Walker likely final puzzle piece

[Grimmace]

Walker likely final puzzle piece
By Karl deKroo
February 06, 2007

REFORMED wing Chris Walker is likely to be the final addition to the 2007 Gold Coast roster, with the club set to bankroll the remainder of its salary cap toward a serious bid for fellow flyer Lote Tuqiri in 2008.

Following the release of wings Steve Turner and Brian Carney from their contracts, the fledgling franchise has room to manoeuvre under its first-year salary cap.

But rather than spending money for the sake of doing so, Titans managing director Michael Searle said his club was happy to take a wait-and-see approach.

"If we were to have an injury to a key player then our position might change through the year," Searle said last night.

"But as it stands we will look to have a squad of around 32 players, from which we will draw out the top 25.

"The coaching staff are fairly happy with the balance of our squad at the moment."

Walker, who has been training with the Titans in an effort to win a contract after leaving Melbourne mid-season last year, seems certain to added to the squad.

The Titans would be the former State of Origin speedster's fifth club, after stints at Brisbane, South Sydney and Sydney Roosters.

Walker needs to trial well to secure what is likely to be a heavily incentive-based deal.

"Chris has jumped through all the hoops we've asked him to so far," Searle said.

"He has been quite impressive."

Source: Courier Mail

[DIEHARD]

I'd really love Chris to hit form and mature as a person. He used to be my favourite player.


"But as it stands we will look to have a squad of around 32 players, from which we will draw out the top 25.

Should mean there will be some classy players running around for Ipswich, Burleigh and Tweed Heads!

[Steve Dangerous]

I'm very interested in seeing Walker in action.

I used to be a big fan of him too, but met him when i was a fair bit younger and he didn't seem to be a very nice bloke. However, reports seem to be his attitude and determination have been turned up and i'm more that willing to cheer him on for another crack at it.

[PROMETHEUS]

Agree;hes probably lucky he has the raw pace otherwise his first grade career was probably over :')

[Parra Petty]

Agree;hes probably lucky he has the raw pace otherwise his first grade career was probably over :')

Spot on there Prometheus - he is currently blitzing all and sundry in the sprints at Titans training.

I will be honest, I never really liked Walker - I always thought he was a bit arrogant, and the way he left Souths was deplorable. But, I really hope he picks his act up, because there is no doubting that he can be withtin the competitions leading tryscorers again this year.

Good luck Chris!:happy:

Parra Petty

[Lowdown]

Spot on there Prometheus - he is currently blitzing all and sundry in the sprints at Titans training.

Deja vu

Heard it all before. Walker is one of those players that is continually having to work his butt off in training in order to secure a contract, a starting spot or whatever.

The truth is that he can't sustain it. I suspect the coaching staff talk his training up to the media to keep him positive and on-board. They know that it is a fine line between an engaged, positive player and the lazy, disinterested player that we've come to know all to well.

Yes he has speed - but he lacks the discipline to put in 100% week after week. To concentrate as much on his defence as the attacking portion of the game.

But...The Titans backline may be different to the Storm's where opportunities may present itself and he may get that elusive starting spot. But call me cynical...but Gold Coast lifestyle and Chris Walker could be an interesting recipe...for a headline.

[Parra Petty]

Deja vu

Heard it all before. Walker is one of those players that is continually having to work his butt off in training in order to secure a contract, a starting spot or whatever.

The truth is that he can't sustain it. I suspect the coaching staff talk his training up to the media to keep him positive and on-board. They know that it is a fine line between an engaged, positive player and the lazy, disinterested player that we've come to know all to well.

Yes he has speed - but he lacks the discipline to put in 100% week after week. To concentrate as much on his defence as the attacking portion of the game.

But...The Titans backline may be different to the Storm's where opportunities may present itself and he may get that elusive starting spot. But call me cynical...but Gold Coast lifestyle and Chris Walker could be an interesting recipe...for a headline.

Hey Lowdown,

I would have agreed with your entire post - six months ago!!:ok: But having witnessed Walker at training first hand, I can honestly say that he is really putting in the hard work to try and make what will probably be his last shot, a success.

I beleive that with Walker having his family now extremely close to him has matured and settled his personal life somewhat, and being out of the limelight of Sydney is a GOOD thing. You must admit that Walker was playing some decent footy at the Storm last year, and the only reason he could not crak a permanent first grade position was that he had Slater, Inglis, Webster, King and Turner in front of him.

As I said, I have never really been a big fan of Walker either, especially the way that he treated Souths with disdain, but if he can knuckle down and continue his current attitude, than I see no reason why he will not be one of the first players picked for the Titans.

Cheers,

Parra Petty

[Grimmace]

Walker may be a bolter for Titans
Luke Turgeon
08Feb07

FORMER Origin flyer Chris Walker has reached the final hurdle in his quest to re-enter the National Rugby League.

All the 26-year-old winger needs to do to secure a spot in the Titans top squad is simply 'play well' when he lines up for the Gold Coast in the three pre-season trial matches in coming weeks.

Titans coach John Cartwright said he would decide whether or not Walker, who is only on a training and trials contract with the NRL new boys, will be offered a new deal following the final pre-season clash against Penrith at Gold Coast Stadium on March 2.

"The thing with Chris, we spoke about what he needed to do for us to be able to offer him something and he has done all of that," said Cartwright.

"Now we just need to see him on the field and see how he goes."

The Gold Coast received criticism after including the rugby league bad boy in their squad in November, with many believing it was in stark contrast to the club's clean cut recruitment policies.

But Cartwright said that so far his faith in Walker had been completely repaid.

There hasn't been a hint of the off-field brushes with the law that have dotted his career and Walker has so far declined all media interviews, preferring to keep his head down and work hard under the radar.

"He is focusing on rugby league at the moment and it is good," said Cartwright.

"It is what we asked him to do.

"His discipline is fantastic and his work off the field has been good.

"We have received a lot of positive emails from people from occasions where he has mixed with the public on behalf of the Titans. He has done everything and more than we could have possibly asked."

The Titans threw Walker an NRL lifeline following his split with Melbourne midway through last season.

If successful in gaining a contract, the Gold Coast will be Walker's fifth club in six years, following stints at Brisbane (99-02), Souths (03), the Roosters (03-05) and the Storm.

"He hasn't played NRL consistently for a fair while," said Cartwright, who first worked with Walker at the Roosters, when he was assistant coach to Ricky Stuart. "And in this competition things can change rapidly.

"We need to get him out on the field, give him three hard games and see how he handles it."

Realistically, even if Walker performs half decent in the trials he is expected to be offered a Titans jumper in 2007.

Following the departure of first choice wingers Brian Carney and Steve Turner during the pre-season, someone of Walker's experience would prove invaluable for the Titans out wide.

Walker's career statistics speak for themselves, with the speedster racking up 69 tries in 126 NRL matches.

Having starred for Queensland in 2001 and 2002, Walker has also said previously that he believes he is still capable of cutting it at Origin level.

"We are in no rush, we will get through the three trials and then I will assess it," said Cartwright. "He has been a good, positive member of the squad.

"It is a good atmosphere to train in and they have all come here prepared to work really hard.

"He has been a part of that like the rest of the guys."

Source: GC Bulletin

[Lowdown]

Hey Lowdown,

I would have agreed with your entire post - six months ago!!:ok: But having witnessed Walker at training first hand, I can honestly say that he is really putting in the hard work to try and make what will probably be his last shot, a success.

Yep - I remember heading down to Storm's pre-2006 training sessions and Walker was "training the house down" (to quote Bellamy) and certainly was putting in the hard yards.

Yes there was Inglis, Turner, Slater, King etc but the reality is that Inglis missed a few games, Slater more than a few (like 11), King was out for Origin, Webster had some injuries and Geyer is 31 years old! and still - Walker managed only a few appearances before disintegrating spectacularly with personal issues (again) and walking out on the club. 21 yo Steve Turner who was injury prone, never played Origin and Matt Geyer 31 yo who has seen faster days both managed to easily hold onto their wing positions in place of the one time QLD rep speedster. He had every chance to crack it, but couldn't.

I'm sorry but if we apply this rule of thumb:

1 occurence = incident
2 occurences = co-incidence
3 occurences = pattern
4 occurences = UNDENIABLE

Then Walker I'm afraid is well and truly into the undeniable state of being problematic. Certain people will quickly re-right their careers after one mishap, or two perhaps. They will knuckle down and learn from their mistakes. This guy doesn't seem to learn - or he does, then promptly forgets. He's just not consistently driven to perform at the highest level. I think like Mark Phillapoussis (sic) he's has much potential, but lacks the little things that you need to sustain and build success.

I would hate to see the Titans as being Walker's 6th club in 7 years that he's left.

[Parra Petty]

Yes there was Inglis, Turner, Slater, King etc but the reality is that Inglis missed a few games, Slater more than a few (like 11), King was out for Origin, Webster had some injuries and Geyer is 31 years old! and still - Walker managed only a few appearances before disintegrating spectacularly with personal issues (again) and walking out on the club. 21 yo Steve Turner who was injury prone, never played Origin and Matt Geyer 31 yo who has seen faster days both managed to easily hold onto their wing positions in place of the one time QLD rep speedster. He had every chance to crack it, but couldn't.


Hey Lowdown,

Matt Geyer (27 games with 11 tries) and Steve Turner (26 games plus one off the bench with 18 tries) were always going to be the Storms first choice wingers. Matt King (21 games) and Jake Webster (18 games) were always going to be the Stroms first choice centres. Billy Slater (15 games) and Greg Inglis (19 games) were always going to be first choice fullbacks. Remebreing that Melbourne finished minor premiers by a long shot losing only 5 games all year, than why would Craig Bellamy change a winning formula?

Walker left in August for personal reasons (his long distance, high profile relationship was not working out), yet he still filled in for 7 games throughout Origin season, which is the exact reason why the Storm offered him a contract in the first place. With all that talent in place and firmly entrenched ahead of him, how could Bellamy justifiably promote Walker to first grade, considering the form of the Storm backline?

Sure, Walker has a record of leaving clubs, but who hasn't? He left Brisbane for a lucrative contract at Souths - who hasn't? He did the dirty on Souths, which was both amatuerish and reeked of arrogance. He moved onto the Roosters, where he played well, and did have a few off field indiscretions, but this was not the reason that the Roosters did not offer him another contract. Walker and Melbourne both split on amicable terms he had personal issues, the Storm had a contract upgrade to offer Turner and could use Walker's money), so really, the excuse that he walks out on clubs is a bit rich.


As I said earlier, six months ago, Iwould have agreed whole heartedly with your line of thinking, but I beleive everybody deserves at least one chance, and to me, Walker has not put one foot out of place at the Titans yet. I say give the guy a chance - he obviously has talent, and after losing Carney and Turner, than I think that Walker could be just the winger that the Titans need.

Cheers,

Parra Petty

[Lowdown]

Hey Lowdown,

Matt Geyer (27 games with 11 tries) and Steve Turner (26 games plus one off the bench with 18 tries) were always going to be the Storms first choice wingers.

Matt King (21 games) and Jake Webster (18 games) were always going to be the Stroms first choice centres.

Steve and Jake - a shoe in for their starting spots? Hardly. Turner had played a handful of games for the Storm. Webster was an emerging talent but hardly a star. Both players would have had Walker in contention for their spots. Its only with the benefit of hindsight that Turner had a great season, and so did Jake. No one at the start of the season had the crystal ball - and Walker simply was not up to their standard as the season progressed. I distinctly remember Walker saying he had an Origin jersey as one of his goals...talk about dellusions of grandeur!

Yes he was a capable sub, and scored a good try or two (and a great covering tackle against Rooney down in Adelaide) - but he's just not at the same level.


so really, the excuse that he walks out on clubs is a bit rich.

I didnt say he walks out on 'clubs' - I said he is undeniably problematic. He did walk out on the Storm though. He had a contract and asked for a release and the Storm just happened to be quite happy to provide one. Just like Turner walking out on the Titans (although he never really walked in...).


I say give the guy a chance

Hey - why not 6 or 7....come on, seriously. Why can't you be honest enough to say that he's had enough chances. That we expect nothing to come of him, but if it does then we'll all be happy. However, the odds are stacked against him, and its up to him to prove them wrong. It just seems to me that Titan supporters are desperate to see their team do well (and I think they will go ok btw) that they have the rose-colored glasses on with Chris Walker and everything is just beautiful etc etc. History counts for something here and that means just don't get too excited about Walker.

He has the dubious honour of being the only footballer with any type of talent to come down to Melbourne and not improve under the coaching of Bellamy, Dean Lance and co. It wasn't due to injuries, it was due to his mindset.