Brisbane coach Kevin Walters has lashed out at the NRL for not charging Penrith’s Taylan May for the head clash that ruled Reece Walsh out for up to six weeks.
Scans have confirmed Walsh sustained a fractured face in the 34-12 loss to Penrith, leaving the Broncos superstar unable to fly home.
The injury comes at the worst possible time for the Broncos, who could now be without three of their most important players against North Queensland next Friday.
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But while he has spot fires to deal with on the field, Walters is fuming with the NRL off it.
May was placed on report for the contact on Thursday night when he rushed out of the line to put a hit on Walsh, with the pair banging heads after a pass was thrown.
Referee Gerard Sutton told May at the time he had a duty of care to bend in the tackle to avoid the head clash, but the Panthers centre was not charged on Friday.
“I’m a bit confused about the rules you know, where’s the duty of care for our players?” Walters asked.
“Reece is going to miss four to six weeks. There was contact to the head, which is duty of care.
“If the NRL are serious about concussions and protecting players, where does this sit with that? Where does it sit with that, NRL?”
The injury cruelled Brisbane’s night with Walsh taken from the field after four minutes and not returning as he struggled to see out of his left eye.
Walters said he would contact the NRL over the issue, fearing players would take the superstar fullback out again in the future.
“I’m certainly not a sore loser. But what I am very strong on is the protection of our players,” Walters said.
“If this is let go, next time Reece Walsh comes back on the field what are they going to do again?”
The injury means Walsh joins Payne Haas (knee) on the sideline for at least the next month, while Adam Reynolds is also sidelined with his own knee issue.
With the Broncos one win from their first three games and at risk of their season slipping away early, Tristan Sailor will likely start at fullback against the Cowboys.
An outside back will now have to be brought onto the bench, with Walters also frustrated Sailor could not be activated as 18th man against Penrith.
Sailor’s absence cost the Broncos dearly with the makeshift second-row and centre pairing of Brendan Piakura and Fletcher Baker torn apart by Nathan Cleary.
“If this is going to be the rules and NRL aren’t going to police it, we’ll have to do something about it ourselves,” Walters said.
Walters’ comments at Brisbane airport came after Penrith coach Ivan Cleary was adamant the contact from May was simply accidental.
“No one wants to see the best players go off, but I just saw it as an accident,” Cleary said.
“I thought he was trying to pull out of the tackle, he was directly upright, which is not how you tackle.
“If he had of bent down, he probably would have hit him in the head with his shoulder.
“Reece Walsh moves pretty fast, these things happen. I’m not too concerned about that.”
