The most important call when Reece Walsh loses the plot? To Melbourne Storm HQ

1 week ago 6

Louder was the Storm’s long-time psychologist until the start of this year, helped Cameron Munster through his off-field issues and still works out of the same Melbourne precinct the grand finalists call home.

And just as Walsh called for a debrief following the most chaotic match of his career, he’ll do the same this week before the biggest.

Reece Walsh takes a breath after the chaos of Brisbane’s win over Penrith.

“She’s someone that I speak to regularly on a week-to-week basis,” Walsh says.

“I had a really good conversation with her after that Canberra game. Obviously, they were trying to niggle me and get into my head and I took the bait there a little bit.

“I was just lucky enough that we came away with the win.

“She’s someone that I talk to a lot that helps with the mental side and some little tips where I can be better in those moments … I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, I need all the help I can get.

“I can’t give it all away but just the way she speaks – she clears my mind and helps a lot with my mindset, how to approach certain things if I’m feeling down, or I’m feeling not quite [at] my best. [There are] some small tools that she can help with to overcome those challenges.

“We’ll see where her loyalties are this week, if she’s in a Melbourne or a Broncos jersey.”

Walsh still plays on the edge. The emotions that boiled over when Brisbane trailed in Canberra were evidence enough of a 23-year-old who still grapples with keeping his cool.

The match-winning, playmaking blitz that followed his semi-final sin-binning are proof the headaches Walsh can cause are more than worth it, in the very same vein as Munster.

In Sunday’s showstopping comeback against four-time premiers Penrith, Walsh threatened to win and lose the contest on his lonesome once more. His rushed 70th-minute shot at goal rattling the posts and bouncing away could have been the difference.

Instead, it was his bouncing, struggling and shrugging effort through Penrith’s defence, and subsequent basketball pass to Deine Mariner that set up the match-winning try.

“It’s my personality and the way I was brought up ... to have those little demons in my head where I try and make it better. But that’s not all of it,” he says.

“Part of my job for the team is chasing the game and chasing those moments, trying to put myself in a position to make a play.”

And for all of Walsh’s status as a human highlights reel, he is growing proudest of where he is working hardest.

The effort areas, defensive communication and bail-out plays that are the making of truly elite NRL fullbacks - which were all neatly encompassed in a first-half scramble to cover a Nathan Cleary grubber, shrug off Liam Martin and somehow make the field of play, when Brisbane really couldn’t afford to defend yet another repeat set.

“Ever since I was a kid, I never really had to rely on the hard-working sort of stuff,” Walsh says.

“But coming in the NRL, you’re always going up against awesome opponents.

“For myself, I do a lot of video on other people and where I can exploit their weaknesses.

“My weakness probably still is now is those small little effort areas. I feel like for myself to grow, I’ve got to recognise where I need to get better and I want to be the best player can be, the best person I can be.”

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