Broncos v Panthers in a Sunday afternoon prelim final at a raucous Suncorp Stadium.
Rugby league doesn’t get much better than this.
Matty Johns says it could go down as one of the all-time finals games. Although, it’ll have to be pretty good to eclipse the 2023 grand final.
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The matchup to watch on Sunday will undoubtedly be Nathan Cleary v Reece Walsh. Two players at the peak of their powers.
In terms of superstars in our great game, are there two that are bigger names than the Panthers general and the Broncos livewire? Probably not.
In a game that is littered with talented and stars across the park, the winner of the Walsh v Cleary battle will go a long way in determining who progresses to next Sunday’s decider.
Yes, they play different positions, but don’t be fooled. This will be a cat and mouse battle of epic proportions.
Walsh has already lit the fire with a cheeky dig of the opposite No. 7 this week.
Responding to a reporter’s question on how the Broncos’ plan to stop Cleary, Walsh quipped: “How does he deal with us?”
A solid point, but the most important question should be the one that was asked of Walsh. Just how do the Broncos stop Nathan Cleary?
“It’s exciting. He’s a world class player and if you give him an opportunity, he’s going to take it,” the Broncos fullback said.
“I guess it’s just trying to minimise (Cleary’s impact) and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
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HOW CLEARY CAN EXPOSE WALSH
All Broncos players will have their hands full with Cleary, who tore their team to shreds earlier in the season at Magic Round and of course, during the glittering 20-minute period in the 2023 decider.
But it will be Walsh, as the fullback, who will have to deal with Cleary’s world class kicking game.
Premiership winning halfback Cooper Cronk says that battle will prove to be the most important.
“I’m just going to break it down as Cleary vs. Reece Walsh. Two of the most influential players in our competition. If they put on an absolute clinic on Sunday for their teams, we’re going to be loving what happens on Sunday afternoon,” Cronk said.
“There are a lot of other players that come into this, but I think the matchup between those two is pretty key.
“Reece Walsh can be found out on the last play and found out of position with kicks or running the ball and I know that Nathan will be doing his homework and will come out with a play to find Reece out.”
Foxsports.com.au’s Paul Crawley also believes the Broncos fullback can be caught out of position, and Cleary will be thinking of ways to capitalise if Walsh is a step behind.
“Who wins this battle? Is it the conductor or is it the magician?” Crawley said on NRL360.
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“Cleary will pick Walsh apart in areas that won’t get the same focus. Walsh is so brilliant with the ball, but sometimes can be a little but lazy in defence and his positional play.
“Cleary’s kicking game is going to put pressure on Walsh more than anything else and that’s where Reece Walsh at times needs to be on his guard,” NRL360 co-host Gorden Tallis added.
Ex-Broncos coach Kevin Walters says Walsh’s defence and defensive positioning has improved significantly since the 2023 grand final loss.
“It’s obviously really important to the outcome of the game,” Walters told foxsports.com.au.
“It’s always an ongoing improvement for fullbacks and Dylan Edwards is no different. He’s always looking to improve, particularly their defence, because both he and Walsh the key to both teams’ defence.
“Reece has been improving over the last two or three years with his defence. He’s put a lot more time and focus on it in the last two or three years, so we’ve seen the improvements from him in that space.
“He’ll have to be very good because Cleary is quite a sharp brain with his short kicking game as well as his long kicking game. So, yeah, it’ll be a great contest between those two, the minds in particular”.
While there’s not much he can wrong at the moment, there are deficiencies that Cleary will be hoping to exploit.
As recent as the Broncos’ Round 26 win over the Cowboys in Townsville, Crawley noted a couple of instances in defence that Walsh would like to have back.
Moments where Walsh stopped in his tracks to watch the play develop as the Cowboys attacked the Broncos’ line or when the fullback didn’t run as hard as he should’ve to follow the play.
Against Penrith in a final, these are errors that simply can’t be replicated.
“This isn’t having a crack at Reece but there are parts of his defensive game this season. You watch this, the Cowboys put a kick in and he’s still standing on the other side of the field. If that’s James Tedesco, he’s going a million miles an hour,” Crawley said.
“There were a few moments in that game. If I’m seeing them I reckon Nathan Cleary will be seeing them.”
HOW WALSH, BRONCOS CAN ATTACK CLEARY
Understandably, the Panthers’ left edge defence has come under fire this week after a disappointing display against the Bulldogs, which saw Jacob Preston and Bronson Xerri run roughshod.
The Broncos have already identified it as a weakness, with strike centre Kotoni Staggs warning they’ll target that side.
Cleary defends on the right, so he might not cop as many attacking raids as halves partner Blaize Talagi does, but recent history has shown that Brisbane have had a bit of success targeting Cleary in defence.
For all his strengths, and tackling can be one of them, Brisbane might rate themselves a good chance of making some inroads down the right side of Penrith’s defence as well.
Cooper Cronk noted that Cleary was found out at times in the 2023 decider, which led to a couple of Ezra Mam tries.
Firstly, Cleary missed Mam cold when the Broncos playmaker sliced through for this second try of the night.
Minutes later, it was Walsh who left Cleary gasping at air, with the fullback making a break midfield before finding Mam who finished the job.
“If you go back to the 2023 grand final, if there’s one guy who that caused Nathan heartache defensively, it’s the speed and footwork of Reece Walsh,” Cronk said.
“If he (Walsh) gets the ball a couple of passes wide like he’s been doing, I think Reece can carve up the Penrith Panthers.
“It’s a game of chess. Reece needs to be in every position on the fifth play and if I’m Nathan, I’m going to try and wedge outside in defensively and not let the ball get to Walsh.”
Cleary missed five tackles that night. Of course, his poor defensive display ended up adding to his legend, with the halfback producing an otherworldly final 20 minutes to lift Penrith back from the dead.
VERDICT
This game is almost too tight to call.
If Walsh produces his best form, it’ll almost guarantee a Broncos win, but there’s no better team in Australian sports that quells the best strength of an opponent like the Penrith Panthers.
As journalist Dean Ritchie opined, the big-game experience of Cleary and the Panthers might be too much for a talented but sometimes erratic Broncos outfit.
“If you’re going to pit the two stars against each other, I know whose game I’d like to be backing under pressure,” Ritchie said.
“Nathan in the finals is irresistible while I think Reece Walsh can be temperamental.
“I’m sure they’ll sledge him, they’ll be up in his grill because they know if he is temperamental than he can unravel where the Iceman (Cleary) will never, ever unravel.”
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