Reece Walsh reminded the NRL that he has the ability to turn the Broncos into a premiership force in their comeback victory over Cronulla on Sunday.
It was less than two years ago when his brilliance catapulted Brisbane into the grand final where they nearly brought Penrith’s dynasty to an abrupt end.
His dazzling footwork and creativity out wide propelled the Broncos to a 34-28 triumph when they appeared to be down and out after trailing by 16 early in the second half.
The Roosters also issued a warning that they may be banged up this season with injuries but their young prospects are more than stepping up to the plate, as evidenced by their 42-8 thrashing of the Cowboys.
After conceding an even 100 points from their past two losses, pressure is mounting on coach Todd Payten.
And the Eels are another team on the rise after investing in young talent with Jason Ryles’ patched-up line-up accounting for Gold Coast 36-20 to complete the round and leave the Titans in last spot.
1. Broncos go from terrible to terrific
Walsh triggered a dramatic comeback to sink the Sharks and get the Broncos’ season back on track in their best win of 2025.
They were average to dreadful for the opening 50 minutes of the match but with Walsh and skipper Adam Reynolds tormenting the Cronulla defence, they raced in four unanswered tries for an improbable 34-28 triumph.
Brisbane were down by 16 when the Sharks scored early in the second half after leading 22-12 at the break but Gehamat Shibasaki and Josiah Karapani each touched down twice on the back of Walsh’s brilliance.
The star fullback finished with two try assists in his most dynamic display of an injury-interrupted season.
“I guess we expect Reece to come up with those things. He just keeps competing,” Broncos coach Michael Maguire said.
“The captain spoke to them at halftime and sharpened them up a bit.
“It was pleasing that with their backs against the wall … to fight the way they did and get the win at the end.”
Walsh (58) ended up touching the ball more than Reynolds or halves partner Ezra Mam (26) to ensure the Broncos improved to a 7-7 record and leapfrog the Sharks into fifth spot on the ladder when a loss could have sent them tumbling out of the top eight.
“Their intensity and execution in the second half has been top shelf,” was former Kangaroos halfback Cooper Cronk’s summary of Brisbane’s resurrection.
Cory Paix and Mam managed the only Brisbane tries in a first half riddled by Reynolds and Walsh putting in a series of ineffective kicks close to the line.
Front-rower Payne Haas was forced off to get his quad strain heavily strapped but he was able to return to the field to reinforce the middle for Brisbane with 200 running metres for the match and deliver good news for the Blues’ Origin prospects.
2. Sharks wilt under pressure
Cronulla only have themselves to blame after coasting to a healthy lead and then making several defensive blunders to allow Brisbane back into the contest.
The visitors dominated the first half with Will Kennedy crossing the stripe twice while Siosifa Talakai and Nicho Hynes did likewise off well-worked plays to the left edge.
Cronulla winger Sione Katoa put his entry in for the dumbest play of the year when he committed a professional foul at dummy half with one second on the clock in the first half and Brisbane deep inside their own territory.
They managed to score while down to 12 players via Blayke Brailey but the extra fuel it took out of their tank was a contributing factor in their late breakdown.
Cameron McInnes is tackled. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Second-rower Teig Wilton was hospitalised with blurred vision after copping an accidental poke in the eye to compound Cronulla’s misery.
“Our discipline to stick to our plan and defence has been poor for weeks. Even when we were leading, you could see signs we were hanging on,” Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said.
“I’m not going to sit here and make excuses. We need to do something about it. We’ve got to address our discipline.”
3. Roosters run rampant
Mark Nawaqanitawase enhanced his growing reputation as the Roosters ran rampant at Allianz Stadium against a woeful Cowboys excuse for a team.
The former Wallaby, who has already registered a few classic four-pointers in his first full season in the NRL, put in another contender for try of the year when he finished off a scintillating team effort to complete the 42-8 rout.
After the ball went through seven sets of hands, rookie half Hugo Savala reefed a bouncing grubber back from over the sideline into the waiting arms of Nawaqanitawase, who finished off the long-range raid which he created 70 metres up the other end of the field.
For the Roosters, they have squared their ledger at 7-7 for the season and risen to seventh on the ladder but they could be without young forward Siua Wong for an extended stretch after he limped off with medial ligament damage.
They deserved their 18-4 half-time lead and North Queensland definitely “earned” their 24-0 second-half shellacking.
It was like the Tricolours were playing the other type of rugby at times as their attackers refused to hit the ground with the ball.
Time and again they offloaded in tackles or passed without looking into open space knowing full well that a support player would be there to take the Steeden further downfield.
With captain James Tedesco freed up from the burden of representative football to lead his youthful side by his non-stop example, this team could do some damage in the playoffs.
“The leadership has been really special this year with what these guys have done,” coach Trent Robinson said.
“But they’ve also created belief in the younger guys to be themselves and also take advantage of what they see in front of them.
“You can beat them down and tell them, ‘This is how we used to do it’, or you can say, ‘Be yourself’.
“And that is Teddy’s style and you can see that coming out in their game.”
Even the month-long delay in Sam Walker’s comeback from knee surgery, due to a broken thumb, has not hampered the Roosters’ rise.
4. Isaiah ices the No.1 jersey
The decision to let Clint Gutherson walk a year early was met with criticism and concern around Parramatta way.
But incoming coach Jason Ryles knew he had a special talent at the ready to take over the fullback’s role in Isaiah Iongi.
He had played just one NRL match at Penrith but the Eels have picked a winner in Iongi, who was superb in Sunday’s 30-20 triumph over the Gold Coast.
Iongi produced three try assists and a line break of his own to have the defensive line constantly second-guessing which way he would go with ball in hand.
The Eels held a slender 18-16 lead after the first half but were rewarded for being the bolder team in the second term despite being without first-choice halves Mitchell Moses (calf) and Dylan Brown (suspension).
Blues star Zac Lomax backed up from Origin to be a constant aerial threat not only on the wing but all over the field.
5. Campbell concussion disrupts Titans
A Sunday night match between the two teams at the bottom of the ladder without Moses and Brown during the Origin series can often highlight the drudgery of the middle stages of the season.
Watching a match like this is punishment for shoplifting in some countries.
But this was actually a decent contest and Gold Coast’s effort for the most part matched Parramatta with Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Moe Fotuaika turning up for club duty from the bench after repping the Maroons on Wednesday in Perth.
Their hopes of climbing off the bottom of the ladder were brought undone when halfback Jayden Campbell was told to leave the field for a head injury assessment in the 27th minute.
Campbell was bemused to be told that he needed to be checked out and the Titans were far from pleased when told that he had been assessed as suffering a category-one concussion, which not only meant he would play no further part in this match but next week’s clash with the Cowboys.
With just four wins and 11 losses, Des Hasler’s hopes of riding out the rough times to be at the helm next year are fading with each defeat.
The Kick: Cowboys nothing short of embarrassing
Sunday’s capitulation means the Cowboys have lost four of their past five starts and let in 100 points in the past two weeks on the back of their 58-4 flogging at home at the hands of the Dolphins.
They have slumped to 12th spot on the ladder with just five wins from 14 starts and have easily the worst defence in the NRL, conceding 30-plus on average with their well below average defensive output.
Pressure is mounting on coach Todd Payten, who is under contract until the end of next year, with the team going backwards on his watch.
They have the talent to be contending for a top-four spot but they have been one of the biggest disappointments of 2025, tasting victory just once since Magic Round at the start of May.
“Disappointing, and far from good enough,” Payten said.
“We got bullied. It was men against boys there for a little bit and that’s concerning.”
with AAP
