Reece Walsh sparks insane Broncos move amid Sam Walker development: Good, bad, ugly of NRL Round 21
Walker starred in the Roosters' narrow win over Manly, while the Broncos hired extra security as their season hit an all-time low.
😃 The good: Sam Walker shows Roosters he can lead them to glory
😔 The bad: Broncos' finals hopes all but over as club hires extra security
😡 The ugly: Dragons crash down to earth against purring Panthers
Sam Walker shows Roosters he can lead them to glory
The Roosters must be approaching November 1 with some trepidation. That's the date Sam Walker is officially allowed to talk to other clubs about his future beyond 2025. And if you believe the whispers, the Broncos will go hard for the gifted No.7 as the ideal replacement for Adam Reynolds.
Walker is from Brisbane and his dad and two uncles both played for the club, so the link is an obvious one. Interestingly, the young half has resisted any move by the Chooks to seal his future before the November 1 deadline, indicating he wants to test the market.
Walker's class and mastery was on show again as the Roosters held off a fast-finishing Manly on Saturday night. He made one line break, laid on two line break assists, set up two tries and kicked five from six in the four-point win.
He's only 22 and still learning his craft after just three seasons in the NRL, but he is set to be a million-dollar-a-season player when he signs his next deal. The Roosters have no intention of letting him go and Walker seems very happy at Bondi.
The Broncos will be just as determined to get their man. Bring on November 1.
Broncos' finals hopes all but over as club hires extra security
Alarm bells rang this week when we read Brisbane had employed security guards and installed fencing to keep fans at bay during training sessions. The bouncers, dressed in Brisbane attire, are on hand to ensure things don’t get out of control as hundreds of supporters attempt to get up close and personal with the players at the club's Red Hill headquarters.
Fair enough if it was grand final week, but these rock star scenes are playing out during the home and away season on a regular basis. Call it the Reece Walsh effect or just passionate supporters doing their thing, but it does seem a little OTT for a team that has not really achieved anything to date.
And it's hard not to feel the hype is having an impact. The heavy home loss to a very good Dogs side on Saturday was Brisbane's seventh defeat in the past eight games.
They started the game like they thought they could cruise through the 80 minutes and were given a massive touch up by a more committed, ruthless and polished opponent.
They have lost five games at Suncorp Stadium this year – a stunning statistic given the fortress it once was.
Sitting 13th with six rounds to go, Kevvie Walters' team is next to no chance of playing finals football.
Some players are hardly earning their pay cheques, leaving the coach with some tough decisions to make over the off-season.
Dragons crash down to earth against purring Panthers
The look of anguish and anger on Ben Hunt's face as one of his cut-out passes flew over the sideline summed up the mood of Dragons fans as they walked out of WIN Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Up against premiers Penrith before a full house in Wollongong, the Red V failed to land a single blow.
In the end, they were lucky not to concede the half-century as the Nathan Cleary-inspired Panthers did what they pleased in the big 46-10 win. The Dragons have made some great strides this year under new coach Shane Flanagan and are still in the top eight hunt despite the huge loss.
But this was a performance straight from the bad old days, giving loyal fans PST. Poor defensive reads, low energy levels and clunkiness in attack – all three boxes were ticked on a day the club honoured its greats on old boys' day.
Not surprisingly, Flanagan labelled it the worst performance of the season. "It was really disappointing…big day, big crowd, playing against the premiers and we got off to a bad start," he said. "Everything they did well, we didn't do."
The Red V play finals-bound Melbourne, Canterbury and Cronulla over the next month. On the evidence of this display, they will be hard pushed winning any of those games to re-enter the top eight.
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Asked about the play-offs, the pragmatic Flanagan declared: "We don't deserve to be there if we don’t pick our act up and play better than we did today. "We're a better football team than that." We're about to see.
Check back in every Monday throughout the NRL season for Adam Lucius' 'Good, Bad and Ugly' column.
