GOAT: Walsh hailed for insane Grand Final performance

Brisbane Broncos' fullback Reece Walsh has had himself one of the best Grand Final performances the competition has seen to etch his name into Broncos' folklore.

After having Nathan Cleary pass him to lose the 2023 Grand Final, the 23-year-old would get his redemption with Brisbane beating the Melbourne Storm 26-22 at Accor Stadium on Sunday night to become premiers.

The star fullback was everywhere as he helped turn around a 10-point deficit in the second half to see the Broncos claim their first NRL premiership in 19 years.

In his 80-minute performance, Walsh managed to achieve 176 running metres, 14 tackle breaks, four-line break assists, three try assists and a stunning try of his own.

That doesn’t even include his game-saving tackle on Ryan Papenhuyzen within the final minute of the match to prevent a near-certain try or forcing Tui Kamikamica to drop the ball, which overturned a four-point score.

With this incredible display, Walsh was named the Clive Churchill Medallist.

In the aftermath of the match, Greg Alexander noted the performance of the Broncos' fullback and his ability to recover after being placed on report early on as being one of the greatest finals performances from an individual.

“Reece Walsh in the first half was…(having) like what are you doing moments?” he told SEN 1170’s Breakfast.

“He had those moments…and then he came out and won the game and set up and scored (nearly) 30 points.

“But his improvement over the last month has been incredible to watch to a point where we are saying that’s the greatest individual Grand Final performance we have seen.

Following his win, Walsh would have fun in the post-game celebrations.

In his speech after being named best on ground, Walsh would finish on a cheeky joke which poked fun at himself following a video of him drinking from a toilet, which coincided with some incredible form last month.

"Love you all, plumbers out!" he told the crowd before heading off the stage.

Moments later, he would get his daughter Leila, to join him on stage to receive his premiership ring.

And in and amongst the celebrations, Walsh would not forget what some members of the opposition had said about his side.

That mainly focused on Stefano Utoikamanu’s comments at the start of the week about the Brisbane Broncos being stuck up.

“Stefano’s stuck, we’re f---ing up,” Walsh said on a now-deleted Instagram post/story.

It will certainly be an exuberant week ahead of the Broncos, who will make the most of their premiership celebrations.