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Reece Walsh's father Rodney has given fans an in-depth account of how his son overcame being abandoned by his mother as a young child while she struggled with drug addiction.
The fullback rose above the trauma to find stardom after his mum Kahuti Campbell's absence, which started just before his third birthday and lasted another 12 years.
There were sporadic visits after that, but the 23-year-old's rise to NRL superstardom came thanks to his dad and stepmum, Jodie.
'Because Reece was so young, he didn't understand too much of what was going on with his mum,' Rodney told News Corp.
'He didn't see his mother all those years. She was out of sight, out of mind for a long time.
'She just left me with the kids. She just went out one day and never came home, as people on drugs tend to do.
Rodney Walsh (circled, left) is pictured with his superstar son Reece (circled, right) and other family members
Reece Walsh's journey from footy-mad kid to NRL superstar came against the backdrop of his mother's absence from his life
Rodney believes Reece (pictured) doesn't believe his son has any interest in building bridges with his biological mother, Kahuti Campbell
'By that point, I didn't want her home anyway, around the kids.
'She would say she is going to the bank to get money out and she’d lost my wallet, leaving it on the roof of the car.
'We would be broke for the rest of the week until I got paid again.
'Things started clicking on what she was doing with the money.
'Some people are just built differently - selfish, really. But thankfully it’s in the past now.'
Rodney - who works as a carpenter - struggled but managed to provide for Reece and his siblings.
Everything changed for him, Reece and the rest of his children when he found love again with his wife Jodie, who he met when the NRL star was five or six.
'The kids knew about their mum's life [drug addiction] but I sheltered them from that side a bit growing up,' Rodney said.
Rodney is pictured with his wife Jodie. He says she has been his children's mother 'for a long time'
The Broncos fullback is devoted to his daughter Leila (pictured together), who is often seen at his games
Walsh (pictured posing for selfies with fans at a Broncos training session just before the grand final) has become arguably the most popular player in the NRL
'Reece doesn't see her anymore, none of the kids do.
'Jodie is their mum now and has been for a long time.'
Asked whether he believes Reece would ever give his biological mum a second chance, Rodney said he reckons his son has 'moved on from that now'.
Reece was asked about his mum just before he was given a $400 fine and a good behaviour bond after being found in possession of cocaine on the Gold Coast in September 2021.
'I wouldn't say just because of my mum that I don't want to be doing drugs. It's just my personal feelings,' he said.
'It hasn't been easy with my mum, but I still say not everyone is as lucky as me, a lot of people have it worse than me.'
The Broncos lynchpin also spoke about the fleeting contact he had with his biological mum as he grew up.
'She would float in and try and act like she would be there for me for a bit, then she would go off and do her own things and I wouldn't see her for ages,' he said.
'I wouldn't say I have given up on her, but for a long time I would think, "Where is she? When is she going to come and see me again?"
'Now that I have grown up, it makes a bit more sense.
'Being on drugs, Mum probably didn't know what she was saying half the time.'
Reece Walsh has put his brush with the law well and truly in the rear-vision mirror and has been a sensation for the Broncos since joining the club for the 2023 season, when he played a starring role in their charge to a grand final berth.
He welcomed daughter Leila into the world in March 2021, when he was only 18 years old, and got an early release from the Warriors so he could be closer to her.
Walsh split up with Leila's mum, Freda Puru, in 2023, and is known to his fans and teammates for his very close relationship with his little girl.
'Not everything is about footy and a job. When I am in the facility I am the footy player, but when I step out and see my little one and my family, I am a dad,' he said.
'I want to be someone who works hard, someone who brings success and someone who helps bring premierships to this great club at the Broncos.
'But first of all I've got to be a good person off the field, a caring dad and a good role model.'
