NRL 2022: Reece Walsh signs three-year contract with Brisbane Broncos from 2023
It’s official, Reece Walsh will return to Red Hill in 2023 after securing a release from the Warriors to rejoin the Broncos.
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The Broncos have confirmed Warriors whiz kid Reece Walsh will join Brisbane on a three-year deal from 2023.
Walsh has been formally released from his contract with the Warriors to return to Red Hill next year until at least the end of 2025.
The Broncos confirmed Walsh’s signing on Thursday afternoon, just days after News Corp revealed the rising star was set to quit the Warriors and return to Brisbane.
Walsh, 19, was first signed by the Broncos as a 13-year-old and spent five years in Brisbane’s development system before being poached by the Warriors last year.
But he will return to his first club after being released by New Zealand on compassionate grounds and add a crucial new dimension to coach Kevin Walters’ Broncos team.
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“Reece’s return is great news for everyone at the Broncos and for all our supporters and members - we’ll get him back home next year,” Walters said.
“He’s a terrific young footballer and someone who has always belonged in Brisbane so it’s fantastic that he is coming back to where he belongs.
“Reece came through the Broncos system from a young age and the club has always considered him to be one of our most promising talents.
“He returns to us with some great NRL experience under his belt and rejoins the club at a time when we are forging something special.
“A number of other emerging players who’ve come through the Broncos system have also committed long-term to the club in recent times and it’s great that Reece has chosen to do the same.”
Walsh now joins a host of other young products of the Broncos’ elite pathways to commit long-term to the club including Selwyn Cobbo, Ezra Mam, TC Robati, Cory Paix, Kobe Hetherington, Jordan Riki, Xavier Willison, Deine Mariner and Blake Mozer.
The Broncos are in need of a gun fullback option and Walsh has the potential to be a superstar in the Brisbane No. 1 jersey.
In 30 appearances for the Warriors he has racked up 10 tries, 19 try assists and 21 line breaks while averaging 129 running metres and 125 kicking metres per game. He’s also slotted 58 goals at 76 per cent accuracy.
Walsh was on the cusp of making his State of Origin debut for Queensland last year, only to suffer a hamstring injury on the eve of Game Two.
He was part of Queensland’s extended squad for Game Two of this year’s series, but will miss the decider preparations after contracting Covid.
BRONCOS ‘MASSIVE’ WALSH COUP PUTS RIVALS ON ALERT
Maroons skipper Daly Cherry-Evans says Reece Walsh has the hunger to be the best player in the NRL and believes the Brisbane-bound fullback will turn the Broncos into a genuine premiership force.
The Broncos have struggled to find a consistent fullback since the retirement of Darius Boyd, with the club having road-tested the likes of Jamayne Isaako, Tesi Niu, Herbie Farnworth, Selwyn Cobbo and Te Maire Martin.
But in the dynamic Walsh, one of the finest products of the Broncos Academy, Brisbane believe they possess a 10 to 15-year fullback who can develop a lethal playmaking strike force with scrumbase duo Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam.
Cherry-Evans has worked with Walsh during Queensland’s past two Origin series and declared the confident custodian — once labelled Brisbane’s version of Billy Slater — can help turn the Broncos into a title juggernaut.
“It’s a massive signing for them,” Cherry-Evans said.
“I’ve been lucky enough to do a few Origin camps with Reece and watching him in the NRL, he is electric, he is one of the most promising fullbacks in our game.
“It’s a great signing for the Broncos — he is only going to make the Broncos better.
“Te Maire Martin has been doing a fantastic job this year but I can see why the Broncos are chasing the upside in Reece. He has all the potential to be one of the best fullbacks in the game for a long time and make the Broncos a serious contender.
“People see the flashy stuff with Reece but having worked with him in Queensland camp, he is a guy who really wants to learn.
“He is not content to be an average NRL player. He strikes me as someone who wants to be the best and when you have that hunger to be better, that’s really important to succeed in the NRL for a long time.”
Broncos Origin lock Pat Carrigan once lived with Walsh and is relishing the sight of the former Australian Schoolboy igniting Brisbane’s backline next season.
“I’m stoked, it’s a huge coup for us,” Carrigan said.
“Reece and I have a pretty good relationship. He used to be my roommate, so we are really close. I can’t wait to have him back here.
“He is a Bronco kid at heart. We are building something special at the club and having Reece back will add another dimension to the Broncos.
“In this competition, you need a really good spine and Reece will bring some strikepower. He is a future superstar, he is an Origin star in the making and he is already a face of the game at 19 years of age.
“With Reece on board, we can be a premiership contender, 100 per cent. I love how competitive he is. He always wants to win and if the club keeps building our spine, the next few years will be very promising.”
Walsh approached the Warriors six weeks ago about the change of his relationship status. The fact his young daughter would remain in Brisbane with his former partner triggered his reluctance to live in New Zealand.
Warriors boss Cameron George confirmed the club granted permission for Walsh to negotiate solely with the Broncos. George hadn’t ruled out signing another Broncos player as part of a virtual straight-swap transfer deal.
“Reece was only given permission to negotiate with Brisbane,” George said.
“We didn’t want to turn this into a position where he was looking at clubs outside that region (Brisbane) where his family was. We didn’t want to turn it into a bidding war.
“Second to that, we are in discussions with the Broncos about potentially other players they have got that we could look at.
“We’ll have some discussions over the next period of time.”
EIGHT BRONCOS FACE AXE IN $1M WALSH OVERHAUL
Reece Walsh is officially a Bronco with Brisbane having freed up more than $1 million in the salary cap to bring the Warriors whiz-kid home to Queensland.
News Corp can reveal Walsh has inked a deal with the Broncos in a bombshell development that will see the 19-year-old reject a massive $2.8 million offer from Brisbane’s expansion rivals the Dolphins to return to Red Hill next season.
It is understood Walsh has agreed terms on a three-year deal until the end of 2025.
Warriors CEO Cameron George confirmed he’s granted Walsh an early release on compassionate grounds in the coming days _ clearing the path for one of the code’s hottest prospects to reunite with the Broncos from 2023. Brisbane bosses were left devastated when Walsh – a Broncos Academy prodigy – sensationally quit the club in March 2021 to sign a three-year, $1.3 million deal with the Warriors.
Warriors head of football Craig Hodges confirmed Walsh will return to the Broncos for family reasons.
“Reece came to us about a month ago and said he couldn’t commit to coming back to New Zealand,” Hodges said.
“Reece has had a relationship breakdown and he has a young daughter and he said he simply couldn’t be away from her in another country.
“We totally understood that so we said what do you want to do and he said, ‘I would like to go to the Broncos’.
“On that basis, we said OK you can negotiate only with the Broncos, we didn’t want to turn it into a circus with Reece talking with all sorts of clubs and ending up going to a Sydney team.
“We wish him all the best. He is a great young kid who is putting his family first.”
George noted the situation relating to Walsh’s family situation was key in granting the release.
“There has been a major change in Reece’s personal circumstances in the past two months which have impacted on his ability to move to Auckland with the club next season,” George said.
“We’re working through his situation and have given him permission, with some conditions, to look at options in Brisbane. It’s not the way either Reece or the club had wanted this to play out but we respect the issues he has.”
The Warriors also confirmed Nicoll-Klokstad is returning on a three year deal from next season.
“He brings undoubted qualities as one of the best fullbacks in the game as well as so much off the field as a wonderful young man,” George said. “He’s so excited about coming back to the Warriors, being home and being closer to his family.”
While questions have been raised as to how the Broncos can afford the fullback sensation, Brisbane chiefs have shrewdly crunched the numbers to make the transfer happen.
It can be revealed the Broncos will sever ties with as many as six top-liners to fund the purchase of Walsh, whose Brisbane contract will not be as expensive as widely anticipated.
Veteran Broncos duo Ryan James ($180,000) and David Mead ($120,000) are set to retire at season’s end, instantly freeing up $300,000.
Off-contract hooker Jake Turpin, on $300,000 this season, has been granted a release to leave, while Brenko Lee ($200,000) and Rhys Kennedy ($150,000) will link with the Dolphins and Hull KR respectively next season.
Kiwi Test winger Jamayne Isaako was released to the Titans two months ago, clearing another $200,000 under the salary cap, while Te Maire Martin ($60,000), Albert Kelly ($80,000) and Corey Oates ($500,000) remain off-contract.
The Dolphins were prepared to offer Walsh a four-year deal worth $700,000 annually, but the teenager has only been given permission to negotiate with the Broncos as part of his release request.
That shuts the door on the Dolphins, representing a gut-wrenching blow for the NRL’s 17th franchise, who were privately confident of sneaking under Brisbane’s guard for the Queensland Origin squad member.
Instead, it’s the Broncos who have pulled off a Walsh ambush.
Walsh’s Broncos deal will not break the bank. It will not greatly exceed the value of his existing Warriors contract, which is worth around $400,000 a season.
Even with a recent upgrade for newly-minted Queensland Origin winger Selwyn Cobbo, the Broncos will not have trouble affording Walsh, whose return home is motivated more by family reasons than money.
Last year, Walsh, aged 18, celebrated the birth of his first child, a baby daughter named Leila, with partner Freda Puru.
The pair have recently separated and Walsh wishes to remain in Brisbane to be close to his daughter, triggering the request for a release from the Warriors, who returned to New Zealand last week after their two-year, Covid-enforced stay in Australia.
“While we are disappointed, we feel Reece’s reasons are genuine,” Hodges said.
“There has been talk for a while about Brisbane and the Dolphins chasing him but we have been able to sign Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad from the Raiders for the same reasons around family.
“Reece has a huge future in the game but we feel Charnze is coming to the Warriors for the right reasons, so we feel we have a handy replacement.”
In an exclusive interview with News Corp last year, Walsh said he had hoped to make his NRL debut at Brisbane.
“I never thought I would leave the Broncos,” he said.
“It was a dream of mine to play NRL for Brisbane. I remember when I was seven years old, I would run around with a Broncos jersey on wishing I could play for the Broncos. That’s something I always wanted to do.”
Walsh also addressed his future last week while in Queensland Origin camp.
“I enjoyed my time at the Broncos,” he said.
“I came through there and I was only in the NRL system for a couple of months. I made a lot of good friendships there and I’m in camp now with (Broncos trio) Corey Oates, Tom Flegler and Pat Carrigan.
“I have a lot of good mates there and I’m happy the Broncos are going well.
“Right now, I am focused on the Warriors … they have been good to me.”
Walsh’s arrival at the Broncos next season will create some ripples with their current roster.
Centre Herbie Farnworth recently signed a one-year extension with Brisbane, telling coach Kevin Walters he wants to have a crack at playing fullback next season.
The Broncos offered Farnworth a three-year upgrade, but the British young gun requested a 12-month deal instead, giving him contractual freedom depending on his success or failure in a planned transition to the backfield.
The rejuvenated Martin has been a surprise success story at fullback this season, but even if he is retained, it will only be on an affordable deal as a back-up option to Walsh.
Then there’s Cobbo.
Rated Brisbane’s version of Latrell Mitchell, Cobbo is currently playing on the right wing but the 20-year-old has a longer-term goal to eventually wear the Broncos No.1 jumper.
The Broncos are aware of Cobbo’s ambitions. For that reason, they do not see Walsh exclusively as a fullback, with the Broncos having discussed moving him to five-eighth to form a lengthy scrumbase strike force with boom playmaker Ezra Mam.
Mam will play five-eighth this Sunday against the Dragons but is equally adept at halfback and is viewed as a possible successor to skipper Adam Reynolds in the No.7 jumper.
Brisbane’s most-capped player, Darren Lockyer, started his career at fullback before moving to five-eighth and the Broncos believe Walsh can embark on a similar trajectory as he develops his game management.
For now, the one certainty is ‘Reece Lightning’ is coming to Red Hill … and the Broncos have enough bucks to make it happen.
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Originally published as NRL 2022: Reece Walsh signs three-year contract with Brisbane Broncos from 2023
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