Sam Walker says he’s ready for the Origin arena, but two of Queensland’s most decorated former players aren’t so sure the halfback is built for the brutal welfare that defines the game’s greatest stage.
The 23-year-old is firmly in the frame to make his Queensland Maroons debut when coach Billy Slater unveils his game one squad on Monday morning.
Tom Dearden’s injury has blown the halfback race wide open, with Walker now jostling alongside Daly Cherry-Evans, Jake Clifford, and Tanah Boyd for the right to pull on the Queensland halfback jersey.
There’s no question that Walker is a magician with the ball in hand, one of the most inventive playmakers in the competition.
At 78kg, he carries one of the smallest frames in the NRL, and rival teams have made a habit of targeting him all season.
He’s been credited with 25 missed tackles of his 153 total attempts (128 made) this year with an 83.7% tackle efficiency.
For comparison, Clifford has missed 18 tackles of his 182 total attempts (164 made), giving him a 90.1% tackle efficiency, and Boyd has missed 32 of his 209 tackle attempts (177 made), giving the Warriors playmaker a 84.7% tackle efficiency.
The doubts grew louder on Wednesday when Queensland great Corey Parker zeroed in on a specific moment from the Roosters’ weekend clash with the Titans.
A missed tackle on utility Chris Randall gifted Gold Coast the first try of the game.
“Can Sam Walker get exposed in defence for Queensland? He could,” Parker was quoted in Brisbane’s The Courier-Mail.
“Take nothing away from Sam Walker; he is a terrific player, but he is a heads-up, instinctive type of halfback.
“He loves to play what’s in front of him, but if you have enough creativity around you, sometimes you just need a halfback to facilitate your role.
“If that’s what Billy is after, which is what I am looking at, maybe Sam Walker is not that guy.
“One thing you will always see Billy talk about is habits. It’s what you do at training and in games, that’s the bread and butter of what you fall back on as a player. If you have lazy habits defensively, Billy will spot that.”
Former Queensland enforcer Sam Thaiday joined the chorus when he weighed in on Wide World of Sports QLDER.
“The thing that worries me about Sam Walker, they are just going to send bodies at him all day,” Thaiday said.
“He’s going to have to have two sets of shoulder pads on, I think, to play State of Origin.
“Will he play State of Origin? One hundred per cent, at some point, because he is too good not to.
“But at the moment I’m leaning more towards Jake Clifford filling that role.”
There’s a subplot to all of this, as Walker and his Roosters teammate Daly Cherry-Evans will come face-to-face with Clifford on Saturday evening at Magic Round in Brisbane, adding an extra layer of intrigue to what should be a fascinating contest.
Speaking at North Sydney Oval on Wednesday, where he helped launch the Beer, Footy, Food festival ahead of its weekend of NSW Cup action, Walker brushed off the criticism with quiet confidence.
“My hand is always up,” Walker said.
“Not at all (concerned about my defence). I’m working as hard as I can on my football; I’m doing everything I can do in my control at the moment.
“Everyone is going to have their own opinions. I can’t control that, all I can do is keep working hard at training and keep doing my best performances on the weekend.
“(Angus Crichton) has made it hard for me at training the last couple years, having that big body I have to handle there. It’s been really good, if you can tackle players like that, it makes tackling anyone on the weekend a bit easier.”
It’s a fascinating dynamic at the Roosters, with Crichton widely expected to be picked for New South Wales, which could see him lining up directly against one of his club mates in Walker or Cherry-Evans.
The rugged backrower, for his part, is backing both of his halves to hold their own on the big stage.
“Obviously, I’d back both of them… Sammy is a special player, the way he plays the game not many can,” Crichton said.
“Neither of them would look out of place, I’d love to play against one of them.
“Yeah (I run at them at training), definitely, and I always get Sam to help me try to isolate the (opposition) half. It’s something I’m probably trying to drill into him even more.
“He knows what I want to do as a player.”
Thaiday is tipping the Cowboys playmaker Clifford to step into Dearden’s shoes for game one, and made the case that the North Queensland five-eighth is playing the football of his life.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had options in the halves,” Thaiday said on QLDER.
“There are some guys in form at the moment. You look at Sam Walker at the Roosters, he’s really playing and the way he’s elevated his game having DCE next to him. DCE hasn’t ruled himself out either, Jake Clifford up at the Cowboys.
“I thought (Clifford) is having the best season I’ve ever seen him play, he’s playing with such confidence at the moment. And even looking back to earlier in the season when Tom Dearden was still trying to get into the season after last year, I thought Jake Clifford really stood up for that Cowboys team in a few of those games.
“It’s so good to have so many options at the end of the day.
“We need a goalkicker too, because Val Holmes came out last week and said he’s not playing in the form that warrants a Queensland jersey… we are looking for a goalkicker so (Clifford) is definitely a great option.”
The clock is ticking, and Slater’s call about who will play for the Maroons in Game One can’t come soon enough.
The Maroons head to Sydney to play the NSW Blues in Game One on Wednesday, May 27, at Accor Stadium.
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