Reece Walsh form analysis: Michael Maguire reveals fullback’s hidden impact on Broncos team

Reece Walsh’s form has been under intense scrutiny from critics and even himself. But coach Michael Maguire has revealed the superstar’s invaluable in-game trait strengthening the Broncos. WATCH the video

Broncos coach Michael Maguire has slammed suggestions Reece Walsh is mired in a form crisis ahead of Friday night’s Battle of Brisbane blockbuster against the Dolphins.

Walsh is under pressure to hit back after two error-riddled displays against Canberra and the Cowboys as he prepares for a sizzling fullback battle with Dolphins ace Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow at Suncorp Stadium.

Indeed, Walsh is not the only superstar feeling the heat, with his Queensland Origin teammate the ‘Hammer’ hellbent on igniting the Dolphins after a winless start to the season.

WATCH REECE WALSH’S START TO THE SEASON IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE

Walsh has made nine errors alone in the past fortnight, including five in Brisbane’s 26-16 derby defeat of the Cowboys, but Maguire backed ‘Reece Lightning’ to deliver in his Origin showdown with the Hammer.

Maguire said critics of Brisbane’s $5 million man have failed to analyse Walsh’s development, with the coach claiming the Broncos custodian has improved his line organisation and defensive application.

Broncos coach Michael Maguire has slammed suggestions Reece Walsh is stuck in a form slump. Picture: NRL Imagery

“Reece is not going badly at all,” Maguire said ahead of the round four Dolphins derby.

“He did a lot of good things in that (Cowboys) game but people don’t recognise it because it’s not the flashy parts of the game.

“I can show you vision where he raced across the field in the first set.

“The Cowboys went down our right edge on the first set and Walsh ran across, made a tackle in the corner, then gets up and gets moving again.

“If you watch the ‘Eagle’ Cam (whole-of-field) vision the coaches watch, you will appreciate what Reece is doing and how he is improving.

“In one early set, Reece put his body on the line against (Cowboys prop) Jordan McLean, a much bigger man, and I said, ‘Good, Reece is on today’.”

Reece Walsh's defensive efforts showed he was on song against the Cowboys

Maguire has privately spoken to Walsh about building pressure and not feeling a burden to deliver a money play on every play.

“Just because he isn’t scoring the tries and coming up with the big plays, people have been hard on him,” he said.

“Every now and then, he will make an error because of the nature of what he has to do as a playmaker in the spine, but I’m seeing a lot of good stuff there.

“Teams are trying to learn how to defend against Reece and what he is capable of doing.

“They are jamming up on him so he just has to adjust his game.

“He will be fine. If he keeps his focus on what we are doing when he doesn’t have the ball, I’m a happy coach.”

McGuire says exclusive ‘Eagle’ Cam (whole-of-field) vision reveals just how much work Walsh does. Picture: David Clark

Like Walsh, Tabuai-Fidow has yet to find his straps in attack.

Arguably the NRL’s quickest man, the Dolphins speed demon has yet to make a line break in 240 minutes of action and made just 61 metres from seven runs in last week’s 30-18 loss to the Tigers.

Tabuai-Fidow will relish the challenge of outpointing Walsh and Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf challenged his side to give the Hammer the latitude to run riot.

“It’s our responsibility as a team and a coaching staff, we have to find more ball for Hammer and more good ball,” Woolf said.

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow has been well held so far this season

“He is certainly looking for the footy, there’s no doubt there, but our responsibility is to find some opportunities for him and to find him in some good positions when he gets the ball.

“We’ve worked hard on that this week at training and hopefully that (giving Tabuai-Fidow space to attack) will start to filter into games.”

Broncos legend Corey Parker, who once coached both Walsh and Tabuai-Fidow in the Queensland under-18s, urged the Brisbane No.1 to play with patience.

“Reece needs to slow his brain down a bit with ball in hand,” he said.

“He is rushing things too much, that’s evident, but that will come with time. He is only 22.

“From Reece’s point of view, he is the easy story anyone can write about and have an opinion about. When nothing is happening, let’s just talk about Reece and criticise him because he is a superstar.

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is also yet to hit his stride so far in 2025. Picture: NRL Imagery

“The reason we do that is because when Reece plays well and lights it up, he does what very few others can do in the NRL.

“Reece has to go back to the basics of the game.

“I was really interested to see how Reece would approach round 1 and he did it brilliantly against the Roosters.

“He didn’t look for flashy stuff. He ripped in, got the tough metres and defensively he got really involved.

“Defensively last week he was very good against the Cowboys, he made a lot of important tackles that people didn’t give him credit for.

“It’s a brilliant match-up. There is already a great history between these teams and Reece up against Hammer is a cracking showdown.”

Originally published as Reece Walsh form analysis: Michael Maguire reveals fullback’s hidden impact on Broncos team