By Nick Wright
One final roll of the dice before the half-time break ended in frustration for the Broncos on Sunday night, as Reece Walsh’s bullet pass wide for his centre Kotoni Staggs was spilled to the turf.
The reaction was immediate.
Walsh was seen delivering Staggs a spray, with the latter offering choice words of his own in reply.
Halfback Adam Reynolds admitted Brisbane had left “a few tries” out there in the opening half against Gold Coast Titans, before emerging 26-14 victors.
But two minutes after play resumed, Walsh and Staggs linked up – the former unleashing his strike weapon down the right touchline, before he supported back on the inside to score.
“We’re trying to be perfect out there. It’s not always going to go to plan, but we’re adults – we talk about the situation when it happens, and sure enough they fixed it up, and we scored a long-range try,” Reynolds said.
“It’s always good to have that feedback on the field. We’ve got strike right across the park and Walshy’s right at the top there.
“He’s an X-factor in our team, and it’s my job to put him in situations where he can do that.”
The 23-year-old’s competitive nature has boiled over on occasion, his three-game suspension in 2023 for an on-field outburst the most memorable.
But his desire to make an impact – according to coach Michael Maguire, it comes from a resolve to be “striving continually to be the best” – has reignited a Broncos’ season that was teetering just six weeks ago.
After six defeats from seven games, Brisbane had fallen to 11th while Walsh was sidelined with a knee injury.
They lacked fire and questions were being asked of their commitment.
But Brisbane has gone five clashes unbeaten since their star’s comeback to move to 5th on the ladder, with Walsh only missing the win against the Bulldogs while serving as Queensland’s 18th man for the State of Origin series decider.
Without him, the Broncos conceded 27.2 points on average a game, a figure that has dropped to 17.2 since his return to command the defensive line.
Their attack has also thrived, scoring 30.4 points an outing compared with 19.2 without him – the latter figure dropping to 13.5 following the 42 points they put on the Bulldogs in round eight.
According to Broncos hooker Billy Walters, Walsh’s time on the sideline had reinvigorated him.
Such has been Walsh’s form, his omission from the Maroons game three side in favour of the Dolphins’ Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow when Kalyn Ponga suffered a Lisfranc injury was met with surprise.
But Tabuai-Fidow shone in the game three win, leading his club coach Kristian Woolf to believe it would not be the last time he was spotted in Queensland’s No.1 jersey.
It sets up an enthralling selection battle between the trio for next year’s series defence.
“You just know if you give him the opportunity he’s going to make it count,” Woolf said of Tabuai-Fidow.
“I know what Hammer looks like at his best, and he looks like what you saw.
“He was near-faultless in terms of errors at the back, he makes opportunities count, and he saves tries – he’s a very good defender, and he knows how to use his speed.
“I’m really happy for him and really happy he got that opportunity. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of that in the future, too.”
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