Last Updated on 2 October 2023
As the Brisbane Broncos were getting ready for the Grand Final against the Penrith Panthers, their young star Reece Walsh provided them with an unnecessary distraction. The NRL is looking into an incident involving Walsh and a Panthers fan after a video surfaced showing the Broncos fullback retorting to the young fan with an inappropriate comeback.
In the six-second-long video, Walsh is shown walking past a Penrith Panthers fan, suddenly turning around and telling the young lad and saying “I’ll take your mum’s.” The fan, who seems taken aback by the player snapping back at him, says “Aye” and starts laughing with his friends.
The NRL Integrity Unit is Investigating the Incident
The video instantly became viral on social media. However, it was later disclosed that it was edited so that it doesn’t show the comments of the Panthers supporter towards the player. According to the account that uploaded the video, the fan told Walsh that Moses Leota would take his head off in the Grand Final.
Now the matter has been passed to the NRL Integrity Unit after a complaint was lodged with the league. The Broncos superstar was already unavailable for three games in July when he was suspended for slandering referee Chris Butler when the Broncos faced the Gold Coast Titans.
The Rugby League Justin Bieber
Interestingly, the incident happened almost immediately after Australian Rugby League Commission Chairman Peter V’landys intensely promoted the player, saying he had both charisma and presence. For the rugby league chief, Walsh was the Justin Bieber of the league because he was “something out of the box” and “a brilliant player.”
Walsh’s “charisma on steroids,” meant he could be promoted in the US, something which would bring “significant new revenues” to the league. V’landys felt that if the NRL succeeded in marketing “characters like Reece Walsh” in the States that would equal “hundreds of millions of dollars” for the game.
