Reece Walsh will leave the Warriors next season. Photo / Photosport
Reece Walsh will leave the Warriors next season. Photo / Photosport
Reece Walsh's exit from the Warriors has been confirmed with the young fullback signing a three-year deal with the Brisbane Broncos from 2023.
The Broncos confirmed the signing on Thursday in a deal that will see the 19-year-old return to his former club until at least the end of 2025.
The Warriors will retain Walsh for the remainder of the season as they continue to be based in Redcliffe and fly back to Auckland for three more home games, before moving back to New Zealand permanently in 2023.
Walsh first joined the Broncos academy as a 13-year-old, signing his first contract with the club two years later before representing the Australian Schoolboys side.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters said he was looking forward to welcoming Walsh back to Brisbane.
"Reece's return is great news for everyone at the Broncos and for all our supporters and members - we'll get him back home next year," Walters said in a statement.
"He's a terrific young footballer and someone who has always belonged in Brisbane so it's fantastic that he is coming back to where he belongs.
"Reece came through the Broncos system from a young age and the club has always considered him to be one of our most promising talents.
"He returns to us with some great NRL experience under his belt and rejoins the club at a time when we are forging something special.
"A number of other emerging players who've come through the Broncos system have also committed long-term to the club in recent times and it's great that Reece has chosen to do the same."
Walsh also took to Instagram to announce his departure, but said he's fully committed to the Warriors for the rest of the season.
"I am excited to announce I will be coming home to the Brisbane Broncos," he wrote on the social media platform. "I would like to say thank you to the Warriors for making this all possible. The job isn't over [though] … I'm still a Warrior for the rest of this year and every time I put the jersey on I'll play like one."
Walsh has made 30 appearances in the NRL since making his debut in round seven last season, racking up 10 tries, 19 try assists and 21 line breaks. He also averaged 129 running metres and 125 kicking metres per game, and has slotted 58 goals at 76 per cent accuracy.
Real reason Walsh left Warriors
Reece Walsh kisses his partner after his side's Anzac Day clash with the Storm in 2021. Photo / Photosport
According to reports out of Australia, Walsh recently split with the mother of his child and raised concerns with the Warriors six weeks ago about relocating from Queensland to Auckland when the team returns to be based in New Zealand next season.
In May, Walsh said he was "100 per cent going to New Zealand next year" but the Warriors confirmed this week that there was "a major change in Reece's personal circumstances in the past two months".
The Warriors reportedly told Walsh that they would only approve the release once the club had found a replacement fullback for next season.
After the Warriors confirmed the signature of Canberra's Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad for next season, Walsh was given the go ahead to sign with the Broncos.
The Warriors gave Walsh permission to enter contract discussions with the Broncos – and only the Broncos.
"We didn't want to turn this into a position where he was looking at clubs outside of that region where is family was. On those understandings, we've kept it very streamlined," Warriors chief executive Cameron George said earlier this week.
Warriors head of football Craig Hodges told the Courier Mail that Walsh didn't want to be away from his daughter next season.
"Reece has had a relationship breakdown, and he has a young daughter and he said he simply couldn't be away from her in another country," Hodges said.
"We totally understood that, so we said, 'what do you want to do?' and he said, 'I would like to go to the Broncos'.
"On that basis, we said 'okay, you can negotiate only with the Broncos'. We didn't want to turn it into a circus, with Reece talking with all sorts of clubs and ending up going to a Sydney team.
"We wish him all the best. He is a great young kid who is putting his family first."
