Walsh states Origin case as Knights snatch victory from Warriors

THERE’S an old adage in sport that if you’re good enough then you’re old enough.

In the next 24 hours, we’ll find out if Paul Green believes in that saying when he decides whether to hand 18-year-old Reece Walsh an Origin debut after just seven games in the NRL.

Whether it’s in his best interests to be thrown into the lion’s den after the Maroons were hammered in the State of Origin series opener remains to be seen, but Walsh did his chances no harm with a brave showing as Brodie Jones scored with four minutes left to snatch a 10-6 win for the Knights in awful conditions.

The teenager defied the wind to take a couple of brutal bombs, narrowly missed a 40/20, flew through the air to fall agonisingly short of a try and nailed a sideline conversion in cyclonic conditions with his first attempt in the NRL.

Origin games often come down to moments of brilliance, and Walsh showed he’s more than capable of sparking those when he won an aerial contest and then raced 68 metres, only to be chopped down short of the line. However, he dropped a ball off a scrum in the third minute, couldn’t handle a swirling bomb, bobbled another nightmare kick into touch and missed two field goals as the Warriors’ main man showed he can be ruffled under pressure.

Phil Gould and other prominent voices say he’s far too young to be picked for the Suncorp Stadium showdown next Sunday, but with Kalyn Ponga injured and AJ Brimson in doubt, he may be Queensland’s best chance to level the series.

Knights players should thank their middle men for what they did on Saturday afternoon. In abysmal conditions, it was up to the tough hombres up front to deliver, and they did so in spades.

Co-captain Daniel Saifiti was immense, churning through 143 metres from 16 carries in an unchanged firsthalf stint, while his twin Jacob made 85 metres and David Klemmer added 109 off the bench in the first 40.