Ricky Stuart has declared the officials were wrong not to send Reece Walsh off in the Raiders’ loss to the Broncos on Sunday, with Walsh and Pat Carrigan both facing a nervous wait. Walsh was sin-binned for 10 minutes after striking Hudson Young with his head in the Broncos’ 29-28 victory in Canberra that sends them through to the preliminary final.
However there’s every chance they might lose Walsh and Carrigan to suspension, with both on report following incidents in the match. Walsh appeared to head-butt Young after the Raiders player got in his face following a Broncos’ error, while Carrigan also spent 10 minutes on the sidelines for a high shot.
Ricky Stuart (L) believes Reece Walsh (R) should have been sent off for the rest of the game. Image: NRL/Getty
It’s the second time Walsh has been accused of a head-butt in his career, after he copped a grade-two striking charge in State of Origin in 2023. This time around, a grade-two dangerous contact or striking charge would end Walsh’s season as it would result in a two-game ban at minimum.
“I’d have to have a look at it, they were at each other a little bit,” Broncos coach Maguire said after the game. “It was probably more just conversation, we’ll have a look at it down the track. There is emotion out there. They were both sent for a reason, so you move on.”
Stuart was less forgiving, claiming the 10 minutes in the sin-bin was too lenient. “Well, they’ve set a precedent now, you’re allowed to head-butt,” the Raiders coach said. “If Joe (Tapine) or Hudson had used their head on Reece Walsh, what do you think would have happened to them? They got it 100 per cent wrong, but we shouldn’t make it about that because it was an unbelievable promotion of the game itself.”
Reece Walsh and Pat Carrigan facing nervous wait
Walsh is also likely to face sanction from the NRL after he was spotted flipping the middle finger to Raiders fans as he was leaving the field following the sin-bin. And Carrigan will draw scrutiny from the match review committee after racing out of the line to put a shot on Morgan Smithies, only to collect him in the head.
“It’s finals time. Every moment counts. It’s fast and quick,” Maguire said of the Carrigan incident. The Broncos player added: “To be honest I thought I had a head clash. I haven’t seen the angle of it but we’ll have to wait and see.”
Speaking after the game, Matty Johns said there will be pressure on the match review committee not to suspend the Broncos stars. “It is going to be a nervous wait whether they rub [Walsh] out for that head-butt,” Johns said. “Let’s talk straight, there is going to be pressure not to. You want your superstars in finals matches, but it is going to be a really nervous wait.”
Reece Walsh flipped the middle finger at Raiders fans after being sin-binned for head-butting Hudson Young. Image: Channel 9
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Meanwhile, the Broncos will also be sweating on Payne Haas after the star forward suffered an ankle injury. Haas was immense for the Broncos and led from the front, but was seen hobbling around badly on multiple occasions. There are also concerns that second-rower Brendan Piakura suffered a depressed cheekbone.
Maguire was full of praise for Walsh after he went from zero to hero following his return to the field. The Raiders took a 28-12 lead with Walsh and Carrigan in the bin, but Walsh was sensational when he returned and flipped the game on its head.
“His maturity and what I have seen over the last four or five months, I think he has been working towards that,” Maguire said. “He knows that. There is a lot of talk around Reecey but he knows what he is capable of and the boys get around him and back him.”
with AAP