'It's a rollercoaster': Walsh consoles rattled Raiders rookie

Broncos star Reece Walsh consoled his rookie fullback opposite Chevy Stewart after the Raiders teenager endured a bombing barrage and was targeted by some brutal defence on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium.

Stewart, who was making just his second NRL appearance after debuting in Canberra’s Round 6 defeat of the Titans, made five handling errors and was driven into his own in-goal from a kick return.

He was also the victim of one of the biggest hits of the season by Brisbane forward Kobe Hetherington, but the 18-year-old didn’t stop trying and Walsh reassured him he would have a long future in the game.

“It was tough conditions, he is a good young fullback and I just said to him ‘it’s a rollercoaster out there’,” Walsh told Fox Sports after Brisbane's 34-10 win. “He has got a big heart so it’s good to see a young fella doing well.”

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart revealed that Stewart had been “rattled” at halftime after spilling a spiralling bomb from Broncos five-eighth Jock Madden, losing the ball in a tackle by Ezra Mam after catching a kick and being outjumped by Fletcher Baker.

He was also caught out of position when Brisbane hooker Billy Walters grubbered into the in-goal and dived on the ball to score, while Hetherington lined him up with a bone-jarring tackle.

However, Stuart predicted the former Sharks junior, who quit school last year to pursue his NRL dream with the Raiders, had a bright future in the game because of the way he responded to the baptism of fire from the Broncos.

“If Chevy Stewart wasn’t a tough kid he would have crumbled tonight,” Stuart said.

“My message was, 'you will show me in the next 40 minutes how much of a career you are going to have in the NRL on the way you respond'.

“I said, 'no one cares about the first 40 [minutes]', so he responded the way we needed him to. And for him too, but we know he is a good footy player so there is going to be those nights.

“He is 18, he is still Year 12 age. I know at 18 I wasn’t ready to play NRL, but with how he handled that second half he showed me that he has a future in the NRL.

“I don’t care about the dropped bomb or the try off it. I have just got to be patient because we are transitioning to a team of youth in very important positions on the field.”

Meanwhile, Walsh edged closer to claiming the Queensland No.1 jersey over 2023 Dally M Medallist Kalyn Ponga with a sizzling performance that included two tries, three line breaks and seven tackle breaks.

"Reece has got that explosiveness in him to break a game open," Broncos coach Kevin Walters said.

"He struggled a bit early, but when he decided to run, he ran, and we got some good results on the back of that."

Walsh said: “Kevvy keeps drilling into me, ‘run, run, run’. Everything happens fast and I just need to slow my brain down a bit, and run the ball".