After 287 long days on the sidelines, Brisbane's cult hero is finally coming home.
Billy Walters, the hooker who captured the hearts of Broncos fans during last year's premiership charge, is on the verge of completing his comeback from a horror ACL injury, according to The Courier Mail, and his timing could not be better for a Brisbane outfit whose title defence is hanging by a thread.
The plan has Walters lacing up for a feeder club, South Logan, against Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup on Sunday week, designed to blow off the rust before a much-anticipated NRL return against the Cronulla Sharks in Round 18.
It's been a brutal road back for the 32-year-old, given the nickname 'The Difference' by his Broncos teammates, who last featured in the top grade in September last year in the first round of the finals against the Canberra Raiders, the day he snapped his ACL during Brisbane's epic 29-28 extra-time triumph.
The injury was cruel as they come, denying Walters a place on the field for the grand final itself, robbing him of the chance to claim a premiership he'd done so much to help engineer.
Remarkably, he postponed surgery so he could stand alongside his teammates and soak in the title celebrations after Brisbane toppled Melbourne.
Nine months of relentless rehabilitation later, Walters has been training at full tilt with the NRL squad and hoping to return for a push to the finals.
Provided his knee holds up, he'll be thrust straight back into Broncos colours for the July 4 clash against the Sharks at Suncorp Stadium.
His return arrives at a critical juncture. Brisbane has been ravaged by injury and form alike, slumping to a sixth loss in a row after going down to the Rabbitohs in Round 15.
Walters' services at dummy half would bring back the creative spark and ruck smarts that made him such an integral cog in Brisbane's claim of the NRL premiership.
