Sam Walker is not a Million dollar Player

[mightyrooster]

Sam is barely 22 years old. Show some patience. He still has lots to learn and development to go through. We lose against the top ranked team and all of a sudden we need to sack every player.

[Rooster_6]

He has shown signs of development in the skill area of organising this year. Last night was a step backwards as a team as we reverted to old habits of overplaying our edges, trying to score off every play and failing to build pressure both in yardage and transitions.

Given that's his role in the team then he deserves critique for failing to control the way we played and the tempo of the game.

However to say he's not a million dollar player because at 22yrs of age he hasn't developed in areas of the game that don't come naturally to him is nonsensical.

If he hit the open market tomorrow half the comp is offering him 1m a season. Not because of his ability to organise but because of his ability to create oppruntities and points for his side.

No player in the comp has more try involvements this season than Sam Walker. Let me repeat that for you, no player in the comp has more try involvements than Sam Walker... at 22yrs old.

Listen to any great half and they will tell you game management and organisation is a skill that came to them in the back half of their 20s.

Sam Walker is every bit a 1m dollar player and he's shown more than enough to earn our patience.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

Agree he's not a million dollar player atm. We've put all our eggs in the basket with Sam, we need to be patient and back ourselves.

He's had the best prep and education any young half could possibly have. Get into the system early, watch and learn as part of a highly professional club. Mentored by Cronk, playing and training with a champion like Keary and others.

Sam's talent that people seen early, was played without the real pressure of top grade footy and the game management demands of a first grade halfback. You can't fast track that too much.

His main attributes at present are some aspects of his kicking game.... i.e short attacking kicks and greatly improved goalkicking. His defence has definitely improved as well. Apart from that he probably doesn't spook defences that much...yet.

He's not quick or sharp with his feet unfortunately. But neither was Sterling or Johns and they did ok. It could still all come together for Sam, but could take some more years.

I look at our smaller halves (both this year and next) and really hope the littler men still have an ongoing effect in our game moving forward. It would be a shame if they were to fade out from the game.

We'll see...certainly can't deny the talent and youthful enthusiasm he brings to the game.

[ism22]

Thurston's too small for first grade and too much trouble to bother with :P

Losing one game doesn't mean we should be throwing millions at Hughes and Wishart to steer the ship instead of Walker.

Last night we were dominated all over the park by the #1 team on the ladder. We can debate the hows and whys to no end but I mean... are May, Leniu, Collins and Crichton useless? Is Watson useless? Such claims are just silly and unproductive.

---

FWIW my son's basketball team had their first loss ever today (they win by 30+ every week). Interestingly he had his best game ever defensively and kept them in the game while a heap of the usual heroes in attack struggled as the opposition's defence was good enough to stop them from just going it alone and scoring all over the place. They had the better individuals but the other team simply gelled better. Some great lessons were learned and all the parents (plus players) walked away feeling happy & more connected.

I suspect Easts are in a similar position. It's frustrating when a team with an inferior roster simply gels better than yours.

IMO this is the clock we're fighting against. Walker is likely gonna be QLD's counterpart to Cleary in years to come (remembering Cleary & Gus' "5 year plan" were laughed at for years while Pemriff struggled to even make the 8 despite Cleary supposedly being the next big thing and Pemriff having $$$ junior facilities). Defining how and when things will 'click' is impossible but we know what Walker can do. The clock's ticking for him to do it in 2024 against Melbourne and Penrith (two teams that already gel & have that momentum). The talent's there for us to disrupt them. We just need to keep learning our lessons.

Each loss to them puts us one game closer to a win (same with Origin - after game 1 most wrote off NSW's chances). It's simply frustrating as a fan KNOWING we have the right players but having this intangible factor of 'things not quite gelling' at play. It doesn't mean the team's cr@p and needs a drastic reshuffle of key personnel though.

[Bondicigar]

Definitely not more like 1.2 mil

[Bates]

We've offered Sam a 2 year deal worth $1.8 mill which is about right for where he is at imo.

[Inflictor]

The number of turncoats for Sammy and the team in the space of one week is a cracker.

The bandwagon is a little lighter today.

Can we get Coggy back please? I miss his passion.

FFS

[milanja]

We've offered Sam a 2 year deal worth $1.8 mill which is about right for where he is at imo.

Is that for years 2026&2027?

If it is, then I don’t think it will be nearly enough to keep him.

[Bates]

Is that for years 2026&2027?

If it is, then I don’t think it will be nearly enough to keep him.

Commencing next season. Sam will take it imo. He trusts the clubs judgement and knows that we will give him the big money when he's worth it.

[Kentucky_Fried_Rooster]

We've offered Sam a 2 year deal worth $1.8 mill which is about right for where he is at imo.

I read that as we will end up signing him for a million a season if we want him to stay.
The $900,000 is a starting point which happens in every negotiation, his manager wants more and the club want as low as possible.
If the club stick to that offer plenty of clubs will have no issue offering over the million with Brisbane at the front of the line.
A million a season he stays, $900,000 we risk him going elsewhere without anyone on the market that can take a club to the grand final.

[Bates]

I read that as we will end up signing him for a million a season if we want him to stay.
The $900,000 is a starting point which happens in every negotiation, his manager wants more and the club want as low as possible.
If the club stick to that offer plenty of clubs will have no issue offering over the million with Brisbane at the front of the line.
A million a season he stays, $900,000 we risk him going elsewhere without anyone on the market that can take a club to the grand final.

Let's say we offer Sam $1 mill a season. Broncos counter offer is $1.1 mill. Where do you draw the line?

[Jacks Fur Coat]

If it's any consolation to those worried about Sam being treated like an egg and poached...Nick has made it clear he wants him long-term. And when that happens...

[The Marshall]

We need to keep him. There are no other realistic options in the market, so if it’s a $1m to do it, then that’s what we need to pay.

[Easts75]

Love Sammy, he will end up being a great for us.

The only thing I'd like to see him do is play a little more direct occasionally,.engaging defenders and playing short

[Mickie Lane]

This is it. He’s the best young half in the game by a mile. If we don’t want to pay him $1m there would be close to 13-14 clubs that will. And then what? See how Sandon goes or another 19yo?

Walker will win us a comp. Might not be this year but it also might as well.

You hit the nail on the head.