Broncos casualty ward: Billy Walters to miss preliminary final after suffering ACL injury
Stand-in five-eighth Billy Walters’ season could be over after Brisbane’s Mr Fixit suffered an ACL injury against Canberra. Full casualty ward details.
The Broncos have suffered a crushing blow with Mr Fixit Billy Walters’ premiership dream in tatters after suffering an ACL injury in Sunday’s epic finals win over the Raiders.
In a famous yet costly finals triumph for the Broncos, Walters’ season is almost certainly over, while back-rower Brendan Piakura will have scans on Tuesday on a suspected facial fracture that could end his 2025 campaign.
But amid the chaos and carnage, there was a silver lining, with superstar prop Payne Haas cleared of a serious ankle injury and rookie forward Xavier Willison getting the green light to return from a fractured forearm.
The Broncos secured a week off with their stunning 29-28 qualifying final defeat of Canberra but Walters will need a miracle to feature in Brisbane’s preliminary final clash against Penrith or Canterbury in a fortnight.
While he has not suffered a full ACL tear, Walters has suffered some damage and Broncos medicos will do everything possible to get him back on the field in time for a possible grand final clash.
Should Walters fail to return, as expected, it would be a major setback given that the in-form utility has helped Brisbane to five consecutive victories alongside Ben Hunt in the halves.
Hooker Walters has been a revelation in the No.6 jumper and his absence could convince coach Michael Maguire to accelerate the return of first-choice pivot Ezra Mam from a hamstring injury.
The more likely option is to reunite Hunt at the scrumbase with skipper Adam Reynolds.
This masthead can reveal Reynolds will be fit to play in Brisbane’s grand-final qualifier at Suncorp Stadium in a fortnight, giving Maguire a crucial option if Walters is gone for the season.
Broncos legend Gorden Tallis has questioned whether Brisbane need to recall the skipper given the success of the Hunt-Walters alliance.
But in the aftermath of his match-winning brilliance at Canberra’s GIO Stadium, Hunt said he would happily step aside for Reynolds if Walters made a miraculous recovery to be available for selection.
“If ‘Reyno’ is fit, he has to come back into the side,” Hunt said.
“There’s no doubt about it for me.
“I will happily step aside for him.
“He is our captain and he is our little general and you talk about field goals, he doesn’t miss them.
“In these big sudden-death games, you need as much experience as you can get on the field.
“It will be up to ‘Madge’ (Maguire) to fit everyone in, but Reyno has to come back into the team.
“The positive for us is we have a lot of options.”
Haas carried calf tightness into the Raiders final and rolled his ankle just before halftime, but the Broncos dismissed concerns about his latest ailment.
Piakura, meanwhile, was unable to fly home on Sunday night due to his cheekbone damage and appears at long odds to play again this season.
Reynolds is further ahead of Mam with his rehabilitation, but there is a chance both of them could be fit for Brisbane’s sudden-death clash against the Panthers or Bulldogs.
Asked if Reynolds will be picked for Brisbane’s return to the preliminary final after their grand-final campaign of 2023, Maguire couldn’t guarantee his selection.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“He is travelling well and then you have to adjudicate how much players have been playing and the momentum of the side.
“Reyno at the moment is tracking in the right direction.
“I will look at the game and how we are moving and doing things. The boys are doing a good job, so it’s a nice place to be as a coach, to have decisions and I will make them moving forward.”
Hunt reflected on his Canberra heroics, with the back-up halfback landing just the second field goal of his illustrious career - and his first in six years after a one-pointer for the Dragons in 2019.
The 35-year-old has traditionally shied away from taking field goals, but said he had to step up with the one-pointer that hit the right upright and fell in Brisbane’s favour in one of the greatest moments of Hunt’s career.
“I was lost for words,” Hunt said in the Broncos sheds after winning the qualifying final.
“I’m just so relieved, that game was just crazy, it was a bit like the (2015) grand final (which Brisbane lost in extra-time to the Cowboys).
“I put my hands up straight away because I smoked that ball.
“You know as a kicker when you have nailed it and I knew I hit it sweet. But then the wind got it and the ball started fading, so I was a bit nervous.
“I put my hands down in the end but once it went through, I didn’t have time to think about it, the boys were jumping all over me.
“I wouldn’t say I don’t like kicking field goals. I’ve also practised it and had goes at it, but in my career I’ve always played with players who were just a lot better at kicking them than me.
“In my first stint at the Broncos, Anthony Milford was an excellent field goal kicker and at the Dragons Gareth Widdop was superb, so I’ve never had a big need to kick field goals.
“But as a halfback, I’ve always worked on my field goals and the practice paid off this time.
“That’s why you play this game, those special moments, and to win a game like that with this team is something I will treasure for a long time.
“That’s the most special thing about this team, it doesn’t matter if we are behind by 12 or 16 points, we have great self-belief and we are prepared to keep grinding away.”
Originally published as Broncos casualty ward: Billy Walters to miss preliminary final after suffering ACL injury
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