NRL Finals Wrap: Reece Walsh drama, Tommy Turbo transfer update and Bulldogs in crisis

How do you sum that all up?

The Raiders and Broncos played out one of the most epic finals matches of all time, a true slobberknocker that went past full-time, past extra time and into unlimited Golden Point before Ben Hunt slotted a field goal to seal an unlikely comeback for the visitors.

They had trailed 28-12, came back to 28-26 and then heard the final siren. A penalty incurred on Reece Walsh’s attempt to tie the game saved the Broncos.

Jamal Fogarty then thought he’d scored a winning try, sending Raiders fans into raptures and a premature Viking Clap, only for the Bunker to find a knock on and give the Broncos another life.

It was ironic that such unlikely reversals had already happened twice earlier in the season in the Raiders’ favour, with a winning Melbourne field goal being wiped at Magic Round and a Nathan Cleary field goal hitting the post, sparking the miracle of Mudgee.

This time, the luck ran out. Canberra have to dust themselves off to face Cronulla next week, while the Broncos get a week off and a home Preliminary Final.

Melbourne also advanced, sending the Bulldogs into a winner-takes-all clash against Penrith, and Cronulla – well, let’s start there.

A good week for…

The Sharks, who went a long way to ending their finals hoodoo with a superb win over the Roosters on Saturday night.

Easts had been in red hot form, but were marshalled well by an excellent Cronulla defence and, eventually, relented themselves.

Toby Rudolf was an unlikely candidate to win them the game, but a fitting one: unusually for the Sharks, this was a game won in the middle.

A knock on Cronulla has been that they like to do the fancy stuff and can wilt when the going gets tough – Exhibit A: their poor finals record – but this was the opposite.

In a shootout with the Roosters, they’d likely lose. Instead, they made it tough and won.

The next question will be about Cronulla’s ability to do that against better sides. Easts, great as they can be, want an open game and will back themselves to win it.

With Canberra next weekend then potentially a Prelim in Melbourne, we’ll see how much the Sharks have improved.

A bad week for…

Canterbury, who not only lost the match in Melbourne but also suffered key injuries, most notably captain Stephen Crichton.

He fell back on himself and looked in real pain, and while he did manage to soldier on for a short period, it wasn’t long before Canterbury were forced to pull their most important player from the field.

The decision to elevate Toby Sexton was vindicated, as his presence above Reed Mahoney enabled a reshuffle in the backs, not to mention an instant impact with a try.

But game as the Doggies were, they lacked the topline quality to post enough points against a limited Storm.

Now, a clash with Penrith looms. Without Critta, they’ll likely have to run Matt Burton in the centres, and while they might get Viliame Kikau – who suffered a fractured eye socket – onto the field, he’ll be a long way from fully fit.

The Bulldogs suffered this time last year because their spine options weren’t good enough.

Despite adding Lachlan Galvin, the loss of Crichton and a subsequent move for Burton suggests the same thing could happen again – and a straight sets exit would be even worse than last year’s first week loss to Manly.

Standout…

Reece Walsh, who lost his head badly in Brisbane’s loss to Canberra, then regained it again to rescue his side.

The fullback was at the heart of the Broncos’ best moments, setting up two, scoring one himself and kicking two 40/20s, yet was also the reason why his side lost.

At a crucial moment midway through the second half, he got himself involved in a stink with Hudson Young that not only cost his team on the day, but might well next week too.

Walsh reacted to Young giving him a spray, aiming a head at the backrower. He barely connected, but when headbutts are involved, it doesn’t really matter.

Ashley Klein slightly bottled it by not sending Walsh from the field, because connection or otherwise, the evidence of violent conduct was clear.

It wasn’t a great look on the Canberra man – who went down like a sack of spanners and also got himself binned – but in 2025, you can’t throw the bonce anywhere.

The Match Review Panel could be more damning than Klein. With a Prelim on home turf in two weeks, Walsh might well be watching from the stands.

Alongside him could be Pat Carrigan, who caught Morgan Smithies high and was also binned, and Payne Haas, who looked very shaky on an ankle injury.

Prior to the bin, Walsh had already been posted missing defensively for one of the Raiders’ tries, and while he was there, Kaeo Weekes went the length of the field. He went to the bin at 18-12 and returned at 28-12.

Walsh knew it, too. His performance on returning to the game was exceptional, a man possessed.

The fullback put in a showing of the sort that hasn’t been seen since Nathan Cleary in the 2023 Grand Final, putting his side on his back.

It was Walsh who turned the tide, nearly tied it with a monster field goal that hit the crossbar, then did from a penalty that he himself won.

He was the reason the Broncos were in that position, but also the way they got out of it. Now, he might have to take the fight to the judiciary as well.

Washout…

Ashley Klein is the obvious option, given he could and probably should have sent Walsh off, but in the interests of covering all bases, let’s pick up the fourth game of the weekend, the Warriors’ defeat to Penrith in Auckland.

It’s a little unfair to Tanah Boyd, who wouldn’t have been playing but for injury, but the contrast between him and Nathan Cleary was stark.

Boyd missed a kick for touch from a penalty early on and never imposed himself on the game, whereas Cleary had the ball on a string, controlling the entire game with his boot.

The Wahs have struggled in attack ever since first choice halfback Luke Metcalf went down with injury, and in truth, weren’t all that great beforehand.

The best compliment you can pay is that they were good enough early on to ensure that they made the eight, but it was never likely that they’d go any further.

The Panthers, however, could be anything. They’re rested, dealt with the travel to Auckland with zero fuss and now face a wounded Bulldogs. All the muscle memory is there – not least in their halfback.

Everyone is talking about…

Tom Trbojevic, who if you believe his management, is moving to England.

Thankfully, nobody with half a brain believes that will happen. This is all about Manly, and the political machinations on the Insular Peninsula.

Turbo isn’t really motivated by money and doesn’t want to play for anyone else in the NRL other than the Sea Eagles, so the obvious story to float is a move to Super League.

What Trbojevic wants is more control right where he is – and in that regard, he’s not the only one. There’s behind-the-scenes discontent about coach Anthony Seibold, CEO Tony Mestrov and just about everything else.

Brother Jake and Daly Cherry-Evans agree with him, but crucially, DCE has left and Jurbo is three years older and may well retire. The man who has cards to play is Tom, who could theoretically speak to other clubs from November 1.

It’s not impossible that he will move, because nothing in rugby league is, but it’s highly unlikely.

What is more likely is that Turbo re-signs, but with assurances that either Seibold changes – as has already been mooted with the addition of Laurie Daley as a mentor – or is removed.

Clubs don’t like the idea of player power like this, but at a club like Manly, where internecine struggle is never far away, and with a player like Tom Trbojevic, an elite talent born and raised on the Beaches, it’s highly likely that he’ll get his way.

But nobody mentions…

Rugby union, which can’t help but shoot itself in the foot.

Australia lost 28-26 to Argentina on Saturday afternoon, and while that sounds like it might have been fun, it made a marked contrast to the similarly-scorelined Raiders-Broncos final on Sunday.

Los Pumas won the game, but lost the tries 1-4 to the Wallabies. The point of both forms of rugby is to score more points, sure, though doing so through kicking seven penalty goals isn’t what the punters want to see.

Rugby union in this country is enjoying a bit of a resurgence, in that they’re not completely broke anymore, but as long as they serve up a product that prioritises goalkicking over tryscoring, they’ll never touch the NRL.

The bigger question is when rugby league can get its international act together.

They packed out Allianz Stadium for the game, and while that did involve a fair few from Sydney’s large Argentinian community, it should be the benchmark for the Pacific Championships and, most pertinently, next year’s World Cup.

Forward pass

We have to look to Homebush next Su, where a record crowd could pile in to see the Bulldogs take on the Panthers.

The meeting between these two earlier in the year was one of the best games of the season, and will only be better for the likely 80,000 crowd that will pack in.

Accor Stadium is widely unloved, but the Dogs have made it look good this year by pricing tickets smartly and making events of their big games.

The NRL run finals ticketing, but if they have an ounce of sense, they’ll be on the phone to Canterbury’s marketing team straight away to make this one as big as possible.

Penrith will turn up big, too, and are used to playing big games at this venue. It should be a cracker.