Who are you calling 'show ponies': Walsh hits back at Bronco bashers

Reece Walsh has probably heard it all before.

‘Show ponies’ and ‘stuck up’ would be a fraction of the external noise that’s reverberated around him and the Broncos this year.

The 23-year-old Brisbane fullback is aware he’s not perfect and the manner in which he contributed to sealing the club’s ninth grand final berth is testament to the work he’s been doing to chase that goal, focused on the things people don’t see.

“That game (against Penrith) was probably one of those games where I didn’t really do too much, but I was trying to be in position as much as I can off-the-ball… it’s probably something you wouldn’t see or wouldn’t know, but we know in these four walls, (it’s about) those little efforts,” Walsh said.

“I do a lot of video on other people where I can exploit their weakness and my weakness was and probably still is those small, little effort areas.

"I feel like for myself to grow, I’ve got to recognise where I need to get better and I’ve got a lot of amazing people in and out of the club that are willing to give me a lot of good advice and I’d be silly not to try to have a conversation and reach out and ask questions where I can get better.”

Walsh has risen to the challenge coach Michael Maguire set to be a better all-round player by increasing his work out of the backfield, improving his marshalling of the defensive line and positional play and generally adding the grit to his determination to turn around seemingly impossible situation, which lately has been reflected in those around him.

“I’m really enjoying what we’re building here at the club, new coach, new coaching staff, driving standards, driving those small, little things, everyone’s buying in to the culture and everyone wants to get better,” Walsh said.

“There’s a lot of talk around the Broncs that we’re ‘show ponies’ and we don’t want to work hard, all this and that, but it’s until you’re in these four walls that you see how hard we work, how much sacrifice we make for each other, for this club, because we all do genuinely care and we all want to do well, so it’s really good to be a part of at the moment.”

Now with the lessons of the ill-fated 2023 grand final under his belt to boot and after basking in the rocking atmosphere of Suncorp Stadium last Sunday, he’s more ready than ever to deliver something he has no recollection of happening as a four-year-old – a Broncos premiership.

“To get to a grand final, I probably took for granted last time around, you know, not soaking up the week enough, probably not preparing my best, and I’m just really grateful to be back in this arena because I definitely know how hard it is,” Walsh said.