PLAYER Billy Walters

[Cult]

Do you want to re-sign him knowing his father will almost certainly run him out every week, be it at 9, 14 or some other position? Ignore the fantasy he's injury backup in case 10 other players are out. Do you want another rerun of the last season or are you ready to move forward?

If Smoothy, Mozer, Jock Madden and Paix aren’t playing better than him, I don’t want him to be out of the team. Those players have to be better than him to get the spot. This whole “guaranteed” bullshit you’re running with is ridiculous. He wasn’t guaranteed a spot. He was just not the absolute worst hooker in the comp or fitter/not injured. It’s that simple. The other options have to be better than him to be in the team and last year they weren’t, next year who knows? I’m hopeful. But there isn’t someone on that list for 2023 that jumps straight ahead of him either.

 

[Dash]

my two cents on Danny Levi is that people have short memories.

for almost his entire stint he people were screaming that he was in the team, it wasn't until he had a good game (maybe two) at the very end of his stint here, that people wanted us to re-sign him ... but by that time was too late

I'm really enjoying the irony of Billy Walters being shit because no other NRL team wants him, yet we should have kept Danny Levi... who no other NRL team wanted.

 

[McHunt]

I'm really enjoying the irony of Billy Walters being shit because no other NRL team wants him, yet we should have kept Danny Levi... who no other NRL team wanted.

It's not irony. It's that Danny Levi was miles better at hooker than Billy, and that still factors in that we wanted someone better than Danny. Instead, we got a bait and switch of Billy Walters.

The controversy here is against the low aimers who already know his lack of flair and basic skills foredooms us to yet another year waiting for the premiership rebuild to happen.

We don't have to sign him again. If you can't see it's going to end in tears, you have a far rosier set of glasses than me.

 

[McHunt]

He’s definitely in the top tier of Super League hookers this year. His running suits their competition. Unfortunately it doesn’t translate in the NRL unless you’re an ex-beach sprinter. Same goes for Parcell. They wouldn’t be any good over here and I’ve laughed for years about people claiming they’re good options.

Yet you would sign Billy Walters again, an inferior option foisted upon us by his father, because you imagine there's no one who could be possibly better? I don't recall a conversation last year where we had to sign Billy Walters because we needed him at hooker.

 

[Cult]

Yet you would sign Billy Walters again, an inferior option foisted upon us by his father, because you imagine there's no one who could be possibly better? I don't recall a conversation last year where we had to sign Billy Walters because we needed him at hooker.

I don’t think I’ve said I’d sign him or that I wanted to sign him previously. Simply that using the facts in front of us, he wasn’t the worst option keeping Paix out. Turpin was. Walters is copping the criticism that Turpin deserves.

Also I’m not imagining that there’s nobody better. I’ve asked you 87 times and you can’t give me a straight answer. There is currently nobody available that has shown that they are better that is affordable. I don’t like it, but it’s the case.

 

[Dash]

It's not irony. It's that Danny Levi was miles better at hooker than Billy, and that still factors in that we wanted someone better than Danny. Instead, we got a bait and switch of Billy Walters.

The controversy here is against the low aimers who already know his lack of flair and basic skills foredooms us to yet another year waiting for the premiership rebuild to happen.

We don't have to sign him again. If you can't see it's going to end in tears, you have a far rosier set of glasses than me.

Danny Levi sucks, and all 16 NRL clubs agree. Talk about aiming low.

 

[Big Pete]

It has honestly shocked me how far people on here are going to avoid just saying Walters is a poor dummy half option and the club has done poorly to find ourselves in this position. That’s all I’m saying and I’ve had pages of pushback. It’s one thing when it’s Foordy and Pagey but usually reasonable posters have started jumping onboard too. It’s silliness

This is missing some nuance. I believe the Woolford comparison I made goes a long way to explaining the situation. Is Woolford the best dummy half in the competition? No, not even close. Did Woolford make a positive contribution to the Raiders and earn his place in the squad? Absolutely, so did Billy at dummy half.

The arguments I've seen is that he was never dropped all season. OK, when did he deserve to be dropped at dummy half? The concensus was that Turpin should not have found his way back into the team, that was the player that should have made way, which is why his name is still being brought up.

It's a different conversation entirely, but comments like Paix is 'easily' better than Walters doesn't have a strong basis. There was one game against the Bulldogs where Paix made a big difference, otherwise they just worked well as a tandem with Paix providing fresh legs. Cory is still raw and unfortunately after the Raiders game his season was a write off.

Again, Paix finished the season training with the rehab group with a knee brace on.

 

[Cult]

This is missing some nuance. I believe the Woolford comparison I made goes a long way to explaining the situation. Is Woolford the best dummy half in the competition? No, not even close. Did Woolford make a positive contribution to the Raiders and earn his place in the squad? Absolutely, so did Billy at dummy half.

The arguments I've seen is that he was never dropped all season. OK, when did he deserve to be dropped at dummy half? The concensus was that Turpin should not have found his way back into the team, that was the player that should have made way, which is why his name is still being brought up.

It's a different conversation entirely, but comments like Paix is 'easily' better than Walters doesn't have a strong basis. There was one game against the Bulldogs where Paix made a big difference, otherwise they just worked well as a tandem with Paix providing fresh legs. Cory is still raw and unfortunately after the Raiders game his season was a write off.

Again, Paix finished the season training with the rehab group with a knee brace on.

Love you BP

 

[simplythebest]

You opened the “Talk about Billy Walters” thread then was disappointed by having to read people discuss Billy Waters.

Any time wasted is on you there, bud.

You opened the “Talk about Billy Walters” thread then was disappointed by having to read people discuss Billy Waters. Any time wasted is on you there, bud.

No. I opened the 'Talk about Billy Walters' thread and instead read 3-4 pages of people arguing and insulting each other.

 

[theshed]

This is missing some nuance. I believe the Woolford comparison I made goes a long way to explaining the situation. Is Woolford the best dummy half in the competition? No, not even close. Did Woolford make a positive contribution to the Raiders and earn his place in the squad? Absolutely, so did Billy at dummy half.

The arguments I've seen is that he was never dropped all season. OK, when did he deserve to be dropped at dummy half? The concensus was that Turpin should not have found his way back into the team, that was the player that should have made way, which is why his name is still being brought up.

It's a different conversation entirely, but comments like Paix is 'easily' better than Walters doesn't have a strong basis. There was one game against the Bulldogs where Paix made a big difference, otherwise they just worked well as a tandem with Paix providing fresh legs. Cory is still raw and unfortunately after the Raiders game his season was a write off.

Again, Paix finished the season training with the rehab group with a knee brace on.

Without going through every single game …


Round 24:
5 missed tackles 4 errors
Round 21:
5 missed tackles

Round 16
6 missed tackles 1 error

Round 15
6 missed tackles 1 error


Round 14
6 missed tackles

 

[Big Pete]

I don't think cherry picking one stats category is a fair reflection of his performance. Round 24 is one example, but he was asked to play out of position in a team that was falling apart and didn't have a bench.

42 posters disagree with you on Round 14 including yourself by the way.

BHQ Player of Round Fourteen

Pick your three best players from Saturday's match against Canberra Raiders and discuss below. You can change your mind until the poll closes on Monday afternoon.

broncoshq.com

You thought he was one of the Broncos best, but now you think he deserved to be dropped after that performance? How bizarre.

 

[theshed]

I don't think cherry picking one stats category is a fair reflection of his performance. Round 24 is one example, but he was asked to play out of position in a team that was falling apart and didn't have a bench.

42 posters disagree with you on Round 14 including yourself by the way.

BHQ Player of Round Fourteen

Pick your three best players from Saturday's match against Canberra Raiders and discuss below. You can change your mind until the poll closes on Monday afternoon.

broncoshq.com

You thought he was one of the Broncos best, but now you think he deserved to be dropped after that performance? How bizarre.

I don’t think he deserved to be dropped after any of those performances. I was pointing out a significant flaw in his game.

I think we’ve gotten into the weeds a bit here and what my actual thoughts are have been lost in the back and forth.

Here are my actual thoughts:

1. Walters would not be at the club if his dad wasn’t coach. Regardless of what we think of his performance, I believe this to be accurate.

2. Walters, through no fault of his own, should never have been the first choice 9 at the club and this has been a significant flaw in the clubs retention and recruitment. Multiple people are to blame for this.

3. Walters did okay at hooker and played as well as expected. Walters didn’t deserve to get dropped but as said above, the club shouldn’t be in a position where Walters is our best hooker.

4. Over the last 3 seasons better options have been available and those saying there weren’t are not correct. The cap isn’t an excuse when there have been multiple signings that we prioritised above hooker.

5. Walters didn’t deserve to be dropped but neither did Paix. If one of them deserved to be dropped I would suggest it be Walters based on his poor defence. In my opinion, our attack looked significantly better when Paix would come on.

6. Smoothy is a welcomed upgrade on Turpin.

7. Walters extending on a 1 year low income deal to play depth while the club desperately tries to find an answer to the dummy half dilemma is fine. I would argue that outside of Niu, Walters may be the lowest priority re-signing at the club and his contract should reflect that.

 

[john1420]

Do you want to re-sign him knowing his father will almost certainly run him out every week, be it at 9, 14 or some other position? Ignore the fantasy he's injury backup in case 10 other players are out. Do you want another rerun of the last season or are you ready to move forward?

Yes, I do want to re-sign him, on a base wage.
1 - He is good at starting and taking the sting out of the game, till Paix comes on and brings more energy and spark.
2 - He is excellent cover if he is the 9/14 and you lose ARey.
3 - If other 9/14 options are banging the door down, KW will not be able to select Billy over them; I honestly believe KW will make the right call either by integrity or being held accountable.
4 - He is cheap, solid injury cover in the halves if he is in reserves.
5 - He is dedicated, passionate and cheap; all teams (that have an enforced salary cap) need a number of these guys for balance.
6 - The fact his last name is Walters doesn't change the above points.

If other players should be in the team on form yet Billy continues to get picked over them, then I shall agree it is nepotism and either he needs to go or someone needs to reel KW in. But until that happens, and it hasn't happened yet, signing Billy to a base wage is good business.

And to anyone who thinks Billy has kept Paix out of the team this year, go back and look again.

 

[BroncosFever]

Walters was signed because he would be on bottom dollar and the club was coming out of a salary cap crisis, probably still is.

This talk about signing someone better, that's great in hindsight but then maybe we don't get Reynolds who undeniably has been the best signing the club has made in a very long time.

He's been serviceable, done a good job. He may even be better for it, I wouldn't back against it purely based on the name of the bloke leading the anti-Billy movement (he's got a good record of doubting the good ones).

 

[McHunt]

Walters was signed because he would be on bottom dollar and the club was coming out of a salary cap crisis, probably still is.

This talk about signing someone better, that's great in hindsight but then maybe we don't get Reynolds who undeniably has been the best signing the club has made in a very long time.

He's been serviceable, done a good job. He may even be better for it, I wouldn't back against it purely based on the name of the bloke leading the anti-Billy movement (he's got a good record of doubting the good ones).

Speaking of an anti-Billy movement, why do you think Ikin and Donuts haven't extended Billy yet?

 

[Cult]

Speaking of an anti-Billy movement, why do you think Ikin and Donuts haven't extended Billy yet?

Billy wants to prove himself and sign for one year but Ikin and DD are trying to lock him up for five years

 

[McHunt]

I don't think cherry picking one stats category is a fair reflection of his performance. Round 24 is one example, but he was asked to play out of position in a team that was falling apart and didn't have a bench.

42 posters disagree with you on Round 14 including yourself by the way.

BHQ Player of Round Fourteen

Pick your three best players from Saturday's match against Canberra Raiders and discuss below. You can change your mind until the poll closes on Monday afternoon.

broncoshq.com

You thought he was one of the Broncos best, but now you think he deserved to be dropped after that performance? How bizarre.

Hth

 

[Big Pete]

Thank you for clarifying your position, shed.

There are a couple of points here I'm still having trouble with.

You say there are multiple people to blame, yet you largely just blame Billy and Kev. Shouldn't you blame Cory Paix? If he was as good as you say he is (eg 'significantly, easily), wouldn't that be a commonly held opinion?

I want Paix to be successful and develop into a quality #9 but he hasn't shown anything other than promise. I wish I could agree with you that Paix outplayed Billy in that Tigers game and he retained the form he showed against the Bulldogs, but it was clear Paix wasn't the same after the Raiders performance.