NRL 2025: Reece Walsh’s mentors and the game’s superstars have given their verdict on the enigmatic Brisbane Broncos fullback

Is Reece Walsh a rock star, footballing genius or over-hyped? The jury is out on the Brisbane Broncos fullback and some of the game’s greatest players have delivered their verdict.

Reece Walsh is the misunderstood footy-obsessed “lair” whose confidence and unpredictability could make or break Brisbane’s NRL premiership campaign.

That is the view of Walsh’s mentors and the game’s greatest players following a rocks or diamonds start to the season.

Walsh enters Friday night’s Battle of Brisbane against the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium amid a worrying run of form that has typified the Broncos’ early season performances.

One minute Walsh nails a 40-20 kick that turns momentum and results in Brisbane scoring. The next he throws a wayward pass or fumbles a ball, putting the Broncos under immense pressure.

Walsh also sits alongside Latrell Mitchell as the NRL’s most polarising player – the fans either love or hate them.

But it’s nothing new to Brisbane’s poster boy.

“He was as big a lair then as he is now,” said Walsh’s schoolboys coach at Keebra Park, Glen Campbell.

“He is super confident and thrives on his confidence. He runs to the beat of his own drum and that makes him the player he is.

“He is super competitive, whether it’s a game of marbles or paper plane competition. Whatever he does is a competition and he is filthy if he loses.

“That’s what you’re seeing now – he is trying so hard and is overplaying his hand. He wants to fix a problem instead of working his way back to getting his timing right.

“That’s who he is. I wouldn’t say rocks or diamonds, but when he goes off his game the harder he tries, the more things don’t work.

“Especially at the top level, they don’t let it happen. You used to get away with it in junior football.

“But it will come back as quick as it’s left him. He could come back next week and get the top Dally M points in the game.”

Reece Walsh as a youngster at Keebra Park.

With his rock star looks, man bags, painted nails and sculpted eyebrows, Walsh unfairly cops accusations that is more worried about his image than football.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

“I’ve found that Reece genuinely loves the game. He could talk football all day. He is a real footy nerd,” Broncos coach Michael Maguire said.

“He is a special talent, but what I like is that he has the work ethic to get better. I like the fact I can have lengthy discussions with him and I’d like to think he is learning a lot at the moment too.

“I think he can take his footy to another level. It’s exciting from my point of view where I feel we can take his game.

“Reece had a tough year last year but I am confident he will bounce back.

“There’s no doubt Reece is very talented and wants to be one of the greats of the game. To do that, you have to turn up consistently over periods of time, year after year.”

At 22 and a father to three-year-old Leila, Walsh has had to grow up quickly.

He became one of the NRL’s biggest stars, seemingly overnight, after returning to the Broncos following a brief stint with the Warriors.

But away from the spotlight, Walsh is fiercely determined to win.

“Reece is so misunderstood,” said Broncos legend Corey Parker.

“People have no idea how much he cares about rugby league. He is such a deep thinker about rugby league.

“I actually coached Reece in the Queensland under-18s, I had him two years in a row, and we had some amazing chats about the game.

“He deadset loves the game. He will talk league all day. He studies the game constantly and wants to get better it.

“I have no doubt he plays scenarios out in his head because he watches that much video.

“I have dealt with Reece for a number of years and he hasn’t changed. All this rock star staff is garbage.

“If you sat down with Reece for a few hours you would have a totally different view of him.

“There’s that facade of the rock star, but outside of that he has a great care for the game and the Broncos as a club.

“He loves the Broncos. He knows the history of the club and we would talk tactics all the time.

“I reckon that’s why Billy Slater loves him so much – the fact Reece always wants to learn about the game and is totally invested.”

Walsh has sometimes allowed to frustration to get the better of him. Picture: NRL Imagery

It’s funny that Parker references Slater given the parallels in Walsh’s playing style.

Slater was one of the game’s most dynamic players, a fullback that could produce freakish moments and also headscratchers.

Queensland and Storm legend Cameron Smith believes Walsh is following Slater’s path. He just has to figure it out quickly.

“He’s trying to overplay his hand at times,” Smith said.

“He is always on the end of their big sweeping plays with his blistering speed out the back.

“He’s got to learn to understand time and place on the footy field. When the right time is to throw that long ball or try that little offload.

“Every time he touches the ball, particularly in attacking positions, it seems like he’s trying to come up with that last pass or big play for the team.

“I remember Billy Slater was very much the same, but what he understood very quickly was that was not going to be a positive thing in the long run.

“He was always featuring on the highlights reel but he’d have four or five errors too which would make the game harder for him and us to get wins.

“He worked extremely hard to bring that flare back a little bit and add a little consistency to his game and he became what many of us believe is the greatest fullback the game’s seen.”

Fans have a love-hate relationship with Walsh. Picture: David Clark

So is Walsh on track to become Slater 2.0 or a liability that costs his team more games than he wins?

Campbell is confident Walsh can find the right balance, but urged Maguire not to bash the instinctive brilliance out of his No.1.

“That’s the worst thing you could do,” he said.

“Over-coaching talent is one of the biggest flaws the coaching system has got.

“Reece’s asset is his speed and exuberance. You just have to get him to think half-a-step slower until he gets his timing back.

“He had games for us where nothing worked for him. You have to take the good with the bad.

“Reece is super competitive which is why he gets down on himself.

“He cops a lot of flak as well. The crowds are either cheering for him or throwing stuff at him. There’s not many people in the middle.

“He is a lair – he has always been that way. He is full of confidence that he is the best on the field and everyone’s got to keep up with him. That’s what makes him the player he is.

“It will come back to him. I’ve got no doubt about that.”

Originally published as NRL 2025: Reece Walsh’s mentors and the game’s superstars have given their verdict on the enigmatic Brisbane Broncos fullback