Source : the age
Reece Walsh’s hopes of retaining his Kangaroos’ jumper for the Rugby League World Cup have been dealt a savage blow, after falling victim to a hip drop tackle in the Broncos’ 40-6 capitulation against the Warriors.
The Brisbane fullback was caught awkwardly in a tackle by fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad as he sought to attack the line, leading to the latter being sent to the sin bin.
While Walsh made to hobble off after the incident inside the opening 20 minutes, by which time New Zealand had already scored with Jacob Laban and Chanel Harris-Tavita, he attempted to make one final play with his under-siege outfit on the hunt.
It proved a costly decision, as the mercurial No.1 threw an intercept pass for Alofiana Khan-Pereira to streak the length of the field at score, before Walsh eventually made his way up the tunnel to receive treatment on a high ankle sprain.
Walsh had surged into Australian colours for last year’s Ashes tour in England on the back of his remarkable finals campaign en route to the Broncos’ drought-breaking premiership.
Despite Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters suggesting the 24-year-old was his preferred custodian, his inconsistent form in a Brisbane side languishing in second-last already had him facing an uphill battle to feature in the World Cup on home soil.
Now, he may get no chance to push his case – or even take the field – if scans confirm something sinister has occurred.
The longer Walsh’s absence went on, the more glaring it became his presence was missed, with the Warriors scoring twice after Brisbane failed to defuse attacking bombs – Nicoll-Klokstad and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak both beneficiaries of the Broncos’ indecisiveness.
Broncos coach Michael Maguire was unable to provide further information post-game whether Walsh would be ruled out for a period of time.
Metcalf agony
The sight was heartbreaking to witness. As Luke Metcalf struck his conversion attempt of Khan-Pereira’s try, he admittedly reached for his hamstring and cut a distraught figure.
The Warriors’ halfback has endured a gut-wrenching career on the injury-front. This had been just his fourth appearance of the year after tearing his hamstring in April, which came just two games into his comeback from a ruptured ACL suffered in 2025.
At the time of the latter incident, the soon-to-be Dragons recruit was on a collision course for a shock Dally M Medal.
Metcalf came into the Warriors’ side last week after Te Maire Martin suffered his own hamstring issue at training, and even he had only taken the No.7 jumper after Tanah Boyd’s season was brought to an end to undergo a knee reconstruction.
Metcalf’s two-try heroics against the Panthers was poised to create a massive headache for coach Andrew Webster when Martin was ready to make his return – expected to be in round 26. He looked strong early on Saturday night, laying on quick hands to give Harris-Tavita the chance to produce some classy footwork to score.
Now, to keep the Warriors hopes of a top two finish alive, Webster needs an answer.
“I’m sure he’s hurting, but he’s a good teammate – at halftime he joined the team. He’s never done a hamstring kicking goals, and he hasn’t done that hamstring for a long time,” Webster said.
“I don’t think Te Maire will be ready next week, but we’ll wait and see – he might be. We’ll worry about that next week.”
Will Reynolds get his swan song?
Broncos captain Adam Reynolds is in a race against the clock to get an NRL swan song before he sails into retirement.
But given the way his side’s attack failed to fire in his absence, there will be a growing argument that the man who looms as his successor should be given the rest of the campaign to find his feet.
Brisbane confirmed this week Reynolds, who missed last week’s clash with the Dolphins after suffering a concussion against the Knights, had sustained a calf injury at training, and would be monitored on a week-to-week basis before determining a comeback timeline.
Until then, Tom Duffy has been given the reins alongside Ezra Mam, but the pair – aside from an early onslaught against the Dolphins, only for the Broncos to cough up a 24-0 lead – have largely failed to fire and will take time to blossom as a partnership.
The Broncos were tackled 41 times inside the Warriors’ 20-metre zone, yet could only muster a try through Xavier Willison at close range. In contrast, New Zealand only needed 20 tackles in Brisbane’s red zone to cross six times – with only Khan-Pereira’s try from long range, as centres Ali Leiataua and Leka Halasima crossed late.
Reynolds delivered this club a first premiership in 19 years, and deserves to go out on his terms. But with their season well and truly over, perhaps the new-look halves pairing should be given time to gel, ahead of Jonah Pezet’s arrival to add another contender to the mix.
Bumper Barnett
He won’t be arriving at Red Hill for several months yet, but Mitchell Barnett has given Broncos fans a glimpse at what he can bring to the struggling glamour club once he begins his three-year deal from 2027.
The 32-year-old has been brought to Brisbane to replace his outgoing NSW State of Origin teammate Payne Haas, and he won the match-up battle between the pair at Suncorp Stadium.
While Haas, who will leave for South Sydney at season’s end, was well-contained – as he largely has been in the past month, Barnett embodied the toughness Maguire is determined to inject back into his flailing squad.
He played out the entire first half – finishing with 88 running metres and 22 tackles for just the one miss – while Haas was limited to just 49 metres from six carries.
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