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Heartwarming scenes erupted during the Brisbane Broncos’ NRL Grand Final celebrations as starman Reece Walsh stepped onto the medal podium with his daughter, Leila.
The footy star, who was crowned the Clive Churchill Medallist after producing a performance for the ages to guide Brisbane to victory in the NRL Grand Final against Melbourne, prepared to walk onto the stage at the Accor Stadium to receive his premiership ring.
But before jumping on stage, he spotted his young daughter, who was born in 2021, grabbed her hand and brought her with him onto the stage.
Walsh stole the show in more ways than one on Sunday night. Whether that was scoring a try for the ages, drinking out of a toilet or even landing himself in hot water for a high shot on Xavier Coates.
But in the immediate aftermath of the game, the 23-year-old fullback melted hearts as he stopped to share a moment with his daughter on the footy field. Walsh, heartwarmingly, placed his diamond-encrusted premiership ring on Leila’s index finger as the pair sat down in a pile of confetti, soaking in the atmosphere at the Accor Stadium.
Walsh set up three tries and scored an incredible solo effort to wrestle momentum back from Melbourne late in the first half.
Heartwarming scenes unfolded during the NRL Grand Final trophy presentation on Sunday as Reece Walsh (pictured) grabbed the hand of his daughter Leila and brought her with him on stage to celebrate the Brisbane Broncos' premiership victory
Walsh hoisted Leila on his shoulders as the team lifted the trophy, following their comeback victory against Melbourne Storm
Walsh was also seen sitting in a pile of confetti with Leila, before placing his diamond-encrusted premiership ring on his daughter's finger, as the pair lapped up the atmosphere inside the Accor Stadium
The footy star has enjoyed an excellent season, which may have been helped by a mid-season injury lay-off that gave the talisman full-back some time to rest.
During the Broncos’ Round Seven victory against the New Zealand Warriors in April, Walsh suffered a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury that ruled him out of action for seven weeks.
He’d miss six games, with the Broncos slumping to 11th in the table, before returning to action in Round 14.
Speaking on Monday after his side clinched the Grand Final, Walsh revealed he felt he had not been spending enough time with his family, instead focusing too much on footy, even scrolling through clips of games while at home.
When asked how he spun his season around following that tough injury lay-off, Walsh, initially, couldn’t help himself from cracking a joke.
'Drinking out of the toilet,' he said, once again leaning into an ongoing joke after he sent the internet into meltdown for gulping water out of his toilet, claiming that it was a new way to help improve recovery.
'No, no,’ he added. ‘Mate to be honest, when I got injured I had a lot of time away from the game, away from the boys and that was from Madge [Maguire].
'Telling me, when I am at home, be at home and enjoy those moments. I think at the start of the year I was so heavily invested in footy. Which is obviously a good thing.
The Broncos full-back was asked on how he turned his season around following an agonising PCL injury midway through the year
He revealed that his coach Michael Maguire (left) had told him to enjoy spending more time with his family while he spent seven weeks out of the game
'But sometimes it gets a little bit too much, you're sitting up at night watching film at home and my little one is there playing and I'm on my phone looking at clips.’
'To be honest I felt like it got a little bit too much for me. When I got that injury I reset, I let myself be the footy player at work.
‘When I was at home, I just enjoyed being dad, being a son to my old man. We got on the tools together, we were enjoying those moments.
‘When I came back, I sort of had the mentality of when I am in the building work hard, when I am out enjoy my time... that was probably it.’
While the decision to appoint Maguire in place of veteran Broncos coach Kevin Walters received some scrutiny, the former New South Wales Blues coach has, in his first season in charge, successfully ended Brisbane’s long wait for a premiership title.
The secrets of his premiership masterclass against Melbourne are slowly unfurling as the week goes on, with the footy boss adding an inspiring piece of artwork to the Brisbane changing room, to help push his side to victory on Sunday.
The footy boss had collected dozens of photographs from the players of them and their family members, friends and loved ones.
He took the images and stuck them to a wooden board and placed the wall of photos inside the changing room.
Walsh added that his coach's comments gave him a new outlook on footy. ‘When I came back, I sort of had the mentality of when I am in the building work hard, when I am out enjoy my time... that was probably it,' he explained
Photos of Walsh and his daughter Leila were stuck on the wall, while an image of Maguire and his wife Joelle and his children was also present.
Family has played a huge role for the Broncos this year, inspiring them to Grand Final glory.
Walsh was also seen arm in arm with his dad, Rodney in the rooms after the match, while Payne Haas took to Instagram to reveal his inspirations.
‘That’s my brothers. Through it all, no one can break this bond,’ he wrote on Instagram, publishing a picture of himself and his brothers.
‘This is who I do it for.’
