Three Reece Walsh moments won Brisbane a premiership. They aren’t what you’d expect

The grand final highlight reel that will be played for decades will feature plenty of Reece Walsh’s attacking brilliance.

But lost amid the razzle and dazzle of the NRL’s most exciting player will be three moments that will be remembered by those in the corridors of their Red Hill headquarters as the circuit breaker that ended a 19-year premiership drought.

The first came when Walsh put his body on the line and somehow inflicted enough force in his impact on the towering Tui Kamikamica to jolt the ball free of his grip with the try line beckoning.

The incident occurred just three minutes into the second half. The Broncos were trailing 22-12. Adam Reynolds had made a mistake that gifted the Melbourne Storm some great field position.

Then, following a deft kick from Cameron Munster, referee Grant Atkins pointed to the spot to award Kamikamica a four-pointer that would have likely been converted to hand the Storm a 16-point advantage.

Such a lead is a death sentence for most teams against the Storm.

Reece Walsh was brilliant in the grand final.Credit: Getty Images

But upon closer review, the bunker intervened and noticed that Walsh had forced an error from the Storm prop that denied him.

A brilliant defensive play from a guy who was criticised for his not-so-brilliant defensive positioning on the same ground in the same game just two years earlier.

The highlight reel will tell you all about the try he scored. All about the tries he set up. What it might not show you is the effort he produced with 13 minutes remaining while his team enjoyed a four-point advantage.

Walsh had just packed in at the scrum on the halfway line when Ryan Papenhuyzen received the ball at first receiver for the Storm.

Walsh was some 20 metres away from Papenhuyzen when he began to get on his bike. Walsh showed great vision to notice that Papenhuyzen, after pump-faking on the inside to Stefano Utoikamanu and bamboozling Ezra Mam, was going to get on his outside.

Walsh turned on the afterburners and chased down Papenhuyzen to force an uncharacteristic and unnecessary flick pass that led to an error.

As Papenhuyzen struggled to get back to his feet after being bundled into the touch line, Walsh stood over him and roared at the top of his lungs.

Loading

He knew the significance of that moment. He knew that the effort he put in at the scrum to anticipate the line break was what got him in a position to thwart what would ordinarily be a try.

Then, with the game on the line, the biggest moment of them all. Storm back-rower Eliesa Katoa broke through the defensive line and had a simple draw and pass to put Papenhuyzen over for the premiership-winner with just seconds on the clock.

But Walsh delivered again, showing great anticipation to hold up Katoa and launch himself like a missile into Papenhuyzen to shut down the play and deliver his team a premiership.

Most Viewed in Sport

Loading