Was it the act of a show pony who needs to be roped in — or a kind-hearted gesture taken completely out of context?

Once again, Reece Walsh has divided the rugby league world.

Call me a dinosaur, but I’m with Walsh’s former coach Kevin Walters on this.

On a day when all anyone should have been talking about was Walsh’s dazzling performance to finish with a try, two try assists, two line-breaks and 13 tackle busts in the Broncos’ thumping 46-12 win over the error-riddled Knights, the polarising fullback also came under fire for a play where he ‘gifted’ Kobe Hetherington a try.

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It came midway through the first half when Walsh had backed up Jaiyden Hunt and only had to put the ball down to score.

Instead, Walsh waited for Hetherington to catch up, so Hetherington could touch down in his 100th milestone match.

If Walsh was playing under 8s down at the local park, you’d probably smile and say to yourself, ‘how cute was that’.

Yet the NRL is not under 8s.

And showing this kind of contempt to an injury-depleted opposition is not only disrespectful, but as Walters said in Fox League commentary, it could also come back to bite the Broncos in the weeks ahead.

“I’m not a fan of that,” Walters said. “Throwing the ball back in the in-goal … I don’t agree with it.

“What if he (Hetherington) dropped it … he (Walsh) is even more in the headlines then”.

And Walters was bang on the money.

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Even Walsh was a bit sheepish when questioned about it on Fox League after the game.

Walsh conceded: “I don’t think ‘Madge’ was too happy when I done that.

“We’ll leave that one where it was and not talk about it again.”

Fingers crossed, Walsh learns from it.

You’d hate to see a moment like this come against the Broncos in a big game against one of the NRL’s genuine heavyweights.

Like when they play Melbourne in the final round that could end up deciding if the Broncos finish in the top four or not.

Overall, it summed up a mix-bag by the Broncos.

And while Walsh’s blinding speed made us sit back and take notice of just how dangerous this team is when they get in their groove, there were also a couple other questionable plays from Walsh that not everyone at the Broncos where happy about.

That included a pointless kick over the sideline that had Bent Hunt turning up his hands and questioning, ‘what the hell was that?’

On one hand, the Broncos showed with an explosive final 20 minutes why they are still capable of doing some damage regardless of when the injured Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam return.

Yet the opening 60 minutes also highlighted exactly why the jury is still out on Michael Maguire’s star-studded team.

In the end the Broncos did run away with a comfortable win.

But it could have been a lot closer had Jake Arthur been able to catch a pass when he looked certain to score midway through the second half.

Don’t forget the Knights also blew what looked to be another certain try in the first half that could have easily changed the course of this game.

And that’s for a team who were also without Kalyn Ponga and Fletcher Sharpe.

We’ve been saying in this column for weeks that Walsh needs to pull his head in and start playing with a bit more maturity and a touch less cockiness.

I had a crack at Walsh and Mam after the win over the injury-ravaged Rabbitohs back in round 22 for not showing enough respect to their depleted opposition.

At the time plenty of Broncos fans thought I was being too hard on Walsh and Mam and needed to lighten up.

Plenty will again want to defend Walsh on this one, but for mine it was just another attention-seeking moment that the Broncos could well do without.

$5K SOUTHS STAR PUTS HIMSELF IN SHOP WINDOW

What does $5000 buy you in the current NRL player market?

Well, that’s what the young Rabbitohs five-eighth with the choir boy looks Ashton Ward is earning this season, along with his match payments.

But that hasn’t stopped the 21-year-old Gerringong junior who works as a part-time teacher’s aide putting his name up in lights in the chase for a new contract after another gutsy effort in the win against his former club the Dragons.

Without a fulltime contract for next year, Ward wants to stay at the Rabbitohs but could be forced to look elsewhere.

With the Rabbitohs still trying to offload Lewis Dodd, they have also committed to Cody Walker for another season, while Jayden Sullivan could also stay, along with Jamie Humphreys.

But depending on where unwanted Rooster Sandon Smith ends up, there could be an opportunity for Ward at clubs like the Dragons, Raiders, Cowboys, Knights and Titans.

Despite his tiny frame, the courage Ward has displayed since getting his call-up late in the season, whether he is running the ball or chopping down blokes twice his size, shows exactly why he has what it takes to be a long-term NRL player.

STRANGE SEALS KANGAROOS SPOT IN ‘MIRACLE OF MUDGEE’

Ethan Strange has surely confirmed his seat on the plane to England for the Kangaroos’ end of the season tour.

In a game where the Raiders were out to prove they are worthy to be rated alongside the likes of Melbourne and Penrith as a genuine contender for this year’s title, Strange took it upon himself to conjure up a miracle in Mudgee.

After a field goal attempt from Nathan Cleary in the 83rd minute of golden point deflected off the posts, Jed Stuart did exceptionally well to pick up the loose ball before putting Strange into space.

But what came next just showed what a winner this 21-year-old is, as Strange set sail down the touchline before sending Kaeo Weekes over for the match winner.

It has to be the leading contender for the Peter Frilingos Dally M Headline Moment of the Year.

There has been conjecture about whether the Raiders have the experience and composure to handle the pressure in the big end of season games.

This victory well and truly shows the Raiders have the belief in themselves to go all the way.

PANTHERS ARE ANYTHING BUT DONE

As for the Panthers, it was another tough loss but going down to the Storm and Raiders in back-to-back matches certainly doesn’t mean they can’t recover.

Both games could have gone either way, after Harry Grant stole the match at the death the previous week.

Regardless of if they finish in the top four, no one will be writing off the Panthers after this performance.

Cleary would have nailed that field goal nine times out of ten.

You wouldn’t back against him missing the next one.

CRICHTON A PROTECTED SPECIES?

It was a pathetic response from the NRL’s match review committee only issuing Stephen Crichton with a ‘concerning act’ notice for his ugly face rake on Ryan Papenhuyzen.

As Phil Rothfield revealed inThe Daily Telegraph, despite the MRC reviewing the incident, they ultimately determined it wasn’t worthy of a charge.

So while Harry Grant is left to cop a two-match ban for his shoulder charge, Crichton is free to take on the Panthers in Thursday night’s blockbuster.

As Buzz reported, it’s the third time this year Crichton has avoided suspension for foul play.

No wonder so many fans out there think there are rules for some, and rules for others.

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WHY TIGERS FANS SHOULD KEEP THE FAITH

While Wests Tigers butchered a great chance to keep their slim finals hope alive, they have shown more than enough improvement under Benji Marshall this year to encourage their fans to keep faith for next year.

No doubt the Tigers should have beaten the Cowboys after racing to a 28-16 lead with 15 minutes to go in front of a jam-packed Leichhardt Oval Sunday arvo crowd.

And what about the try before halftime where they raced the length of the field before Jahream Bulla scored.

But they just couldn’t put a stop to the talented Scott Drinkwater who ignited a brave Cowboys fightback when they raced over for three tries in five minutes.

It certainly didn’t help that the Tigers lost halfback Adam Doueihi to a suspected face fracture early in the game after getting his head caught in the wrong spot trying to bring down a charging Jason Taumalolo.

While Doueihi’s replacement Latu Fainu also exited the game in the second half injured.

While the Tigers’ performances this year have certainly showed that Marshall now has the club heading in the right direction, they must go to the next level next year and make the top eight.

At least they won’t have to worry about another Lachlan Galvin soap opera distracting them next year.

It’s clear they now have a team of players who are committed to play for Benji.

MORE POSITIVE SIGNS EELS AS ROOSTER’S RETURN LOOMS

The Eels also have great reason to hope heading into next year under Jason Ryles.

And we saw again what Mitchell Moses does for this team with an inspiring performance to take down the Roosters 30-10.

Again, the Roosters had no luck losing Sam Walker to concussion early in the game (that will rub Walker out of this round’s huge clash against the Storm on Friday night).

Without Walker, the Roosters clearly lacked direction, but Trent Robinson has signalled Sandon Smith will get a recall this week.

It’s a great chance for Smith to show what he is capable of as he tries to cement his future after becoming collateral damage to make way for Daly Cherry-Evans’ arrival.

As for the Eels, they play the Warriors in the 6pm Friday game — and you wouldn’t put it past them claiming another big scalp on the back of what they did to the Chooks.

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