By nick w right
Broncos marquee man Reece Walsh has issued a statement of intent to the Maroons hierarchy: that he can be the game breaker to deliver State of Origin glory north of the border.
There were fears the star fullback had tweaked his troublesome knee during Sunday afternoon’s warm-up, but he put those concerns to bed with an emphatic second-half performance to deliver his side a 34-28 comeback triumph over Cronulla.
Despite trailing 28-12 once Sharks winger Sione Katoa returned from a stint in the sin bin with 30 minutes remaining, Walsh set about igniting Brisbane’s attack, laying on a bullet-like cutout pass for Gehamat Shibasaki to hit back.
The 22-year-old Walsh, renowned for his flare with ball in hand, also produced some of his toughest carries of the season coming out of his own end – finishing with 178 running metres – before slicing through around halfway to put Shibasaki over for his second.
Walsh went on to finish with two try assists, three linebreak assists, a linebreak, and five tackle busts, to ensure Maroons coach Billy Slater would have some thinking to do about the make-up of his game three squad.
He was supported strongly coming out of the backfield by centre Kotoni Staggs, who celebrated his re-signing with the club this week to the tune of four linebreaks, 10 tackle busts, and 203 running metres.
While Queensland left Perth with a two-point victory to keep the Origin series alive, incumbent fullback Kalyn Ponga was below his best, coming up with two key errors while trying to regather bombs, and running just 77 metres.
The reality is, the Blues outscored the Maroons and were ultimately beaten by their own poor goal kicking. Based on the way Walsh has returned from six weeks out with knee problems, he could be the spark that guides Queensland home.
“He’s a competitor, and I guess we all expect Reecey to come up with those things, just with what he’s able to do. He just keeps competing.”
Broncos coach Michael Maguire
Cronulla implode after stars lay the platform
Should anything happen to Reece Robson between now and the State of Origin series decider, Blayke Brailey has issued a timely reminder to Blues coach Laurie Daley of his credentials.
The Cronulla hooker was a clear standout for his side, constantly probing around the ruck to finish with 50 metres and a linebreak, while scoring a try with Katoa still in the sin bin.
Cronulla hooker Blayke Brailey was a clear standout for his side on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images
He added 52 tackles to his afternoon, but was left woefully unsupported for the final half hour as his forward pack were overrun.
Braydon Trindall got the Sharks well ahead with a clinical first half, finishing try assists for Sifa Talakai and Nicho Hynes, and three linebreak assists as he took advantage of a Broncos’ defence lacking line speed – coinciding with Cronulla running for nearly 10 metres a set more.
“We were probably a bit scatty in the first half, we applied a bit more pressure on ourselves just through penalties and various other things.”
Michael Maguire
But they were left to rue their own ill-discipline, making 12 errors to Brisbane’s five – two of which directly led to Broncos’ tries – while conceding seven penalties to their rival’s four.
The bruising defence that carried them through the first half abandoned them, as they missed 35 tackles while coming up with 23 ineffective ones, to help the Broncos out of trouble time and time again.
“Our discipline in defence has been poor for weeks, and our discipline and decision-making with the ball has been poor. Even when we were leading, I could just see signs we were hanging on a bit.”
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon
Can Cobbo regain his place in this side?
Selwyn Cobbo’s demotion from the Broncos line-up has raised plenty of questions regarding his future at Red Hill, and the exploits of Josiah Karapani will keep his future in limbo.
After Cobbo produced a solid try-scoring display for Wynnum Manly in the Queensland Cup, Karapani scored his second double in as many Brisbane appearances, while running for two linebreaks and 123 metres.
In contrast, Cobbo’s respectable outing in reserve grade was still surpassed by fellow axed star Deine Mariner, who ran for 186 metres while scoring a try and laying two try assists.
Selwyn Cobbo could still have a place in Brisbane, provided he’s not overshadowed by other hungry rivals. Credit: Tertius Pickard
Maguire has insisted Cobbo still has a future in Brisbane, despite remaining contractless beyond 2025.
He will need chances in the top grade to prove he is still the player who garnered six caps for Queensland, but he appears to be locked in a waiting game for the moment.
“I’ve said I want all my players. Selwyn’s aware of what he needs to do, and I guess contract talk always sorts itself out by what you can do on the field.”
Michael Maguire on Selwyn Cobbo
Willison eases Haas burden
Despite producing a Herculean effort for New South Wales this week, all while nursing a back complaint which has lingered to his leg, Payne Haas continued to show the rugby league world what a force of nature he is.
But the superstar prop needed allies, and Xavier Willison thrust his hand up for a greater role.
While Haas was enormous – finishing with 186 metres and nine tackle busts – Willison shouldered a huge burden through the middle as Pat Carrigan’s minutes were reduced following his own Origin efforts.
The Kiwi youngster finished with 132 metres and 22 tackles, and with Ben Te Kura undergoing ankle surgery, Willison will need to continue this upward trajectory.
“They’re pretty diligent – Patty and Payno – and Payno has been great for us. We’ve faced a fair bit in the last month, but the boys stuck to the plan.”
Michael Maguire on managing Origin players
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
