Reece Walsh (born 10 July 2002) is an Australian professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays as a for the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

. He previously played for the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

Background

Walsh was born in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

, a suburb of the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nati ...

, to an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

father, and a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

mother from

Hastings, New Zealand Hastings (; mi, Heretaunga) is an inland city of New Zealand and is one of the two major urban areas in Hawke's Bay, on the east coast of the North Island. The population of Hastings (including Flaxmere) is (as of with a further people in H ...

. He was raised by his father and stepmother in

Nerang, Queensland Nerang is a town and suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Nerang had a population of 16,864 people. Geography The Nerang River flows through the locality from south to east, passing through the town. The river ult ...

, and grew up playing for the

Nerang Roosters The Nerang Roosters were formed in 1977 and currently field male and female teams in all junior grades of the Gold Coast Rugby League. The club is based at Glennon Park. Notable juniors *Jaelen Feeney (2016 Newcastle Knights) *Keegan Hipgrave ( ...

. He attended

Keebra Park State High School Keebra Park State High School (KPSHS), referred to as Keebra Park or Keebra, is a co-educational public secondary school, located in the Gold Coast suburb of Southport, Queensland, Australia. Notable alumni Cricket * Ingrid Cronin-Knight – I ...

before being signed by the

Playing career

Early career

In 2018, Walsh represented the Queensland Murri under-16 and Queensland under-16 sides. In 2019, he played for the

Tweed Heads Seagulls The Tweed Heads Seagulls, often referred to simply as Tweed or Seagulls or Tweed Seagulls, is a rugby league club based in Tweed Heads, New South Wales. It is one of only two non-Queensland teams to play in the Queensland Cup, along with the ...

in their National Under-18 Title and

Mal Meninga Cup The Mal Meninga Cup, known as the Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup due to sponsorship, is a junior rugby league football competition based in Queensland, played between teams made up of players aged under 18. The competition, administered by the Q ...

-winning sides while he also spent the year training with the

NRL squad. In June 2019, he represented Queensland under-18, scoring a try in their 34–12 win over New South Wales. In September 2019, he represented the

Australian Schoolboys The Australian Schoolboys refer to junior teams that represent Australia in various sports. The name is mainly used in rugby league, rugby union and baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players ...

, scoring a try in their 36–20 win over the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

2021

In 2021, Walsh joined the

NRL squad on a development contract. He began the season playing for the

Norths Devils The Northern Suburbs Devils, or North Brisbane Devils, or often simply referred to as Norths for short, are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The team colours are sky blue, navy blue and gold. They pl ...

in the

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...

. On 18 March, Walsh signed a three-year contract with the

, beginning in 2022. On 10 April, he was released early from his Brisbane contract to join the Warriors immediately. On 25 April, in round 7 of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

, Walsh made his first grade debut for the Warriors against

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In May, Walsh confirmed his allegiance to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and over . It was confirmed on 21 June that he had been selected to play as fullback for the Queensland Maroons for the second game of the

State of Origin series The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons. Referred to as “Australian sport's greatest rivalry”, the ...

. At 18, he would have been the youngest player to be selected in the Queensland team since

Ben Ikin Benjamin Ikin (born 21 February 1977) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and works as the Football & Performance Director for the Brisbane Broncos. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representat ...

in 1995, however he was ruled out due to an injury. In round 23, Walsh had a disappointing afternoon with the goal kicking duties only managing to convert one goal from five attempts, including a conversion attempt near the touch-line late in the game which would likely have sent the game against Brisbane into extra-time. New Zealand lost the match 24-22 which effectively ended their already slim chance of reaching the finals.

Cocaine possession

On 25 September 2021, a video emerged of Walsh being arrested by police at a

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

nightclub. The following day, Walsh fronted the media and said that he had failed a previous move on order by the police. He then went on to say “I didn’t move on. That led to me getting arrested and taken back to the police station. Once I got back to the police station I got searched and I was in possession of a small bag of cocaine – which I had some during the night. "No-one else is involved in this. It is solely on me. I put my hand up – I should never have done it. It is a mistake I made. I want to say sorry to sponsors, fans, the Warriors". He was handed a $5000 fine and suspended for two matches over the incident.

2022

On 20 June, Walsh was selected in the extended

Queensland Maroons The Queensland rugby league team represents the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football. Nicknamed the "Maroons" after the colour of their jersey, they play three times a year against arch-rivals New South Wales in the State of O ...

squad for

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

Game 2, however did not play. On 6 July, Walsh was granted an early release from his New Zealand contract to re-join his former club

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

starting in 2023. Walsh cited a relationship breakdown as the reason for the move. He had also reportedly turned down a $2.8 million offer from new NRL franchise The Dolphins in favour of signing with Brisbane. On 7 July,

officially announced his return to the club, on a 3-year deal.

References

External links

New Zealand Warriors profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Reece 2002 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian people of New Zealand descent Australian people of Māori descent Indigenous Australian rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players New Zealand Māori rugby league players Norths Devils players Redcliffe Dolphins players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Gold Coast, Queensland