The New Zealand Warriors have confirmed star fullback Reece Walsh has permission to explore his options to remain in Australia at the end of the 2022 season.
In what has been a chaotic morning on the NRL's transfer market, the Warriors are yet to release Walsh, but will do so if a suitable new club is found.
The decision by the Warriors to allow Walsh to potentially break the final year of his current contract comes after the club announced the signing of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad on Wednesday morning, with the Auckland-born Raiders fullback being released by the green machine at the end of the current season.
He has been signed on a three-year deal which will see him remain with the Auckland-based outfit until at least the end of the 2025 season.
Warriors' CEO Cameron George said there has been a "major change" in Walsh's personal circumstances, after the young fullback recently stated he was planning to honour the final year of his contract amid speculation he didn't want to move to New Zealand.
“There has been a major change in Reece’s personal circumstances in the past two months which have impacted on his ability to move to Auckland with the club next season,” he said.
“We’re working through his situation and have given him permission, with some conditions, to look at options in Brisbane. It’s not the way either Reece or the club had wanted this to play out but we respect the issues he has.”
According to The Daily Telegraph however, the release for Walsh will come as another blow for the NRL's expansion club, the Dolphins, who the Warriors will not release him to.
It's understood Walsh must link up with the Broncos if he is to remain in Australia for the 2023 season, although it would now seem a better idea for Walsh to be released regardless of location given the signing of Nicoll-Klokstad.
It comes with reported bad blood between the Dolphins and Warriors.
Walsh, a former Broncos junior, was one of the club's best young talents before he signed with the Warriors for the 2022 season, but was ultimately released in mid-2021, going on to debut with the Warriors that season while they were based in Auckland.
It's understood that while Walsh planned to honour the final year of his contract as the Warriors moved back to Auckland - unlike the already released Euan Aitken (Dolphins), Matt Lodge (Roosters) and Kodi Nikorima (Rabbitohs), his personal circumstances have changed due to a recent split with his partner, according to News Corp.
Warriors' head of football Craig Hodges confirmed to the publication the reason behind the release request, as well as the fact the Broncos were the only other club he could play for in 2023.
“Reece came to us about a month ago and said he couldn’t commit to coming back to New Zealand,” Hodges said.
“Reece has had a relationship breakdown and he has a young daughter and he said he simply couldn’t be away from her in another country.
“We totally understood that so we said what do you want to do and he said, ‘I would like to go to the Broncos’.
“On that basis, we said OK you can negotiate only with the Broncos, we didn’t want to turn it into a circus with Reece talking with all sorts of clubs and ending up going to a Sydney team.
“We wish him all the best. He is a great young kid who is putting his family first.”
It's understood the Broncos have found a way to squeeze Walsh into their salary cap from the start of the 2023 season, although it will leave the futures of Selwyn Cobbo, Tesi Niu and Te Maire Martin up in the air.
Martin and Niu have both spent time at fullback this year, while Cobbo - who recently re-signed with the club until the end of the 2025 season - is seen as the long-term fullback at Red Hill.
It's understood Walsh's release could be confirmed in the next few days.