Walsh’s Ambitious Goal Unveiled as Broncos’ Star Strengthens Inner Circle

2025 NRL season officially launched | 02:44

Broncos star Reece Walsh is targeting being the best player in the game and has tightened his inner circle to avoid drama and focus on wining with his Brisbane teammates in 2025.

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Walsh told The Sydney Morning Herald that the goal of being the best fullback in the game and eventually the best player in the NRL is what drives him to get better every day.

“If you play this game and you don’t want to be the best, you shouldn’t be playing, Walsh told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Of course that’s what I want. I want to be the best in my position. If I work hard, and my teammates hold me to a high standard, and I hold myself to high standards, I know I can be anything.

“It’s pretty crazy. I didn’t think I’d play in the NRL. I always thought it was out of reach.

“Being in the position I’m in now, I have awesome people around me who will push me to my limits, have those hard and honest conversations with me, and drive me to be better every day.”

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Still, just 22, Walsh has scored 34 tries in 74 NRL games for the Warriors and Broncos since his debut in 2021 and has five Origins for Queensland to his name and a Grand Final appearance in 2023.

Broncos’ prodigal son Ben Hunt believes people need to be reminded of early Walsh is in his career, but given what he has achieved so far, the best player in the game is an achievable goal.

“It gets lost on us a bit how young he still is,” Hunt said.

“He obviously burst on the scene and excelled so quickly. Who knows where he will end up. We’ve all seen glimpses of his exceptional talent.

“If he can keep building on that, and get that consistency in his game, I can’t see why he can’t be the best.”

Ben Hunt believes Walsh can get to the top of the game’s best players list.Source: News Corp Australia

Walsh copped plenty of criticism after the Broncos went from three tries up in a grand final in 2023, to 12th last season, with plenty of pundits suggesting he was leading a rock star culture at the club.

Walsh believes it is easy to make assumptions from outside the club, but he doesn’t believe he or any of his Broncos teammates have egos that need to be kept in check and maintains he is just being himself.

“People on the outside might look at it as that, but if you sit down and have a genuine conversation with someone, talk about life, and what they want to do, you get to know them for who they are, rather than how they are [perceived],” Walsh explained.

“I’ve learned to keep my circle small and tight. There were tough moments last year, and it’s easy for people to flip on you and not be in your corner.

“I feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin. I feel like I don’t have to be someone I’m not.

“I just need to stick to my morals and what I stand for, which is being a good father, someone who cares about their teammates, who wants to work hard for his teammates, and isn’t scared of having that hard conversation, or getting that kick up the butt when it is needed.”

Walsh has made the finals just once in his four seasons in the NRL after playing two years with the Warriors and two since returning to the Broncos.

2023 was a fairytale as Walsh helped the Broncos to a first Grand Final since 2015, but ultimately fell short after Nathan Cleary inspired the Panthers to an epic comeback victory.

After such a disappointing 2024 season, Walsh, who played just 14 games scoring 14 tries last year, just wants to get back to winning and playing consistent footy and he believes Michael Maguire has prepared the team better than any pre-season during his career.

“I want to win, I want to put more games together, and I want to be more consistent than I have been the past few years,” Walsh said.

“I’m excited because the level we’ve trained at this pre-season, it’s bloody better than [the level] I have trained at my whole career.

“I want to be someone who is reliable, and someone my teammates can lean on when we’re going through a tough time.

“I have a lot of areas I need to keep growing, including my defence, and getting fitter.

“I couldn’t string games together last year. It was tough. It’s not an excuse, it’s a lesson.

“We still remember the feelings from last year. We have a saying here, ‘Keep the receipts’, which is where we have to remember the tough moments because they will only make the good ones extra sweet.

“I just want to win with this team, with my brothers.”