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Ex-NRL player believes Rugby Australia should offer Reece Walsh stunning $15m deal
By Finn Morton
Former NRL star Joel Caine has called on Rugby Australia to offer Queensland Maroons fullback Reece Walsh a mammoth deal worth $15 million over five years.
Walsh, 21, is in the midst of a career-best season with the Brisbane Broncos. After returning to the ‘Bronx’ after a stint with the New Zealand Warriors, the fullback has been superb.
In just 18 NRL games for the Broncos this season, the exciting playmaker has crossed for seven tries and registered 19 assists. Walsh has also broken 97 tackles and averages more than 150 running meters per game.
Walsh, at least this season, is the very definition of what it means to be a superstar.
As discussed on SEN radio, videos that include Walsh on the NRL website attract an average of 493,000 views. That figure is almost five times the average for other video content.
Walsh is also front and centre in five of the NRL’s top 10 videos on TikTok – in total, this content involving Walsh has generated more than three million views.
If Wallabies coach Eddie Jones and Rugby Australia knocked on the NRL door again – after singing Sydney Roosters flyer Joseph Suaalii earlier this year – they could do a lot worse than Walsh.
Former St George and Tigers outside Joel Caine has, after reflecting on the recently released Johnny Manziel documentary, implored rugby to see the benefits of signing a genuine star like Walsh.
“There’s your number one target,” Caine said on SEN’s The Run Home with Joel & Fletch.
“If you’re rugby right, you don’t have the salary cap… why wouldn’t you say to Reece Walsh, ‘Hey mate you’re getting maximum dollar at probably 1.5 (million) with third parties, I’ll give you three million.'
“How do you honestly say no to that?
“Rugby would honestly get a return if you said, ‘Listen, we’re gonna give you a 15-million-dollar deal for five years.’”
The Brisbane Broncos are second on the NRL ladder with only a few rounds to play. They’re equal on competition points with defending premiers the Penrith Panthers.
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Latest Comments
No because if it was a 1:1 correspondence it would have been 10 top14, 3 URC and 3 Prem. I did arbitrarily put a max limit per league at 8 because for me if half of the teams are from the top14 it will make no sense. I genuinely didn't think the discussion will go that way tbh as for me it is a details.
Go to commentsFoster should never have been appointed, and I never liked him as a coach, but the hysteria over his coaching and Sam Cane as a player was grounded in prejudice rather than fact.
The New Zealand Rugby public were blinded by their dislike of Foster to the point of idiocy.
Anything the All Blacks did that was good was attributed to Ryan and Schmidt and Fozzie had nothing to do with it.
Any losses were solely blamed on Foster and Cane.
Foster did develop new talent and kept all the main trophies except the World Cup.
His successor kept the core of his team as well as picking Cane despite him leaving for overseas because he saw the irreplaceable value in him.
Razor will take the ABs to the next level, I have full confidence in that.
He should have been appointed in 2020.
But he wasn’t. And the guy who was has never been treated fairly.
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