A blockbuster “battle of Brisbane” is looming between the Broncos and Dolphins in Round 6, but concerns have emerged regarding one of the game’s superstars.
Reece Walsh suffered a nasty facial fracture in Round 3 in a collision with Panthers gun Taylan May, with his suspected time on the sidelines being four to six weeks.
But now, after only three weeks, Walsh is set to return to the field and NRL360 co-host Paul Kent believes Walsh is risking further injury.
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“It’s a risk, but he’s a superstar and with no Adam Reynolds we know how important he is to the Broncos’ attack,” James Hooper said.
“Of course there’s risk to it, it’s a fractured cheekbone. That head gear, it’s not going to do much. It looks like it does the job but it doesn’t do much,” Kent said.
“The impact required to break a cheekbone is significant, and it will get through that head gear pretty quickly.
“Psychologically it might feel better, it might feel like he’s protected and it will keep him alert to the fact he’s wearing it but it’s not really going to help that much.
“People think it stops concussions and that, the reason it’s not compulsory in boxing is because it’s not there to stop concussions.
“Head gear is worn in boxing to stop your skin getting cut. But if he gets an impact strong enough, it’s going to break again.”
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Upon return, Walsh is set to be greeted by former teammate Tom Flegler who, alongside Herbie Farnworth, made a cross-town switch to join the Dolphins in 2024.
Farnworth has been sidelined with an AC joint injury, but there’s sure to be feeling in this Queensland derby, with Hooper explaining Wayne Bennett is desperate to record a win.
Bennett has the NRL’s newest franchise firing in their second NRL season, currently sitting atop the competition ladder after five rounds.
“They’ve billed it as the battle of Brisbane, there’s some genuine bad blood, Wayne is the coach of the Dolphins, he left the Broncos on bad terms,” Hooper said.
“Make no mistake, Wayne would love nothing more than for little brother, which is how the Dolphins are perceived in the city of Brisbane, to orchestrate a victory over the Broncos.
“Who have been so successful, a juggernaut over the last year, always been a powerhouse club.”
“We saw the big acquisitions for the Dolphins over the off-season, Herbie Farnworth who is injured, Tom Flegler, it is just going to continue,” The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis said.
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“That’s the element, we are going to see more of it, we are going to see players going back and forth.”
Kent also believes Queensland’s rugby league fans are beginning to embrace their interstate rivalries since the Dolphins joining the NRL in 2023.
Like the heated rivalries between Sydney-based sides, the Broncos, Cowboys, Dolphins and Titans now have heated clashes of their own.
“What I like about it is that Queensland people and NSW people are very different. In Queensland you follow the Maroons and the Broncos, or Cowboys, Titans, after that,” Kent explained.
“In Queensland they couldn’t understand the local derby rivalry, you grow up a Parramatta fan, or a Canterbury fan and you have those rivalries, then NSW comes after.
“Queensland now are starting to get a bit of a taste of what it’s like to have that proper Queensland derby, get into each other and hate the opposition that NSW is chock full of.”
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