reece is true to himself.”
Walsh is not afraid of home truths. After Brisbane’s shock loss to the Eels last month, Walsh was accused of being a ball hog who overplayed his hand and meddled while halves Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam tried to call the shots.
Since that defeat, Walsh has produced his best month of football in two years. Suggestions Brisbane are a better team without him are nonsense. When Walsh plays, Brisbane wins 65 per cent of games. When he’s out, the Broncos’ success rate plummets to 43pc.
With his high-octane style, Walsh will always flirt with producing a shocker, but Maguire won’t be trying to put ‘Reece Lightning’ in a bottle. He says Walsh, at age 23, has only scratched the surface of his talent.
“Sometimes Reece wears that emotion on his sleeve, but his consistency will come with experience,” he said.
“Last week was one of his more composed games. He was able to show himself in the way he’s capable of and handling those big moments comes with experience.
“The great thing is Reece is always chasing perfection … that’s why he’s so competitive.”
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