OFFICIAL Walsh signs with the Broncos until 2025

[BroncosFever]

It's hilarious that Wayne is kicking it up that the Warriors refuse to deal with the Dolphins and why would they?

If the Warriors are to get anything at all out of this, they will probably want to deal with us because as we know, the Dolphins have nothing to offer. They are struggling to get their own squad together.

 

[McHunt]

Why?

For one: players don't officially know who's in the team until Team List Tuesday, and it's not up to them where they play.
Second: they should know by now the sweet talk that gets romanced in contract negotiations dissipates the second they sign. Take Kotoni at 6, or future captain Payne, for example.
Third: Tesi, Selwyn, Herbie and Te Maire all have designs on that fullback role, whether they, like Herbie, announce it to the press or not. It's the most visible position on the field, comes with a pay rise and a certain level of glamour.
Fourth: Signing Walsh is clear sign to all prospective fullbacks that whatever the club told them about playing there, they had other plans.

Te Maire is the least connected to the club. He was already counting his days there. He's unlikely to stay.

Selwyn has time on his side. He's one of the top wingers in the country already. He can bide his time there, shift to centre or wait for injury. The club already has him locked up. They can do what they like. Selwyn, at this point, is happy to ride the wave.

Herbie is the biggest problem. He held a press conference to announce he only signed for a year at least partly because he wants the fullback position, and if he doesn't get it, he might not hang around. What he said in essence is he's unhappy playing centre for the Brisbane Broncos, and he's liable to hoof it. You'd have to expect he's ropeable right now.

Tesi would see his days are numbered. Unless he reads no social media, no press comments, and lives in a bubble, he would know all observers thought the team lifted several notches in his absence and no one wants him back at 1. He would see his only pathway back into the team through injury, and he would be behind Deine Mariner at centre/wing. He's no chance of playing fullback again, after this current stint.

 

[Foordy]

you just have to laugh at Badel. his latest article is full of contradictions:

He starts by saying Reece is a "officially" a Bronco ... the literally 2 paragraphs later says it is "understood" that Walsh has signed a 3 year contract

He says we've freed up $1 million under the cap to brin g Walsh home ... then later says his contract won't break the bank and greately exceed his 400k Warriors contract ... furthermore he says that we are severing ties with as many as 6 top-liners to fund the purchase of Walsh (coincidently the figures for these players he states in the article equals close to the $1 million (James, Mead, Turpin, Lee, Kennedy)

finally he says that Walsh rejected a $2.8 million deal (700k per year) from the Dolphins ... but he hasn't been able to negotiate with them

 

[mitch222]

Ill call it now, Walsh will usurp Ponga as QLDs fullback next year when he joins our side.

 

[the_next]

you just have to laugh at Badel. his latest article is full of contradictions:

He starts by saying Reece is a "officially" a Bronco ... the literally 2 paragraphs later says it is "understood" that Walsh has signed a 3 year contract

He says we've freed up $1 million under the cap to brin g Walsh home ... then later says his contract won't break the bank and greately exceed his 400k Warriors contract ... furthermore he says that we are severing ties with as many as 6 top-liners to fund the purchase of Walsh (coincidently the figures for these players he states in the article equals close to the $1 million (James, Mead, Turpin, Lee, Kennedy)

finally he says that Walsh rejected a $2.8 million deal (700k per year) from the Dolphins ... but he hasn't been able to negotiate with them

We aren’t surprised, are we?
400-500k is a good deal for us, if factual.

 

[BroncsFan]

Whilst it’s tempting to laugh at Redcliffe, the reality is it’s not boding well for the NRL and the game overall that the club is struggling on the recruitment front.

They are a filthy rich, hugely storied club in absolute Rugby League heartland. They have one of the very best talent drawing Coaches in the game currently, and they are STILL struggling to kick any major recruitment goals.

If Redcliffe, even with all that in their favour, is struggling as an expansion club, then honestly what hope in hell does the likes of Perth or another New Zealand side have of ever getting off the ground.

I know it’s going to be a bitter pill to swallow for some, but this is a textbook example of why we simply have to move to a draft model within the next few years.

17 teams needs to become 18 to really make expansion worthwhile for the tv networks with an extra game, but there is absolutely no way we can even contemplate this unless we implement a proper draft system first.

The NRL is probably going to get lucky by the skin of its teeth that Redcliffe have enough cash and location advantages up their sleeve that they’ll be able to survive and get up and rube viable, but there is literally no other expansion option on the table that has even the faintest chance of success without it.

I dont think a draft is the silver bullet to ensuring success of an expansion team.

The AFL has invested heavily in the Suns with extra picks, etc. and they look dead in the water.

There's nothing stopping a player moving to a different club when their contract expires after being drafted... you can try all you like to "force" the player to stay, but eventually they'll get their way and be able to move where they like.

A trade system would help in that situation, but you still need players to want to be at your club.

The key weapon that the NRL has at its disposal is cap concessions... I was expecting the Dolphins would be given extra cap space for the first say 6 years (effectively 2 contract cycles) to assist them with recruiting and retaining players.

The other alternative that wouldve been more appropriate is bringing them in for the 2024 season to give them a bit of time to recruit properly and have a decent runway heading into their first season.

Instead the NRL rushed the decision and all the off contract Sydney players that NSWRL media thought they could target have decided to stay in Sydney... who woulda thunk it.

 

[McHunt]

I don’t disagree with the sentiment but we there are differences to Haas. Walsh is a Qlder, he clearly loves the Broncos and has family here. Like Haas though, as good as he is and will be, with Cobbo and Farnworth and other kids no doubt coming through, we don’t need to be held to ransom.

I don't mean the club paying more than they need to, like in Payne's situation, but the club should hope to pay about what they're worth on the market, maybe less some "intangible" that we don't get to hear about. That "intangible" might not be anything sneaky, it might merely be living somewhere they prefer or playing with their mates.

 

[BroncosFever]

Ill call it now, Walsh will usurp Ponga as QLDs fullback next year when he joins our side.

If Ponga wasn’t on a million dollars a year, I am not sure he gets the fullback spot for QLD, he hasn’t been at his brilliant best this year. It seems like he’s constantly getting injured

 

[Foordy]

ok people ... prepare yourselves for the onslaught of articles if this signing get made official (from the clubs, not Badel)

because we'll start to get plenty of players futures questioned articles. Badel's already starts this saying that Walsh's arrival will create some ripples within our roster and goes on to talk about Herbie, TMM and Cobbo

 

[McHunt]

you just have to laugh at Badel. his latest article is full of contradictions:

He starts by saying Reece is a "officially" a Bronco ... the literally 2 paragraphs later says it is "understood" that Walsh has signed a 3 year contract

He says we've freed up $1 million under the cap to brin g Walsh home ... then later says his contract won't break the bank and greately exceed his 400k Warriors contract ... furthermore he says that we are severing ties with as many as 6 top-liners to fund the purchase of Walsh (coincidently the figures for these players he states in the article equals close to the $1 million (James, Mead, Turpin, Lee, Kennedy)

finally he says that Walsh rejected a $2.8 million deal (700k per year) from the Dolphins ... but he hasn't been able to negotiate with them

Read the bylines you great bumbling clown. There are three authors, Badel only being one. If Badel triggers you so much you have to whinge about him several times EVERY FUCKING DAY, how about not reading his articles? No one is forcing you. And your observations are always wrong or deluded anyway.

 

[007]

This shows Broncos HQ are back in business. The amount of talent on the books is a black hole for Tits and Fins.

 

[BroncsFan]

If Ponga wasn’t on a million dollars a year, I am not sure he gets the fullback spot for QLD, he hasn’t been at his brilliant best this year. It seems like he’s constantly getting injured

In origin I would say Ponga has been one of our best.

I thought heading into the series that Walsh would be near getting the spot over Ponga, but Billy has been able to inject him into the attacking structure really well, and he's been a vital component of our attack.

The thing Walsh has going for him is that he plays a similar style to Ponga... so it's not a difficult substitute to make if Ponga is injured at any point in upcoming series

 

[Brotherdu]

If Ponga wasn’t on a million dollars a year, I am not sure he gets the fullback spot for QLD, he hasn’t been at his brilliant best this year. It seems like he’s constantly getting injured

Why would a players salary determine whether or not he gets picked for SOO?

 

[broncos4life]

For one: players don't officially know who's in the team until Team List Tuesday, and it's not up to them where they play.
Second: they should know by now the sweet talk that gets romanced in contract negotiations dissipates the second they sign. Take Kotoni at 6, or future captain Payne, for example.
Third: Tesi, Selwyn, Herbie and Te Maire all have designs on that fullback role, whether they, like Herbie, announce it to the press or not. It's the most visible position on the field, comes with a pay rise and a certain level of glamour.
Fourth: Signing Walsh is clear sign to all prospective fullbacks that whatever the club told them about playing there, they had other plans.

Te Maire is the least connected to the club. He was already counting his days there. He's unlikely to stay.

Selwyn has time on his side. He's one of the top wingers in the country already. He can bide his time there, shift to centre or wait for injury. The club already has him locked up. They can do what they like. Selwyn, at this point, is happy to ride the wave.

Herbie is the biggest problem. He held a press conference to announce he only signed for a year at least partly because he wants the fullback position, and if he doesn't get it, he might not hang around. What he said in essence is he's unhappy playing centre for the Brisbane Broncos, and he's liable to hoof it. You'd have to expect he's ropeable right now.

Tesi would see his days are numbered. Unless he reads no social media, no press comments, and lives in a bubble, he would know all observers thought the team lifted several notches in his absence and no one wants him back at 1. He would see his only pathway back into the team through injury, and he would be behind Deine Mariner at centre/wing. He's no chance of playing fullback again, after this current stint.

Yes I agree, I took your original post to be saying the exact opposite of this.

 

[Sproj]

Why would a players salary determine whether or not he gets picked for SOO?

It isn’t currently working for Fifita.

 

[Johnny92]

I agree it's the most likely loss, but it all depends on how seriously Herbie wants to play 1.

Sure, he's mentioned it in one interview, but he's happily played wing / centre his whole time at the Broncos. Even last year when we had almost no fullback options he wasn't causing a fuss / knocking down the door for a fullback spot. Maybe he's just saying it in the hopes that if he goes to Dolphins next year, he can get fullback money instead of centre / winger money.

There's been plenty of players who have wanted to play fullback that have then have quickly abandoned that and ended up playing their original position... Cotric and JAC immediately come to mind. Personally, I think if Herbie wanted fullback badly enough / had the ability to play fullback then we would have seen it by now. I think at the end of the day, being an elite centre in a winning team on good money could be enough for him to stay put in Brisbane even without the 1 jersey.

Herbie and Reece are quite possibly mates aswell, (they comment on each other's Instagram posts) so Herbie may not be too upset if it's his mate taking the position he wants and makes us a real premiership contender.
A back 5 of Walsh, Cobbo, Staggs, Herbie and Oates is one of the most dangerous in the comp.

 

[Jason Simmons]

The funniest thing in this saga is the Warriors fans expecting compensation, **** me, seriously?

How many players have we released and not received a single thing in return for from them? Go as far back as Nikorima if you want to and it's not like he's taking off mid-season

Their compensation is Jesse Arthurs, I’d bet…

Sounds like the 2 clubs are pretty damn close off the field, which I like a lot.

I think this is firming up the Bros as my official no.2 team. I cheered them on in 2011 GF against Manly (coz honestly who wouldn’t?) and I love how crazy their team gets, amazing one week and awful the next, or sometimes in the same game…

So yeah, good times for us, and best of luck and respect to the Warriors.

 

[Sproj]

I would imagine here that the club would have spoken to the players affected about this and I imagine they would be behind it for it to happen. Because as good as Walsh and likely will be, we don’t REALLY need him, certainly not enough to put current key position teammates offside to bring him in.