Brisbane Broncos officials are said to be ‘fuming’.
Reece Walsh has admitted it wasn’t a good look, but moved to play down the seriousness of footage that is circulating on social media of him punching a friend. “Furious” Brisbane Broncos officials have reportedly launched an investigation into the footage that shows the fullback punching a friend in the head while wearing a boxing glove, taken at a social gathering.
The 22-year-old posted the footage to TikTok in recent days, before deleting it. However it’s grabbed the attention of Broncos officials, and they’re not happy.
According to The Courier Mail, the Broncos will investigate the footage and ask Walsh for a please explain. It’s believed the Broncos are filthy with the timing of the incident considering they’ve lost five of their last six games. Walsh has been sidelined with a knee injury he suffered in Round 7, but is expected to be back in Round 13 after the Broncos’ bye this weekend.
Walsh took to social media on Tuesday night to insist the incident was simply two mates mucking around, and said no-one was injured. “Just to add context to the video recently posted – it was a joke with me (sic) best mate,” he wrote. “No one was harmed, boys being boys.”
He told Channel 9 on Wednesday morning: “Just having a laugh with my mate, obviously. We don’t support violence and stuff like that, but obviously, it’s not a good look for myself and that was all [me] trying to have a laugh and a good time with friends.
“I feel like I could have obviously chosen [my actions] a lot better. I feel like just having a laugh with my mate and putting it on social media and stuff like that. It’s really important that we try and keep those things away and obviously we don’t support violence in those sorts of ways. [Things] probably went a bit too far.”
Reece Walsh footage fuels concerns for Broncos
The overwhelming majority of fans were left gobsmacked that the Broncos would launch an investigation, with many believing there’s nothing in the incident. But it comes amid concerns that Walsh – who recently signed a $5 million contract extension – is placing too much focus on his off-field image.
The 22-year-old launched his own YouTube channel last weekend, just hours before the Broncos went down to the Dragons at home. The fullback has copped plenty of backlash in recent years, with many claiming he got too big for his boots when he helped the Broncos reach the 2023 grand final.
He was criticised for wearing sunglasses in the dressing rooms before that grand final, which the Broncos lost to the Panthers after coughing up a big lead. He was the poster-child for claims the Broncos players were treated like ‘rock stars’ under previous coach Kevin Walters.
Michael Maguire and Broncos under fire amid poor form
Things started promisingly under new coach Michael Maguire this year, but the Broncos have crashed out of the top-eight heading into Round 12. “We’re just not getting it right at the moment,” said captain Adam Reynolds after the 30-26 loss to the Dragons.
“There’s little areas in the game where we’re just not good enough. We’re not sticking to the game plan, coming up with some poor errors and ill-discipline, and when you do that you invite teams into it. They get a bit of a sniff and they’re hard to contain. We need to be better consistently.”
Maguire will be hoping Walsh’s return can spark some life into their stuttering campaign. The 22-year-old wasn’t in the best form before suffering his injury, but Selwyn Cobbo has also struggled in recent weeks while filling in for Walsh at fullback.
