- Latest comment comes just before Grand Final rematch
Broncos star Reece Walsh has taken a three-word jab at Melbourne firebrand Stefano Utoikamanu ahead of the pair facing off in their 2025 grand final rematch.
Walsh posted ‘all bark no bite’ on Instagram in a shot directed at the Storm and NSW State of Origin star after Utoikamanu reignited their feud this week.
The Storm forward revealed he is still angry about the Broncos’ mocking of Melbourne after they beat them in last year’s decider.
‘I wasn’t too happy about it (Brisbane’s mocking), but it is what it is,’ he told News Corp earlier this week.
Utoikamanu began the sledging war last year when he said there are several Broncos he ‘doesn’t like’.
He also claimed some Brisbane stars are ‘stuck up’.
Reece Walsh has taken aim at Melbourne forward Stefano Utoikamanu with a four-word insult on Instagram (pictured) ahead of their Grand Final rematch on Thursday night
Walsh (pictured) has relit a fuse before the highly anticipated clash
Last year Utoikamanu (pictured) claimed some Broncos stars are ‘stuck-up’
Walsh was then filmed in the sheds after the grand final win as he said, ‘Let me say something. Boys, boys, boys! Stefano’s stuck. We’re f***ing up, baby!’
The latest jab from the superstar fullback comes as Brisbane head to Melbourne, desperate to avoid a dreaded 0-3 to start the season.
In the NRL era only North Queensland in 2015 have managed to bounce back from losing their first three matches to win the premiership.
The Cowboys, Manly (2021) and St George Illawarra (2005) are the only three teams to have lost their three season openers and reached the top four.
No side has won a competition from outside the top four since the NRL began in 1998.
Even making the finals from 0-3 is a tough ask.
Apart from the above-mentioned three occasions, only the Broncos (1999 and 2007), Sea Eagles (2009), Melbourne (2000), Cronulla (2015) and Warriors (2011) have recovered to make the play-offs after such a poor start.
One noted asset the Broncos had last year was their ability to come back to win games where they trailed, thanks largely to fullback Reece Walsh’s brilliance.
They won once after trailing by 18 points, twice bounced back from 16-point deficits and on two occasions from 14 points behind before overturning a 10-point margin in the decider against the Storm.
