Brisbane Broncos fullback Reece Walsh has opened up on his State of Origin axing, admitting his form wasn't good enough to meet the standard set by Queensland.
Head coach Billy Slater made the call to play Kalyn Ponga in the Origin opener, and although he got sent off, he had a solid first hour before the incident on Tolutau Koula.
Walsh could still have been included on the six-man bench, but was ultimately overlooked, with Slater preferring Gehamat Shibasaki and Ezra Mam as specialist back seven players on the bench.
Ultimately, Shibasaki wasn't used despite Ponga's send off, with Kurt Capewell shifting out to the centres and struggling, particularly in defence.
Walsh said it was disappointing to be overlooked, but admitted his form wasn't good enough to be considered.
“It was disappointing,” Walsh told reporters on Wednesday.
“Obviously as a young Queenslander all you want to do is grow up and play for Queensland. To not be named and get that call, I was disappointed.
“But I know the standards it takes to play for Queensland and I'm a realist and I'm honest with myself and I probably haven't been living up to those standards that it takes to wear that Queensland jersey so I feel like that's what makes it so great. Once you put that jersey on, you know what it takes to get back there.
“I understand that I haven't been upholding those standards. It's about putting the hard work here at training and relaying that back on the field.”
Walsh, who was rocks and diamonds for much of the first part of last year, missed all of last year's Origin series, but came from the clouds to lead the Brisbane Broncos to the premiership, before also being selected in the end of year Ashes series for Australia.
His form this year though has left plenty to be desired, with errors littering his performances before he was struck down with injury and missed game time in the lead up to Origin 1.
