What happened five months ago is out the window for the Brisbane Broncos, with Reece Walsh declaring his side remains ‘the hunters’ in 2026 ahead of a heavyweight showdown with Nathan Cleary and the Panthers.
The superstar fullback is adamant the team collectively has room to improve and consistently produce their electric 2025 finals form across the entire season in the bid to go back-to-back.
The 23-year-old said honesty and accountability to the club’s standards from every squad member regardless of reputation would be the key to their success on Friday night and beyond.
“I wouldn’t say we’re the hunted, I think we’re the hunters, we’re going after it and everybody’s going to bring their best,” Walsh said.
“It’s going to be a good challenge, going to be a tough one and something we look forward to.
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“We’ve got an amazing roster and we just want to try to play every game and do our best every single game.
“We know we’ve got a good opportunity, but we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, we want to turn up every day, try to get better and I think if we can do that, we can put ourselves in a good position.
“It’s the last opportunity we have together as a group and we want to make it count.”
It all starts with a date with the Panthers, who had their premiership reign ended in an epic preliminary final at the same venue where they kick off 2026.
Reece Walsh has the utmost respect for Panthers champion Nathan Cleary.
Walsh has the added bonus of close-up Ashes tour insights of Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Dylan Edwards to draw on leading into this clash but was typically sheepish when asked what cues he had noted to try to stay a step ahead when they face off.
“I think I’ve always admired and appreciated the things they’ve done, but being up close with them seeing how they go about their business and seeing how they hold themselves not only on the field but off it, it’s something I admire and makes me want to continue to do the right things and lead by example,” he said.
“It’s a bit hard to see what (Cleary) is going to do because he probably doesn’t know himself, but I know he’s a very detailed player and he’ll go to any lengths to try and break us down and hurt us as a team.
“So for me it’s just trying to put the pressure on him and make sure that I’m in position to do my job the best I can for the team.
“They’re a quality team and have shown it for the past five or six years. It’s going to be an awesome challenge and we’ll make sure we’re on our toes ready to go and we’ll go out there and play our footy.”