Brisbane superstar Reece Walsh insists he won’t let Jarome Luai get under his skin as the two of the game’s most popular but polarising players clash for the first time since they headbutted each other in Origin II.
The bad blood between Walsh and Luai started in the first Origin encounter in Adelaide, when Luai accused the Broncos and Queensland fullback of pulling his hair. Luai described the Adelaide act as “weak” and ridiculed Walsh for trying to run away.
They then had to be separated in the final minute at Suncorp Stadium for head-butting each other, before they were sent off. The resulting furore prompted Luai to post on social media: “Chill, all you idiots have work in the morning.”
Walsh confirmed on Monday he had reached out to Luai after that incident and insisted he respected the Penrith No. 6 as a player who “puts bums on seats” – but warned he would not back down from a rematch on Sunday.
“Does he get under my skin? No he doesn’t,” Walsh said of Luai on Monday. “He is an exciting player to watch, he’s fun to go up against in those battles, but I wouldn’t say he gets under my skin.
“I obviously have a lot of respect for him. He is a young dad, and he is playing with injury at the moment. That is pretty courageous.
“I sent him a message after game two to see how he is going and to wish him all the best with everything. He was good. He is an awesome bloke off the field.
“He plays with his heart on his sleeve. They are the people you want to play with, and you want to go out to war with them. You know they are going to give you their all. Like myself, I wear my heart on my sleeve, too.”
Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds said Luai’s ability to bait his opposition was one of his strengths, and it was important the players – not just Walsh – kept their cool.
“He [Luai] does it really well and you have to acknowledge that and applaud that,” Reynolds said. “We know what’s coming, you either buy into it or you don’t. You have to respect him, he’s a great player.
Another Broncos player, Selwyn Cobbo, labelled Luai a “grub” over the summer on a podcast after he had stood over him while knocked out in Origin III last year.
When asked about those comments, Cobbo told this masthead: “He loves his footy, he’s so passionate about it, and he does a lot for his team. That’s who he is.”
Walsh is arguably the biggest drawcard in the NRL right now. He was easily the most popular player at the Broncos’ fan day. One teenage female fan was in tears when she discovered she was too late to have a poster signed.
Ezra Mam, Pat Carrigan and Jordan Riki – who had supporters singing, ‘Ooh, Riki, you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind’ – were also in hot demand.
The 21-year-old Walsh said the strong support he has received at the Broncos helped him cope with the intense interest and attention in Brisbane.
He threw a cut-out ball in Saturday’s preliminary final that was intercepted by Warriors flyer Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, who ran downfield and scored, but refused to go into his shell.
As for his forward pass that led to a Broncos try, Walsh smiled and said: “I just play to the whistle. I don’t ask the ref questions. I was a little bit [surprised]. My first thought was to look around and see if they were going to call it, but they didn’t, so I played to the whistle.”
Walsh said the Broncos did not fear Penrith, and while “we are going to give them the respect they have earned, we will go out there and play our footy”.
Sydney Morning Herald
