Reece Walsh played arguably his best game of the season for the Broncos on Friday night but it wasn’t enough to stop Penrith claiming victory in the grand final rematch. Brisbane’s NRL finals hopes took a brutal new blow as they went down 14-6 to the Panthers in what was a fifth straight defeat for Kevin Walters’ side, with an injury to halfback Jock Madden compounding the issues at the Broncos.
Madden limped off with a hamstring injury early in the second half and Walters says he expects the playmaker to be out for at least a month in a devastating new setback for the side. It means Brisbane will be forced to turn to their fourth-string option at halfback against the Dragons next weekend, with skipper Adam Reynolds and rookie Cody Black also sidelined with injury. Walters has indicated Josh Rogers will be handed the reins for just his third game in the NRL after impressing earlier in the season.
Due to Madden’s injury, Walsh had to fill in for the Broncos on Friday night, handling the most of the playmaking and kicking responsibilities. Walsh is a dynamic player. However, a lot of rugby league greats criticized the Broncos for their lack of points and need on Walsh to work some magic, which again prevented them from generating much of an offensive threat. Furthermore, Walsh’s scheduled absence from Brisbane’s upcoming Origin encounter poses a significant challenge for Walters’ team.
Reece Walsh brilliance not enough for stuttering Broncos
The worrying thing for Brisbane is the lack of points, averaging 13 the last three weeks in their losses, only six tonight and they did not look like scoring too many more,” Paul Vautin said on Nine’s coverage. “But it seems now if Reece Walsh is not doing something, making breaks for the Broncos, that nothing is happening. Ezra Mam was quiet tonight.” Brad Fittler added: “When Jock Madden went off, Reece had to pretty much do everything. He started to have to do all the thinking as well.”
Walsh fired his side into a 6-4 halftime lead after slicing through Penrith’s defensive line before sprinting around fullback Dylan Edwards to score a brilliant individual try. But the Panthers showed their premiership credentials by being able to grind out an eight-point win in slippery conditions at Suncorp Stadium’s with second half tries to Brian To’o and Mitch Kenny sealing victory.
Brisbane’s finals hopes rocked after fifth straight loss
The loss means Walters’ side have slipped further away from the top eight and could be as low as 12th by the end of round 18. They may need to win 6 out of their last 8 games to qualify for the finals. And the task will be even harder against the Dragons next week without their Origin stars Walsh, Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan.
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