Sad Reece Walsh footage emerges as NRL legends rally around struggling Queensland star

Reece Walsh is in the midst of a form slump and sad footage of the Broncos star post-game has shed light on just how much his rough patch is affecting him.

Footage of Reece Walsh in the dressing rooms following Brisbane’s 26-16 win over the Cowboys on Friday night showed just how big of an impact his current form slump is having on the Broncos star.

Walsh appeared devoid of any confidence against the Cowboys after having one of the worst games of his young career the week prior in Brisbane’s shock loss to Canberra.

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Against North Queensland, the fullback finished with five errors and threw several needless passes to the wingers as he struggled to insert himself into the game, forcing the issue on numerous occasions.

So while his teammates celebrated the win by belting out the team song, Walsh cut a forlorn figure in the Brisbane sheds.

As his Broncos teammates were loud and proud singing, Walsh stood with his arms crossed, hardly in the mood to celebrate after another underwhelming performance, as Patrick Carrigan put his arm around his dejected teammate.

But while the fullback is clearly having a bout of the jitters and may be doubting his own ability, his teammates continue to back him in and believe it is only a matter of time until he is firing on all cylinders again.

“People will probably beat up on Reece for a few things, but he had some impressive moments (against the Cowboys), a 40-20, he set up a try and I thought his defence was excellent,’’ his teammate Ben Hunt said.

 “That’s one of the best things about Reece. If he makes an error, he doesn’t take it with him. He is back out there trying to play again and playing his footy so we will just encourage him to do that.’’

Reece Walsh looked distraught after the Broncos' win. Image: Getty/Brisbane Broncos

Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds added: “It will turn, I thought he was good, I thought he ran the ball strong into the line. He organised the D (defence). He scrambled across in the corner to save tries. We sort of sit there and nitpick at the little mistakes that he makes but there’s a lot of great things that he’s doing as well so he’ll keep working hard and no doubt he’ll come out of this.’’

Coach Michael Maguire was equally upbeat about Walsh.

“I’ve had players that are like Reece and they go through little periods in their careers and that actually helps define who you are and that makes you a better player,” Maguire said.

“Someone else is going to go through that at some stage within the team and that’s the character of the team that we want to build is that we look after each other.

“He’ll be right. We had a solid defensive line there and that comes from what Reece does out the back.

“There’s 50-50 with the game both defence and attack and I thought Reece was excellent defensively and the other side of the game will come.

“You can see him rallying the boys around and you don’t defend the way we did if you don’t have a full back rallying his troops around so I was pleased with that.”

Reece Walsh made five errors against the Cowboys on Friday night. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Walsh’s former coach Kevin Walters feels people need to lay off the 22-year-old and hypothesised that the competition with Knights superstar Kalyn Ponga for the Maroons fullback spot may be impacting his performances and overall confidence.

 “He has all these tricks and we are just scratching the surface with him,” Walters said on Fox Sports about Walsh’s game.

“ … Ponga is probably putting pressure on him as well. Just because he is playing so well.

“Origin is only around the corner … Walsh wants to be the best player in the game. And he has all the skills to do that, but it needs to be slow. But he loves the game. It’s good to see him playing with Ben Hunt and Reyno.”

Queensland State of Origin coach Billy Slater also echoed a similar sentiment.

“When you create so many opportunities and you’re one of those players that make good things happen there’s an expectation that it always has to happen off you,” Slater said on Channel 9.

“And that can sometimes creep into your mindset as well. He will grow and be more consistent over time.’’

Originally published as Sad Reece Walsh footage emerges as NRL legends rally around struggling Queensland star