Broncos<\/a> fullback to chase the global stage rugby union offers.<\/p>\n\u201cMy concern is that because he is of such a status and has such a cult following, he tries to go worldwide and bigger,\u201d Parker told AAP.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn rugby league, it\u2019s just harnessed here in Australia and in the north of England. If you look at rugby union, that is worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former Maroons captain admitted he has \u201cnever seen anyone\u201d with Walsh\u2019s level of popularity and hopes he remains in league for the long term.<\/p>\n
\u2018Can\u2019t forecast how big he\u2019ll get\u2019<\/p>\n
Walsh is contracted to the Broncos until the end of 2029 after signing a long-term extension last year, but Parker expects his brand and reach to continue growing rapidly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually can\u2019t even forecast how big he is going to get,\u201d Parker said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe talent is obvious, but the status and the following are on another level.\u201d<\/p>\n
He praised Walsh\u2019s composure in the NRL grand final, saying the young star \u201cwas terrific\u201d in lifting the Broncos when their halves went down injured.<\/p>\n
Wallabies urged to \u2018open the chequebook\u2019<\/p>\n
The rugby union world has already taken notice.<\/p>\n
On The Good, The Bad and The Rugby ANZ podcast, former Wallaby Jeremy Paul urged Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh to make a bold play for Walsh.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow fast was he on the weekend in the Ashes? Every time he touched it, it was explosive,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI reckon Phil Waugh, open up that chequebook, bro. He\u2019d put bums on seats anyway. Look at Suaalii.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, Walsh remains loyal to Brisbane, but with the Wallabies desperate to rebuild their global brand and the NRL facing new threats from rival codes, the battle to keep the game\u2019s most marketable star could soon be on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reece Walsh\u2019s stardom continues to soar, but rugby league great Corey Parker has warned the NRL could struggle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-257197","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257197","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=257197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}