Reece Walsh looked stunned against the Blues on Wednesday night.Credit:Getty Images
He was reluctant to be part of the attacking line,slow to cover in defence and his kicking was sloppy. No more was it obvious than when Zac Lomax put a foot into touch from a Walsh kick-off,to give NSW a fresh set of six from halfway.
As the game’s most marketable man flashed onto the big screen at the MCG just before half-time,his eyes were wide,hands in his hair – it was a deer-in-the-headlights look that mirrored that of Billy Slater up in the coaches box.
It was the little things that ate away at Walsh across the 80 minutes,but even as he went to the sheds at half-time,he looked like the shell of the player who turns up for Brisbane each week.
At times,it looked like he was inside a Blues pinball machine,bouncing between the likes of Mitchell and Stephen Crichton. At one point,Mitchell picked Walsh up and flung him on the ground like a rag doll. That came after he had already knocked Walsh to the ground in the first half after the young fullback cleaned up a grubber in-goal.
Spencer Leniu and Reece Walsh exchange words.Credit:Getty Images
When Walsh tried to break through the Blues left-edge defence,Mitchell repelled him like a force field. The Blues message to Walsh was clear:no matter where you go,no matter what you do,we’ll drive you out of the game.
When quizzed about Walsh’s involvement after the game,Slater kept his answer brief.