Billy Slater has leapt to the defence of Broncos superstar Reece Walsh, claiming the side would “get beaten by 20” if he wasn’t on the field.
The enigmatic fullback had some moments of brilliance against the Eels last weekend, but also came up with three costly errors and was offside in chasing what could have been the match-winning try in an upset 22-20 loss at Suncorp Stadium.
Walsh is one of the game’s elite attacking players but has copped plenty of scrutiny for some of his erratic moments in high-pressure situations.
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However, according to Slater – who has spent time with Walsh at State of Origin level – the sixth-placed Broncos would be far worse off without him in the No.1 jersey.
“Well if Reece didn’t play on the weekend, they get beat by 20,” the Maroons coach said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
Billy Slater defends Reece Walsh Nine/Getty
“Sure, there’s parts of his game he needs to work on – but he nearly won the game for them twice. There were a lot of errors around Reece on the weekend, but all the good stuff was around Reece as well. If he doesn’t play, they don’t even get close.
“I don’t think the Broncos understand who they are and what they’re trying to do. They are trying to play a really consistent and structured type of game, but when they get behind, they feel like they’ve got to play.
“When you’re trying to play catch-up, that’s when errors happen.”
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The 23-year-old has endured an up-and-down season for Brisbane, spending time on the sidelines due to injury and copping heat for off-field incidents.
But there’s no doubting Walsh is a net-positive for the Broncos, registering 11 try assists and breaking 33 tackles in just 12 appearances.
Slater believes the bigger issue for Michael Maguire centres around their style of play, but the Storm legend is confident they can still figure it out before the finals.
“I just don’t think the Broncos have worked out the balance to their game yet,” he said on Nine’s Billy Slater Podcast.
“You can see they are trying to play a high-percentage style of game and trying to work really hard to get that fluency … I just don’t know if it suits all of their players.
Kotoni Staggs was barely sighted on Friday night Bradley Kanaris via Getty Images
“Kotoni Staggs didn’t see much ball, he wasn’t injected into the game. They need to work out how to extract the best out of their footy team and work to their strengths.
“Once they find that, they are one of the best teams in the competition. Consistency has been a real issue for them this year and it was an issue even within the game.
“There’s still a bit of work to do, but they’ve got six weeks to work it out.
Despite being one of Brisbane’s most lethal attacking weapons, Staggs finished with just six runs for 88 metres last weekend against Parramatta.
Maguire’s men will get the chance to click back into full-gear in round 22 when they take on the last-placed Rabbitohs.
