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Reece Walsh’s sports psychologist has served up a very ‘scary’ prediction for the Brisbane Broncos star’s NRL rivals.
Jacqui Louder has worked closely with some of the biggest names within elite sport for over 20 years, including the likes of Queensland Origin hero Cameron Munster, the Melbourne Storm and Collingwood.
The sport and performance psychologist was introduced to Walsh by Broncos chief executive Dave Donaghy two-and-a-half years ago, in Walsh’s first season at the club, and the pair have built a strong working relationship since.
‘She’s someone that I speak to regularly on a week-to-week basis,’ Walsh told The Sydney Morning Herald during this year’s finals series.
Walsh had been thrust into the spotlight for a headbutt during his side’s comeback qualifying-final win against Canberra and revealed that he picked up the phone to have an in-depth conversation with the Melbourne-based psychologist after the comeback victory.
‘She’s someone that I talk to a lot that helps with the mental side and some little tips where I can be better in those moments… I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed; I need all the help I can get.’
Reece Walsh's sport and performance psychologist has issued a prediction about the 23-year-old star that will 'scare' his NRL rivals (pictured: Reece Walsh, left, Ezra Mam, right)
Jacqui Louder (pictured) has worked with some of the biggest names in Australian sport. The psychologist first met Walsh two-and-a-half years ago and has opened up on the work the pair have been doing to help Walsh improve his footy IQ
After a few days of wild partying following his side's epic Grand Final win, Walsh was back in the club on Wednesday for his annual end-of-season medical check.
'I feel good, really good actually,' he told Channel Seven reporters in Brisbane.
'Had a few hours of sleep,' he hilariously added, after the Broncos partied way into the early hours of Monday morning, before being spotted at a private rooftop function at Brisbane's Boundary Hotel.
At the mere age of 23, Walsh has quickly established himself as a leader within the Broncos cohort, having orchestrated his side’s sensational Grand Final comeback against Melbourne on Sunday, before being crowned the 2025 Clive Churchill Medallist.
It was a performance for the ages, that left greats of the game, Phil Gould, Gorden Tallis and Darren Lockyer stunned.
The highlight was perhaps his sensational solo try in the first-half, which galvanised his team to wrestle the lead from the Storm in the second-half.
Walsh’s skills have improved greatly since his days at the Warriors, with the Queensland star becoming more clinical in attack and a brutal force in defence.
But Louder also believes Walsh’s footy IQ has massively matured since the pair began working together, which she says is a very worrying prospect for many of the Broncos star’s NRL rivals.
'We're only two-and-a-half years in for him and our real strength is going to be next year and the year after,’ Louder told The Sydney Morning Herald.
'That's what excites me about what I saw on Sunday. That's the complete output of all that work together. Now, how do we get closer to that more often?
She revealed that Walsh (right) is the type of player who is motivated by winning games and is hungry to keep on winning
Walsh states that he calls Louder on a weekly basis, with the psychologist revealing that Walsh (right) is 'passionate about conquering the game and conquering himself'
'That's exciting and scary… He wants more. I know that.
'We've got a bit of downtime now to recharge, because we're going again. We're going bigger, more detailed, more in-depth. There's no ceiling.
'That excites me and excites him too. He's 23… He's going to want to get better again. He's going to want to produce that as often as possible.'
It has been an interesting year for the young full-back.
Walsh drew the ire of some within the footy world for multiple bizarre social media posts, including punching his best mate in the head. At the same time, he has fought his way back from a long injury layoff to help Michael Maguire’s side end their 19-year wait for a premiership.
The stats don’t lie either, Walsh has scored 14 tries this season, matching his career-best record, but has notably also assisted his team-mates on 26 occasions this season, while making a whopping 96 tackles.
‘He wants to compete. He wants to get better,’ Louder said, adding that one of the unique and interesting things about Walsh was that he is ‘passionate about conquering the game and conquering himself.’
For Walsh, winning is only another ‘motivator’ that drives him to keep winning.
Louder revealed that in her sessions, she tries to help athletes understand what benefits they can take from each and every moment on the footy field, whether good or bad
Walsh produced one of the performances of the season to help his side win the NRL Grand Final on Sunday
She added: ‘He’s like: “What do we do now? What can we do today?” He’s like a puppy dog that wants to go and run. Every conversation is such a great, genuine conversation.’
Both across a season and during a game, players must manage the changes in momentum and not everything is going to go your way.
And Louder revealed that in her sessions, she tries to help athletes understand what benefits they can take from each and every moment on the footy field, whether good or bad.
‘That’s the maturity as players start to get older; you talk about managing the moments. It’s not just a saying, it’s an understanding. With talent comes responsibility, and you have to understand exactly all components of responsibility. It takes time, growth and maturity to do the hard yards and self-reflect and be vulnerable.’
‘The skill is about recognising when to pull the trigger, knowing where the game is at.
‘There’s a lot of footy IQ that goes into the timing of those decisions and moments. He’s a competitor and wants to compete: knowing when and how to compete is a skill. That’s what he’s learning now.’
