Walsh’s houdini act and Hunt’s redemption: How Broncos conquered the great escape

This may well have been one of the greatest finals escapes in NRL history. Through all the drama, all the ferocity, all the twists and turns, it was unsurprising who was at the heart of it.

If there were any concerns of Reece Walsh’s ability to perform on the biggest stage, his ultimate houdini act has silenced the doubters and etched his name into Brisbane Broncos’ folklore.

The marquee fullback’s highlights reel says it all: a breathtaking individual try, two try-assists, two 40-20s, a sin binning, a missed two-point field goal that struck the crossbar and a penalty goal after the siren to force extra time.

Those moments all proved the foundation for Ben Hunt’s 94th minute field goal to seal the most dramatic of 29-28 triumphs against the Canberra Raiders.

From the outset, Walsh set up Kotoni Staggs for the game’s first points, before kicking the first of his 40-20s to create another chance.

But from there, the wheels looked as though they would fall off, as Brisbane’s ill discipline cost them dearly and even stripped them of two tries. Tensions only boiled from there.

Following a Jaiyden Hunt knock on, Walsh reacted to Hudson Young getting in his face, with both men sent to the sin bin after they clashed heads and a melee ensued.

While the Broncos were awarded the penalty, Raiders halfback Jamal Fogarty’s knockdown on a pass was deemed backwards, with fullback Kaeo Weekes racing away to score his second try of the day.

When Ethan Strange then crossed, that should have been it.

However, Walsh’s return with his side trailing 28-12 ignited a complete turnaround in less than 20 minutes – slicing through with for his try, before firing a cut-out pass for Josiah Karapani to score.

The superstar No.1 was quick to nail his second 40-20, with Gehamat Shibasaki scoring and Walsh converting to get within two points.

His penalty then kept Brisbane alive, before Hunt booked a preliminary final at Suncorp Stadium.

“His maturity and what I’ve seen over the last four or five months, I think he’s been working towards that,” Broncos coach Michael Maguire said.

“There’s a lot of talk around Reecey, but he knows what he’s capable of and the boys get behind him and back him. That belief within the group allows him to go and do his part for the team.

“The boys set up the moments for him to do what he does. It was pretty special.”

Hunt’s redemption, but frustrations brew

Rarely has Hunt been able to forget his 2015 golden point dropped kick-off in the grand final.

But this was his ultimate act of redemption, with his field goal rewriting his finals narrative.

Twice Canberra celebrated victory only for it to be taken away – a second missed Walsh field goal overturned as a penalty in front of the sticks after Zac Hosking was pinned for contacting his legs.

A Fogarty try was then stripped from them after a Jed Stuart knock on was detected in the kick contest.

That was Hunt’s opening to clinch his first finals appearance in seven years.

“It couldn’t happen to a better bloke. You go through a lot as a player in your career, and he’s obviously been through plenty, and to see him standing at the end with his arms up and his players around him are special moments,” Maguie said.

“But Hunty knows what he’s come here for – he’s come to a club to be able to create what’s ahead.

“The first thing he said was that’s the next step of where we want to get to.”

Has the escape covered flaws?

Before the mayhem, Hunt had cut a frustrated figure for much of the afternoon.

Brisbane’s attack looked disjointed and errors piled until Walsh’s masterclass. Hunt was even penalised for dissent in the lead up to Young crossing for the Raiders’ first try, before Canberra centre Sebastian Kris followed suit to give his side the lead.

Even when the halfback fired a long ball for Staggs to unleash Deine Mariner for their second try, the passage never looked threatening.

A Brendan Piakura knock-on after a Billy Walters break butchered a certain try, with a yardage penalty on the back of that giving Weekes the field position to slice through and score.

Cory Paix was also pinned attempting to score for diving through his own man’s legs, while Pat Carrigan’s shoulder was deemed to have connected with Morgan Smithies’ head and resulted in another sin binning.

“It’s finals time, every moment is counting. It’s fast, it’s quick, and you play on,” Maguire said.

“We were able to handle ourselves in that period of time, so we’ll move on.”

Maguire will be praying skipper Adam Reynolds will have recovered from a hamstring injury to calm things down, who the coach said was tracking well to be firing.

Already Brisbane will likely be without Piakura, who suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone, while the sight of superstar prop Payne Haas limping in the shadows of halftime was a major cause for concern.

Haas ultimately soldiered on and finished the afternoon with 166 running metres and 48 tackles, but the marquee prop no doubt will be subject to extensive fitness tests before a home preliminary final in two weeks time.

Walsh and Carrigan could also face anxious waits and scrutiny from the NRL judiciary.

“There’s actually no TV or anything in the change room, so I could only go off the feel of the crowd, but I joined Walshy in there and the conversations were pretty clear - get back out and have a crack at this,” Carrigan said.

“To be honest I thought I had a head clash, he [Smithies] has got a tough head and I felt my jaw and bit my lip. We’ll just have to wait and see.”