Reece Walsh cops brutal injury after nasty head clash as Brisbane Broncos are thumped by Nathan Cleary’s Penrith in NRL grand final rematch
The Brisbane Broncos have suffered a terrible night at the office after losing star fullback Reece Walsh in a drubbing by NRL champions Penrith.
Walsh ran riot against Latrell Mitchell in last week’s win over South Sydney, but was forced off after just five minutes after an ugly head clash with Panthers star Taylan May.
As a result, a huge gash emerged on the left side of his face and it took 20 minutes for medical staff to stitch it up.
He was preparing to return to the field of play but returned down the tunnel after complaining of trouble with his vision. The Broncos have confirmed that he will go fot scans on Friday morning.
Nathan Cleary inflicted more pain on Brisbane, putting on a masterclass to lead the Panthers to a 34-12 demolition job in the grand-final rematch.
Six months on from stealing the NRL premiership from Brisbane with the greatest individual 20 minutes in grand-final history, Cleary was at it again on Thursday night.
The Penrith half had a hand in four tries, including a mesmerising assist to Izack Tago before halftime, to end any hopes the Broncos had at BlueBet Stadium.
And with Walsh, Payne Haas and Adam Reynolds all missing, Cleary picked apart the Broncos with ease.
He repeatedly targeted Brendan Piakura, with Brisbane forced to play the second-rower at left centre while Selwyn Cobbo filled in at fullback.
It was on that edge that Cleary found the space for the Panthers’ first try, when he lofted a ball for winger Sunia Turuva to put him over.
Centre Tago was the next man to benefit, with his first try coming from a long cut-out ball from Cleary after Jarome Luai changed the point of attack.
Then came the play of the night just before halftime.
With Brisbane already on the ropes down 16-2, Cleary skipped across field and had Brisbane on the back foot with a double-pump dummy and another show-and-go.
That created the space for Tago to run into a gaping hole and put the match beyond doubt.
Cleary’s night was still not over, involving himself after the break when he went across field to create numbers before Luai and May put Brian To’o over.
At that point, Cleary had been involved in six tries in the space of 60 minutes of football against the Broncos, dating back to last year’s grand final.
What was also obvious was that while Brisbane did not want to speak about last year’s grand final this week, Penrith have clearly learned from it.
They rushed up and cut down the time and space of Brisbane’s edges, after Ezra Mam and Walsh did all the damage in the 2023 decider.
It was in that fashion Walsh was injured, with May put on report for colliding with the Broncos fullback early in the game.
Penrith protested the penalty, but referee Gerard Sutton ruled that May had a duty of care to bend in the tackle and avoid the head clash.
Brisbane took the penalty goal to lead 2-0, but their next points didn’t come until the game was over in the second half.
Penrith are flying again, while Brisbane are now one win from three matches to start the season and at risk of having Walsh join Reynolds and Haas on the sidelines.
