“I was just playing footy and doing my job, I don’t think I set a goal out to do anything crazy,” Walsh reflected.

But he insists he is far from satisfied.

Finishing last season with a tackle efficiency of 75.56 per cent – down from his 90 per cent in what was an injury-riddled 2024 – he is adamant he is far from the finished product, as he sought to improve his initial tackle contact, positioning at the back and urgency to get to an oncoming attacker.

“Those things that don’t come natural to me, I’m trying to work on and iron those out. I’m a work in progress, I’m not going to get everything right … that’s something that’s not too strong in my game that I want to try and get better at,” Walsh said.

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“Everybody’s driving that standard, it doesn’t matter if you’re number 30 in the roster or number one, everybody’s valued in this club and we know the standards. We’re going to hold each other accountable.

“There’s no ‘he’s better than him’ in this squad. I think that’s what makes us pretty unique because it probably hasn’t always been like that here.”

Typically, the defending champions go from the hunters to the hunted, as every other outfit seeks to knock off the team to beat. Walsh is having none of that.

“I wouldn’t say we’re the hunted, we’re the hunters – we’re going after it,” Walsh said.

That will begin on Friday night against the Penrith Panthers, as Brisbane seek to cast aside their World Club Challenge defeat to Hull KR in England.

While the Broncos suffered a 30-24 loss, it was a rare occasion for the spine of Walsh, Ezra Mam, Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt to link together – with Hunt coming off the bench rather than as the starting hooker.

The quartet started just four games together as a fullback, halves and hooker combination last year due to injuries and suspensions, which included their loss to the Melbourne Storm in which Reynolds and Mam failed to finish the first-half with hamstring concerns.

In their three full matches together, Brisbane scored 106 points – suffering one defeat to the Eels. According to Walsh, that screamed danger to their rivals if they remained fit.

“I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface of what we can do as a spine,” Walsh said.

“Connection is our biggest one, and I don’t feel like we’ve mastered that yet. It’s pretty scary, if we all get in that mindset where we’re connecting, flowing and directing this team around, I think it’s exciting for what’s ahead.”

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