Rex
Bencher
Adrian Proszenko
August 21, 2011
FORMER Melbourne star Chris Walker has unleashed a savage attack on his former club, claiming the Storm's wrestling techniques are a blight on the game.
Walker posted a series of explosive comments on Twitter after watching the Storm defeat St George Illawarra in Friday night's blockbuster at AAMI Park.
''Melbourne & Craig Bellamy have f----d league with the way they employ wrestling moves, grapple, etc, it's not MMA or wrestling, IT'S RL!!!!,'' Walker tweeted late on Friday night.
He followed up soon afterwards with: ''I'm sorry Melbourne fans, but it's not the way footy should b played, they r a well coached team without that rubbish''. The former Queensland flyer added: ''… I call it as I c it, I was apart of it and I can tell u that they employ all the s--t tactics, we trained 4 it''.
The spray did not go down well in Melbourne. Storm officials did not wish to comment publicly, but were disappointed the tirade will deflect from their surge for the minor premiership, a feat achieved just a year after the salary cap scandal decimated their playing ranks.
One club insider offered: ''Chris Walker is not really well liked by a lot of people in our place, including the coach. Chris is one of only two players sacked on Craig Bellamy's watch, along with Arana Taumata. They are both characters who have had plenty of clubs, were given plenty of opportunities but didn't take them.
''He had numerous misdemeanours down here. He failed the culture of the group and was sacked.
''The biggest thing that pisses us off is that he wants to get into our tackling technique - this coming from a bloke who couldn't tackle.''
Walker played just seven games for the Storm in 2006 before he was sent packing for disciplinary reasons. The veteran three-quarter, who was granted an early release from Parramatta to concentrate on his Walker Brothers Earthworks business, was unrepentant yesterday.
''Some of their techniques … and holds to slow the play the ball down - to a person who knows - are not in the best interests of the game,'' Walker told The Sun-Herald. ''I watched the game pretty closely last night. Having three in the tackle - one around the legs and having two guys hold [the attacker] up, was what Melbourne were doing. St George had ample opportunities to get a third in at the knees, but they're obviously not coached like that down there.
''I know that 99.9 per cent of the teams employ wrestling coaches, but they just seem to have a better technique than everyone else.''
Walker clocked up 163 NRL games across six clubs during a colourful and controversial career. The 31-year-old was a prolific try-scorer but, ironically, was not known for his defence. ''I think defence was a thing that went around my place,'' he joked.
While there wasn't any one incident that caught his attention in Friday's game, the man dubbed ''Texas'' claimed the Storm pioneered many of the wrestling moves now prevalent in league.
''The style of football has certainly changed and I know its changed because Melbourne have changed the game,'' he said. ''I'm certainly not condoning what they do, but now there's a large focus on holding players up, chopping knees, putting people into submission holds that have been learned from coaches.''
Accusations of wrestling always hit a raw nerve with the Storm. Their recent tactics, copied by rivals, have not piqued the interest of the match review committee.
Walker said the Storm didn't need to resort to such tactics. ''That's the thing, Craig Bellamy is probably the best coach at the moment,'' he said. ''He's got a team there with the big three - Cooper [Cronk], Cameron [Smith] and Billy [Slater] - that you don't need to put that on.''
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/tackleshy-walker-turns-on-storms-wrestling-tactics-20110820-1j3l4.html#ixzz1VfMRx9Ta
August 21, 2011
FORMER Melbourne star Chris Walker has unleashed a savage attack on his former club, claiming the Storm's wrestling techniques are a blight on the game.
Walker posted a series of explosive comments on Twitter after watching the Storm defeat St George Illawarra in Friday night's blockbuster at AAMI Park.
''Melbourne & Craig Bellamy have f----d league with the way they employ wrestling moves, grapple, etc, it's not MMA or wrestling, IT'S RL!!!!,'' Walker tweeted late on Friday night.
He followed up soon afterwards with: ''I'm sorry Melbourne fans, but it's not the way footy should b played, they r a well coached team without that rubbish''. The former Queensland flyer added: ''… I call it as I c it, I was apart of it and I can tell u that they employ all the s--t tactics, we trained 4 it''.
The spray did not go down well in Melbourne. Storm officials did not wish to comment publicly, but were disappointed the tirade will deflect from their surge for the minor premiership, a feat achieved just a year after the salary cap scandal decimated their playing ranks.
One club insider offered: ''Chris Walker is not really well liked by a lot of people in our place, including the coach. Chris is one of only two players sacked on Craig Bellamy's watch, along with Arana Taumata. They are both characters who have had plenty of clubs, were given plenty of opportunities but didn't take them.
''He had numerous misdemeanours down here. He failed the culture of the group and was sacked.
''The biggest thing that pisses us off is that he wants to get into our tackling technique - this coming from a bloke who couldn't tackle.''
Walker played just seven games for the Storm in 2006 before he was sent packing for disciplinary reasons. The veteran three-quarter, who was granted an early release from Parramatta to concentrate on his Walker Brothers Earthworks business, was unrepentant yesterday.
''Some of their techniques … and holds to slow the play the ball down - to a person who knows - are not in the best interests of the game,'' Walker told The Sun-Herald. ''I watched the game pretty closely last night. Having three in the tackle - one around the legs and having two guys hold [the attacker] up, was what Melbourne were doing. St George had ample opportunities to get a third in at the knees, but they're obviously not coached like that down there.
''I know that 99.9 per cent of the teams employ wrestling coaches, but they just seem to have a better technique than everyone else.''
Walker clocked up 163 NRL games across six clubs during a colourful and controversial career. The 31-year-old was a prolific try-scorer but, ironically, was not known for his defence. ''I think defence was a thing that went around my place,'' he joked.
While there wasn't any one incident that caught his attention in Friday's game, the man dubbed ''Texas'' claimed the Storm pioneered many of the wrestling moves now prevalent in league.
''The style of football has certainly changed and I know its changed because Melbourne have changed the game,'' he said. ''I'm certainly not condoning what they do, but now there's a large focus on holding players up, chopping knees, putting people into submission holds that have been learned from coaches.''
Accusations of wrestling always hit a raw nerve with the Storm. Their recent tactics, copied by rivals, have not piqued the interest of the match review committee.
Walker said the Storm didn't need to resort to such tactics. ''That's the thing, Craig Bellamy is probably the best coach at the moment,'' he said. ''He's got a team there with the big three - Cooper [Cronk], Cameron [Smith] and Billy [Slater] - that you don't need to put that on.''
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/tackleshy-walker-turns-on-storms-wrestling-tactics-20110820-1j3l4.html#ixzz1VfMRx9Ta
