Walker to 5/8 our X factor for finals

[mave]

Walker was my MOTM today, given the circumstances.

 

[Technical Coach]

Imagine he was

Treat others how you would like others to treat you, maybe Walker was making a point of this by offering early ball at times.

 

[The Wheel]

Dylan was pretty good today - good luck to him. Given Des plenty to think about

 

[1969]

I thought Walker was everywhere, always dangerous, and his kicking game was excellent. He is a powerful kicker of the ball, and although I was against his re-signing, today showed his value, especially on less money!

 

[Deleted member 26876]

Walker needs to be tested against the Scumos.
He made a few tackles against a weakened side and never chased the ball

Good to see him tackle though

He’s hitting his straps now so that he can get another win over the storm in melbourne and give it to their fans

 

[susan]

Well. If he is to remain in First Grade it will have to be as a 5/8th because he's not as good a centre as Suli or Parker.

Walker is a better centre than both of them.Judging a class player on a few ordinary games is frought with danger.

Its amazing that every other player seems to get cut slack and performances excused in the past couple of years because Barrett coached them but Walker gets no such leniency. Parker was awful under Barrett and everyone excuses that because of Barrett.

Under Des Walker will really develop. People forget he is still very young and only a couple of years older than Parker and Suli.

Parker was just ok today in attack with ordinary hands and looked awkward but runs good tough lines and was great in defence .He has a real ability to snuff out dangerous situations with good reads and technique .Good solid player now who won’t let you down. Suli has a lot more upside than Scorpio but not in Walkers class yet. But who knows down the road ....

 

[Luke_m]

I think right now Parker is a better centre than walker !!! I hope des keeps walker at 5/8 against the storm so we can see how he goes against the best team in the comp

 

[eagerbeaver]

I said in the match day thread people were getting a bit carried away by his performance today and i still stand by that.
Dont get me wrong, im a fan - and thats probably why am being so critical.
He was good, but not outstanding.
Would be great to see him have a breakout game in the next few weeks, leading into the semis. That would be a real confidence booster.
By breakout, i mean carving opposition apart - the type of form that saw him as Dally M centre of the year two seasons ago.

 

[Paw93]

Croker is direct but lacks class and is tough.

I liked what I saw with Croker on the field. We had a couple of beautiful passes between the spine in the second half where in the past Cust has floated it forward but Croker and Walker were able to execute well.

 

[ShanghaiEagle]

Changed my cross to a like ... I was pleasantly surprised at DWs passing and kicking today - mea culpa and kudos to the OP

 

[awolindy]

I think there was a space to fill in the back line today against Parra. DW by his own admission has not been in great form, so putting him at 5/8 just got his hands on the ball a bit more which is a great way to help build form. It seems to have been a successful choice by Des.

 

[Bring back the.... Biff?]

I think there was a space to fill in the back line today against Parra. DW by his own admission has not been in great form, so putting him at 5/8 just got his hands on the ball a bit more which is a great way to help build form. It seems to have been a successful choice by Des.

He was great always dangerous and really troubled the opposition. His short side raids and passing selection was great and will only get better. He had some nice inside balls to turbo as well. He was twice as good as cust or croker in the halves today. He is an x factor player and he sucks at left center so 5/8 is a good move after all

 

[robbiea]

Credit where credit's due ,good game by him today.

 

[Waz13]

Walker was good and I’d keep him there. However, let’s not get too carried away. We destroyed Parra for 60 odd minutes and they were never in the contest. Their two tries early were fairly lucky ones and against the run of play really in terms of the contest. It’s easy as a half playing behind a side that’s tearing apart the opposition through the middle. I’m keen to see how Dylan goes at 6 v Melb. In saying that you can only play what’s in front of you and Dylan did that and some!

 

[Briza]

Walker was strong in attack and defence, his kicking was fairly good also

 

[manly al]

Probably best at present to go by the adage of picking your best 17 available Manly players and find positions for them and if that means keeping Walker at 5 / 8 , so be it , Personally when i fist noticed that Walker would be playing 6 and Parker "s inclusion , automatically thought that this would boost the side and results seemed to bear this out . Just an influencial performance from Walker all round yesterday and with Tom , Suli and Parker outside of him and Walker :s slick passing and threatening running game , seems to provide a real attacking edge and playing strength

 

[bringbackbeaver]

I know Walker's struggled in halves before, and I am a fan of Cust.

But to catch up to Storm/Roosters/Rabbitohs and overtake them in GF, we need Walker at 5/8. Here's why:

1. Walker is a big match player who thrives on early ball.

2. Parker is a must to return to centre. We'll need his defence in GF against Mitchell/Manu and co. I like Cust but think Parker adds more to team overall.

3. Not sold on Cust / Croker / LG for big games. Cust still a work-in-progress.

4. We have a real coach who can make Walker in halves work.

5. The emergence of Fainu gives us another ball-player in team,

6. Walker has that X Factor you need in big games.

I know most will disagree with this but backline with Walker at Six and Parker at three looks stronger.

I think you're spot on. Walker to 6 is the only way Parker gets in the side. Can't compare Walker under Trent to Walker under Des. Look at Suli, Parker, Siro, even Turbo/Jurbo under Des VS under Trent. We played fast good footy for the first 60 mins yesterday and if that means keeping the same side, wouldn't you do that? I like Cust but think he's having a bit of first year complex and getting a little tired. Walker was rubbish under Trent but was good yesterday and Parker was very good. I think once Api comes back Fainu and Waddell to the bench along with Paseka and Gski

 

[47MVEagle]

I know Walker's struggled in halves before, and I am a fan of Cust.

But to catch up to Storm/Roosters/Rabbitohs and overtake them in GF, we need Walker at 5/8. Here's why:

1. Walker is a big match player who thrives on early ball.

2. Parker is a must to return to centre. We'll need his defence in GF against Mitchell/Manu and co. I like Cust but think Parker adds more to team overall.

3. Not sold on Cust / Croker / LG for big games. Cust still a work-in-progress.

4. We have a real coach who can make Walker in halves work.

5. The emergence of Fainu gives us another ball-player in team,

6. Walker has that X Factor you need in big games.

I know most will disagree with this but backline with Walker at Six and Parker at three looks stronger.

Kudos to you @1978

I disagreed with your original post but you seem to have predictive powers & yesterday's game has proved you correct.

I hope Des keeps Walker at 5/8th & Parker at centre, it shores up our defence on that side & hopefully provides the spark in the halves we've been needing - that's no slight on Cust & Croker, but as @manly al said above, pick your 17 best players first then find positions for them.

 

[Go manly]

In some ways , I think teams would be coached to exploit Dwalks when he plays centre but think they would be coached to try and combat him when playing in the 5/8th position

Certainly went well yesterday and received high praise and accolades from the players in the sheds and had a grin from ear to ear

It’s good to see him happy and I know that one game is just that but we all asked him to step it up and he did

Tick number 1 for Dwalks
Let’s see tick number 2 this week and see how The storm halves handles speed and power

 

[47MVEagle]

Actually, I think I only disagreed with @1978 because someone was running a campaign to break the record of number of "dislikes" a post could get