OPINION
Rhys Walsh returned to his best result in Broncos win over Panthers 14-12. in the 20th round to keep Brisbane swooning NRL hopes for the final are alive. But there is a real argument to be made that he should have spent 10 minutes in the bin at a crucial stage of the game.
There was a vision of him pouncing and punching Panthers forward Isaiah Papalia in the face during a second-half scuffle. After losing the ball on the final tackle, Papalia held onto the ball a little longer than Walsh would have liked.
Reece Walsh and Isaiah Papalia were involved in a fight. Image: Draft Sports/Getty
The Broncos defensive back knocked the ball out of Papalia’s hands, then became indignant when the Panthers offensive lineman put his hand on Walsh’s head and pushed him. Walsh pounced on Papalia and hit his opponent in the face with an open palm, which provoked a small scandal.
The referee actually gave the Broncos a penalty, much to the disbelief of the Panther fans. In reality the penalty should have been awarded to Walsh and the Broncos star was lucky it didn’t end up in the sin bin.
A few years ago the NRL banned players from pushing or hitting opponents in the face. The rule change came after punches became an automatic sin bin, causing players to slap each other instead.
Reece Walsh knocked the ball out of Isaiah Papalia’s hands and then hit him in the face.
Alex Twal fined for similar behavior to Rhys Walsh
As we saw with Alex Twal on Saturday night, Walsh’s actions should have amounted to trash caning. Twal hit Jeman Salmon in the head during the Bulldogs’ victory over Wests Tigers and the march lasted 10 minutes. Twal was also given a fine by the NRL Match Review Committee on Sunday morning.
With Walsh providing all three of Brisbane’s assists, the Panthers would certainly benefit from having him spend 10 minutes watching the game from the dressing room. Instead, he was allowed to remain on the field and set up the winning try about 10 minutes after the Papalia incident.
It was one of many calls that enraged Panthers fans as they suffered their third loss in their last four games. They are now just two points clear of the Warriors at the top of the NRL table, while The Broncos are still alive with 18 points. – six points outside the top eight with seven rounds remaining.
