Brisbane Broncos 2023 news: Reece Walsh to make club NRL debut against Cowboys
Watch out Cowboys — a storm is brewing. ‘Reece Lightning’ is at the centre of the Broncos’ plans to maintain their unbeaten NRL record. Adam Reynolds reveals how the star fullback will fit in.
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Reece Walsh has set his sights on a Queensland Origin jumper as Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds outlined his plan to unleash Brisbane’s star recruit in Friday night’s derby blockbuster against the Cowboys.
Sidelined for the season-opener against Penrith after suffering a fractured cheekbone, Walsh ran strongly at Brisbane’s captain run on Thursday, earning the green light from doctors to make his much-vaunted Broncos debut at Suncorp Stadium.
‘Reece Lightning’ is Brisbane’s marquee $1.3 million import and coach Kevin Walters is banking on the former Broncos Academy whizkid to ignite their playmaking spine with his speed, vision and attacking brilliance.
Walsh will wage a cracking fullback duel with Cowboys magician Scott Drinkwater and while Walters is tempering the hype around the 20-year-old, the Origin hopeful is a key plank in Brisbane’s premiership assault this season.
“Reece has been waiting for this game for a long time. It’s his first (premiership) game in a Broncos jersey,” Walters said.
“We’re about to find out how he handles it (the derby occasion before 40,000 fans at Suncorp), but I think it will be a positive.
“Reece has been good all week (with his injury) and he is right to go which is big in for us.
“We don’t need Reece to be the best player on the field, we want him to be Reece Walsh the organising fullback.
“Selwyn (Cobbo) did a terrific job last week organising our defence and Walshy loves a chat as well at the back.
“We want him to be strong with his running game and also with his organisation in defence, that’s a big one for us.”
Walsh was electric in his only pre-season trial against the Titans and halfback Reynolds said Brisbane will implement game plans to give their classy fullback room to attack — starting against the Cowboys.
“I think we can come up with some plays to get Reece some space,” Reynolds said.
“Playing against Reece last year, I know the quality he brings to a football team.
“I was pretty excited when we announced the signing of Reece. I was thinking forward to how we get the best out of him and how I create space for him.
“We know what an X-factor he is in open space, so it’s important we get quality ball to Reece.”
Since his arrival at the Broncos, Walsh has been working closely with former Brisbane fullback Darius Boyd.
The 38-game NRL rookie went tantalisingly close to a dream Queensland debut two years ago, only to hurt his hamstring at the captain’s run, and Walsh believes the mentoring of Boyd can turn him into an Origin player.
“‘Darbs’ has been awesome for me,” Walsh said before his pre-season trial against the Titans last month.
“People forget he was one of the best fullbacks in the game. He mastered the art of ball-playing and I can learn so much from him.
“I was shattered to go so close to playing Origin. It was pretty tough to take at the time.
“It hurt to miss out and it was tough to handle, but it lit a fire inside me to want to get back there again and play on Suncorp Stadium in front of a packed crowd with my family’s name on my back.
“I would love to represent Queensland, my good mate Patty Carrigan did it last year, but I have to work hard first and start well for the Broncos.”
HOW KEVVIE BEAT PAYTEN IN CAPEWELL BATTLE
He won a premiership at Penrith. Now Kurt Capewell believes Brisbane have the artillery to win this year’s title and has revealed how he knocked back interest from the Cowboys in his quest to make the Broncos great again.
Capewell will be a key figure for the Broncos when the vice-captain marks up against Cowboys back-row sensation Jeremiah Nanai in Friday night’s Queensland derby blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium.
If the Cowboys had their way, Capewell and Nanai would be teammates as the master and apprentice of North Queensland’s back row.
When Capewell was off-contract at two-time premiers Penrith in 2021, North Queensland went hard for his signature, to the point where Cowboys coach Todd Payten flew south for a meeting with the Maroons utility.
Payten liked Capewell’s work ethic and no-nonsense style and believed his premiership-winning professionalism made the former Panther the perfect role model for the Cowboys’ emerging stars such as Nanai.
But Capewell has opened up about his decision to choose the Broncos over the Cowboys, saying the influence of Brisbane coach Kevin Walters was decisive in staving off North Queensland to lead the Red Hill ‘Kev-olution’.
“To be honest, I did have a meeting with the Cowboys,” Capewell said on the eve of the XXXX derby.
“I didn’t fly up there (to Townsville), but I did have a meeting with their coaches.
“I met Todd in Sydney one day.
“They wanted me to go up there for a look around and it was definitely a consideration, but once I got the call from the Broncos and I sat down and spoke with ‘Kevvie’ (Walters), I was straight on the phone to the Cowboys.
“I didn’t want to stuff them around, so I called the Cowboys and let them know pretty early on that I would be going somewhere else.
“I’ve since seen the Cowboys set-up and it’s a brilliant facility. They are a great club and they are going well, so there’s no hard feelings, but I’m closer to my family in Brisbane and the Broncos suited me better.
“A huge factor was what the Broncos meant to me.
“It’s where I first started in the under-20s and they are a club I’ve grown up admiring. They just suited me to the ground and after one meeting with Kevvie, I could feel his passion for the joint and that really rubbed off me. I was sold then.
“I also spoke to ‘Alfie’ Langer (Broncos halfback legend) in Origin camp and knowing how much he and Kevvie love the club, I could really relate to that and I want to bring the club back to its former glory.”
Capewell is regarded as the Minister for Defence at Red Hill. He is also the gatekeeper of standards. Broncos insiders say if a teammate cuts a corner at training, one steely-eyed glare from Capewell is enough to convince them to finish the drill properly.
It’s a one per cent attitude Capewell derived from his two-season stint at Penrith, where he played in their 2020 grand final loss before finally clinching his maiden premiership ring the following season.
Capewell was tireless in Brisbane’s 13-12 boilover of the champions in the season opener last week and it was a performance that convinced the 29-year-old the Broncos’ class of 2023 can snap the club’s 17-year premiership drought.
“We are capable of it (winning the premiership), 100 per cent,” he said.
“I felt we were capable of it last year, too, we just let ourselves down at the back end of the season.
“I love the team we have here and I want us to do well and bring this mighty club back to where it once was.
“If I win a premiership at the Broncos, it would probably top everything I have done to date in my career.
“When you consider where the club was a few years ago (wooden spooners in 2020), to be able to be part of the rebuild and get the Broncos back on top would be massive for me.
“It’s the club of Queensland, I know so many friends and family who support the Broncos, so I would love to see Caxton Street if we won the trophy.”
Capewell has a score to settle. He was comprehensively outplayed by Nanai in the corresponding clash last year, with the back-row phenom scoring a hat-trick of tries in the Cowboys’ 38-12 belting of Brisbane in round 3 at Suncorp.
This time, Capewell is ready for the Nanai onslaught.
“I think I might have to play in basketball shoes against him,” he said with a wry grin.
“Nanai is a great catcher in the air. We have done plenty of practice this week and not much changes in my game. He is terrific in the air with the catch, but hopefully we can play the game down their end and take that away from him.
“He is a terrific player, we saw what he could do, not just for the Cowboys but in Origin as well.
“They were too good for us last year, but it’s a clean slate this season and we have a more mature squad.
“We’ve done the hard work in pre-season ... there’s a good feeling in the club.”
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