Reece Walsh, the boy wonder with the world at his feet and a dislike for authority
He plays footy with rock star swagger, boasts the striking good looks of a boy band member, yet already, Reece Walsh has fans asking one question. Inside the rise of the polarising NRL star.
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A Brisbane Broncos official was leaving Suncorp Stadium recently when he was caught in a traffic jam at the exit to the underground car park. The delay was caused by a car up ahead, which had been cornered by a group of teenage girls clamouring for a photo or an autograph with the driver.
At the wheel was Brisbane fullback Reece Walsh, the suspended star who has quickly become the focus of unrivalled attention in the NRL. He plays footy with rock star swagger, boasts the striking good looks of a boy band member, yet in the space of barely 50-games has fans asking one question?
Is Reece Walsh the NRL’s poster boy and game’s most marketable athlete or is he a spoiled brat? Still just 20-years-old, the father of a young daughter runs like the wind, wears diamond studs in his ears and has a penchant for finding trouble on and off the field.
Walsh has such mass-appeal that he could boast his own brand of cologne or clothing line. Equally, there are many who wouldn’t be surprised to see his career go off the rails and flame out, with Broncos hierarchy under pressure to show leadership by reigning in the fullback who wears sunglasses-after-dark.
Walsh has the world at his feet but he may be his own worst enemy, his unquestionable talent only matched by his ability to test the patience of authority.
As Taylor Swift mania grips this country, Walsh may be the closest thing rugby league has to a showstopper.
He has thousands of adoring fans – the only player who comes close to his social media following is the man whose Queensland jersey he took, Kalyn Ponga.
He leaves some of the game’s most-hyped players in the shade, the likes of Nicho Hynes, Shaun Johnson, James Tedesco and Nathan Cleary. Walsh has more than 320,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 200,000 followers on TikTok.
Adoring young rugby league fans connect with him – and quite possibly, his anarchy. The Broncos crowds are flying this year and Brisbane officials concede it is in part due to the number of teenage girls and mums who are flooding through the gates.
The vast majority are there to see Walsh, who has been dubbed ‘Reece Bieber’ by some of his Queensland teammates – a reference to pop star Justin Bieber – after seeing him constantly mobbed by fans before his Origin debut in game one.
“Young kids like him because he is exciting,” said former Warriors coach Nathan Brown, who handed Walsh his first grade debut in 2021.
“You speak to a lot of young kids and they might not be Broncos fans, but they are Reece Walsh fans. My son is a Reece Walsh fan – he is not a Broncos fan, he is a Reece Walsh fan.
“That is how young kids are these days – they don’t necessarily follow a team, they follow players. Reece has a lot of young kids who find the way he plays exciting.”
Yet as quickly as he has won the affection of rugby league’s emerging fans, Walsh has also developed an ability to test the patience of those in authority, most notably after being caught with a bag of cocaine in 2021.
Then last Tuesday night, he was suspended for three matches – including the final game of the State of Origin series – when he was found to have abused referee Chris Butler with a foul-mouthed spray.
Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy labelled the comments “unacceptable”, while vowing to surround the young star with life mentors.
Those close to Walsh suggest the Broncos should‘ve acted earlier. Particularly after The Saturday Telegraph learned that Walsh’s “F …” and C …” expletive directed at Butler isn’t entirely new for the young talent.
Teammates from Queensland Cup side the Norths Devils, where Walsh played two games including a trial match, tell a story of how the rising star first showed signs of his brash behaviour – and why today‘s issues arc back to the failure of nobody reining him in, back then.
In 2021, Walsh was playing a trial match for the Devils. With 15-minutes remaining in the game, the referee blew a penalty against the Devils. Little 18-year-old Reece Walsh reacted with his mouth.
“Are you serious, it‘s just a (expletive) trial game,’’ Walsh yelled at the referee.
The referee stopped the game, called Walsh and told the headgear-wearing fullback to zip it. The Devils leadership group had every intention of helping Walsh mature with respect for match officials, however, he was gone after two matches, signed by the Warriors in April, 2021.
Walsh has no shortage of supporters in his corner, including Broncos captain Adam Reynolds and club legend Gordon Tallis. He is the sort of young man that people want to help because they can see the potential, not just as a rugby league player but as a person and parent.
When Walsh was placed on a good behaviour bond and fined $400 – with no conviction recorded – for being found in possession of cocaine in September, 2021, Tallis took on a mentoring role for the Gold Coast-born footballer.
The Broncos legend and respected Fox League commentator said he was happy to provide Walsh with a voice of experience.
“Just like the Bulldogs first rang me to talk to Sonny Bill Williams when he burst onto the scene. Not many players have everything from the start,‘’ Tallis said.
“I think Reece can have everything, but it‘s realising who you are and your standing in the game.
“He‘s 20. It’s about listening and learning. Most humans learn from their mistakes. Life’s like a pencil with a little bit of rubber at the end to rub out your mistakes, so long as you don’t wear the pencil out first by not learning from your mistakes.
“I think he‘s an intelligent guy. He’s smart enough to get it. Sometimes it takes hearing it from a different voice that makes a difference.’’
Those who have played a role in Walsh‘s journey to the NRL have sat back for some time with concern that the Broncos lack the leadership to pull him into line.
There appears to be a delicate balancing act as to how Walsh‘s superiors handle him.
Another example is what came of Walsh‘s comments that followed Queensland’s upset win in Origin I in Adelaide.
Walsh made his debut at fullback in Adelaide and was a standout as the Maroons won the game 26-18.
Walsh was the target for the Blues ahead of the first clash with many calling for the NSW players to “bash” the youngster. However, Walsh proved he belonged in the arena after a stellar performance under the highball.
Although it was Walsh‘s post-match comments that raised the eyebrows of Maroons coach Billy Slater, according to team staff member and Queensland legend Cameron Smith.
“They were always going to come (for me),” Walsh said after Game I in Adelaide.
“They always think they are better than everyone down there in Blue. They think they own the game.”
In the wake of the comments, Smith told SEN radio: “Yeah, I think he got a little bit of feedback from that and he has learnt from that. He won’t make that mistake again.”
However, some of Walsh‘s supporters have also questioned why he wasn’t chastised again by the leaders of the Queensland Origin team after he was sent-off in game two for headbutting NSW five-eighth Jarome Luai.
An example of the ‘softly softly’ touch they say, sits on the Broncos official Instagram page. The Broncos social media channel posted four photos of Walsh to their 394,000 followers on the morning after the Maroons sealed this year’s State of Origin series 10-days ago.
Seemingly championing their star, two of the photos that the Broncos social team posted are of the moment Walsh is being sent-off in the biggest game of the year.
“He got sent-off in an Origin game and what did the Broncos do?,” one of Walsh’s former coaches said.
“They posted a photo of Walsh pointing to his chest as he got sent-off in an Origin game. What‘s Reece going to think when he sees that?
“Oh well, my club thinks it’s great.’’
To truly know Reece Walsh, you need to understand his background. Walsh didn’t have it easy, something he detailed in an interview with this masthead two years ago.
Walsh spoke about his mother and how she drifted in and out of his life due to a drug addiction that would eventually prompt him to sever ties with her altogether.
“She would float in and try and act like she would be there for me for a bit, then she would go off and do her own things and I wouldn’t see her for ages,” Walsh said at the time.
“Then she would come back into my life. I wouldn’t say I have given up on her, but for a long time I would think where is she? When is she going to come and see me again?”
Walsh was brought up by his father Rodney and his stepmum Jodie, became a star with Nerang and found his way into the Broncos system. He became a father at the age of 18 – he and partner Freda Puru named their daughter Leila Arohamauroa.
Leila has been a constant companion for Walsh at games and on social media.
“I love being a dad, it’s the best feeling,’ he said in a TV NZ interview.
“At first, I was a bit scared, but becoming a father is the best thing I have done. I want to grow up and have Leila look at her dad and say, ‘I’m proud’.
“I want to give her as much as I can. More than I had when I was younger, and I’m grateful that I’m in a fortunate position where I can do that.”
His desire to ensure she had a better life and his impatience for success led him to leave the Broncos as a teenager and chase an opportunity at the Warriors.
“Reece is a good young kid – he has been well raised, has good manners,” Brown said.
“He shakes peoples hands, he says please and thank you. But at the end of the day he is a young kid who is a good-looking rooster, is a generational talent, and he is a cocky little fella.
“You put it all together and he is going to make the odd mistake. It certainly doesn’t make him a bad kid. He is going to graze his knees a few times and as he does the odd thing wrong, he will mature.
“The difference is that he will make his mistakes in the public eye where most young kids aren’t in the public eye. Really good people have an off day – that’s life. Really good people make the odd mistake.
“I suppose it is part of what makes him good. Over time he will work things out himself. If Reece comes up with a mistake, it doesn’t phase him one bit. He just thinks I will do something great next time. That’s part of what makes him good. He backs himself on the field, doesn’t he?”
At the Warriors, he found a path to first grade and when he made it clear he wanted to head home to be closer to his young daughter, he had the Broncos and Dolphins banging down his door.
The Broncos won the day – the Warriors insisted he could not join the Dolphins – and he quickly established himself as their No.1.
In footballing terms, Walsh hasn’t looked back. He capped his rise with selection in the Queensland side under another former fullback Billy Slater. He handled his promotion to Origin like he has most things in his career – in his stride.
He is now licking his wounds after a suspension and his ability to control his emotions will ultimately dictate how high he climbs.
He has the ability to be the best player in the game and in the process unlock a new audience for the sport. He could just as easily throw it all away.
Walsh will have the final say and you can guarantee one thing – it won’t be boring.
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