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Broncos star Reece Walsh weighing up Indigenous, Maori All Stars future

Reece Walsh has already reached dizzying heights early in his NRL career, playing for the Maroons and lining up in a grand final for Brisbane.

The 22-year-old has already featured at State of Origin level and there’s a strong chance he will wear the famous green and gold of Australia in the future.

But there is one dilemma that the Broncos superstar still needs to figure out when it comes to the representative arena.

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With the annual All Stars clash looming, Walsh is yet to make his mark in that particular fixture, despite being eligible for both teams.

Reece Walsh of the Broncos.

Reece Walsh during the 2024 season. Getty

In the upcoming season premiere of Nine’s Marlee and Me, which will be released on March 2, the whiz kid admitted it was “hard” to pick between representing his Maori or Indigenous culture in the sport’s yearly season opener.

“I’m going through it at the moment,” Walsh said.

“It’s so hard honestly – I’m being serious – to just choose.

“You feel like you are sort of letting the other side of your family down.

“But no matter what I do, I know they are all gonna be proud.”

There are plenty of players across the game who are eligible for both sides in the All Stars, with veteran centre Dane Gagai having pulled on both jerseys during his career.

Dane Gagai switched to the Maori All Stars in 2024.  Getty

Walsh floated the idea of alternating, but even that will create headaches.

“Who do you go to first? If you play for the Maori first, there’s gonna be some boys that are gonna be angry and then I might not get picked [for Indigneous],” he said.

“There’s good chats around it and there’s boys who have done it.

“I might need to get in the ear of Gags or someone and see how he feels.”

The fullback is expected to play in Brisbane’s second pre-season trial on February 22, before the side take on the Roosters in the opening round.

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2025-02-11 15:14:28

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