With James Tedesco waiting in the wings, Reece Walsh needed only 80 minutes to remind the Kangaroos and Australia what he brings to the World Cup campaign.
After eight weeks off, Walsh took to the stage in the tournament opener and produced a slashing try in an epic showdown with Kiwis No.1 Kalyn Ponga.
The Broncos superstar suffered a syndesmosis injury on August 15 against the Warriors and his dreams of playing in the World Cup seemed gone.
Two months later he was back and running for 205 metres and breaking nine tackles as the Kangaroos snuck home 24-22 in a classic Trans-Tasman showdown.
“He’s just one of those players who can break a game open, and we needed that tonight,” said Kangaroos skipper Isaah Yeo.
Reece Walsh Try
“That's a massive effort to not play for eight weeks and then play in a contest like that - it probably won't get spoken about enough, but that’s really hard to do at this level.”
With just one week between his first skills session and match day, Walsh wasted little time finding his rhythm, fitting seamlessly into the Kangaroos side and producing several telling moments.
“I had my first skills session last week, so it was nice to get around the boys again,” said Walsh.
With the Kangaroos trailing 22-16 inside the last 20 minutes, Walsh latched onto an offload from Jack Bostock and beat four defenders on an 80-metre run to the line that had the Allianz Stadium crowd on their feet.
Jack Bostock 3rd Try
As he prepared to try and convert his try, Walsh was physically ill on the field as the eight-week break started to catch up with him.
“He’s not an endurance athlete, he’s a power athlete. He had some big efforts back-to-back,” said coach Kevin Walters.
“That trysaver [on Ponga] he came up with is equal to anything he can do in attack, and then he comes up with a couple of big plays in attack as well."
After winning the race for the No.1 jumper and producing another big-game masterclass, Walsh was quick to praise Tedesco for helping him prepare for the match and offering some words of wisdom during the game.
“I was speaking to Teddy at half-time and he told me push support around the ball," Walsh said.
“He was massive throughout the week. When he found out, he congratulated me, and he said, ‘Whatever you need to prepare for the week, I can help you with'.
“Being so young, to be able to be around an ultra-competitor like that is great.
“He was there giving me tips, bouncing ideas back and forth at training. He was answering my questions and kept grabbing me and asking if I needed anything.”
Having debuted for the Kangaroos in England on last year's Ashes tour, the chance to play a Test match on home soil with family in the stands was a moment to treasure.
A Haka heard around the world
“Even thinking about it now, I’m thinking of my old man, mum and dad, my family," he said.
“It’s the first time that they’ve watched me in this jersey.
“We got letters throughout the week from our families. Reading how proud they were of me and how far I’ve come meant a lot.
“I was just happy I got to share it with my family. It’s probably one of the proudest moments.”
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