Reece Walsh said he did not deserve a State of Origin recall after being left out of Queensland’s game one squad, admitting his recent form had not earned him a place in the Maroons side. The Broncos fullback said not getting the call was disappointing, but added that he knew the standard required to wear the Queensland jersey.
The timing matters because Walsh’s omission came after he returned from a fractured cheekbone and then watched Brisbane lose four straight games. Since coming back against Sydney, he has made eight handling errors, averaged 103 running metres a game and failed to score a try, numbers that have sharpened scrutiny on one of the NRL’s most watched players.
Walsh also scored two try assists in the shock loss to the Dragons after the game was all but gone, but that late influence did little to change the bigger picture. He said he was being honest with himself about where his game sat and that his focus had to stay on training and getting back to the standards he sets for himself.
That view came despite the close relationship he has with Queensland coach Billy Slater. Kalyn Ponga was preferred in the No.1 jumper for game one, leaving Walsh on the outside looking in even as the selectors balanced form, fitness and recent history. Walsh was later floored and concussed by Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in game one of the Origin campaign, and in round five he suffered the fractured cheekbone against the Titans that set this latest run in motion.
Walsh’s message now is plain: he wants the footy to do the talking. He said his full focus is on playing good rugby league for Brisbane, and whether that is enough to force his way back into Queensland calculations later in the series is the question that hangs over him now.
