NRL 2023: Inside the unprecedented popularity of Reece Walsh and the Brisbane Broncos

From training runs that turn into autograph sessions to young girls lying under the team bus, the Broncos are in the midst of a fan frenzy reminiscent of the Beatles. WATCH THE VIDEO

Broncomania is sweeping the NRL.

It’s the NRL’s version of Beatlemania.

Look out. Reece Lightning has struck Brisvegas.

Queensland’s flagship NRL club are the kings of Brisbane once again as the Broncos sit just 80 minutes away from their first grand final appearance since 2015.

And at the heart of Broncos fever is fullback sensation Reece Walsh, the NRL’s newest rockstar with the swagger and good looks to match his dazzling on-field brilliance.

Walsh was so incessantly mobbed by fans in Brisbane during this year’s State of Origin series his Queensland teammates nicknamed him ‘Reece Bieber’ in honour of the Canadian pop star.

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The Broncos’ traditional training captain’s run has turned into an autograph session for fans. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Reece Walsh’s painted nails at Broncos training. Picture: Nigel Hallett

After Brisbane’s defeat of the Raiders in round 26, the team bus couldn’t exit GIO Stadium as adoring Broncos fans mobbed Walsh and his Broncos teammates screaming for photos and autographs.

That was in freezing Canberra on a Saturday night.

Imagine the streets of Brisbane if the Broncos continue their charge and whizkid Walsh leads the club to their first premiership in 17 years.

Brisbane fans famously stormed the city’s airport when Allan Langer and their Broncos heroes brought home the Winfield Cup for the first time in 1992.

Now, some three decades later, Broncos fans are daring to dream on the back of Adam Reynolds, Payne Haas, Ezra Mam, Pat Carrigan and 21-year-old fullback Walsh, the NRL’s social-media darling.

“The Broncos members and fans have been incredible,” Broncos coach Kevin Walters said.

“We are seeing big crowds at training and hanging around after games to show their support and that means a lot to the team.

“In Canberra after our last away game, there were hundreds of Broncos supporters waiting outside in the cold for an hour after the game until we came out and then they were cheering just as loudly as during the game when we eventually got outside.

“Some young girls were even lying under the team bus with their phones to get a photo and some autographs — it’s crazy.

“Other people had life-size cutouts of some of the players and heaps of homemade signs they had spent time making.

“We love their passion for the Broncos and you can’t help but get excited when you see how much it means to them all.”

Before Walsh’s Origin debut in May, Queensland skipper Daly Cherry-Evans said: “We’re calling him Reece Bieber. Wherever we go, the fans want a piece of ‘Walshy’ ... he’s like a pop star.”

Herbie Farnworth poses for a selfie with Paige Rowland, 11, and her brother Tate, 8, from Bridgeman Downs. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Ivy Marika, 9, with her grandad Luke Kuiha, watching the Broncos train. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

A sign of the Broncos’ porpularity. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

During Brisbane’s disastrous wooden-spoon season in 2020, not a single fan would be sighted at Red Hill during the week.

Fast forward to 2023 and Brisbane’s training sessions are rivalling the rabid support usually reserved for AFL clubs in grand final week, with hundreds flocking to Red Hill to rub shoulders with Walsh and co.

Broncos skipper Reynolds spent a decade at South Sydney but he’s never seen anything like this. He lauded the influence of Walsh on and off the field.

“Reece is a special talent,” Reynolds said.

“The boys love his energy off the field and on it, I love his free-flow style of footy.

“Reece keeps me young. He stresses me out at times on the field, I have to pull him back sometimes because he plays with so much excitement, but he is just a joyful bloke to play with.

“It’s exciting to be back in the finals.

“The town is buzzing, the town is right behind us.

“We’ve had so much support and we’d love to win a premiership for all those Broncos fans.”