NZ Warriors youngster Reece Walsh is vowing to bounce back from his off-season drugs scandal, as he prepares for his first full season in the NRL.
At just 19 years of age, Walsh has become a poster boy in his so far short stint with the club.
The young fullback burst onto the scene in 2021 after a mid-season move to the Warriors from Brisbane Broncos, making his first-grade debut after being earmarked by the club as the player to replace outgoing captain, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
On the field, Walsh didn't disappoint. In 16 games for the Warriors, Walsh scored nine tries and set up a further 11 - named as the Rugby League Players Association's rookie of the year for 2021.
That form saw Walsh rushed into Queensland's State of Origin side for the second game of the 2021 series against New South Wales, only to be scratched from the team with injury on the eve of his debut.
Off the field though, Walsh's meteoric rise hit a speed bump in his first off-season. In September, Walsh was arrested outside a Surfer's Paradise nightclub, and was later found to be in possession of cocaine.
To his credit, Walsh fronted media later that day to own up to his mistake - an example that other players and clubs haven't followed as they've also dealt with scandals of their own.
After appearing in court charged with one count of possession of a prohibited substance, Walsh was fined $400 and placed on a good behaviour bond, with no conviction recorded.
Now back in pre-season training with the Warriors ahead of the 2022 NRL season, Walsh is determined to repay the support shown to him by the likes of coach Nathan Brown, and his teammates.
"I'm really grateful for Browny, Cam [George], my manager Nash, they were all there supporting me," Walsh tells Channel 7.
"It was really tough on myself, it's something I'm really disappointed in. But I'm glad it's over, we're moving on.
"I need to bounce back from this, work really hard, [and] earn my respect back from the boys, the coaches. That's something I've still got in my head, I haven't forgotten about it.
"It did take a bit of a toll on me, but I just want to bounce back, work really hard, get back out there playing some good footy and repay it to my teammates, the coaches and the fans and the ones that stuck behind me through that hard time."
Walsh adds the impact of his arrest wasn't restricted to himself, with his family even coming under fire for his actions.
"You don't really think about that stuff until it happens. I was just a kid doing something silly.
"When you're doing that stuff, you don't think about what happens after it. My family copped a bit of slack on social media. I had my little sister going to school, kids making comments to her, her getting upset, coming home and saying she doesn't want to go back to school.
"It was pretty tough to see my little sister get that sort of stuff. She had nothing to do with it. It's a massive learning curve for myself, something I never want to happen again.
"I'm going to work really hard to bounce back from this, and make them proud again."
Walsh will miss the start of the 2022 NRL season, banned for the opening three matches of next season's campaign - sitting out a two-game suspension for his arrest on top of a one-game ban for his role in the Warriors' end of season fracas against Gold Coast Titans.
