The Walker Gamble ..

[Woodsie]

Okay, we have all by now had a fair look at the ploy of having Walker come on late in the 1st half for a run in the middle .. best guesses are that it is part of the new age attacking strategy ... expansive creative footy ... upside when it works, and I can see it working well against most teams, is lots of points. ... downside is the better teams will take advantage when he is on and target concentrated attack through the middle where he is defending ..

Will it work long term, is the experiment/gamble here to stay ?

I am of mixed feelings ... I prefer 21 feet of grunt on the bench ... but new era, new game, new tactics ...

 

[The better Robbo]

Okay, we have all by now had a fair look at the ploy of having Walker come on late in the 1st half for a run in the middle .. best guesses are that it is part of the new age attacking strategy ... expansive creative footy ... upside when it works, and I can see it working well against most teams, is lots of points. ... downside is the better teams will take advantage when he is on and target concentrated attack through the middle where he is defending ..

Will it work long term, is the experiment/gamble here to stay ?

I am of mixed feelings ... I prefer 21 feet of grunt on the bench ... but new era, new game, new tactics ...

Definitely works against the lesser teams but come finals time we need a tight middle. Id nearly go 3 props and Lawton as my bench. Keppie can cover backrow if needed.

 

[manlyfan76]

I think the fact that Des' kept him on the bench for so long is a sign that it's a luxury for when we have a roll on.
Not when we need defence.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

I’m not sure it’s a winner , might work sometimes but in finals it will be an absolute disaster.

 

[Remy]

against Melbourne it don't work.

 

[40 years an eagle]

against Melbourne it don't work.

I thought we all knew that before the team was picked. All but Des it seems.

 

[MissKate]

Oh boy, not another walker thread, can we pls merge with the other walker tome

 

[Pittwater Legend]

Walker for me either plays centre or doesn’t make the 17 at all. I’m not a fan of him coming off the bench in matches that are expected to be an arm wrestle.

Lawton at 14 is a winner

 

[Fonzarelli]

When Bellamy brought on harry grant we should of put lawton on not walker. Poor guy has to tackle all the big boys and is targeted. I feel sorry for him he has become peachy

 

[Brisbane Tragic]

Gee I must say I wasn't just looking at Walker all night but I certainly didn't notice him missing tackles and he added a spark in attack which is what we need and need to beat Melbourne. He has his poor days and his defence can be suspect but last night he certainly wasn't our issue.

 

[Shoe1]

against Melbourne it don't work.

Only if 50-50 possession. 40-60 not so good.

 

[Nordburg]

Gee I must say I wasn't just looking at Walker all night but I certainly didn't notice him missing tackles and he added a spark in attack which is what we need and need to beat Melbourne. He has his poor days and his defence can be suspect but last night he certainly wasn't our issue.

Not sure how many people said he was ordinary last night but he’s not going to make an impact against a big forward pack like the Storm.He may not of missed many tackles,stats say 2,but he doesn’t stop them in their tracks and they make plenty of yardage running at him.As for his attack,I think unless he has an impact the way Brandon Smith does for the Storm,he’s stifling the playmakers

 

[Simonmyers11]

Walker for me either plays centre or doesn’t make the 17 at all. I’m not a fan of him coming off the bench in matches that are expected to be an arm wrestle.

Lawton at 14 is a winner

I personally disagree. Not sure where Lawton fits into a fully fit 17 now? He can tackle, better defence than Walker, but walker is not too bad defending in middle (not great at centre) He offers more spark than Lawton and other point of attack ( whether we need that is questionable? ) Dont know, he can cover the outside backs for injury Walker, so i guess he is on the bench for that as well, Lawton very versatile as well. Not sure. Definitely need Paeska to recover and Keppie will take a spot in the 17, see him as a finals type player and need another performance like he put on against the eels earlier this year - absolutely smashed them. Lawton is a real goer though, would add some quality defence which is vital in finals.

Have to wait and see, could be more injuries yet before finals start

 

[EOL now nesting on the GC]

I thought we all knew that before the team was picked. All but Des it seems.

Ah here we go again. All the fault of that washed up no ideas coach again. Jeez some of you lot love to be negative.

 

[Shoe1]

I’m looking forward to daily debates on this topic.

If anyone would like to recap three weeks of the same argument let’s meet over at the “faith in walker” thread.

 

[40 years an eagle]

Ah here we go again. All the fault of that washed up no ideas coach again. Jeez some of you lot love to be negative.

Not at all buddy, you will have to go a long way to find Des criticism from me He is giving Walker EVERY chance to show his worth and that is his prerogative. Which is what I do have a problem with Des doing. I personally would not have re-signed Walker LAST time if it were my call.

 

[Brisbane Tragic]

Not sure how many people said he was ordinary last night but he’s not going to make an impact against a big forward pack like the Storm.He may not of missed many tackles,stats say 2,but he doesn’t stop them in their tracks and they make plenty of yardage running at him.As for his attack,I think unless he has an impact the way Brandon Smith does for the Storm,he’s stifling the playmakers

I am so not a Walker apologist - I try and watch games with an open mind. Is Walker a good citizen - nope. But I watch how he plays and how everyone plays each game and base my views on what happens out there. I get disgusted and frustrated and say lots of swear words when any of them make errors. Now since Walker has come back from injury he has had one terrible game when he did stifle the attack and one average game. He has had some games where his defence was lots of ram grabbing but in the main he has played pretty well off the bench. Last night I never saw Walker being steamrolled - I never saw him once stifling the playmakers. Twice he almost punched holes straight through the Storm and once he did make a half break. Does he crunch people in defence - nope and there will be times he does get steamrolled. Last night the reality was he was pretty good. He played too many minutes last night but that was forced because of the Paseka injury. Maybe Des should have used Lawnton instead for straight after Paseka. Walker is really dangerous in my view about 15 minutes before half time and full time when defences are tiring and he can use his speed. He is still quick and he has that x factor. But yes people need to comment on the reality of how he played or anyone plays not create some vision to suit their predetermined view.

 

[mjb136]

Lawton should have been on longer than 4 minutes. Walker is not an effective 14. Either plays centre or not in 17.

 

[manlyfan76]

I am so not a Walker apologist - I try and watch games with an open mind. Is Walker a good citizen - nope. But I watch how he plays and how everyone plays each game and base my views on what happens out there. I get disgusted and frustrated and say lots of swear words when any of them make errors. Now since Walker has come back from injury he has had one terrible game when he did stifle the attack and one average game. He has had some games where his defence was lots of ram grabbing but in the main he has played pretty well off the bench. Last night I never saw Walker being steamrolled - I never saw him once stifling the playmakers. Twice he almost punched holes straight through the Storm and once he did make a half break. Does he crunch people in defence - nope and there will be times he does get steamrolled. Last night the reality was he was pretty good. He played too many minutes last night but that was forced because of the Paseka injury. Maybe Des should have used Lawnton instead for straight after Paseka. Walker is really dangerous in my view about 15 minutes before half time and full time when defences are tiring and he can use his speed. He is still quick and he has that x factor. But yes people need to comment on the reality of how he played or anyone plays not create some vision to suit their predetermined view.

There was a funny moment where Walker was making a tackle and got bumped off but another Manly player tackled walks and the storm player.

 

[BOZO]

I am so not a Walker apologist - I try and watch games with an open mind. Is Walker a good citizen - nope. But I watch how he plays and how everyone plays each game and base my views on what happens out there. I get disgusted and frustrated and say lots of swear words when any of them make errors. Now since Walker has come back from injury he has had one terrible game when he did stifle the attack and one average game. He has had some games where his defence was lots of ram grabbing but in the main he has played pretty well off the bench. Last night I never saw Walker being steamrolled - I never saw him once stifling the playmakers. Twice he almost punched holes straight through the Storm and once he did make a half break. Does he crunch people in defence - nope and there will be times he does get steamrolled. Last night the reality was he was pretty good. He played too many minutes last night but that was forced because of the Paseka injury. Maybe Des should have used Lawnton instead for straight after Paseka. Walker is really dangerous in my view about 15 minutes before half time and full time when defences are tiring and he can use his speed. He is still quick and he has that x factor. But yes people need to comment on the reality of how he played or anyone plays not create some vision to suit their predetermined view.

I agree with you on Walkers performance but to say he is not a good citizen is unfair if we do not really know the person .

The fact is just because some people have had a few issues does not mean they have a bad heart and are bad citizens .