Brisbane Broncos legend Darren Lockyer says Reece Walsh will need to change his attitude after he was found guilty by the NRL judiciary for referee abuse and received a three-match ban.
Walsh went on an expletive-laden rant towards referee Chris Butler in his side’s loss to the Titans, and despite saying it was towards teammate Pat Carrigan, will miss Origin III.
Lockyer said this will now be a sticking point for the rising star.
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“He has to change his approach towards the officials after that because he’s on notice now with the referees,” Lockyer said on Wide World of Sports’ QLDER.
“If the referees know that’s potentially what he’s capable of doing well I’ve got no doubt they’ll be keeping a close eye on him. From Reece’s perspective, if he wants to be a team player, (and) he’s one of their best players, he needs to be on the field and that means showing respect to the officials so he can do his bit for the team.”
The timing of the suspension couldn’t be worse for the Broncos as they attempt to manage the Origin period and avoid any repeat of last year’s fade out.
Walsh will also miss lifting the trophy for Queensland, after playing a pivotal role in the series win, despite being sent off in Origin II.
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Lockyer said the past few days have been “hard but also educational” for the fullback.
“I think it was a learning experience for Reece,” he said.
“After he got fined a third of his match fee for Origin … maybe that wasn’t enough to give him a bit of a lesson learnt then.
“He plays with passion, he plays with emotion, and I don’t think anyone wants to take that away from him but emotion can spill over into frustration and that’s what happened … for Reece and the Broncos and the Broncos fans, it was one of those frustrating games.
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“I think it’s a real learning curve for him. All of the quotes that have come out since it’s happened, he’s saying all the right things, it’s up to him now about the actions.”
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Queensland great Wally Lewis added the Broncos star will need to walk away from the incident a more mature person and player.
“Couldn’t come up with a better word Locky, educational, that’s absolutely perfect and that’s the position here and it certainly will work in the right direction,” he said.
“It’ll teach him a lot, it mightn’t be comfortable to accept that straight away but he’s got to realise he’s made a call that’s been proved wrong by a lot of people and not accepted by twice as many people.”
Brisbane will play the Dolphins at The Gabba on Saturday.
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