NRL Tackle: Reece Walsh backs up swagger and showmanship with plenty of grit

It is hard to remember a player who has captivated the imagination of the rugby league public as quickly as Reece Walsh, writes PAUL CRAWLEY.

Paul Crawley reveals his likes and dislikes from the preliminary finals in his weekly column The Tackle.

PRELIMINARY FINALS LIKES

WHY WALSH IS NRL’S ULTIMATE SHOWMAN

From white boots that were once frowned upon, we have entered a rugby league era where bright pink boots and matching underwear are now celebrated.

And in the countdown to one of the most anticipated grand finals in years, there isn’t a better example of how far attitudes have come over the last 50 years than comparing Reece Walsh’s extroverted playing kit to the controversy created by Graeme ‘Changa’ Langlands infamous white boots in the 1975 grand final.

It is hard to remember a player who has captivated the imagination of the rugby league public as quickly as the Broncos’ young gun has this year.

Of course, Langland’s decision to showcase his new boots at the time wasn’t helped by a painkilling injection that went horribly wrong, after it numbed then Dragons captain-coach’s entire leg in that loss to Jack Gibson’s Roosters.

Reece Walsh the great entertainer. Picture: NRL Photos

But while white boots have become the norm in the modern game, Walsh has taken it to the next level, with a swagger and showmanship only made more exciting by his electric speed and phenomenal skills.

And what makes Walsh’s entertainment value even better is the fact the 21-year-old also has toughness and courage to back it up.

Meanwhile, the only player on the field in the Broncos/Warriors game wearing the ‘traditional’ black boots was Kobe Hetherington, who may well have had them passed down from his old man, the tough-as-nails former Bulldogs hooker, Jason.

YEO V CARRIGAN: WHO DESERVES KANGAROOS NO 13?

What about the job coming up for Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga when it comes to deciding who deserves to wear the No 13 jumper for the end of year Tests.

Matty Johns rated Isaah Yeo the best player on the ground in the Panthers’ win over the Storm, while Pat Carrigan was absolutely outstanding against the Warriors.

That’s without mentioning Cameron Murray who played lock in the Prime Minister’s XIII 30-18 win over Papua New Guinea and just has to be in the team, even if he plays on the edge or off the bench.

Going into the grand final you’d probably just have Carrigan in front to start at lock on the back of his Origin performances for Queensland this year.

But if Yeo delivers another game like he did on the weekend, finishing with 19 runs for 167m, then he probably gets the jump, especially with Cleary a certainty to play halfback.

Isaah Yeo. Picture: Matt King/Getty

Patrick Carrigan. Picture: Steve Pohlner

A HEAVYWEIGHT BLOCKBUSTER FOR THE AGES

It was an incredible performance from the Broncos across the park in the seven-tries-to-three thumping of the Warriors.

But just look at the numbers of the Broncos forward who absolutely ran the Warriors’ pack into the ground with supercharged hard running backed up with an enormous amount of offloads.

Payne Haas led the way as usual finishing with a phenomenal 217m from 19 runs, while Tom Flegler had 151m from 19 runs, Keenan Palasia 146m from 19 carries coming off the bench, and Pat Carrigan 13 runs for 122m despite not even returning for his last spell.

It’s just going to be unreal watching these blokes go up against a Panthers’ pack that takes a backward step to no one.

The way Moses Leota and James Fisher-Harris went after the Eels’ big men in last year’s grand final, this promises to be a heavyweight showdown of the ages.

WEBSTER SHOWS CLASS IN DEFEAT

Warriors coach Andrew Webster had every right to take aim at the match officials for some of the decisions that went against his team.

But at his post match media conference Webster really showed what a class act he is as he refused to blow up about a couple of calls but looked to how his team could have played better in those moments.

Everyone involved at the Warriors deserves a massive rap for their efforts this year, and that was a wonderful way to sign off on the season.

Sure, they certainly didn’t save their best for last.

But there is no way of judging Webster’s first year in charge as anything other than an outstanding success.

PRELIMINARY FINALS DISLIKES

STORM EXPOSED BY CAP SHORTCOMINGS

If there is one thing that stood out about the Melbourne Storm during the finals series it is how badly out of shape their salary cap is at the moment.

There is no question the big guns Harry Grant, Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes just didn’t aim up to their own incredibly high standards.

But the ‘Big’ Three’ weren’t helped by the fact the Storm just didn’t have the muscle upfront to handle the power of either the Panthers or the Broncos’ forwards in their two finals defeats.

After all the hype in the build up that Nelson Asofa-Solomona was going to trample Jarome Luai with his bung shoulder, it’s unbelievable that Asofa-Solomona was held to five runs for just 34m against the Panthers.

They also clearly don’t have the firepower in the outside backs to match the strike of the grand final teams, especially when Ryan Papenhuyzen is not playing.

While finishing top four is another outstanding finish, it will be interesting to see how Craig Bellamy reacts to the roster shortcomings going forward.

PENRITH’S DODGY DEALINGS

Every little edge a team can get in these big end of season games can make a huge difference.

And it looks as though the Panthers are back to pushing the boundaries to protect their star playmaker, Nathan Cleary.

We spotted co-captain Isaah Yeo on a couple of occasions using a subtle tactic to delay the Storm kick pressure chasers during the Panthers’ crushing 38-4 victory.

Yeo appears to ever so slightly shuffle back and put himself in the path of the chasers.

Then at the last split-second he even appears to put out his foot to obviously try and give Cleary that fraction of extra time to put up his kicks.

It is one thing if the kick blockers stand their ground, but they are not allowed to move in the line of the chasers.

That is illegal.

Footage reveals Penrith pushing the boundaries in its bid to protect Nathan Cleary.

You might remember this caused a huge blow up a couple of years back between Ivan Cleary and Wayne Bennett when Bennett was coaching South Sydney during the 2021 finals series.

That came after Ivan called for better protection for his son from late shots.

Back then Cleary also accused Bennett of manipulating the refs after Bennett contacted NRL referees boss Jared Maxwell to question the Panthers’ blocking tactics.

There is no question both teams will again do all they can to try and put pressure on Cleary and Adam Reynolds in Sunday night’s season decider, given the kicking games of both halfbacks will be so crucial.

As long as both teams stick to the rules, it shouldn’t be an issue.

BRONCOS SET TO PAY FOR REF’S MISTAKE

Referee Gerard Sutton’s forward pass howler could come back to haunt the Brisbane Broncos in the grand final, given the stunning contrast of the win/loss records for the Broncos and Panthers playing under the two refs fighting it out to take charge of the biggest game of the year.

Sutton sent social media into meltdown when he missed a blatant forward pass from Broncos’ superstar Reece Walsh leading up to a Jordan Riki’s match-clinching try in the second half.

In the end the Broncos ran away with a convincing 42-12 victory and thoroughly earned their place in the season decider to take on the mighty back-to-back premiers.

The forward pass from Reece Walsh that may cost the Broncos in the end.

But the fact Sutton was brought in as the Mr Fix-It after Ashley Klein’s shocker in the Melbourne Storm’s semi final win over the Roosters will leave the NRL with little option but to make the same tough call on Sutton now.

And that could end up leaving the Broncos without a key ally given they have a very healthy record playing under Sutton but a shocking record in recent years under Adam Gee.

Fox Sports Stats show since 2020 the Broncos have only won 31.3 per cent of their games under Gee (5 wins in 16 games), compared to Sutton who they have one of the best winning percentages playing under.

In that same period the Broncos have won 61.5 per cent of their games under Sutton (8 wins from 13 games).

The Broncos don’t have a great record under Adam Gee.

On the flip side the Panthers have a tremendous record under every referee, but Gee is one of their standout favourites.

The Panthers’ record in the last three years under Gee is 91.4 per cent (16 wins from 17 games), compared to Sutton who they have their absolute worst record under.

That is 70.8 per cent (17 wins from 24 games).

Of course, there is absolutely no suggestion of any bias in any of this, it is just pointing out the facts.

On the back of Sutton’s performance there is surely no way he can now be rewarded with the grand final.

There was also a crucial call that went the Warriors’ way on Saturday night after Mick Ennis pointed out on the Fox League coverage how the entire Warriors line was standing off-side directly in front of Sutton in the lead up to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak’s intercept try.

While that didn’t spark the same outrage as the forward pass call, it was another clear blunder.

BRONCOS’ DEFENCE NEEDS TO IMPROVE

If only the Warriors had the luxury of Shaun Johnson kicking goals, it could have been a very different scoreboard at halftime.

And this is where the Broncos’ defence will need to improve to have any hope of stopping the Panthers.

The fact is the Warriors scored three relatively soft first half tries but Adam Pompey missing all his attempts at conversion made a massive difference.

That made it 24-12 at the break when it could have been a six-point margin.

Johnson was kicking at a strike rate of 80 per cent (71 from 89) this season compared to Pompey’s 70 per cent (20 from 28).

That will be the difference taking on the Panthers given Nathan Cleary’s radar boot.

Factor in that the Panthers have had the best defence all year, conceding an average of 13-a-game during the regular season and only a single try in each of the finals games.

Originally published as NRL Tackle: Reece Walsh backs up swagger and showmanship with plenty of grit