Reece Walsh's 'arrogant' act that 'won't be allowed' under Michael Maguire at Broncos
The new coach is being urged to fix some of the standards that had slipped under Kevin Walters.
Michael Maguire is being tipped to shake up Reece Walsh and the Brisbane Broncos and add some humility back into the playing group, with claims some of the egos have gotten “out of control”. There's a belief that the Broncos started buying into their own hype after making the grand final in 2023, and it came back to bite them as they missed the finals completely in 2024.
Some of the standards had slipped under Kevin Walters' leadership, and questions had emerged about some of the things he was letting the players get away with. Walsh reportedly had his shirt off during a pre-game warm-up on the field before the Broncos' clash with the Titans earlier this season, which would never fly under a veteran coach like Wayne Bennett or Craig Bellamy.
And the NRL 360 panel mentioned the example of Walsh wearing sunglasses in the dressing rooms before last year's grand final against the Panthers, despite it being night time. Veteran reporter Dean Ritchie tipped Maguire to be much more authoritarian than Walters was, which might be a rude shock for some of the younger players.
"Madge will tip that club on its head and it needs to be tipped on its head. The egos are out of control,” Ritchie said this week. “You won’t see that (Reece Walsh wearing sunglasses in the dressing room at night). I’m telling you. And you won’t see nail polish on the fingers of the players either. Madge will say ‘you are kidding’.”
Braith Anasta added: “This is no disrespect to Reece, but do you think he (Maguire) will allow this in the sheds at a night game walking through with his Versace sunglasses on? I can’t visually see it or imagine it knowing Madge that he would allow that? I’m not saying that it’s the end of the world and Reece has got freedom of choice to do that. But I can’t see it happening. Can you see this happening with Madge as coach?”
Can Michael Maguire harness Reece Walsh's potential?
Broncos great Gorden Tallis said the new wave of next-gen players are very different to their predecessors, and suggested Maguire will need to be careful of upsetting the apple cart. “I just think with all the young players now you can’t tell them what they wear. You see what they all wear on the Matty Johns couch,” Tallis said. “They’ve all got the labels on. They follow the NFL. They follow the basketballers. You watch them all walk in.”
RELATED:
Wendell Sailor's 'concerning' admission amid Allan Langer development
Reece Walsh cops new blow as another big-name figure quits Broncos
Anasta argued: “There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m saying in the sheds though. Do you not look at that in the sheds? I know it’s a bit judgmental but you look at Reece and think ‘he is confident this kid’. I like confidence and I like arrogance because you’ve got to have it to be one of the best players in our game. You need that arrogance and that confidence for belief and to think that you can dominate.”
Tallis said it would be up to Walsh's peers to pull him into line if they thought he'd overstepped, but Ritchie disagreed. “The coach sets the culture," Ritchie said. "And this is not a crack at Kevin. I love Kevin. But I just think things will change and Reece Walsh won’t dream of doing that if that dressing room is different.”
New Broncos coach sends message to Reece Walsh
Speaking this week after being unveiled as coach, Maguire said he was keen to get to work with Walsh. "When you talk about standards and wanting to go the extra yard, Reece can really go the extra yard," Maguire said. "Everyone can see what he’s capable of doing. I’ve always seen with my players … if you can improve as a player, you get hungry for more success, because it’s actually good fun when you improve.
“I’m really looking forward to sitting down with Reece and understanding his game and being able to build his game. I’d like to get to know Reece, that’s the first thing I want to do, is get to know him as a person. Like all the players across the competition, they’re talented, but I want to understand him, how he reads the game and educating him to the way I’d like him to play."
