Reece Walsh decision backfires on Kevin Walters as Broncos' finals hopes go up in flames

Kevin Walters' decision to rest Reece Walsh and his State of Origin players in Round 17 against the Warriors has officially come back to haunt the Broncos coach. Brisbane saw their NRL finals hopes go up in flames on Saturday night in a 40-16 loss to the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium.

After the Dragons suffered a shock loss to Parramatta on Saturday afternoon, the Broncos had a golden opportunity to jump back into the top-eight with a win over the Dolphins. But they were blown off the park by Wayne Bennett's side, and must now beat the Melbourne Storm in Round 27 to have any chance of making the playoffs.

Sitting just two points outside the eight but with little chance of beating the Storm, questions have re-emerged about Walters' decision to rest his Origin players at a pivotal point in the season two months ago. The Broncos travelled to New Zealand to face the Warriors in Round 17, just three days after State of Origin 2 in Melbourne.

Kevin Walters' decision to rest Origin players backfires

Walters opted to rest Walsh, Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan (who all played Origin 2), rather than make them travel to New Zealand on a short turnaround. But with a loss meaning they'd drop out of the top-eight, many felt Walters couldn't afford to not have his best players in action.

Walsh hadn't played in three weeks before Origin 2, and many thought he should have been fresh enough to back-up and play against the Warriors. But Walters decided not to play them, and it backfired in a 32-16 loss.

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The defeat saw them fall out of the eight, and they haven't managed to climb back in ever since. Walters declared that no-one said anything when he rested his Origin players in 2023, but they were sitting comfortably inside the top-two at that point last season.

At such a pivotal and precarious time this season, Walters probably should have taken the risk of asking his players to back-up. "Even looking back at Kevvie throughout his career, he would never sit at home and not play," Mal Meninga said at the time. "It’s a little bit against the way the Broncos have operated in the past, where typically it’s seen as a badge of honour to come back after Origin.”

Kevin Walters calls for change after Broncos hampered in 2024

Walsh and Haas both suffered injuries in the months that followed, and even though Haas managed to play against the Dolphins on Saturday night he was clearly hampered. Speaking recently, Walters bemoaned the State of Origin schedule and called on the NRL to find a better time to play the showpiece event.

“We lost our best players over a six to seven week block midway through the season and that’s where we found it difficult this year," he said on SEN radio. “We didn’t have our captain in Adam Reynolds and we had a couple of other good players who weren’t available due to injury, which makes the well dry.

“It’s a critical part of the year in which you need to win games during that period to set up your end of the year. That’s an area where we failed because we didn’t get the wins on the board as opposed to last year. There must be a better solution there with the State of Origin. They’re not excuses but they are reasons as to why things haven’t gone exactly to plan.”

On Saturday night he said: "There is pressure every week playing for the Broncos. Players have got to understand. That (performance) is not part of who we are as a club or as a team. It is not great."

If the Knights beat the Titans on Sunday it would effectively end the season of the Broncos and Dragons. Only a draw between the Knights and Dolphins in Round 27 could result in Brisbane or St George Illawarra making the finals if they win their last regular season game.