Melbourne star fumes at referees for contentious NRL Grand Final incident involving Reece Walsh - as footy great claims Broncos star man should have been sent to the sin bin

Melbourne star Harry Grant was left seething with NRL officials after Grand Final referee Grant Atkins chose not to send Brisbane Broncos star Reece Walsh to the sin bin for a high tackle on Storm’s Xavier Coates.

The Storm hooker once again missed out on clinching a premiership ring, with the Victoria outfit having now lost back-to-back Grand Finals and gave an insight into the ‘pain’ he was going through having worked hard all season to get back into the fold to claim the club’s first premiership since 2020.

But Grant was left seething over a contentious moment that took place just 20 minutes into the game, with Broncos superstar Reece Walsh appearing to make high contact on Storm star Xavier Coates, with his shoulder.

The 23-year-old full-back, who went on to claim the Clive Churchill Medal after instigating the Broncos’ 26-22 victory, was placed on report by referee Atkins, but controversially did not receive a sin bin.

It appears that officials on the pitch had adjudged there to be mitigation, which might have saved Walsh from 10 minutes in the bin, as Coates appeared to be dropping down into the tackle.

Grant, though, compared the Walsh’s hit on Coates to his bump on Bulldogs’ star Harry Hayes during the Storm’s victory against the Bulldogs earlier this year.

‘I got sin-binned a couple of weeks ago and got two weeks for bugger all and then we come out and do that,’ Grant fumed on Nine News.

‘In saying that, that’s probably not Grant’s [Atkins] call, that’s probably coming from above the referee.

‘You know, we can give him a break on that, but we can probably ask some questions a little bit deeper.’

As part of the NRL’s guidance on head contact, the league states: ‘The Laws of the Game strictly prohibit intentional, reckless or careless contact with the head and/or neck of an opponent. Any such contact shall be deemed Misconduct pursuant to law 15.1 (b).

‘On the Field of Play, such offences result in a range of sanctions starting with on on-field penalty and going through to temporary or full dismissal.’

Perhaps more agonising for the Storm, though, was that after Walsh’s hit on Coates, the Broncos full-back galvanised his team, and just 10 minutes later, scored one of the most incredible solo tries ever seen in an NRL Grand Final.

Despite his brilliance, also setting up three tries and breaking down multiple key storm attacks, two other former players, including one former Brisbane star, believed Walsh should have been sent to the bin.

Speaking on NRL360, Briath Anasta said: ‘I thought he should have got 10 minutes in the bin. I thought that any other game this season, Reece Walsh is straight off.’

Gorden Tallis, who won three league titles with the Broncos, agreed.

‘In Canberra, he goes to the bin. Probably last week he goes, probably not to the bin [against the Panthers].

‘I thought it was 10 minutes.’

But footy reporter Brent Read disagreed, explaining that Coates’ body momentum towards the ground provided a mitigation for Walsh.

His take sparked a heated discussion between him and Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield.

Read told the panel: ‘My initial reaction at the game was a sin bin. I look at it now and there’s pretty significant mitigation. He’s [Coates] is down on one knee when he hits him. He’s fallen a long way. They’ve taken on account mitigation in these cases and there’s significant mitigation in that situation, he’s fallen a long way.’

But Rothfield disagreed.

‘I tell you where they didn’t take mitigation into account... Origin I in the stadium last year. He’s falling down...’ Buzz said, referring to Joseph Akuso Sua’ali’i’s brutal shot on Walsh during the 2024 Origin series, that knocked the Broncos star out and saw the rugby union convert be sent straight off the field.

Read interjected: ‘You’re not going back to that...’

‘I sat and listened to your c***, you’re going to listen to mine,’ Buzz responded.

While Read remonstrated with Buzz, claiming that the former Roosters star had lost control, Rothfield added: ‘Sua’ali’i knocked him over because he was falling. It doesn’t matter if you’re falling. The onus is on the defender to adjust to the tackle. The safety onus is on the tackler.’

Read, though, bit back: ‘You cannot be sitting here and seriously comparing the Sua’ali’i tackle to that?’

Rothfield replied: ‘No, I’m only doing it because you used the stupid analogy that he was falling... It shouldn’t be taken into account.’

Tallis then chimed in, making a case that Walsh had still hit Coates in the head with his shoulder with force.

Read continued to argue his case, claiming that Coates was ‘on one knee’, but the rest of the panel rubbished his claims with Anasta wrapping up the segment saying: ‘You did your best Reidy, well done.’

Grant and his team-mates were left stunned by the Broncos comeback. Storm pushed their way upfield and fought gallantly as they looked to grab a last-gasp try after falling behind by four points.

Brisbane’s defence was just too good, with Deine Mariner and Kotoni Staggs bundling Coates into touch just metres from their try line and with minutes left on the clock, in perhaps what was one of the biggest moments of the match.

'Everyone can probably understand the pain,' Grant said, reflecting on the defeat.

'It's hard to get here. There's a lot of work that goes into being here and a lot of people put time and effort throughout the season.

'So it's not easy to get here and you don't need to be in a rush to get back here.

'We can't get back here tomorrow. But what we do tomorrow can certainly help. I think that's painful to listen to, but it's about what's next now.'