Brisbane Broncos star fullback Reece Walsh is looking forward to his reunion with former teammate and childhood hero Shaun Johnson, when NZ Warriors cross the Tasman for an NRL preliminary final on Saturday.
Walsh, 21, made his first-grade debut for the Auckland-based team, when they were stranded in Australia by the COVID-19 pandemic, hinting at his precocious talent with ball in hand, but also falling foul of the law, both on and off the field.
He spent one season playing alongside Johnson, who has re-emerged as one of the competition's brightest stars in 2023, and admits he has tried to emulate the veteran half during his young career.
"For sure, as a kid watching him and the things he's done on the field, you try and put those things into your game," said Walsh. "You never got it right.
"It's hard to implement what he did and what he's doing, so I'm really excited to go out there and play against someone I look up to."
Walsh came to the Warriors from Brisbane as a teenager in 2021, when he couldn't crack the Broncos starting line-up and quickly found his feet at his new club, earning State of Origin selection, before a training injury ultimately rule him out.
An onfield blow-up against Gold Coast in the season finale and resulting suspension cost him Dally M Rookie of the Year honours, then soon after, Walsh was arrested by police at a Surfers Paradise nightclub and found in possession of cocaine.
He cited a relationship breakdown for wanting to return to the Broncos last season and his Warriors exit was made more palatable with the return of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad from Canberra Raiders.
Walsh is still learning lessons the hard way and has fallen out of Dally M Medal contention, after he was suspended three games for contrary conduct towards a match official, although he insists he was addressing teammate Pat Carrigan at the time.
"I would have preferred not to get suspended for it, but I think it was good for myself to take a step back from footy to spend time with my family, and learn things like how to talk to your teammates and the way you carry yourself," he reflected.
"In the position I'm in, I need to be calm and be that role model people can look at, because at the end of the day, I'm the one organising the defence and I'm the one using my voice for the team.
"They need someone who is calm-headed and they can talk to. It was probably a blessing in disguise.
"It was good to freshen the body up and I think it's helped at the back end of the season."
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