Reece Walsh sets record straight on ‘rockstar’ claims after Brisbane Broncos’ commitment questioned

Brisbane superstar Reece Walsh has poured cold water over suggestions he and his teammates are a bunch of partying “rockstars”.

Still just 22, the Broncos fullback sits comfortably alongside Nathan Cleary and Latrell Mitchell as one of the biggest names in the NRL.

He was a once-in-a-lifetime Cleary grand final masterclass away from steering Brisbane to premiership glory in 2023, and has already stamped himself as a bona fide State of Origin star.

But after a tumultuous 2024 season that saw coach Kevin Walters sacked and the club miss finals, Walsh and his teammates have had their commitment to the game questioned.

Asked what he thinks people get wrong about him, Walsh said there was plenty.

“It’s interesting, a lot gets said,” Walsh said on Marlee and Me.

“Not only me, but the group, a lot of this off-season has been about ‘rockstar, rockstar that, rockstar this’.

“But if you sit down and have a conversation with any of us boys at the Broncos — it could be five minutes, just to get to know the boys — I’m sure you would change your mind real quick on us as a group.”

Walsh said his off-field priorities lie firmly in his duties as a father of his three-year-old daughter Leila.

“For myself, I’m probably a lot more family-orientated,” he went on.

“I don’t go out that much and don’t drink that much in season or go out and do much of these things.

“I spend a lot of time at home, to myself, with my family.

“They probably see a lot of Instagram followers and all of this, ‘he might be out doing that’, but I’m quite the opposite if I’m being honest.

“I love sitting on a ride-on lawn mower on a Sunday for a few hours with a cowboy hat on, mowing the lawn, instead of being at the Pav in Burleigh.”

Walters himself called questions around the players’ attitude “garbage”.

“I can tell you from being inside the club,” Walters said on Sunday, defending his former players.

Walsh said coming home to Leila is the perfect grounding for him to remember that life away from footy will always be more important.

“Everyone is going through tough moments, whether it’s at work or you have a s*** day or wake up and don’t feel your best,” he said.

“I will go to training and come home and in a crappy mood, but she doesn’t care about that.

“I look back to the grand final; emotionally I was in another world, but she told me how much she loved me. She doesn’t know what’s going on or anything like that.

“In those moments, it brings out your true self and you forget about expectations.”