Sam Walker

[Vasco]

At the end of the day whether Sam was fit or not or whether Sam was off in the final game or not the Roosters would not have been able to compete with the top 5 teams this year.
Hopefully next year we can match the top teams.

But this thread is about Sam's poor game against the Sharks. It's not about whether we would have won the comp.

[Lockie]

Sam played the way he’s being coached to play . And it’s why they’re bringing DCE in . To teach Sam how to play the boring ,tuck it under , grind out the win type of football.
Sams not that sort of footballer . Never has been and probably never will be .
Robbo has the whole off season to turn him into the robot that he likes for a halfback . Interesting times ahead .

[Bates]

I guess the club will be officially announcing the DCE signing this week.

[bondi paul]

Walker likely would have played 100 games to date. The late Easts great Des O’Reilly said to me years ago that players come into their own after a 100plus games. Hopefully that is the case with Walker yet I am sceptical. He is an excellent player but I view him as a non team player.

[Rooster_6]

Sam played the way he’s being coached to play . And it’s why they’re bringing DCE in . To teach Sam how to play the boring ,tuck it under , grind out the win type of football.
Sams not that sort of footballer . Never has been and probably never will be .
Robbo has the whole off season to turn him into the robot that he likes for a halfback . Interesting times ahead .

Moving Walker to the left edge where Maloney & Keary (our creators before) have predominantly played suggests the complete opposite.

He will still be the dominant and on the ball half but I'm backing Savala & Rodwell to play the more traditional organising role.

[Bates]

Moving Walker to the left edge where Maloney & Keary (our creators before) have predominantly played suggests the complete opposite.

He will still be the dominant and on the ball half but I'm backing Savala & Rodwell to play the more traditional organising role.

The DCE announcement is imminent. Walker left edge. DCE right edge.

[Michael Jones]

At the end of the day whether Sam was fit or not or whether Sam was off in the final game or not the Roosters would not have been able to compete with the top 5 teams this year.
Hopefully next year we can match the top teams.

You never know though as they shot themselves in the foot - a rather poor performance one has to say and the Sharks were at their best.

If the Roosters won that game they would have knocked over the Raiders and be a much better opposition vs Melbourne Storm than the Sharks were.

The Sharks lack the so called x factor players and so called spine. Kennedy , Trindall , Hynes and Brealey are not what you would call a top notch spine capable of winning a comp.

The Roosters need to be better in the KPI's - can't win games for an example with 68% completion rates and 16 errors which is an ongoing issue when you look at games the Roosters lose - similar or worse stats.

[dice]

I have previously compared Walker to Thurston. Similarly lacking agility but also having that x-factor style of play. Thurston didn't really grow up and learn to manage a game until his late 20s.

IMO we were never going to wait that long for Sammy to grow up and the shift to 5/8th seems ominous.

[Steggles]

You never know though as they shot themselves in the foot - a rather poor performance one has to say and the Sharks were at their best.

If the Roosters won that game they would have knocked over the Raiders and be a much better opposition vs Melbourne Storm than the Sharks were.

The Sharks lack the so called x factor players and so called spine. Kennedy , Trindall , Hynes and Brealey are not what you would call a top notch spine capable of winning a comp.

The Roosters need to be better in the KPI's - can't win games for an example with 68% completion rates and 16 errors which is an ongoing issue when you look at games the Roosters lose - similar or worse stats.

There was a bloke that was banned from here a while ago. He used to bang on about KPIs incessantly. Not bothering with the disguise anymore?

[DP1990]

⚠️⚠️⚠️ HYPOTHETICAL ⚠️⚠️⚠️

Putting contract details aside for a moment - we all know Sam Walker is signed through 2027, but let’s play out a “what if” scenario.

Imagine both Sam Walker and Isaiya Katoa (Dolphins) express via their respective managers to club management (Roosters and Dolphins) that they’re feeling homesick, Sam wanting to return north, and Katoa wanting to come back to Sydney (he was a Penrith junior and I assume he has family still in Western Sydney). The Dolphins then approach the Roosters with a potential player swap: Sam Walker for Isaiya Katoa.

As Roosters fans and members, would you:

• Entertain the idea of a straight swap ?
• Prefer to release Walker and back our young halves like Hugo Savala or Toby Rodwell to step up ?
• Or stand firm and keep Walker despite the “homesick” angle + whatever ?

How do you think such a move would impact our long-term playmaking depth and team structure ? Would a potential future combo between Rodwell and Katoa work or are they too alike ?


Note: THIS IS ONLY A HYPOTHETICAL !

[Bates]

You never know though as they shot themselves in the foot - a rather poor performance one has to say and the Sharks were at their best.

If the Roosters won that game they would have knocked over the Raiders and be a much better opposition vs Melbourne Storm than the Sharks were.

The Sharks lack the so called x factor players and so called spine. Kennedy , Trindall , Hynes and Brealey are not what you would call a top notch spine capable of winning a comp.

The Roosters need to be better in the KPI's - can't win games for an example with 68% completion rates and 16 errors which is an ongoing issue when you look at games the Roosters lose - similar or worse stats.

Here's an idea. Why don't you use your old Avatar and change your username to King S*lvo as there's nothing Red can do about it.

[Steggles]

⚠️⚠️⚠️ HYPOTHETICAL ⚠️⚠️⚠️

Putting contract details aside for a moment - we all know Sam Walker is signed through 2027, but let’s play out a “what if” scenario.

Imagine both Sam Walker and Isaiya Katoa (Dolphins) express via their respective managers to club management (Roosters and Dolphins) that they’re feeling homesick, Sam wanting to return north, and Katoa wanting to come back to Sydney (he was a Penrith junior and I assume he has family still in Western Sydney). The Dolphins then approach the Roosters with a potential player swap: Sam Walker for Isaiya Katoa.

As Roosters fans and members, would you:

• Entertain the idea of a straight swap ?
• Prefer to release Walker and back our young halves like Hugo Savala or Toby Rodwell to step up ?
• Or stand firm and keep Walker despite the “homesick” angle + whatever ?

How do you think such a move would impact our long-term playmaking depth and team structure ? Would a potential future combo between Rodwell and Katoa work or are they too alike ?


Note: THIS IS ONLY A HYPOTHETICAL !

Interesting hypothetical question.

For me, I’d take the player that wanted to be here, which in this case is Katoa. We currently live in fear of Sam eventually wanting to go home, not so much because of footy, but to be close to family.
They are both exceptional talents and can do freakish things, but maybe Katoa is more consistently good and he’s certainly a better game manager than Sam. I think Katoa might be the better player at this stage of their careers. Straight swap for me.

We yet don’t know if Rodwell will actually make the transition to NRL, but if he plays anything like Katoa then that would be a bonus.

[Thirteen]

⚠️⚠️⚠️ HYPOTHETICAL ⚠️⚠️⚠️

Putting contract details aside for a moment - we all know Sam Walker is signed through 2027, but let’s play out a “what if” scenario.

Imagine both Sam Walker and Isaiya Katoa (Dolphins) express via their respective managers to club management (Roosters and Dolphins) that they’re feeling homesick, Sam wanting to return north, and Katoa wanting to come back to Sydney (he was a Penrith junior and I assume he has family still in Western Sydney). The Dolphins then approach the Roosters with a potential player swap: Sam Walker for Isaiya Katoa.

As Roosters fans and members, would you:

• Entertain the idea of a straight swap ?
• Prefer to release Walker and back our young halves like Hugo Savala or Toby Rodwell to step up ?
• Or stand firm and keep Walker despite the “homesick” angle + whatever ?

How do you think such a move would impact our long-term playmaking depth and team structure ? Would a potential future combo between Rodwell and Katoa work or are they too alike ?


Note: THIS IS ONLY A HYPOTHETICAL !

Who the f**k gets homesick. These people are grown men. Sydney to Brisbane is an hour away FFS.

[Thirteen]

Here's an idea. Why don't you use your old Avatar and change your username to King S*lvo as there's nothing Red can do about it.

I agree. No point coming on here and pretending to be someone else.

Long Live The King!

[Michael Jones]

Talking about being homesick - I do wonder though how PNG will fill their squad with somewhat quality players - living full-time in a compound that would not be everyone's cup of tea — would players with partners and kids take them with them to PNG ? - hard to say.

Even Perth would pose a challenge - Players Partners often have their own careers and if kids are involved and settled in school, then it's not always a good thing to uproot them and take them to a new place away from their comfort zone.

I remember Johnathon Thurston's story about telling his wife he would be signing with Penrith. Her reply was you'll be going by yourself," she wasn't keen on moving and losing her family and friends support network.

Nowadays, it's much more complicated as players at even the top salary level will never earn enough to retire early and not have to work again. It's not like overseas sports, where the earning capacity of players can mean they can retire early and never work again as a result of the money they earnt when playing especially when they can defer payments to when they retire from a sport.

Still, one needs to have something though if retiring from a sport such as a job lined up and hobbies/interests.

You are a long time retired.