{"id":190339,"date":"2025-10-04T22:05:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T22:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/190339\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T22:05:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T22:05:06","slug":"all-eyes-on-reece-lightning-as-dashing-broncos-seek-to-mesmerise-storm-in-nrl-grand-final-nrl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/190339\/","title":{"rendered":"All eyes on Reece Lightning as dashing Broncos seek to mesmerise Storm in NRL grand final | NRL"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the frenzy of NRL<\/a> grand final week, the narratives come thick and past. Of full circle moments, and connections linking the contending clubs. Fairytale returns, motivating slurs, men with something to prove.<\/p>\n

But when the players run out on to Sydney\u2019s Accor Stadium on Sunday evening, no competitor will draw more eyes than the Brisbane fullback Reece Walsh. He is a story unto himself, having engineered the miraculous comeback victory over minor premiers Canberra three weeks ago with a performance that was not perfect but more than compelling.<\/p>\n

And there he was again last week, emerging as the Shakespearean character who set up the equalising try against the Panthers<\/a>, but then admitted his vulnerability in handing the kicking tee \u2013 having already missed one crucial shot \u2013 to Adam Reynolds for the dynasty ender.<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty boy? Yes. Bit of lair in him? Yes,\u201d said broadcaster Matty Johns this week, who had put Walsh\u2019s last 15 minutes against the Raiders as \u2013 alongside Nathan Cleary in the 2023 decider against the Broncos \u2013 the greatest he had seen. But Johns also said it shouldn\u2019t be forgotten how \u201ctough\u201d the 23-year-old is, highlighting his frantic running game free of self-preservation.<\/p>\n

Off-the-field, the playmaker has also had his share of personal adversity. Walsh grew up in Nerang on the Gold Coast with his father Rod and stepmother Jodie, and has had little contact with his Kiwi mother. His daughter Leila, who has become a regular at Broncos games, was born in 2021, but Walsh and Leila\u2019s mother have since separated. That year proved particularly turbulent for Walsh after he was caught in possession of cocaine, and broke down in front of the cameras when issuing a public apology.<\/p>\n

But the man they call Reece Lightning appears now to be in a good place. He was brilliant in the Broncos\u2019 unlikely surge to the 2023 decider, and although the team\u2019s struggles under Kevin Walters last year and a knee injury in April have proven hurdles, the fullback appears back on his ascent.<\/p>\n

Reece Walsh celebrates after the Broncos\u2019 preliminary final win against Penrith. Photograph: Dave Hunt\/AAP<\/p>\n

His influence on Brisbane\u2019s play this year has increased, and he has credited his improvement to sports psychologist Jacqui Louder, who also works with the Storm. \u201cShe clears my mind, and she helps a lot with my mindset if I\u2019m feeling a certain way or how to approach certain things if I\u2019m feeling down or I\u2019m feeling not quite my best,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With painted fingernails, a movie-star gaze and a love for the spotlight (he began a video blog on YouTube this year), Walsh is as flamboyant as its gets in the NRL. So when the Storm forward Stefano Utoikamanu said on Monday he thought some of the Brisbane players were \u201cstuck up\u201d<\/a>, it wasn\u2019t hard to imagine who he was referring to.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s saying that because we get more fans to our games than they do,\u201d Walsh responded. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of talk around the Broncs that we\u2019re show ponies and we don\u2019t want to work hard, but it\u2019s not until you\u2019re in these four walls that you see how hard we work and how much sacrifice we make for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

After four years of NRL dominance by Penrith, known for their powerful but controlled style, the 2025 decider is likely to be less predictable, changing course in an instant. \u201cIt only takes 15, 20 minutes when you\u2019ve got someone like Reece Walsh, or the X-factor players they\u2019ve got in their team,\u201d Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster said. \u201cWe need to be on high alert for 80.\u201d<\/p>\n

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These teams scored more points than any other during the NRL season, and Walsh\u2019s threat \u2013 alongside experienced playmakers Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt \u2013 is more than matched by the Storm, who boast the most respected spine in the game. Munster, halfback Jahrome Hughes and hooker Harry Grant each have a claim as the competition\u2019s best in their positions, but Munster said the trio still have something to prove.<\/p>\n

They are yet to win a premiership without any one of Melbourne\u2019s \u201cbig three\u201d of Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith, the last of the trio to retire in 2021. \u201cI was fortunate enough to have the big three that pretty much carried me for those two premierships we won [in 2017 and 2020],\u201d Munster said. \u201cTo be able to go through that stage of the big three, and now be able to hopefully win one on our own would be really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hughes said this group was equipped to win. \u201cThe big thing was, a lot of people probably thought we couldn\u2019t win one without those [big three] guys, so there\u2019s a little bit of a driving factor there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the frenzy of NRL grand final week, the narratives come thick and past. Of full circle moments,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-190339","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}