Often in the NRL, we see players elevated into the Origin arena and depart with glowing confidence to excel back at clubland, with Reece Walsh hoping to emulate that spirit to get the Brisbane Broncos some late-season success.
After a shaky campaign so far in 2026, the Broncos need to start showing glimpses of their glamorous playing style that was shown in their run into the finals last year.
Walsh is ready to apply the confidence built in Queensland Maroons camp to catapult his club back into strong form for the rest of the year.
"Whenever you can get in these environments and be a sponge off some of the greatest players, go up against the greatest players in the game, I feel like it's only going to put yourself in a good position,” Walsh said to NRL.com, following his loss in the decider.
“We are battling back at home (at Broncos), but I feel like we've still got a lot of a lot of fight left in us.
“(I'll) get back there, we'll work our backsides off, like we've been doing, and let our hard work and actions do the talking for us.”
Walsh was injected into the State of Origin decider in the 44th minute to help add attacking spark to Billy Slater's Maroons juggernaut, who missed the mark at Suncorp Stadium in front of 50,000 Maroons fans.
The NSW Blues completed an attacking ambush deep behind enemy lines, defeating the Maroons in a 30-12 victory and bringing the shield back down to Sydney.
Walsh was brought into Game 3 camp after missing out entirely in the opening fixture, then called up for Queensland in Game 2, but was unused in the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The 2025 Clive Churchill Medallist was thrust into Wednesday's match for Sam Walker, who had to undergo a HIA, and momentarily played in halves alongside Cameron Munster.
“I grew up playing in the halves… I actually enjoyed it a lot,” Walsh said.
“That might be something for the future for myself.”
Walsh was keen to get as many touches as he could, showcasing plenty of energy but failed to turn it into points when he shifted from half to fullback midway through the second 40.
“It was good to get back out there,” he said.
“Obviously I wanted to stay ready through camps two and three. Got out there, we were in a tough spot… I just wanted to go out there and try and make a difference and do what I could for the team.
“I just went out there and did my job. I don't think I did anything special. I think Queensland and then the boys needed me to do my job and I tried to do that as best I could.
“We didn't get the result so it doesn't really matter at the end of the day, we didn't win.”
The star fullback is ready to build on the confidence formed from a Maroons recall and get the Broncos back on track, who have suffered eight losses in a row in their title defence season.
Plenty of pressure has been mounting on the playing group, while also suffering a horror run of injuries in 2026, including Walsh, Adam Reynolds, Patrick Carrigan, Ben Hunt plus many more miss vital chunks of the season.
The Maroons had trouble handling the Blues forwards, spearheaded by Payne Haas, who undertook the unique game-plan of running on the edges of the Maroons' middle and had brilliant success at poking his nose through the line.
Compounded by Cameron Murray's agile frame and lightning-quick play-the-ball speed, the Blues maintained the front foot for most of the clash.
NSW star Nathan Cleary also had his best game in sky blue and shut down any debate on whether he's meant for the Origin arena with a Wally Lewis Medal (series MVP) to add to his extensive trophy cabinet.
Walsh will have to maintain his focus on Cleary when the Broncos travel to Sydney after their bye this week to face the Penrith Panthers on July 16.
