The Brisbane Broncos have revealed that Reece Walsh wasn't promised the fullback jumper at the club when he made the switch from the New Zealand Warriors at the back end of last year.
Walsh was involved in a messy release from the Warriors ahead of their move back to Auckland on a fulltime basis, with the star fullback given permission to negotiate with the Broncos, but no other club.
It was a move which left the Dolphins agitated, however, gave the Broncos a headache of their own as Walsh joined a squad which also features Tesi Niu and Herbie Farnworth, although Te Maire Martin has since left to ease some pressure on the race for the number one jersey.
Farnworth's desire to play at the back is well known, and the English star only signed a one-year deal with the Broncos to extend his time into 2023 earlier this year, while Niu's future remains under a cloud with a year left to run on his deal at Red Hill.
Speaking to News Corp</em., Brisbane's academy chief Simon Scanlan said Walsh hasn't been guaranteed the fullback role.
“The thing we've made clear is Reece isn't guaranteed anything,” Scanlan said.
“We have Tesi Niu and Herbie Farnworth wanting to play fullback as well so it will be a shootout for that No.1 jumper in the pre-season.
“Reece has to come in and fight for the jumper.
“No-one at the club has been told they are locked in as the No.1 fullback. Reece is one of the guys in the mix."
Selwyn Cobbo is another option who will eventually want to play fullback.
The young gun has started his career on the wing, but is unlikely to remain there long-term, although he did sign a new deal with the Broncos last year that ties him to the club until at least the end of 2025, taking any immediate pressure to move him into the number one jumper away.
The comments from Scanlan fly directly against those from Kevin Walters after the signing of Walsh, with the coach labelling Walsh a "specialist fullback."
"That's next year to worry about, but at the moment he's a specialist fullback and playing some good footy," Walters told a press conference in July.
"It's nice to have those riches and I'm assuming, should never assume, but Herbie will go overseas for the World Cup (with England), so he'll be restricted in the pre-season and we'll get limited time to develop him (as a fullback).
"Selwyn may be on that trip as well and he's a long term player for us too and Reece can play a number of positions.
"The important thing is to get really good, strong players into the club."
