- Reece Walsh and Broncos humble the Raiders at Lang Park
- Fullback celebrates attempt with viral ‘What’s up, brother’ trend
- Walsh made a strong claim for the Queensland No. 1 jersey
Brisbane fullback Reece Walsh made a compelling claim for Queensland’s No. 1 jersey with a two-try performance in a 34-10 thrashing of Canberra – joining a viral trend in the process.
The 21-year-old Broncos whiz kid was too hot for the hapless Raiders defense in his second NRL game back from a facial fracture in another masterclass of skill, speed and daring at Suncorp Stadium in front of 37,286 fans on Saturday.
The Raiders lost half of Jamal Fogarty to a biceps injury, adding to their woes.
“They seem to think he tore his bicep,” Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said.
“If that’s the case, and it needs to be scanned when we get home, the best case scenario is probably 12 weeks.”
Broncos whiz Reece Walsh celebrated his try with the ‘What’s up, brother’ TikTok trend
Walsh is in a battle with Newcastle’s Kalyn Ponga for the Maroons’ fullback role in the State of Origin series opener in Sydney on June 5.
He starred in the first two games of last year’s series before being suspended for the third.
Ponga, who was outstanding at No. 1 for the Maroons in the 2022 series win, had to sit out last year’s series due to a series of concussions to concentrate on the Knights, and went on to win the Dally M Medal.
Walsh made three linebreaks to finish with a personal total of 18 points, including five goals, against the Raiders.
It was after Walsh’s second attempt that he decided to celebrate with the popular TikTok trend, holding up his right index finger and saying “what up, brother” to the camera.
The viral trend emerged from a streamer called Sketch and has been copied in sports leagues around the world in recent months.
“Reece has the explosiveness to open up a game,” Broncos coach Kevin Walters said after the game.
“He struggled a bit early, but when he decided to run, he ran and we got good results because of that.”
Walsh and the Brisbane Broncos dominated the Raiders in heavy rain at Lang Park
The Broncos secured the win with five quality tries in the space of 19 minutes in the first half and led 28-0 at halftime.
“It was a great first half, our best first half of football of the year… to get the win,” Walters said.
The Raiders had early possession and a try against Hudson Young was disallowed, but it was Walsh magic that lit the game up in the 13th minute.
The dazzling fullback hit an Ezra Mam pass at electric speed from 45 yards out and left center Matt Timoko grabbed the air before stepping fullback Chevy Stewart to score.
A Mam-bomb, followed by a smooth catch and pass from prop Fletcher Baker, tested second-rower Jordan Riki and after 18 minutes it was 12-0.
Half Jock Madden set up a spiral bomb, Stewart dropped it and Mom was ready to lead the way and score.
Hooker Billy Walters got into the act with a slick kick near the line and raced through to score, before Walsh cut home from close range.
A highlight of the first half was a monstrous front-on tackle from Brisbane hitman Kobe Hetherington on Stewart. It showcased the defensive clout the Broncos showed throughout in a performance led by lock Pat Carrigan and prop Corey Jensen.
The Raiders showed grit and rallied in the second half with tries against Simi Sasagi and Xavier Savage.
“The young lads were a bit confused at half-time but my message was just concentrate on the next 40 minutes and how you deal with that,” Stuart said.
“I thought they showed some character in the way they overcame the adversities in battle.”