Net Worth: c.$1 Million
Age: 21
DOB: 10 July 2002
Birthplace: Southport, Queensland, Australia
Reece Walsh is a professional rugby league player whose primary position is at full-back. Currently he is regarded as one of the hottest properties in the game and has been impressing many with stand-out performances for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL.
He has also represented the Queensland Maroons in the State of Origin in 2023 and started his professional career in New Zealand with the Warriors.
Due to his rising stock Walsh has already accumulated a net worth of over $1 million. If he keeps playing like he is, that figure is sure to rise in the next few years.
Early Life
Walsh was born on the Gold Coast in Queensland, in the suburb of Southport. He was born to an Australian indigenous father and a Māori mother who hails from the city of Hastings on the North Island of New Zealand.
Unfortunately, his parents split when he was young, so Reece was raised predominantly by his dad and stepmum in Nerang on the Gold Coast. He went to Keebra Park State High School and took a keen interest in rugby league from a young age, eventually representing the Nerang Roosters.
In 2021, around the time of his 19th birthday, he signed a professional deal with the New Zealand Warriors
Early Career
As a youngster, Walsh turned out for both the Queensland under-16 and Queensland Murri sides in 2018.
A year later, he also played for the Tweed Heads Seagulls at Under-18 level, where he helped them with the national title and the Mal Meninga cup. He also spent much of the year training with the NRL squad of the Brisbane Broncos.
In June of the following year, he scored a try for the Queensland under-18s in a comprehensive 34-12 victory against NSW Blues. Three months later he scored a try for the Australian Schoolboys in a thumping 36-20 win over their New Zealand counterparts.
Playing career
Reece Walsh joined the Brisbane Broncos NRL squad in 2021 on a development contract. He began the season playing for the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup. On 18 March, Walsh signed a three-year contract with the New Zealand Warriors, beginning in 2022. On 10 April, he was released early from his Brisbane contract to join the Warriors immediately. On 25 April, in the 7th round of the NRL 2021 season, Walsh made his maiden first grade appearance for the Warriors in a match against Melbourne.
The following month, Walsh confirmed his allegiance to Queensland and Australia over New Zealand. It was confirmed on 21 June that he had been selected to play as fullback for the Queensland Maroons for the second game of the State of Origin series. At 18, he would have been the youngest pick to be selected in the Maroons team since Ben Ikin was selected in 1995, however he was ruled out due to an injury.
In round 23, Walsh had a disappointing afternoon with the goal-kicking duties, only managing to convert one goal from five attempts, including a conversion attempt near the touch-line late in the game which would likely have sent the contest into extra-time against Brisbane. The Warriors ended up losing the match 24-22 which pretty much ended the slim chance they had of making the finals.
On 20 June, Walsh was included in the Queensland Maroons extended squad for the second State of Origin Game, however, was not called on to play. On 6 July, Walsh was released early from his Warriors contract to re-join the Brisbane Broncos, the following year. Walsh cited a breakdown of a relationship as the primary motivation for the move. He reportedly turned down a lucrative $2.8 million offer from the new NRL franchise Redcliffe Dolphins in favour of signing with Brisbane. On 7 July, Brisbane officially announced the return of Walsh to their playing rooster, on a three-year deal.
On 1 January 2023, news outlets reported that Walsh had entered into a verbal altercation with David Fifita of the Gold Coast Titans. The pair allegedly needed to be separated by security staff at Burleigh Heads. In the pre-season trials, Walsh incurred a facial injury iduring Brisbane’s clash with the Gold Coast Titans and was ruled out for a significant period of time.
During the second round of the NRL 2023 season, Walsh played his first game for Brisbane, scoring a try in his team’s comprehensive victory over their fierce rivals the North Queensland Cowboys. The following week, he scored two tries in a 40–18 victory over St. George Illawarra.
State of Origin Debut
After some impressive performances, Walsh was selected to make his debut for Queensland in the first game of the 2023 State of Origin series. He replaced the incumbent fullback Kalyn Ponga. In the second game of the series, Walsh got into a fight with Jarome Luai, the New South Wales’ five-eighth. As a result, both players were sent off, while Josh Addo-Carr was sin-binned. Despite this, Queensland emerged victorious, thrashing the Blues by a scoreline of 32-6 and ultimately the securing series.
Throughout the 2023 NRL season, Walsh played a total of 22 games for Brisbane. He was also part of Brisbane’s squad that played in the 2023 NRL Grand Final against Penrith. Unfortunately, Brisbane lost the game 26-24 against Penrith.
Controversies and Disciplinary Issues
Despite his on-pitch performances, Walsh has had his fair share of controversies.
On September 25th 2021, police arrested him at a nightclub in Surfer’s Paradise for failing a previous order to move on. After being searched it was found that he was in possession of a small bag of cocaine. This led to him being handed a two match suspension and $5000 fine as a result of the incident.
In June 2023, Reece was given a three match suspension for contrary conduct towards referee Chris Butler during the Broncos defeat to the Gold Coast Titans. Although Walsh claimed the insulting language he used was aimed at Patrick Carrigan, his Broncos teammate, the charge was upheld and he subsequently missed the third Origin match.
Three months later, it was reported that the NRL integrity unit was investigating a verbal altercation involving Walsh and a Penrith supporter at Darling Harbour in Sydney.