Reece Walsh’s limp body, folding and then sagging to the turf after a late hit, was the enduring image of State of Origin game one in Sydney three weeks ago, and its impact continues to define the series.
But the 21-year-old appears re-animated, revived and ready for revenge against New South Wales on Wednesday night, with Queensland one win away from a third consecutive shield.
Maroons coach Billy Slater was asked during the traditional pre-match press conference on Tuesdaywhether Walsh will carry any demons into the match.
“That’s the first time I’ve thought about demons and Reece Walsh,” Slater said. “He’s been incredible all week, he was incredible in his preparation for game one, he started the game really well in game one, and I expect no different.”
Despite the return of Latrell Mitchell, despite Origin’s first appearance at the MCG since 2018, despite the debut of Blues fullback Dylan Edwards, visions of Walsh have never been far away in the game’s lead-up.
“Everyone sees the bright and shiny stuff that Reece brings to the footy field and that’s what people gravitate to our game for, but he’s a really hard worker and is a respectable young man,” Slater said, adding a compliment as high as rugby league can offer: “I’ve got a lot of time for him.”
Kangaroos coach and former Maroons captain Mal Meninga said Walsh – in just his fourth appearance for the Maroons – has both the toughness and the skillset to excel at this level. “He’s an excitement machine, with the footy he’s electric,” Meninga said. “And my expectation is he’ll play tough, it’s a tough arena, you can’t hide in Origin and you certainly can’t hide at fullback.”
The apparent targeting of Walsh in the early stages of game one has simmered in the background in the past week, after Maroons assistant coach Johnathon Thurston levelled the allegations against the Blues in the wake of his side’s triumph.
Blues coach Michael Maguire said last week “you have got to make sure you don’t live in glass houses”, in a reference he confirmed on Tuesday was about Slater.
The former Storm fullback spent almost three months on the sidelines due to suspension over the course of his 319-games NRL career, including a six-week ban for kicking John Skandalis in the head in 2006, and was known as a fierce competitor that pushed the generosity of referees.
Maguire should know – he was part of the Storm coaching staff for much of Slater’s early career. The pair were reunited in Melbourne on Tuesday at a testy pre-match press conference.
Sitting alongside Maguire, Slater was asked in jest by a journalist on Tuesday what his house was made of. “It’s got a bit of glass in there,” he said. There were laughs from the crowd, but the temperature between the pair could have done with some double glazing.
Neither looked at one another, and neither offered much more than monosyllables about their counterpart. Yet still both were pushed on the state of their relationship. Slater said they were “good”, and confirmed they had shook hands. Maguire said they were “fine”. “We spent a fair bit of time together years ago, so we’re all good,” he said.
Slater resisted speculating on whether Walsh could again be targeted, saying “that’s not a question for me”. When Maguire was offered a chance to respond, he too chose his words carefully. “There’s a lot of focus on all their players, so it’s not any individual,” he said.
Away from the spice and bristle, there is genuine anticipation over whose coaching approach will find success in game two. After the early send-off in game one, Maguire’s plans in his first match coaching at this level – which seemed focused on high rotations through his heavyweight bench – were ruined. The Blues were valiant in keeping the margin close until the latter stages of game one, and Maguire said there were a lot of “good signs”.
Yet he still made major changes. Maguire called in the Roosters’ utility Connor Watson to give his substitutes more versatility, and with the inclusions of Edwards on debut, as well as Mitchell at centre, Mitchell Moses at halfback and Cam Murray at lock, the Blues look a new side.
But the Maroons have tweaked their approach too. Gone is the injured Selwyn Cobbo from the bench, and Queensland edge forward Kurt Capewell will provide backline cover. Despite winning the opener 38-10, Slater said he too was hamstrung in the opener.
“It’s not easy with 12 men, we know that for a 10-minute period, let alone a 70-minute period, so we understand the situation, but there’s parts to our game that we weren’t able to implement either with a reshuffle of positions,” Slater said.
“It’s going to be a vastly different game. Both sides will take a lot out of that first game and be pretty confident going into the second one.”
A crowd in excess of 90,000 is expected in the 100,000-capacity MCG, but that will largely depend on turnout among MCC members. The Origin crowd record of 91,513 was set at the MCG in 2015.
