Brisbane’s finals hopes are in jeopardy as their injury crisis worsens. Reece Walsh delivered arguably his best performance of the season for the Broncos on Friday night, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Penrith from securing victory in the grand final rematch. Brisbane’s NRL finals aspirations took a severe hit with a 14-6 loss to the Panthers, marking the fifth consecutive defeat for Kevin Walters’ team, exacerbated by an injury to halfback Jock Madden.
Madden limped off with a hamstring injury early in the second half, and Walters expects the playmaker to be sidelined for at least a month in this devastating setback for the team. This forces Brisbane to rely on their fourth-string option at halfback against the Dragons next weekend, with skipper Adam Reynolds and rookie Cody Black also out with injuries. Walters has indicated that Josh Rogers will take the reins for just his third NRL game after impressing earlier in the season.
The injury to Madden forced Walsh to step up for the Broncos on Friday night, with the dynamic No.1 taking on most of the kicking duties and the bulk of the playmaking responsibilities. However, the Broncos once again struggled in attack, as their lack of points and heavy reliance on Walsh to create some magic were criticized by several rugby league greats. With Walsh set to miss Brisbane’s next match due to Origin duty, this presents a significant challenge for Walters’ side.
Reece Walsh brilliance not enough for stuttering Broncos
“The worrying thing for Brisbane is the lack of points, averaging 13 over the last three weeks in their losses, only six tonight, and they did not look like scoring many more,” Paul Vautin commented on Nine’s coverage. “It seems now if Reece Walsh isn’t making breaks for the Broncos, nothing is happening. Ezra Mam was quiet tonight.” Brad Fittler added, “When Jock Madden went off, Reece had to do everything. He had to do all the thinking as well.”
Walsh propelled his side into a 6-4 halftime lead after slicing through Penrith’s defensive line and sprinting around fullback Dylan Edwards to score a brilliant individual try. However, the Panthers demonstrated their premiership credentials by grinding out an eight-point win in slippery conditions at Suncorp Stadium, with second-half tries from Brian To’o and Mitch Kenny sealing the victory.
The loss means Walters’ side has slipped further from the top eight and could drop 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. The task will be even harder against the Dragons next week without their Origin stars Walsh, Payne Haas, and Patrick Carrigan.
While Walters has already indicated Rogers will step in to fill the No.7 role at the injury-hit Broncos, club great Corey Parker believes shifting hooker Billy Walters into the halves and starting Tyson Smoothy at No.9 would be the “least disruptive” move. “It will be interesting for Kevvie Walters and the coaching staff to come up with a side next week with no Adam Reynolds, no Jock Madden,” Parker said. “Coby Black, the 18-year-old they have touted to go and do good things in the No. 7 has thumb ligament damage.
“I would assume moving forward that maybe they’ll put Billy Walters into the No. 7 jersey, maybe Josh Rogers comes back into that fold. But Billy Walters was playing No. 7 at the end there, and then Smoothy to start at No. 9 (next week). That would be the least disruptive move for the Broncos.”
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