'Nearly impossible to stop': Walsh tipped for starring role in grand final
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Broncos coach Kevin Walters has declared that the Panthers won’t be able to contain Reece Walsh in Sunday’s grand final, while former Brisbane fullback great Darius Boyd predicted the “sky is the limit” for the 21-year-old.
Walsh is the X-factor the Broncos are relying on to halt Penrith’s bid to achieve the first three-peat since Parramatta 40 years ago and Walters agreed after Brisbane’s captain’s run that the star fullback was almost “unstoppable”.
“Reece is ready to go, he's just excited about tomorrow night,” Walters said. “He’s never played a game here, so it was good for Reece to come out and have a look at the surroundings.
“He's a very popular rugby league player. We're trying to keep him grounded and that's very hard, but we'll just let his football do the talking now. We've got through the hard part of the week for him; his best part is playing.”
The Panthers did manage to shut Walsh down the last time the two clubs met in Round 12, with the back-to-back premiers winning 15-4 at Suncorp Stadium.
However, Walters said Walsh and the Broncos were better now than three months ago.
“Penrith are obviously very good tactically, so they'll come up with some plans, but I think it's nearly impossible to eliminate all the good players,” he said.
“They're going to have some sort of impact on the game, so it's up to us, more so than what anything Penrith can do, to bring Reece into the game and give him those opportunities that he provides.”
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Panthers coach Ivan Cleary conceded it would be almost impossible to stop Walsh from having an impact on the grand final.
“I would agree, but Reece isn’t the only player the Broncos have got,” Cleary said.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, if your forward pack isn’t doing their jobs or laying the foundations it is hard so there are a lot of other guys before Reece we have to worry about.”
Boyd, who played in Brisbane’s last grand final win in 2006 and is a part time member of the Broncos coaching staff, said Walsh had the potential to become a superstar of the game.
After coming through the Broncos pathways, Walsh spent two seasons at the Warriors and his return this season has coincided with the club’s first grand final since 2015, while he also helped Queensland to an Origin series win.
“The scary thing, without telling Reece that, is the sky is the limit for him and I think we're already seeing that,” Boyd said.
He's 21-years-old and he's already achieved a lot more than a lot of people do in the game.
“He's 21-years-old and he's already achieved a lot more than a lot of people do in the game.
“He's a perfectionist and he wants to be the best he could possibly be, and there's a lot more that Reece can achieve, which is really exciting and daunting to see what he can achieve when he's already achieved so much.
“We need him being at his best on Sunday because the Panthers are a quality side - you can't do what they've done for probably four years now without being quality and consistent, and having a good coaching system and structure, and players.
“But from when he came in November to now, he's definitely grown on and off the field and if he keeps taking that mindset, and keeps growing, it’s going to be exciting to see where he can finish his career.”
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Panthers centre Stephen Crichton has moved to the left edge to help contain Walsh and admitted it would be a difficult assignment.
“Credit where credit’s due with how good of a player he is and it’s going to be a big job going up against him again,” Crichton told NRL.com. “We went up against him in Origin and he played some good footy there too.
“It’s going to be fast and they’re a big pack so it’s going to be a big job for our middles, and for our whole team as well. They’ve got some strike players all over the field so it’s definitely going to be a big job.”
Penrith winger Brian To’o added: “He’s obviously one of their best players and is pretty much their X-factor, so we need to do our homework and get ourselves in the right position to defend him.”
Match: Panthers v Broncos
Grand Final -
home Team
Panthers
1st Position
away Team
Broncos
2nd Position
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
