Broncos fullback Reece Walsh is on track to become the best player in the NRL in the coming years, but one of his teammates has gone even further by declaring he’s on track to “be the best player ever” after one of the great grand final performances.

Walsh is still only 23 but he can call himself a premiership winner after he ended Brisbane’s 19-year drought with one of the finest individual displays ever seen on the biggest stage to win the Clive Churchill Medal.

The livewire fullback scored a stunning solo try where he beat five defenders, he set up three tries and saved another three including what would have been the match winner to Ryan Papenhuyzen in the final minute.

Nathan Cleary is widely regarded as the best player in the world right now, but Walsh is coming to get him after breaking Storm hearts on Sunday night.

“He’s definitely helping us erase the memory of Nathan Cleary in 2023,” injured Broncos hooker Billy Walters told the NewsWire.

“He’s on track to be the best player ever.

“He’s only scratching the surface. He’s so good and he’s nothing what the media portrays him as, not that that’s your fault or anyone’s.

“He’s so tough, he’s so resilient, he works so hard on his game and he’s such a talent. He’s honestly just scratching the surface.

“It’s why I wanted to stay at the club because I think he’s carrying us to another premiership.”

Walsh’s finals form rivals anything we’ve ever seen before, with the superstar joking that his gulp of toilet water helped turn things around.

The royal flush has turned him into the new king of Queensland, but it’s been a journey after calling veteran halfback Adam Reynolds ahead of his return to the club in 2023 following a stint with the Warriors.

“I remember when ‘Reyno’ first came to the club, he invited me over for the first time,” he said.

“I asked to have a look at his ring because I was a young kid coming back to Brissie.

“I remember calling him when I was on Mad Monday for the Warriors saying ‘I’m going to come back and help you win a comp’.

“To be here right now from day one when I was dodging Madge’s (coach Michael Maguire) calls because I was too scared to talk to him. But we were in the trenches together and we were running through the bush as a team with the culture and the belief that we built.

“No one gave us a chance. The only ones that believed were the ones in the room. Our backs were against the walls and we could have shied away, but we went towards those moments and I’m so honoured and grateful to be part of this team.

“It’s been 19 years and we just etched our names in history so I’m extremely honoured.”

Walsh is a polarising figure in the game with some people unable to accept a young man who wears nail polish and does things differently off the field.

But his teammates insist that the outside perception is all wrong.

“He just really cares for the boys,” Walters said.

“He just loves everyone and he’s very humble. He doesn’t care if you’ve played 300 NRL games or none – he’ll always catch up with you for a coffee and see how you’re going.

“He’s very good with kids and loves family. Every time I bring my son in or anyone brings their kids in, he’s always talking to them and making them laugh.

“He’s someone you want on your team, and he keeps proving again and again why he’s the best.”

Lock forward Patrick Carrigan has a special bond with Walsh and backed him to get even better as he gains more experience on and off the field.

“You guys don’t even know (what he can do). He’s just a kid,” he said.

“I don’t want to pump up his tyres too much even though I’m his biggest fan, but if you hang around footy and see the hard work he does day in and day out, you see how he understands the game already.

“If he keeps working hard and stays diligent, he’s going to be a special player.

“I think it (the criticism) doesn’t really faze him. He’s got a tight circle and a really tight friendship group. He just values the little things in life.

“It doesn’t help that he’s a good looking rooster and gets thrown on all the billboards, but he’s a special player and a special person.”

Originally published as ‘He’s on track to be the best player ever’: Broncos teammate tips Reece Walsh to become the GOAT following grand final heroics