Origin 2021: Maroons rookie Reece Walsh confident he will handle the big stage against NSW Blues
Had he stayed at the Broncos, Reece Walsh wouldn’t have been playing Origin this year – and the Maroons rookie has addressed the Kevvie Walters elephant in the room.
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Maroons whizkid Reece Walsh says he won’t be overawed in the State of Origin furnace and is ready for NSW to target him in his shock Queensland debut on Sunday night.
The youngest Maroon in 26 years, Walsh will be 18 years and 352 days when he runs onto Suncorp Stadium and he will be greeted by a red-hot Blues outfit primed to win the series and ruin his Origin debut in the process.
Walsh’s club coach Nathan Brown has expressed concerns about the fullback prodigy making his Origin debut, with Warriors consultant and former NSW coach Phil Gould slamming the decision to blood the teenager in Maroon.
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But the former Broncos young gun harbours no fears over his Origin baptism and has vowed to continue his attacking flair to bring down the Blues in the biggest game of his embryonic, seven-game NRL career.
“I will back myself 100 per cent,” Walsh said.
“That’s what you have to do as a footballer ... you can’t go out there thinking, ‘I’m not ready or I’m going to hold back’.
“You are playing for your mates, your state and your family.
“I don’t want to go out there half-hearted.
“I feel really excited to be here, I’m still pinching myself walking around with a bunch of stars. It’s pretty special, I’m enjoying it.
“This is something you dream of since you were a little kid, just that opportunity to play for Queensland and my state, it was pretty special and I’ve overwhelmed to be honest.”
Asked about NSW’s plans to target him under the high ball, Walsh said: “I feel I will be alright, the boys will look after me.
“I feel like I just have to do my job and give 100 per cent. The boys will have my back and look after me out there.”
Ironically, it was Walsh’s bombshell decision to quit the Broncos and defect to the Warriors in April that has paved the way for the Queensland under-18s sensation to make his senior Origin debut.
One of Walsh’s factors in leaving Brisbane was coach Kevin Walters’ reluctance to blood him in the NRL immediately, but the Maroons rookie says he has no ill-feeling towards the Broncos.
“No, not really. I don’t have a point to prove to Kevvie at all,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t have played Origin at the Broncos, you never know, but I got a good opportunity to play NRL at the Warriors to really build as a person and a player, so I took the opportunity. The Warriors gave me a good opportunity and I’m going to get out there and play my game.”
Queensland coach Paul Green is putting important support structures around Walsh.
Maroons fullback legend Billy Slater is in camp with the team and Walsh says he has already sought the counsel of his childhood hero and 31-game Queensland champion.
“Billy is the best,” Walsh said.
“I looked up to him and if I can be half the player he is one day, it would be amazing. I liked his elusiveness and the way he carried himself on the field and everything he did was at a high intensity and he gave 100 per cent.
“I’ve spoken to him in camp, we went through a couple of things, so it’s pretty good to have him here. It’s pretty crazy, to see Slater play for Queensland when you were a little kid ... now to sit down and have a chat with him is pretty special.”
Maroons five-eighth Cameron Munster backed Walsh to flourish in the fullback role.
“I’m really excited about Reece,” he said.
“He is a confident kid, a bit like myself when I was coming through. He has a bit of X-factor about him, which is what we want in our team.
“He is a great addition so I’m sure he will be back himself.
“He will do whatever he can to light the field up.”
Legends go to war over Walsh
By Robert Craddock
Wally Lewis has disputed Phil Gould’s claim that exposing rookie Reece Walsh to State of Origin was unfair, claiming the fearlessness of youth could be his key asset.
“They haven’t learnt to be frightened,’’ Origin legend Lewis said of 18-year-old Walsh who has played just seven first-grade games.
“They’ve got that ability to believe in their own talent. That’s often the difference between success and failure.
“Gus just rubbished the thing and said he was too young to be selected. Well, what was Brad Fittler? He was 18.
“When you’re searching for players and looking for the best, Walsh has certainly been on show this year.’’
Fittler, now the NSW coach, started his Origin career the same age as Walsh, who will run out at fullback in Origin II at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday as the youngest player since Queensland Origin player behind Ben Ikin in 1995.
Walsh, who started the season as a Bronco, was pencilled in to play the entire winter for the Norths Devils in the Intrust Cup before the Warriors signed him on a three-year deal and arranged a mid-season shift.
In just seven games for the club he has become the outstanding rookie of the year.
“Very few people are blessed with the base of skills that he has, and while the standard of competition is certainly going to rise, everything he’s shown this year has been positive.’’
Gould said on Channel 9 last week.
“It’s so beyond the realms of anything I would think to do, to bring an 18-year-old kid into that environment given the way they performed in Game One and given the quality of the side at the moment.”
Former champion fullback Gary Belcher last week said while Walsh was exceptionally talented, there was a danger in picking him at fullback because the position is so isolated.
Queensland coach Paul Green feels Walsh’s robust temperament will stand him in good stead.
“It’s a great opportunity, it’s a great story. He has passed every test he has had to go through so far,” Green said.
“Good players in the past have come up to that level particularly around Origin so I’ve got confidence Reece will do that for us.
“He has certainly shown he has got confidence and he is not afraid to back himself.
“And a good trait in most good players is if they make a mistake they can get themselves back in the game quickly and he’s been able to do that.”
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