Walsh’s stunning swoop for iconic award; England’s latest hoax exposed: Ashes Talking Pts

Reece Walsh is one star performance away from being crowned the 2025 Golden Boot winner as the international game’s best player, if he can lead the Kangaroos to an Ashes series win.

Meanwhile, axed fullback Jack Welsby is the latest over-hyped England Super League star to be found out on the international stage against Australia.

And Nathan Cleary has another chance to prove he can dominate representative football after a solid if not spectacular display in the series opener.

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Read on for the Ashes Talking Points ahead of the second Test.

WALSH SET TO PROVE HE IS BEST PLAYER ON THE PLANET

Despite his stunning season, Reece Walsh still has his haters, but even they will have to concede he is the best player on the planet if he leads the Kangaroos to an Ashes series clinching win.

If Walsh has another strong game in the second Test to lead Australia to victory, he is a shoe in for the 2025 Golden Boot, which would cap a remarkable season for the Broncos fullback.

Walsh torched the Poms in the series opener with 196 run metres, seven tackle busts, a linebreak, two linebreak assists, two tries and a try-saver in a man-of-the-match display.

It came on the back of his special finals series, which led the Broncos to three comeback victories in a row and was capped with a Clive Churchill Medal winning performance for the ages to lead Brisbane to a drought-breaking first title in 19 years.

And it is easy to forget he did all this with a knee injury that disrupted his regular season and robbed him of the chance to play in the State of Origin series for Queensland, but he will likely be the first player picked by Billy Slater next year.

Granted, Walsh still has errors in his game, but that pales in significance when he produces match winning plays again and again and his rocks and diamonds approach seems to be producing far more of the latter of late.

In fact the way he plays on the edge and his risk vs reward approach only adds to his unpredictability and brilliance and anyone pointing to his three errors in the first Test victory is just nitpicking at this stage.

The mercurial fullback is one big performance at Everton away from being crowned the best international player in the world for 2025.

And when you add that to his superb season for the Broncos, it is hard to put anyone in front of him as the best rugby league player in the world this year.

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AUSSIE REF SHOULD MAKE KANGAROOS PLAY EVEN BETTER

They may have been convincingly beaten in the first Test, but England had the advantage of referee Liam Moore and his slow ruck interpretations, which prevented Australia from doing even more damage.

The Kangaroos led 26-0 and won 26-6, but it could have been an even bigger massacre, had Australia not been hampered by Moore allowing England to slow down the ruck.

Australian and NRL referee Grant Atkins has been given the whistle for the second Test at Hill Dickinson Stadium and that should suit the tourists much more than Moore did in the series opener.

The Kangaroos like to use Harry Grant’s speed and creativity out of dummyhalf on the back of their star pack’s go-forward to create havoc around the ruck, which should create even more opportunities for Reece Walsh and co to run riot.

Moore allowed England to slow down the ruck speed, which hurt Grant’s ability to make inroads and create space both in the middle of the field and for Australia’s flyers out wide.

Australia’s players are used to Atkins’ interpretations week in and week out in the NRL and his style will suit their game much more in the second Test.

It is a scary omen for England, who struggled to contain Australia at Wembley, missing 43 tackles and conceding nine linebreaks in the four tries to one defeat.

England even had a better completion rate and an even share of possession, while Australia were rusty with 12 errors and completed just 25 of their 35 sets in the first Test.

If Atkins allows a free flowing game and a fast ruck, Grant will have a field day and create even more opportunities for Cameron Munster, Nathan Cleary and Walsh to work their magic and that is a scary proposition for the hosts as they scramble to keep the series alive.

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LATEST SUPER LEAGUE SUPERSTAR HOAX AS WELSBY AXED

England have a history of heralding superstar talents from the Super League that turn out to be hoax’s and the latest is axed fullback Jack Welsby.

The England camp and media talked Welsby up big in the lead-up to the Ashes opener, but the St Helens star failed to deliver against the Kangaroos and now finds himself out of the team for the must win clash at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Welsby ran for just 54 metres from 10 runs to go with two tackle busts, three offloads and zero try or linebreak involvements, as well as an error and a missed tackle in the first Test defeat.

However, the most damning moment for the dropped fullback came when he lost all bearings of his own try-line and allowed Kangaroos star Angus Crichton a free run to the line, before he belatedly made a feeble attempt to tackle him when as he was scoring.

Kangaroos icon Laurie Daley, a man in no way prone to roasting players, gave a withering take on the effort — and the perception of Welsby being an elite talent.

“Jack Welsby is obviously a very good player in the English Super League, but that incident with Angus Crichton when he scored the try, he must have just lost all bearings of where he was. I’ve never seen a fullback do that,” Daley said.

“He had to go forward and you go forward in that situation, but he stayed back and gave Angus a free run to the line. If he moves forward he gets an opportunity to stop him.

“I just couldn’t believe that decision by an experienced player with a big reputation in England.”

Reflecting on Welsby initially being preferred to NRL star AJ Brimson, Daley added: “It is because they don’t want to put too many Australians in, but they are playing for England, so they are eligible to play for England.

“They have probably got this thing where, they are Australians playing in the NRL and we will show them how good the Super League is ... well, no.

“The problem is they believe the Super League is a really strong competition and they want to pick as many as they can from there to show everyone what they are capable of.”

Despite that blunder, Welsby is no mug and has scored 71 tries in 166 Super league games for St Helens, winning four premierships for the club, while he has scored four tries in 13 games for England to date.

However, the 24-year-old is the latest victim of hyping Super League players up before they have delivered on the big stage against Australia.

The fact that Brimson didn’t even make the 17 in the first Test was a huge error by Shaun Wane, with experts like Daley accusing the England coach of favouring his home based players.

Welsby has done enough for St Helens and England to start the first Test, but if Brimson defected from Australia and gave up his Origin chances to play for England, he should have at least been on the bench.

Walsh made a mockery of the hype around Welsby in the first Test, but one feels Brimson will give a far better account of himself in his England debut in the No.1 this week.

WHY BRIMSON HAD TO START

England were resoundingly beaten by the Australians in the first Ashes Test, so changes had to be made, specifically AJ Brimson, with two legends adamant he had to be in the starting side.

The 27-year-old has previously played for Queensland and has been on the fringes of Origin selection in recent years.

But with his wealth of NRL experience, it was an absolute must for Shaun Wane to draft him into the side, according to both Josh Hodgson and Michael Ennis.

“If I’m going up against the Australians in a Test, I am picking as many blokes as I can who’ve played against these blokes,” Hodgson said on Fox League.

To which Ennis replied: “You think of George Williams, George was their best today. George has played against these blokes.

“I felt like Welsby and Lewis just sat back a fraction today, at least Brimson plays against these blokes every week.

“If you’ve got Williams creating those half chances, well AJ can turn half chances into points pretty quickly.

“Williams needs some help, so Lewis needs to take the line on more or they need to potentially throw Brimson to six and get him running.”

Jack Welsby was largely underwhelming in the first Test, and he failed to make a dent in the Australian defence.

Brimson, meanwhile, has proven he has what it takes to stamp his mark on almost any clash, being one of the NRL’s most dynamic ball runners.

The Titans gun is always scheming, and is the type of point of difference player England need to challenge the Kangaroos and force a decider.

WHAT DOES SMITHIES HAVE TO DO TO GET A TEST AFTER DOUBLE SNUB?

Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Raiders star Morgan Smithies couldn’t crack England’s 17 for the first Test and despite an injury to second-rower John Bateman, he has been left out again for the second.

Given England were dominated in the first Test in the forwards, they had to make changes for the must win clash at Everton and Smithies would have been an obvious candidate to come into the pack rotation somewhere.

Especially given Bateman has been ruled out of the second Test due to injury, but Shaun Wane decided to promote Kallum Watkins to start alongside Kai Pearce-Paul and Morgan Knowles in the back row.

Pearce-Paul had a strong game in the first Test, but his exploits in the NRL for the Knights before his switch to the Tigers, pale in significance to what Smithies has achieved for the Raiders.

Smithies has played 49 games for the Raiders in his first two seasons in the NRL and was a huge part of their charge to a shock minor premiership under Ricky Stuart in 2025.

Like, Pearce-Paul, the Canberra enforcer also has the added advantage of having played against Australia’s players for the last two seasons in the NRL, so he should have at least got a spot on the bench for the second Test.

He is also best friends with Kangaroos second-rower Hudson Young and would have had plenty of extra motivation to play for coming up against his Raiders teammate, in what would have been a tantalising clash.

Wane decided to go with the experience of Watkins, Pearce-Paul and Knowles for his back row at Everton, but if England falter again, it will make Smithies’ double snubbing even more confounding and the series and the Ashes will be lost.

The fact Stuart has shown nothing but faith in Smithies for the last two years means he is a ready-made England star of the future and Wane could rue the decision to leave him out of the first two Tests.

LIFE AFTER HAAS FOR KANGAROOS AS TINO DEFECTION LOOMS

Payne Haas’ defection from the Kangaroos to Samoa was the latest in a long line of Australian front-rowers to trade the green and gold for their native Pacific Island colours in recent times.

From Andrew Fifita to Josh Papalii and now Haas, Australia’s front row stocks have been tested in recent years and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui could follow the worrying trend ahead of the World Cup in 2027.

Australia had two locks starting in the front row in the first Test in Fa’asuamaleaui and Patrick Carrigan and they proved too strong for England at Wembley.

However, the fact Australia don’t have two specialists starting in the key front row positions two years out from the World Cup is a worrying sign, especially if Fa’asuamaleaui defects.

Carrigan and Fa’asuamaleaui have spent plenty of time at prop and Isaah Yeo is the captain, before his injury, so there is an element of picking the best players and finding a number for them.

However, Australia need to find some depth in the front row going forward, if they want to defend their World Cup title in a couple of year’s time, espcially as the Pacific Island teams and New Zealand continue to get better.

The fact Keaon Koloamtangi was the only prop option on their bench and only became a front-rower this season under Wayne Bennett at Souths, shows the lack of specialist front-rowers Kevin Walters has to choose from at the moment.

Reuben Cotter, Koloamtangi, Carrigan and Fa’asuamaleaui can all do the job up front, but they don’t play there in the NRL week in and week out.

Carrigan replaces Yeo at lock in the second Test, with Lindsay Collins promoted to start and Panthers star Lindsay Smith joining the bench.

Smith looms as the player most likely of stepping up and leading the Kangaroos pack in the future, especially if Fa’asuamaleaui defects, so this will be an important series for him and Australia.

The 25-year-old played a Test for the Kangaroos last year, but he is yet to debut for NSW in Origin and is still yet to prove himself as at representative level.

If he can have a big game in the final two Tests and use it as a springboard into next year’s Origin series, Australia will be in good hands even if they lose another star to Samoa.

But there is still players in the NRL they will be hoping can step up to international level in the coming seasons to improve their depth in the engine room.

CLEARY STILL SEARCHING FOR REP MASTERCLASS MOMENT IN GOAT RACE

Nathan Cleary is on track to go down as one of the greatest NRL players ever, but it is fair to say he hasn’t dominated representative footy like some of the legendary halfbacks before him.

Cleary is yet to win an Origin decider and despite being a part of a couple of Origin series wins, he hasn’t been the dominant player in those NSW triumphs.

For Australia, Cleary debuted at the 2022 World Cup and played five Tests on that tour, including the final victory over Samoa to see the Kangaroos defend their title.

However, Latrell Mitchell was the star in that game scoring two tries, while his halves partner Cameron Munster has done far more than him at state and international level.

Australia’s 26-6 victory at Wembley was Cleary’s first Test since the 2022 World Cup final and just the sixth in his career, as injuries at the end of the season have prevented him playing for his country in recent years.

Part of that is down to the fact he has led Penrith to four straight titles and his body has been battered during that stunning run.

However, while no one can doubt how Cleary has dominated the NRL and is the game’s best player at that level, he still is yet to dominate for NSW and Australia.

Mitchell Moses and Tom Dearden, who were the incumbent halves for Australia before the Ashes and Cleary and Munster’s returns, arguably have done more for their country than Cleary at this stage.

In the first Test Cleary was solid with 44 run metres, a tackle bust, an offload, a linebreak assist and four goals, but he was outshone by Munster with two try assists and 88 metres and man-of-the-match Walsh.

While Cleary did his job and Australia won, if he wants to be mentioned with the likes of Andrew Johns and Johnathan Thurston or even go passed them by the time he retires, he needs to dominate all levels of the game.

If he can do that and lead the Kangaroos to victory and an Ashes series clinching win on Sunday morning, it will be a good start in his quest to go down as one of the greatest if not the greatest player the game has ever seen.

AUSTRALIA’S ODD MEN OUT AS KEVVIE STICKS SOLID

As expected, Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters decided not to change a good thing.

For this weekend’s second Test, there was only one alteration to the team which beat England 26-6 in the opening game of the series, and that was a forced switch.

Skipper Isaah Yeo will miss at least a game after suffering a head knock in the first Test.

In turn, Harry Grant will take over as captain, Pat Carrigan moves from prop to lock, Lindsay Collins is promoted to the starting side, while Lindsay Smith is the new man on the bench.

As it stands, it means that just 18 of the 24-man squad will have been used through two Tests.

The six players that are yet to be given a chance are Blayke Brailey, Bradman Best, Ethan Strange, Jacob Preston, Mitch Moses and Dylan Edwards.

For a couple of those guys such as Preston and Strange, they may have been selected just to be around a touring squad to soak in as much as possible. The experience they’ll gain from this will be invaluable.

If Australia win the second Test, there’s a chance Walters gives some of his reserves a go, but given he’s coaching for his Kangaroos future, he might keep the foot on the throat and play his best 17, even if the final game is a dead rubber.

IS ASHES FUTURE IN DOUBT IF KANGAROOS WHITEWASH POMS?

We’ll reserve judgement until after the second and third Tests, but it has to be a question that is at least considered if Australia win the next two games of the series with ease.

It’s been sheer dominance from the Kangaroos in this match up over the last five decades.

Granted, it was a 22-year gap between drinks since the last Ashes series in 2003, but the Aussies have still won the past 13 series and in that span, hold a staggering 32-8 record over England/Great Britain.

There have been some cracking games in that time, but at the moment, the gulf between the two sides is considerably wide.

Despite the scoreline last Sunday morning, Australia were never in danger and the 20-point margin probably flattered England.

With Australian referee Grant Atkins set to oversee a far freer flowing contest in the second Test, the Kangaroos could end up scoring points at will.

It’s a taxing trip for the Kangaroos to head over to the UK, especially after a long and arduous season, and given the rise of their Pacific neighbors like Tonga and Samoa, are Australia better off focusing their Test match attention on those nations and New Zealand?

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