Brisbane’s injury woes have worsened, with star fullback Reece Walsh expected to lose time owing to a face fracture suffered in his horrible knock against Penrith, according to scans.
Panthers centre Taylan May was not charged following a head-on collision with Walsh in the fourth minute of the Broncos game.
However, the news for Kevin Walters’ men was not encouraging.
Following the 34-12 loss on Thursday night, Walsh was transported for emergency scans, which revealed a facial fracture.
According to Dave Ballard, the Broncos’ high performance director, “As a result, he cannot fly home and is being driven back up to Brisbane today [on a bus] by our staff.”
“In the coming days, after we speak with a specialist and the injury settles down, we will be able to estimate how much football Reece will miss.”
Prior to their matchup with North Queensland on Friday, Brisbane will be missing three of its most important players due to injuries sustained by Walsh.
Adam Reynolds, the halfback, won’t play again until round five against Melbourne, while prop Payne Haas will also be out for the next month due to a knee injury.
Walters acknowledged on Thursday night that the Broncos were exposed at the edges due to Walsh’s injury and that he had to reconsider his interchange bench.
With Walsh playing fullback and Selwyn Cobbo filling in for him, second-rower Brendan Piakura was forced to defend at left center and prop Fletcher Baker on an edge.
As a result, the visiting team’s defense was easily breached by the premiers, who scored three tries in the first half.
Tristan Sailor was parked as our 18th man, but he was unable to enter the game. Thus, we will not repeat that action,’ stated Walters.
“We need specialists if we lose some of those outside backs, so we have to have someone like Sailor on the bench.”
As a coach, it is my responsibility to select the best players for our bench to ensure that we cover any situation. There, I accept some of the guilt.
Walters, meanwhile, stated during the game that he thought Walsh and May’s head collision was “just one of those things that happens.”
Following Walsh’s transfer of the ball, May surged out of the line and attempted to hit the Broncos fullback, resulting in a head-on collision. This led to May being placed on report.
Referee Gerard Sutton informed May that he had a “duty of care” to prevent the head collision and that he ought to have bowed down as he prepared for contact.
Ivan Cleary, the coach of Penrith, however, was adamant that the contact was merely unintentional, and the match review committee supported his position.
“I just saw it as an accident, but nobody wants to see the best players go off,” Cleary stated.
He was standing straight up, which is not how you tackle, so I assumed he was trying to get away from the tackle.
Had he bowed, he most likely would have struck him in the head with his shoulder.
“These things happen; Reece Walsh moves fairly quickly.” I don’t really care that much.
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