The outlook for the Warriors has been completely changed on one amazing signing.
The 18-year-old Walsh - a fullback or half - is creative, fast, fearless, energetic and absolutely brilliant to watch. He is cutting opponents apart, and he'll also cut through to a much wider audience than the standard league crowd.
There have been so many false dawns at the Warriors, so many disasters, that you dare not predict much more than scraping a top eight position in a very good year.
Time to predict a lot more and hope like heck the pressure doesn't get to him.
The Warriors recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan and consultant Phil Gould (I presume/believe they are mainly responsible) have produced a miracle.
The snaring of Walsh from the wobbly Broncos, and from under the noses of all the other NRL clubs, is one of the most astonishing signings in the history of the NRL.
It doesn't make any sense, someone that good, with that much potential, joining the Wobbly Warriors.
But he has, so get the billboards ready.
Reece Walsh scores for the Warriors against the Tigers. Photo / Photosport
Walsh is already the front-runner as the best signing from an Australian club the Warriors have made.
It was a great day, all those years ago, when the double signing of Steve Price and Ruben Wiki was revealed (although this was later tainted somewhat by the salary cap disaster).
James Maloney was a great get, as an unheralded player from Melbourne and despite a few limitations, brave Micheal Luck turned out to be a Best Buy.
Jim Doyle performed a miracle of his own, when the former CEO persuaded Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to quit the Roosters for Auckland.
Further back, there were some really good signings around the inaugural year, particularly Greg Alexander.
But Alexander experienced a family tragedy and wanted to escape Sydney for a while. There was also logic as to why established players such as Kevin Campion decided to give Auckland a try at that point in their careers.
But Walsh? What the heck was he thinking? The world is his oyster, but the rest of the world didn't seem to realise it. Maybe he didn't either.
Hats off to O'Sullivan, Gould, coach Nathan Brown, Warriors CEO Cameron George, Tuivasa-Sheck and everyone else involved.
Owner Mark Robinson deserves a tick as well, for hiring the sort of men who could hire Walsh.
And thank you Reece Walsh. You have given a rickety rollercoaster a burst of life.
Everybody in the NRL is raving about him. His arrival at Mt Smart, once the Warriors get home, is going to be some occasion.
Reece Walsh celebrates a try against the Tigers. Photo / Photosport
You have to like where O'Sullivan is taking the club with his style of signings, although he's endured an embarrassing list of rejections.
O'Sullivan aims high. He's not interested in the mundane, which is where the club was going under the Stephen Kearney coaching regime.
Here's a crazy prediction: Walsh will take the Warriors into the top four and if he stays well past his current contract, which ends after the 2024 season, will almost certainly overtake Stacey Jones as the club's greatest player.
What he has shown so far, in a handful of games, is completely off the charts.
No pressure kid...turning the TV on each NRL round has taken on a whole new meaning because of your arrival.
Speaking of amazing…
The Crusaders are incredible.
They weren't very good in the opening Super Rugby Transtasman round against the Brumbies.
This was bad news for the Reds because the Crusaders always bounce back.
The Crusaders' start against the Aussie champions in Brisbane was frightening. It was game over, in a couple of blinks of the eye.
Richie Mo'unga of the Crusaders scores a try against the Reds. Photo / Photosport
Scott Barrett and Tom Sanders were missing, but they were hardly missed, as rising forces Mitchell Dunshea, Ethan Blackadder and Cullen Grace pummelled the Reds, allowing Richie Mo'unga to rip them apart.
The Crusaders' standards over the years have been incredible. This was one of their great performances.
As for the Aussie teams….rubbish, an embarrassment.
This won't happen, but Australia should consider scrapping the hopeless Melbourne Rebels.
Melbourne isn't interested in rugby. The city is Aussie Rules-obsessed and has the amazing Storm league club as a footy backup.
Australian rugby won't progress while a veneer of talent is stretched over five teams. The ideal number of professional Australian rugby teams is three. Those were the good old days.
Hats off to the Aussie rugby commentators…
…who are apparently trying to pronounce Polynesian names correctly, at last.
It is something a lot of us are trying to do but this isn't always easy, particularly to older troops who had it so wrong for so long.
All I'll say about the Aussie commentators is this: it needs more work people.
I also love the way New Zealand commentators like Tony Johnson have integrated the Māori and Pacific Island languages into their work, and the confident way players and coaches are using their languages. (It's about the only thing which makes those mid-match sideline interviews worthwhile).
Sport can play a massive part in changing our view of what constitutes the mainstream. Non-European cultures are inherent in our way of life.
