Faith in Walker

[maxta]

Walker in this current setup, can add punch as a middle threat....but I think Parker at left centre is the best option, had an off night but generally very safe and far better defensively, which we will need vs Storm/ Penrith and Souths.
If Manly can win attacking tempo, have enough threats with Tom, DCE and Schu to score points, a strike centre is not needed in this current setup....but unlike most, reckon Walker in the modern game is definitely a bench option that can make an impact
Also I can't really blame Walkers retaliation to that Chambers tool....every Manly player ripped into him and off his carry on, Manly piled on 2 quick tries.
I thought Sirro was our biggest liability as looked pedestrian in attack and soft defensively getting dominated both sides of the coin

 

[pjayz]

I think he is surplus to requirements at the moment.

 

[Kalvin]

I actually thought walker kept pretty Level headed whilst chambers tried to bait him..

 

[The Who]

How did you think Parker went tonight before Des hooked him from the position ?

Parker was rocks or diamonds tonight.
Walker always is.

 

[mave]

How did you think Parker went tonight before Des hooked him from the position ?

Parker had an absolute shocker.

The "premier" centre, in Walker, was defensively worse than Parker tonight.....that says a lot.

Honestly, Walker is done and dusted as a centre in a top 8 club, under the new game rules.
He cannot handle 1 v 1 decision making in defence, especially off a quick shift.
Defence oriented centres are the go these days, and Walker ain't it.

 

[Remy]

Parker went off for HIA for the people thinking Des "hooked" him.

 

[robbiea]

Turnstile as usual.

 

[Stewbojevic]

I usually support Walker and when he shifted to the centre our attack immediately looked better. But his defence was diabolical. Looked all at sea.

Prior to that though Parker had a shocker. He stunts our attack, has very poor hands, and is way too slow. Kennedy ran around him for that first try with ease too.

It’s the weakest spot in our team in my opinion - but I’d stick with Parker because he’s the best defensive centre out of the options.

 

[Brisbane Tragic]

I usually support Walker and when he shifted to the centre our attack immediately looked better. But his defence was diabolical. Looked all at sea.

Prior to that though Parker had a shocker. He stunts our attack, has very poor hands, and is way too slow. Kennedy ran around him for that first try with ease too.

It’s the weakest spot in our team in my opinion - but I’d stick with Parker because he’s the best defensive centre out of the options.

Yes Walker's defence was terrible at Centre - just leave Walker as the utility off the bench - he adds to our attack playing there. Parker was ordinary tonight but he is a great defensive Centre and runs great lines. That is all we need with DCE, Schu, Jake, Turbo, Foran and Walker in the side.

 

[manlyfan76]

Horrible , horrible take.

He's a word class player that's been asked to play every position.

Put him full time in the centres, and he and Garrick will destroy that side of the field

Played centre in all Stars . Was horrid.

 

[alafua8]

Yes Walker's defence was terrible at Centre - just leave Walker as the utility off the bench - he adds to our attack playing there. Parker was ordinary tonight but he is a great defensive Centre and runs great lines. That is all we need with DCE, Schu, Jake, Turbo, Foran and Walker in the side.

Whenever Walker comes on ,our structures fall apart as we need a ball carrier to replace one. He is now coming on as another ball player and our go forward down the middle gets a bit weak .If he is going to be on the bench let him come on as a back replacement . We could have put 40 in the first half last night if everything stuck .Bring on Melb.

 

[Simonmyers11]

Walker in this current setup, can add punch as a middle threat....but I think Parker at left centre is the best option, had an off night but generally very safe and far better defensively, which we will need vs Storm/ Penrith and Souths.
If Manly can win attacking tempo, have enough threats with Tom, DCE and Schu to score points, a strike centre is not needed in this current setup....but unlike most, reckon Walker in the modern game is definitely a bench option that can make an impact
Also I can't really blame Walkers retaliation to that Chambers tool....every Manly player ripped into him and off his carry on, Manly piled on 2 quick tries.
I thought Sirro was our biggest liability as looked pedestrian in attack and soft defensively getting dominated both sides of the coin

I agree. team looks better with parker at centre, (had an off night, but is usually very good in defence and does he job. Walker's defence is a liability

Suli has the most potential but is way too inconsistent for now. I like walker in the middle

 

[Waz13]

Walker in this current setup, can add punch as a middle threat....but I think Parker at left centre is the best option, had an off night but generally very safe and far better defensively, which we will need vs Storm/ Penrith and Souths.
If Manly can win attacking tempo, have enough threats with Tom, DCE and Schu to score points, a strike centre is not needed in this current setup....but unlike most, reckon Walker in the modern game is definitely a bench option that can make an impact
Also I can't really blame Walkers retaliation to that Chambers tool....every Manly player ripped into him and off his carry on, Manly piled on 2 quick tries.
I thought Sirro was our biggest liability as looked pedestrian in attack and soft defensively getting dominated both sides of the coin

Totally agree. I’m not a fan of Walker back at Centre but I actually don’t mind him as the 14 role similar to Connor Watson. In the last 20mins Des tried out a few different combos there which I thought was good. I don’t think he would have pulled Parker off if that game was close. I thought it was a good plan by des to play around with the team a bit. Also Siro looked pedestrian. I can’t see how he plays when others are available.

 

[manly al]

haven 't played a really top ranked side for a while now so bit hard to judge Walker's real value in his current role and how he may go against tougher opposition. Defence as a 6 has been quite reasonable previously but for some reason in recent times at centre and middle just not as effective . Set up play not great in the middle , still has that bit of spark which is a plus but guess that that could be problematic against again tougher opposition . Still think that it is a marginal call between Parker and Suli , [ think that Suli would have actually done really well last night regardless of Brad "s fairly ordinary night ] . Still have a bit of time to experiment with Walker in and around the middle but not as a centre on present indications .

 

[Nambawan]

How did you think Parker went tonight before Des hooked him from the position ?

Thought Parker had his worst game of the season - was frequently shown up for lack of pace. Walker was OK when he replaced Parker.

 

[Nambawan]

Totally agree. I’m not a fan of Walker back at Centre but I actually don’t mind him as the 14 role similar to Connor Watson. In the last 20mins Des tried out a few different combos there which I thought was good. I don’t think he would have pulled Parker off if that game was close. I thought it was a good plan by des to play around with the team a bit. Also Siro looked pedestrian. I can’t see how he plays when others are available.

IMO Walker has been poor in last two games when playing around the ruck area - just a defensive liability. Better in the outside backs/

 

[Nambawan]

I agree. team looks better with parker at centre, (had an off night, but is usually very good in defence and does he job. Walker's defence is a liability

Suli has the most potential but is way too inconsistent for now. I like walker in the middle

Parker had a shocker last night. Missed tacklers and dropped balls. Lacks footwork. On that display he could be a real liability when matching up against quality quicker players in next few weeks.

 

[Waz13]

Parker had a shocker last night. Missed tacklers and dropped balls. Lacks footwork. On that display he could be a real liability when matching up against quality quicker players in next few weeks.

Players have bad games. Parker has been fine against opposition most all of the season. Parker just had a bad night I thought. However If he puts a few of those nights together then I think Suli or Walker might get a look. Unlikely tho. I expect a big one from Brad v Storm

 

[Brisbane Tragic]

Whenever Walker comes on ,our structures fall apart as we need a ball carrier to replace one. He is now coming on as another ball player and our go forward down the middle gets a bit weak .If he is going to be on the bench let him come on as a back replacement . We could have put 40 in the first half last night if everything stuck .Bring on Melb.

I think he adds some spark and we will need all the spark we can get against Melbourne.

 

[Scorpio]

After last night I am starting to think that neither Parker nor Walker are the answer at centre.