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Parker: 3 incidents that prove Walsh cannot be banned for "head nudge"
Corey Parker • September 15th, 2025 9:42 am
We are fixated on Reece Walsh and what's unfolded yesterday; an unbelievable performance but he spent 10 minutes in the bin for a head nudge, headbutt, however you want to frame it up.
I can hear it now, the drums, the noise, the commentary south of the border is going to be deafening
We'll see from the NRL what sort of charge will come through but after the game, Ricky Stuart was asked if he was surprised he wasn’t sent off, he said “they've set a precedent”, and went on to say how good the game was, but ultimately, he was pretty frustrated and disappointed.
Here's my beef.
Hudson Young thought it'd be a good idea to get right in the grill of Walsh and he reacted.
Hudson then fell to the ground like you wouldn't believe.
He deadset went to the ground with a smile on his face, and then acted like there was some sort of hurt.
The hot topic that we're talking about is should Reece be suspended?
If you're a Canberra player, if you're south of the border, if you're against the Broncos, you're absolutely going to say yes.
This is why I say no; you can say I'm biased, but these are the facts that back up why I'm saying no.
Reece Walsh and Jarome Luai State of Origin 2023. They come together, headbutt and both players are sent off. You know who the referee was? Ashley Klein.
Did they get any bans from their next game? No, they had the Origin payments deducted, so it was a fine.
In round 18 this year, Jacob Saifiti for the Newcastle Knights was slapped with a $3000 fine and an early guilty plea for headbutting Reed Mahoney. $3000 fine, that's it.
Just recently, playing for Canberra, one of Ricky's very own players Morgan Smithies headbutts Fonua Pole.
Smithies has ball in hand, he lunges forward, headbutts Pole and cops a $1500 grade one striking charge. This is Ricky's very own player.
It’ll be fascinating to see what unfolds.
Should Reece Walsh receive a one-week suspension? Absolutely not.
Should he receive a fine? I think so.
The NRL will feel enormous amounts of pressure because Ricky said “there is a precedent set”.
Hudson Young had a smile on his face.
Is it a good look? No, it's not.
Should he miss a prelim final? Absolutely not.
