1 hour ago
1
Billy Walters has opened up about how his extreme fussiness with food left his wife sure that he is on the autism spectrum.
The Brisbane Broncos hooker – who will miss the NRL grand final through injury – has a history of very particular dietary habits that goes back to his childhood.
Seeing how he chooses to eat convinced his wife Rachel, who works as an occupational therapist, that he displays a level of autistic behaviour.
Walters revealed that he cannot mix his foods together in any way, and grew up on an incredibly pared-down diet.
'If he has spag bol, he will have spaghetti [separately] and the mince on the side, on a different plate,' Walters' father and former coach at the Broncos, Kevin, told the Inside Ball podcast.
'I can't mix my food,' Billy explained.
Billy Walters is pictured with his wife Rachel, an occupational therapist who believes he's on the autism spectrum after observing his strange eating habits
Walters cannot mix his food, and even eats his spaghetti bolognaise with the pasta and meat sauce on separate plates
'That's why hamburgers aren't a thing for me.
'The first night [of a Melbourne Storm pre-season camp] they had burgers and chips, but I don't eat burgers, so I traded it for chips.
'I get this all the time. It's just a fussy thing. I don't eat sauce. Anything with sauce on it [I can't eat it].
'A lot of people think if I'm an athlete, I'm trying to eat clean, but I'm just fussy.
'That's probably why I was so scrawny when I was younger, I survived on hash browns and sausages until I was 13.
'My wife's an OT and she says I'm on the spectrum, but she says we all are, just at different levels.'
Walters will be forced to watch his teammates play the Storm in Sunday's grand final after being struck a cruel blow in the astonishing golden-point qualifying final win over Canberra on September 14.
He ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and needs reconstructive surgery.
Walters (pictured centre while celebrating a try) suffered a cruel injury blow in the Broncos' first finals match and will miss the year's biggest game on Sunday
The 31-year-old hooker was in career-best form when disaster struck.
The club initially confirmed he had sustained damage and Walters would 'work with the club's medical team to assess the next steps in his recovery'.
At first it was reported that Walters had sustained a partial tear, which several NRL players have continued to play with, but a visit to a specialist confirmed reconstructive surgery was required, which will mean he likely won't play again until mid-2026.
Broncos legend and two-time premiership winner Kerrod Walters said his nephew would not let the injury prevent him from shining in future.
'It's disappointing for Billy,' Walters said.
'He fought so hard this year to get his place in the starting team back and has played such good footy.
'Billy had the injury before at Wests Tigers (in 2020) so he knows what it is going to take to get back. I have every confidence he will come back bigger and stronger than ever.
'At five-eighth this year he has been very good and he was always very, very good at hooker.
'Billy is all about the team. We he had those setbacks when he was relegated (to the bench), he took it in his stride and put the team first.'
