Storm skipper Harry Grant has suggested double standards were at play after Brisbane superstar Reece Walsh escaped the sin bin for a critical act in Sunday’s NRL Grand Final.

The Broncos rallied from a 10-point deficit to seal a stirring 26-22 premiership triumph that snapped an almost two-decade drought for the Queenslanders.

But there could have been a very different outcome if Walsh had been sent to the bin for his first-half high shot on Xavier Coates.

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Melbourne was leading 12-6 midway through the first half at Accor Stadium when Walsh led with his shoulder attempting to tackle Coates, making direct contact with the Storm winger’s face.

Coates was falling forward at the time, but his head snapped back after the contact and the manner of the collision caused NRL great Andrew Johns to immediately state: “We’ve seen all year this is a sin bin.”

Walsh avoided the bin, however, getting placed on report but facing no further action.

Melbourne scored again through Will Warbrick minutes later before Clive Churchill medallist Walsh produced one of the moments of the match, scything his way through a slew of Storm defenders to cross under the posts and reduce the margin to four points.

Frustratingly for Storm players and supporters, Walsh’s try came almost exactly 10 minutes after his high shot on Coates.

So it’s easy to draw the conclusion that had Walsh been sent to the bin, not only would he have been unable to score that crucial try, Melbourne would have had an extended period to capitalise on the extra man advantage.

Like Johns, Grant was questioning the consistency of the refereeing after Walsh managed to stay on the park.

The Melbourne captain also had a recent, personal incident to reflect upon after the game.

Five minutes into the second half of the Storm’s round 25 victory over Canterbury back in August, Grant caught Harry Hayes with his shoulder as the Bulldog brought the ball back from a kick-off.

On that occasion, Grant was placed on report and sent to the bin, ultimately earning a two-match suspension from the NRL judiciary.

Grant brought that incident up when speaking to Channel 9 after the game on Sunday and seemed to be pointing the finger at the Bunker, which was led by Ashley Klein, rather than on-field referee Grant Atkins.

“I got sin-binned a couple of weeks ago and got two weeks for bugger all and then we come out and do that,” Grant told 9 News of the Walsh tackle.

“In saying that, that’s probably not Grant’s call, that’s probably coming from above Grant.

“You know, we can give him a break on that, but we can probably ask some questions a little bit deeper.”

Walsh has since been hit with a grade one careless high tackle charge, copping a $3,000 fine and avoiding suspension.

Adding just a little more salt to the Storm’s wounds, lock Trent Loiero was sent to the bin in the dying minutes of the game and hit with a two-match ban for his late high shot on Brisbane’s Brendan Piakura.

The high shots were a huge talking point among the footy world after the game.

The Fox League account on X tweeted: “The NRL needs to do something about the shambolic inconsistencies with sin bins.

“Reece Walsh escaped a sin bin for a shoulder to the head of Xavier Coates, while Trent Loiero got sin-binned and suspended for a high shot in the same game.”

NRL reporter Lachlan Jeffery wrote: “If this was a club game, Reece Walsh would be in the sin bin for sure.”

X account Jacko Mallett quipped: “Impressive effort by Reece Walsh to score from the sin bin. Oh hang on.”

Simon Shirley added: “No sin bin!? Oh hang on, Reece Walsh tax!”

The lack of consistency was the biggest issue among NRL fans.

Storm five-eighth Cam Munster wasn’t making excuses, however, telling Nine after the game: “There’s a sour taste in our mouth. We’ll be hungry next year.”

Originally published as Storm skipper Harry Grant claps back over Reece Walsh act