Reece Walsh called out as Brisbane Broncos legend turns blowtorch on NRL players
Walsh and his teammates look set to miss the finals this season after almost winning the grand final in 2023.
Broncos club great Chris Johns has taken a blowtorch to Brisbane's underperforming stars after insisting they are not putting in for under pressure coach Kevin Walters. A two-time premiership winner with the Broncos, Johns' explosive swipe included a not so subtle reference to fullback Reece Walsh, who is arguably the most high-profile star at the club.
Brisbane's NRL finals hopes are on life support after they were trounced 41-16 at home against the Bulldogs last weekend. It's left the 13th-placed Broncos essentially needing to win every one of their remaining five games to have any hope of playing finals footy in 2024.
Pressure is understandably mounting on Walters after the Brisbane coach guided them to last year's grand final, only to see them beaten late on after a Nathan Cleary masterclass for Penrith. But Johns - who was the former Old Boys chairman at the Broncos, says the blame for Brisbane's current predicament has to lie with the players, not the coach.
“A couple of weeks ago I saw them and saw the media start to turn a bit and say Kevin Walters is under pressure... Kevin Walters shouldn’t be under pressure,” Johns said on SENQ Mornings. “He’s put the squad together, he’s preparing them, if you talk to any of them and go to their training sessions and look at what he’s putting them through, they couldn’t be in any better physical condition. They couldn’t be better in game plans and knowing what’s going to happen – it’s just their intent, it’s their desire."
Club great takes aim at underperforming Broncos stars
The Broncos club great says some of Brisbane's biggest stars need to take more ownership of their own performances and stop reading so much into their own press. In a thinly veiled swipe at the likes of Walsh - who has more than 500,000 followers on Instagram and signed a contract extension this year worth $1.1 million per season - Johns says the players needed to knuckle down at training, put more effort in during games and show more cohesion on the field, rather than worrying about their social media profiles.
“The players have got to answer that... Why point the finger at the coach, start pointing the finger at some of the superstars and say 'hey listen, you just went in and got a massive upgrade'," Johns added. “You might be No.1 on Instagram and No.1 on TikTok but are you No.1 with your football mate that you’re playing with on the field.
“I think they’ve been reading a few too many newspapers and Jack Gibson had a great saying": 'Too many pats on the back put you to sleep'." Johns says the onus now is on the players to hold each other to account, with a win against Gold Coast on Saturday absolutely essential if they're to keep their faint finals hopes alive.
“I think the players have got to be locked in a room, get Kevvie out of the room, get them to start looking at each other and ask themselves a question,” Johns said. “Do you really think you’re having a dig, do you really think we’re playing to our potential. I know the coach’s job is to prepare those players and create an environment for those players to do that but it’s really at the players feet, they have really got to get together and take a good, hard look at themselves.”
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Gorden Tallis thinks Pat Carrigan should be Broncos captain
The criticism comes after fellow Broncos great Gorden Tallis took aim at the leadership at the club and suggested it was time for Maroons and Kangaroos forward Patrick Carrigan to take over the captaincy from veteran halfback Adam Reynolds. “I think the team is lacking leadership. I watch them closely... on Saturday (against the Bulldogs) somebody needed to stand up and put a stake in the ground,” Tallis said on Fox Sports' NRL 360.
“(Reynolds) didn’t do it, and in the grand final he didn’t get them home either. If he’s the captain and he’s not doing it, there might be a chance to put Pat Carrigan there. It’s about putting your ego in your pocket because Allan Langer left to go to England and they put me as captain. When he came back, Alf was the captain again but he said ‘no you’re our leader’.
“In that game on the weekend, under the pump, if I’m playing with Allan Langer, he gets out from dummy half, he does three or four tackles in a row, he looks at us and challenges us. There’s none of that happening at the moment. So maybe there should be a change with (the person) who gets the C next to their name.”
