‘Reecy knows’: Maguire makes bold Walsh promise ahead of Broncos-Dragons clash

After scaling rugby league’s heights to end 2025, the first half of the 2026 NRL season has been a mixed bag for Broncos superstar Reece Walsh.

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Inconsistent form and an untimely facial injury resulted in the 23-year-old controversially missing selection for the Queensland squad for State of Origin Game I.

On the eve of Brisbane’s Round 13 clash with St. George Illawarra, coach Michael Maguire says he’s been impressed with what he’s seen in the past fortnight and is tipping Walsh to return to form—and quite possibly the Maroons line-up.

“Reecy knows his game, he knows that his best game looks like and if he keeps producing that consistently the opportunities will come off the back of that,” Maguire said.

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“As a player it’s never a straight line of what you go through, you’re going to get challenged at times—it’s how you respond,” he continued.

“He (Walsh) has been excellent the last couple of weeks, he’s ripped into training.”

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‘He’ll definitely run the ball’ says Michael Maguire

One of the NRL’s most gifted confidence players, Maguire acknowledged Walsh’s typical swagger may have taken a hit following his facial fracture against the Titans in Round 5, but added situations like that are when players develop character and resolve.

“You grow from what you have to go through and it’s just another part of his career,” Maguire said, suggesting fans can expect a dynamic performance from the Broncos No.1 on Sunday afternoon.

“The way I’ve seen him go about his training, I’ve been really impressed actually, he’ll definitely run the ball and when he runs it’s pretty exciting—he can run any time he likes.”

As for a possible Maroons call-up for State of Origin Game II?

“It’ll be up to Billy (Slater) but we all have to play well here, that’s the key,” Maguire said.

Brisbane host the Dragons in NRL Round 13 on Sunday afternoon at Suncorp Stadium. Kick-off at 2pm.

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