Queensland skipper Daly Cherry-Evans has no concerns over Reece Walsh losing his cool at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night when the superstar fullback renews his rivalry with NSW chief energy officer Jarome Luai.
The series opener will be Walsh’s first Origin appearance since he was sent off in game two a year ago for trading headbutts with Luai who was also marched and had to cop it from the Maroons faithful as he left Suncorp Stadium.
The pair have addressed the incident in the build-up to Wednesday’s clash, with Walsh set to hear it from 80,000 rabid fans who bleed blue and will relish any chance to give it to Queensland’s greatest attacking weapon.
“I reckon I am going to let him be Reece. I am certainly not going to talk to him about it,” Cherry-Evans said.
“There are plenty of other things we talk about in camp, and so long as our talk and connection is around how we play our best footy, I reckon Reece has always got the team first.
“I think he is going to be fine. He has a great mentor in Billy. He won’t be short of people giving him advice, but ultimately the best advice we can give Reece is to go out there and be himself.”
Walsh, 21, is on the path to greatness and will be the main man for the visitors on Wednesday night, but his skipper has fired a warning shot to the Blues, declaring the young star’s best is still in front of him as he continues to work with coach Billy Slater.
“All of the best fullbacks take time in the game. It takes time to refine and learn the game, so of course I think his best footy is ahead of him. He has set a pretty high bar for himself,” he said.
“That is why I love playing alongside him. He is a special player.
“I’ve got a lot of faith and confidence in Reece.
“Reconnecting with him in camp has been great fun and he just gives me so much energy watching him running around.
“He’s great to watch and he’s hard to play against so it’s nice that he’s on my team this time.
“We’re just going to try to bring out the best in Reece Walsh on Wednesday night. We’ll just get him the ball in space. It’s as easy as that.”
Conditions won’t be ideal for free-flowing footy with heavy rain predicted, but that could play into the hands of Selwyn Cobbo who looms as a wildcard off the bench.
It’s still unclear how the Maroons plan to use the Broncos centre if there aren’t any injuries, but that unpredictability could be an advantage if he’s allowed to wreak havoc through the middle.
“With the super-sub role, there are two things that are really important,” said Cherry-Evans who has played four games off the bench for his state.
“You have to put the team first, and you have to bring your strengths to the team. If Selwyn does that, I think he’ll be fine.
“I’d like to think we’ve made him really comfortable in the role he’ll play this week.”
Source Agencies
