NRL 2023: Wayne Bennett says Reece Walsh deserved ban for referee abuse

While Reece Walsh is adamant he was swearing at a teammate and not the referee, Wayne Bennett isn’t buying it — and the Dolphins coach has weighed in on the Bronco’s ban.

Reece Walsh has been banned for three matches. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Dolphins super coach Wayne Bennett says Reece Walsh deserved his three-match ban for abusing an NRL referee and claims the jury is out on whether the Broncos young gun will learn his lesson.

Walsh will miss Saturday night’s historic Dolphins-Broncos derby at the Gabba after being found guilty by the NRL judiciary of contrary conduct for swearing at referee Chris Butler in last Sunday’s loss to the Titans.

Walsh is adamant he was swearing at teammate Pat Carrigan — not Butler — but Bennett isn’t buying it and says the NRL judiciary panel made the right call by suspending the Queensland Origin star.

Asked if Walsh’s treatment and suspension was fair, Bennett said: “Absolutely. The referee has got to be protected and the game does them a great disservice when we don’t.

“To the game’s credit they have always stood up for referees whether I’ve been a coach or player. So they should.”

Wayne Bennett says Reece Walsh deserved his three-match ban for abusing an NRL referee. Picture: Getty Images

Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds is adamant Walsh will learn his lesson, but Bennett says the 20-year-old excitement machine has a lot to prove.

“Sometimes people learn and sometimes they never learn,” Bennett said.

“That’s to be seen what he learns out of it.”

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has warned the code’s top stars the governing body has zero tolerance for referee abuse in the wake of the Walsh saga.

Abdo is confident the code’s 500-plus NRL stars are respectful towards referees but he warned League Central will continue to throw the book at any player who attacks a match official.

“The Reece Walsh matter has been dealt with,” he said.

“Look, our referees are human beings and they will make mistakes, but like the athletes they are operating in a high-performance environment.

“There will always be mistakes, that is the case in professional sport the world over, but they need to be respected by everyone at the elite level which sets the example for the grassroots.

“We won’t tolerate disrespect towards anyone in our game.

“But we also will not tolerate any disrespect to match officials, who do a great job, an important job and a difficult job.

“The standard of refereeing keeps getting better. The referees overall have had a good season.”

Reece Walsh blows up against the Titans. Picture: NRL Imagery

Broncos coach Kevin Walters is confident the Queensland Origin star will return from suspension a better player and person and says Brisbane will help mentor Walsh.

“We have spoken,” Walters said.

“It’s all done and dusted now.

“He’s good. It’s been handled the right way and Reece has owned up to his misdemeanours and we are getting on with life.

“It (arguing with referees) is not a huge problem for Reece.

“He is very passionate about his game and we’ve dealt with it. We will deal with it in house and get some support around Reece.

“He’s got some time on the sidelines which we accept and we will get on with things.”