Walsh blunder costs Brisbane the game in golden point

Brisbane Broncos golden boy, Reece Walsh went from ‘hero to zero’ in a golden point blunder that cost the visiting team the game at Mount Smart Stadium in New Zealand.

In one of the most dramatic finishes of the NRL season, the Warriors pulled off a thrilling 20-18 golden-point win over the Broncos on Saturday night, after Walsh sent the extra-time kick-off over the dead-ball line.

The error gave Warrior’s halfback Luke Metcalf an opportunity to kick a penalty from halfway.

Despite missing four previous shots at goal, 26-year-old Metcalf held his nerve, drilling the 50-meter penalty goal, assisted by a strong wind behind him.

Walsh, who was instrumental in inspiring a late Brisbane comeback, stood stunned, head in hands.

Earlier in the match, Walsh required strapping after injuring his knee in the opening minute and was moved to the wing temporarily as the Broncos juggled their back line.

In a resilient performance by the Broncos full-back, Walsh produced moments of brilliance, including a pinpoint cutout pass for Jesse Arthars, and a try of his own after grounding an Adam Reynolds kick.

Reynolds showed his class converting both sideline kicks to lock the scores at 18-all at the end of regular time.

‘Unreal’ victory

But all of Brisbane’s hard work would be unraveled in single a moment, when the first play of golden point handed the game to the Warriors.

“The most extraordinary golden point win we’ve seen for some time,” said Fox Sport’s Warren Smith.

“It’s unreal,” Metcalf told Fox Sports.

“I remember playing a game here in 2023 when Shaun Johnson in golden point hit a field goal against the Raiders. All that was going on in my mind was, ‘I can’t wait to get in a moment like that.’ I missed a field goal earlier, but it was great to ice that moment.”

Credit where credit is due

The disappointed Broncos captain, Adam Reynolds, gave credit where it was due in the post-match press conference.

“It was a brave call on his behalf to want to have the shot, and he nailed it,” Reynolds said.

“I’m sure his team-mates are proud of him for that.”

The Broncos skipper didn’t mince words about the his teams’ performance.

“We lost that game in the first half. We weren’t good enough by our standards,” he said.

Brisbane struggled to make use of the strong wind in the first 40 minutes and couldn’t match the Warriors’ physicality up front.

Broncos coach Michael Maguire’s decision to name three hookers in the squad – Billy Walters, Cory Paix and Tyson Smoothy – left the Broncos a bit short of muscle in the middle.

Maguire highlighted the need for “smarter” play moving forward.

“I know there’s a lot of effort put in by the players – but we just need to be smarter in what we’re doing,” Maguire said in the post-match press conference.

“It’s something that we need to work at.”

Despite the unlucky result in the end, the coach was optimistic.

“It was nice to see the boys fight back at the back end of the game and put ourselves in a position to be able to take it,” he said.

Warriors show promise

After a 42-14 thrashing at the hands of Melbourne last week, the Warriors were keen to made a statement in front of their home crowd.

A shaky Warriors outfit went into the fixture missing many key players to injury, such as, James Fisher-Harris, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck – but, the team galvanised early to take the upper hand 18-6, before Brisbane’s late rally.

Taine Tuaupiki was a standout for the Warriors at the back, running for 174 meters from 23 carries.

Marata Niukore scored what looked like the match-sealing try in the 64th minute, and 19-year-old Leka Halasima also impressed with a try in his NRL debut.