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<\/p>\n\u201cDay one, Reecey and I sat down, and I said you\u2019ve got plenty of attack, but with your defence \u2013 if you work hard at that \u2013 you\u2019ll find the ability to be one of the best fullbacks,\u201d Broncos coach Michael Maguire said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he saved five tries. Phenomenal, right to the death, which is the spirit of this team. He\u2019s had to work hard at his game \u2026 when he comes to training, he\u2019s the last one off the field every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walsh did all of this on the greatest stage, when Adam Reynolds, Ben Hunt and Josiah Karapani were forced from the field.<\/p>\n
The scary thing is \u2013 even after adding four linebreak assists and 14 tackle busts to his glittering grand final resume \u2013 the boy wonder is just beginning.<\/p>\n
At just 23 years of age, Walsh\u2019s tenure as one of the NRL\u2019s most influential players is still in its fledgling stages. Whatever the next decade holds can\u2019t be predicted \u2013 and given the way he plays, maybe he doesn\u2019t even know.<\/p>\n
Can this start a new generation?<\/p>\n
Beyond the initial celebrations, Brisbane will not be content with a one-off title.<\/p>\n
Adam Reynolds needed to be carried off by two trainers after his leg gave out, while Ben Hunt was forced off for a head injury assessment to leave Ezra Mam with the closing play-making duties.<\/p>\n
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Ben Hunt celebrates his first premiership, 10 years on from his ill-fated Golden Point knock on, with Reece Walsh.Credit: AAPIMAGE<\/p>\n
Hunt\u2019s setback was of ill-fortune, but with both 35-year-old veterans in the twilight of their careers, the long-term future of the club will remain a mystery until a solution is cemented.<\/p>\n
Both men have committed until at least the end of 2026, but Mam \u2013 despite coming off the bench in the decider \u2013 will command the No.6 jumper for as long as he wants it.<\/p>\n
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The 23-year-old, whose season began with a nine-game suspension and was threatened by a hamstring injury, was brilliant in the No.14 jersey, coming up with 83 running metres, two linebreak assists, a try assist for Shibasaki and a match-winning cover tackle on Papenhuyzen.<\/p>\n
Neither Reynolds nor Hunt will be around for long enough to ensure this victory marches on to become a dynasty, but they will mentor the incoming brigade to spearhead the future.<\/p>\n
Coby Black has been heralded the next cab off the rank, and finished the Queensland Cup campaign for Souths Logan with six tries, eight try assists and nine linebreak assists from 16 appearances as a 19-year-old.<\/p>\n
Cowboys rookie Tom Duffy will also arrive at Red Hill for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Hunt and Reynolds have paved the way for the next generation to flourish with a group of men who now know what it takes to reach the pinnacle of the competition.<\/p>\n
Haas support emerges<\/p>\n
For much of Payne Haas\u2019 time at the Broncos, he has been shackled with the responsibility of being the go-to man of Brisbane\u2019s engine room.<\/p>\n
But Xavier Willison has proven in 2025 that the New South Wales State of Origin sensation will not be a one-man wrecking crew while donning the maroon colours.<\/p>\n
Willison returned in emphatic fashion during last week\u2019s preliminary final victory against Penrith from a fractured arm, and carried on that work against the Storm when it mattered most.<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old 146 running metres were the most of any Brisbane forward \u2013 Haas finishing with 118 and Pat Carrigan with 136.<\/p>\n
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Xavier Willison celebrates the Broncos\u2019 premiership triumph.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
The way Willison changed the momentum from 16-6 down enabled Haas to play fewer minutes (54 compared to 80 last week) and make a bigger impact, providing a rapid play the ball.<\/p>\n
For the Broncos to carry on this momentum, Willison looms as a pivotal piece in that puzzle.<\/p>\n
Maguire\u2019s regimen a winning recipe<\/p>\n
Maguire was hammered for his gruelling regimen, with players seen regularly taking to his famed spew buckets at the end of each session.<\/p>\n
But his desire to instil grinding standards into this squad through high standards and fitness has paid dividends.<\/p>\n
This was the sixth time in 15 games they found a way to win, despite facing a double-digit second half deficit.<\/p>\n
Without enduring that brutal summer, this Broncos team could not have overcome the obstacles they faced on the field. Maguire\u2019s methods have been proven a winning formula.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been questioned all my life as a coach, so that doesn\u2019t really worry me. The journeys of the various places I\u2019ve been at, these guys bought into exactly what I\u2019ve seen work,\u201d Maguire said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey haven\u2019t flinched, they didn\u2019t go away from it. They stayed the course, and now they\u2019re sitting here on the back of all the work they\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n