![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\nThe Broncos have been urged to give Reece Walsh full control if they want to keep their finals hopes alive and deliver a miracle to close out the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Rabbitohs\u2019 hopes of making the finals are getting slimmer by the day.<\/p>\n
Read below for the biggest talking points ahead of Round 21!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Watch every game of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/p>\n WHY BRONCOS NEED TO HAND KEYS TO WALSH… FULL TIME<\/p>\n Based on what fans saw last Thursday night, the Broncos have given Reece Walsh the keys to the side in the hope it will ignite an eight-game winning streak.<\/p>\n That\u2019s how many matches the defending premiers need to win in a row to make the finals and there\u2019s even been suggestions Walsh could move into the halves.<\/p>\n In Brisbane\u2019s 14-12 upset win over Penrith, Walsh basically played fullback and halfback during the game as Adam Reynolds took a back seat.<\/p>\n Speaking on the Matty Johns Show after the game, Luke Keary said Walsh could follow the path of a Broncos legend.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost like he\u2019s playing halfback for them. I reckon he\u2019ll translate into a five-eighth, like Darren Lockyer,\u201d Keary predicted.<\/p>\n On Monday night, the NRL 360 panel discussed the possibility of switching Walsh to the halves for the remainder of the season.<\/p>\n Journalist Brent Read described the suggestion as \u201cinsane\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand this sudden debate about if he should play six, I think it\u2019s insane,\u201d Read said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey won a comp with him last year at fullback and he\u2019s the Australian fullback.\u201d<\/p>\n Host Braith Anasta agreed with Read, but when asked by Gorden Tallis if coach Michael Maguire should let Walsh \u201cown he side\u201d, he said it was a no-brainer.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you reckon, Braith, you just give it to him now?\u201d Tallis asked.<\/p>\n \u201cOh yeah. He\u2019s got the hot hand and he had the hot hand last year. When he\u2019s in that state and in that form and has got the vibe, just give him the ball,\u201d Anasta said.<\/p>\n From the opening siren, Walsh was on a mission against the Panthers, knowing his Broncos were playing sudden death footy.<\/p>\n “Sums up everything wrong with Broncos” | 01:13<\/p>\n MORE NRL NEWS<\/p>\n \u2018REGRET IT\u2019: Bombshell Joey-for-NSW push hits overdrive after Daley \u2018decision\u2019 reveal<\/a><\/p>\n RUN HOME: Dogs\u2019 brutal reality… and why we can\u2019t rule out Broncos just yet<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018WE ARE 15TH\u2019: Ryles\u2019 blunt message to unsettled Eels in defiant defence of Luai move<\/a><\/p>\n He ended up recording a personal record of 86 touches on the night, which included a massive 61 passes as he set up all three of Brisbane\u2019s tries and kicked a sideline conversion that put the Broncos in front.<\/p>\n He played more like a half than a fullback, which was not only evident in the amount of passes he made, but the lower volume of runs (eight) he had on the night.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could see it straight away with Reece. As soon as he got that first touch and the way he was running with the intent, the speed, his explosiveness, the skill, he just looked hungry,\u201d Anasta said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you see Reece Walsh like that, and fully fit, it\u2019s dangerous. He\u2019s close to the best player in the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the victory against the competition leaders, the Broncos are still three wins outside the top eight and have a -124 points differential.<\/p>\n Journalist Dean Ritchie thinks the defending premiers have left their run too late.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t see them getting there (finals), but if they get there they could do some incredible damage because I\u2019m not convinced there\u2019s that many sides that can win it,\u201d Ritchie said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s Penrith, there\u2019s the Roosters, I\u2019m not convinced by the Warriors, I\u2019m not convinced by the Sharks.<\/p>\n \u201cWith no pressure on them, because they probably won\u2019t make the finals, that\u2019s when they may well be at their most dangerous and they could kick some butt in these next few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n HOW DO THE ROOSTERS BREAK THEIR PANTHERS HOODOO?<\/p>\n When glamour club the Roosters were celebrating their 2019 premiership win few would have predicted they would go on to have such issues with a then lowly-rated team from western Sydney.<\/p>\n The Bondi club created history that October night seven seasons ago, becoming the first side to go back-to-back since the Broncos of 1992 and 1993.<\/p>\n But that feat has virtually been forgotten by the wider rugby league public because Penrith would soon win four titles in a row.<\/p>\n Along with that, the Roosters have not only struggled to beat Penrith, but most of their past 14 clashes have been dominated on the scoreboard by the Panthers.<\/p>\n Speaking on the Matty & Cronk show, Cooper Cronk, who was part of those Roosters back-to-back triumphs, says his former club has a great opportunity to win its 16th title. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Roosters have every ingredient to be premiers this year,\u201d Cronk said. <\/p>\n \u201cThey have a big, strong alpha-dominating forward pack, they\u2019ve got a representative spine, they\u2019ve got athletic outside backs that can score a try at any moment, but can they beat Penrith?\u201d<\/p>\n Cronk said the Roosters players and coaching staff needed to be in the mindset of wanting to take on Penrith rather than hoping someone else knocks them out.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to try and sidestep Penrith all the way to a grand final victory, it\u2019s more hope than destiny,\u201d Cronk said.<\/p>\n Penrith smashed the Roosters 40-4 at their home ground earlier in the year and fans won\u2019t have to wait long to see how the tricolours may measure up in the finals.<\/p>\n The teams clash in Round 24 at CommBank Stadium \u2013 the venue where the Roosters recorded that one win from their past 14 clashes.<\/p>\n Two-time Dally M Medal winner Cronk thinks Roosters halves Sam Walker and Daly Cherry-Evans hold the key to toppling a Nathan Cleary-led Penrith.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a big final, can Walker and Cherry-Evans use the ingredients they\u2019ve got at the Roosters and beat Nathan? That\u2019s essentially what it will come down to,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n Brother sister duo both star for Titans! | 01:46<\/p>\n ARE THE RABBITOHS FINALS HOPES DONE?<\/p>\n Entering Round 8 of the competition, the Rabbitohs were well placed.<\/p>\n Sitting pretty in the top four with five wins and two losses, the Bunnies were flying high on the back of the scintillating form of Latrell Mitchell, who was the competition\u2019s best player across the first two months.<\/p>\n Since then, the wheels started to fall off. <\/p>\n Mitchell would suffer a back injury the following weekend against the Knights and then re-aggravate it two weeks later. He hasn\u2019t seen the field since. <\/p>\n When preparing to return, Mitchell then picked up a calf injury at training. <\/p>\n Since Mitchell sustained the back injury, the club have lost six and won four.<\/p>\n