Walsh outs troll in epic revenge act; Munster reveal as Dearden makes big call on future — NRL Daily

Broncos superstar Reece Walsh has turned the tables on a prankster who gave out his mobile phone number to members of the public.

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The Australian fullback took to social media on Monday night and shared screenshots of all the missed calls he’d received from strangers who were keen to talk to the star.

Walsh decided to use his 700,000 social media followers to his advantage in an attempt to get revenge.

He sent a message to the offender on social media, sharing a photo of himself, along with a warning.

“Whoever given my number to they mates [sic] and telling them to call me better tell em to stop before 700k people get your number,” the Instagram caption read.

Walsh even played up to the prank, telling fans who called him: “If you gunna [sic] FaceTime and I pick up at least put ya camera on donkeys.”

Such is the popularity of the Brisbane fullback, he knew he couldn’t just ride out the stacks of anonymous callers and wait for them to leave him alone.

The resourceful Walsh decided it was easier to just change his number and he quickly uploaded a picture of his SIM card, which he was about to discard.

“I move fast kids, hope ya had fun Derricks,” the caption read.

Walsh is currently racing the clock to be fit for October’s World Cup in Australia where he’ll be hoping to retain his Kangaroos No.1 jersey from the likes of James Tedesco and Dylan Edwards.

The 24-year-old hasn’t played since he suffered a high-grade syndesmosis injury last month.

DEARDEN DOUBLES DOWN ON COWBOYS FUTURE

“I’m a Cowboy”.

They’re the words all North Queensland supporters were glad to hear come out of Tom Dearden’s mouth while he was standing in Sydney on Monday.

Dearden was down south for the launch of the NRL finals and again was questioned over his future a month after labelling speculation that he wanted a release as “a whole lot of nonsense”.

Dearden is under contract at the Cowboys until the end of 2029, and insists that he’ll see that deal out.

His pregnant partner is based in Sydney and despite his denials, various media outlets reported this year that he had asked about the possibility of an early release on personal grounds.

But Dearden had a firm message to Cowboys fans on Monday.

“Nothing has changed. I was able to get out and address the rumours, that was me being able to tell my side of the story,” Dearden said.

“I can understand where the rumours come from, I have a partner who is pregnant and lives in Sydney. So, I see where it all comes from.

“But I think it was important to let all the Cowboys supporters know that I am not going anywhere. I’m signed there and I’m happy as can be up there.”

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Despite Dearden’s denials about leaving the Cowboys early, journalist Brent Read said on NRL 360 on Monday night that Cameron Munster’s future might have an influence.

Munster has been offered only $750,000 a year by the Storm to extend his current deal which is worth about $1.1 million a season.

He’s rejected that deal and now could finish his NRL career at another club.

“There’s been a lot of talk about Tom Dearden’s future,” Read said.

”Cam is a North Queenslander. If Tom Dearden happens to leave North Queensland some time in the next 12 months, that’s a left-field one (Munster) that springs to mind when you think about the speculation over Tommy Dearden’s future.

“They’d be on similar money, I’d imagine. Tommy’s on a massive deal there in 2028 and 2029 so that’s just a little left-field one.”

Dearden’s partner Millie is due to give birth to their first child next month.

The hairstylist runs a successful business in Sydney but Dearden said the plan is for her to eventually make the move north.

“The baby is not too far away now, but the plan is for us to be together in Townsville,” Dearden said.

“She’ll be able to do that hopefully but the first priority is the baby. She’ll have the baby down here in Sydney and that’s our focus at the moment.”

FINALISTS DISMISS 50-POINT CURSE

The record books suggest the Dolphins, Roosters and Cowboys shouldn’t even bother turning up because no team in premiership history has conceded 50 points and gone on to win the grand final.

It’s a stat that has dominated social media feeds for several years and is always trending when a team falls apart defensively.

The 2001 Knights have gone closest to the magical 50-point number, after they conceded 49 in a game that year but recovered to win the grand final.

The third-placed Dolphins were beaten 52-18 by Manly and 66-0 by the Sharks, while a weakened Roosters side lost 50-20 to South Sydney last week after resting nine stars.

But the Cowboys have the most going against them after they were embarrassed 82-12 by the Roosters before they lost 50-30 to Canberra last week.

North Queensland finished eighth and conceded a staggering 652 points this season, but showed in wins over the Broncos, Panthers and Roosters that they can defend well.

“I know there are three teams in the top eight that have had 50 scored against them, and I think it’s just the way the game is with the rules at the moment and how fast the game is,” Cowboys star Tom Dearden said.

“There have been a lot of points scored this year, which is entertaining, and I think conceding 50 is probably a bit more common than what it used to be.

“We have a lot of belief in what we can do defensively. I think our biggest challenge is just mentally getting it right on the day. That’s been our challenge all year.

“When we haven’t gotten it right, it’s led to a big blowout, and when we do get it right, we can defend some of the best teams in the comp. That’s where our confidence comes from.

“But our biggest challenge is making sure we do that every game we can. It starts this week, and hopefully for another four weeks after this one.”

Roosters skipper James Tedesco has heard all about the stat but isn’t concerned given everyone had also mentioned their shocking record against Penrith before they beat the premiership favourites last month.

“I think people get too caught up in history and stats,” he said ahead of the qualifying final against Penrith on Sunday.

“Robbo (Roosters coach Trent Robinson) has talked about that previously with Penrith and the 50-point stat, but it’s only how you perceive it or how you think about it.

“We’re all refreshed from last week physically and mentally, so there’s no excuse for us.

“You have to beat every team. Whether it’s three games or four games, we’ll go out and do it. So we’re excited about the opportunity, and it’s all we can look forward to at present.”

The Dolphins have had two ugly losses this year, but they’ve used it as inspiration to get better.

They are on a seven-game winning streak since losing by 66, with English star Herbie Farnworth’s confidence in the sheds that day resonating with his teammates as they prepare for their first finals campaign.

“We had those two bad losses, but as a group, we had enough humility and enough resolve to look at ourselves and use it as a chance to get better,” Dolphins forward Tom Gilbert said at the finals launch in Sydney.

“We used it as a chance to remind us of what we needed to do each and every week to get the results we want. And because we took that front on, we became better as a group.

“We could have lost that game 24-16 and who knows what it would have done for us.

“I think we got that ability to win games of footy and be in games for a lot of this year through those losses because we were willing to learn from it, and it got us better in that process.

“If you choose to let it dwell on you or let it remind people you can’t win a premiership because of that stat, then you’re not in a chance to get better. So we’ve blocked out the noise, we’ve looked at it as an opportunity to get better, and we have.”

— Martin Gabor (NCA NewsWire)