Reece Walsh has reportedly been cleared to make his return to the NRL next weekend when the Brisbane Broncos clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs on the Sunshine Coast in Round 21.
Walsh has served two club games of a three-game suspension he was handed after being found guilty of verbally abusing referee Chris Butler during the club's Round 18 loss to the Gold Coast Titans.
A marathon four-and-a-half-hour hearing confirmed Walsh's suspension, however, one of those games was anticipated to be State of Origin 3.
Walsh played for the Maroons in both Game 1 and 2, and while the Broncos had a bye leading into Game 3, the NRL's policy is that representative games shall count towards selection if it was reasonable to assume a player would have been selected without the suspension.
Fox Sports are reporting that application to have Origin 3 count as part of his suspension has now been approved.
It means Walsh has, as of the completion of Saturday afternoon's 44 points to 24 win over the Canterbury Bulldogs at Belmore, completed his suspension, and the Queensland State of Origin fullback will be cleared to line up for Kevin Walters' side next weekend.
The Broncos, who have a bye still to come, sit at the top of the table and have a strong chance of claiming the minor premiership, although a difficult run home is kicked off with next week's clash on the Sunshine Coast against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
They then will play a desperate Sydney Roosters at The Gabba, the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville and the Parramatta Eels at home before their Round 25 bye, with games against the Canberra Raiders away and Melbourne Storm at home to close out the regular season.
It's a run Walters will desperately need his side at full strength for, despite the solid job Tristan Sailor has done at the back in the absence of Walsh during his suspension.
