“Patty looked me in the eye,and he told me ‘f— it,don’t worry about what happened,go out there and play footy,go out there and play your game,” Walsh told this masthead.
“I can’t tell you how much that impacted me because Patty,he’s like an older brother for me. I thrive when people are backing me and supporting me. That was just the perfect thing for him to say and I then just went out there and did my job to repay my teammates.”
Happy camper:Reece Walsh.Credit:NRL Imagery
Just as you double take when Maguire lauds Walsh’s maturity,you stop when the man of the moment shrugs and offers a summation of his match-winning blitz.
“It wasn’t anything special mate,that’s just how I play rugby league. To be honest I should’ve bloody done that from the first whistle.”
Walsh isn’t wrong. That is definitely how he plays the game. Brilliance. Bluster. Speed. Sledging. And unfortunately,headbutting.
Loading
The Match Review Committee will decide his finals fate on Monday morning. If his contact on Young is deemed grade 1 striking,Walsh will be free to play with a fine.
A grade 2 verdict will have him facing two games out,even with an early guilty plea. Same story if dangerous contact is the ruling - grade 2,he’s in trouble,grade 1,play on. A contrary conduct charge for flipping off the crowd won’t count as a prior offence regarding the charges from the same game.
A Broncos staffer cuts Walsh off when you ask if he feels he did genuinely headbutt Young.
“I hope not,” is all he can say on the prospect of suspension ruling him out of a preliminary or grand final.
Loading
As for tangling with Young,he’s far more forthcoming. The glint is back in those bright green eyes.
In a live cross with Fox Sports’ Matty Johns Show,he joked that Young had branded him a “weak-gutted dog”.
“Nah nothing too much was really said,” he grins in the sheds.
“It was just two passionate footballers going at it and I actually loved that.
“(Raiders players) were giving it to me all night,so that’s rugby league. I love it. It might look a certain way,but I love that rough and tough shit.
“I thrive off it. I try to anyway.”
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9&9Now.