PLAYER Billy Walters

[Big Pete]

That's fine if you're happy with 9th place.

The solution is not to get in a position where the answer is "we scraped the barrel and this is the best we found, so let's keep doing it." We have scouts working throughout the year. This is their job. Not us fans. Our job is to complain.

I'm happy with progress, which is what Billy brought. Considering the circumstances, I'm happy to persevere for another year and see how the landscape changes.

Also, I'm fine with him as a 14. I thought he played the relief dummy half role well and he can play in the halves at a pinch. All I said is that he's a better dummy half than half and his worst two performances happened to be in the halves.

 

[Big Pete]

Thoughts on Mozer Pete?

2023 will be too early for him.....?

He's a good prospect but I wouldn't be pinning all our hopes on him.

I'd be looking to give him a game just for his own development. Otherwise, I'd give him a year in QCup and just let him get used to the grind there.

 

[McHunt]

in 2023 there will be 17 teams in the comp ... maybe 6 of them will have a high level NRL hooker.

which is why the Smoothy signing was a smart strategy

Smoothy was ranked 6th in his position at the Storm. He's a good Cup hooker. Walters is a fair Cup five-eighth, who was shoehorned into 9/14 because that's the only position his father could guarantee him a place in the first grade side. The argument for him being a utility is based around him being a bench reserve who can play 6, 7 or 9, none of them particularly well. The trouble with that is he wasn't used as a cover reserve, he was given at least 40 minutes in the spine every week, all season.

now i am begging for Billy to start at 9 ... please baby jesus make it happen

Careful what you wish for. The surreal notion that Kevvie would bring his child with him and install him in our spine was roundly ridiculed as preposterous. Now look where we are.

 

[McHunt]

I'm happy with progress, which is what Billy brought. Considering the circumstances, I'm happy to persevere for another year and see how the landscape changes.

Also, I'm fine with him as a 14. I thought he played the relief dummy half role well and he can play in the halves at a pinch. All I said is that he's a better dummy half than half and his worst two performances happened to be in the halves.

Why are you fine with him at 14? It means 40 minutes of a basic bitch spine that will never win a premiership?

 

[McHunt]

So a lot of the spine players were unavailable heading into round 1 ... Walters was last man standing for 6 at that point

Tyson Gamble says hi.

 

[Big Pete]

Why are you fine with him at 14? It means 40 minutes of a basic bitch spine that will never win a premiership?

I don't agree and I've already provided my reasoning through out the thread.

 

[McHunt]

I don't agree and I've already provided my reasoning through out the thread.

You described him as a "relief dummy half" apparently in complete denial that he played more minutes at hooker than any other player at the club this season. Unlike Turpin, Paix and Mozer, he played zero minutes in the QLD Cup. He had a guaranteed first grade position. We never saw a Paix/Turpin combo, for example.

 

[Big Pete]

You described him as a "relief dummy half" apparently in complete denial that he played more minutes at hooker than any other player at the club this season. Unlike Turpin, Paix and Mozer, he played zero minutes in the QLD Cup. He had a guaranteed first grade position. We never saw a Paix/Turpin combo, for example.

Yes we did.

Did you skip the part where I described him as a valuable member of the team when he went to dummy half? It was the initial post that bumped the thread after all.

 

[McHunt]

Yes we did.

Did you skip the part where I described him as a valuable member of the team when he went to dummy half? It was the initial post that bumped the thread after all.

I don't disagree but we are talking about going from always shit to not always shit, and Billy was only one of the components in that short burst of sunlight. He was also a component in us going from verging on good back to worse than we were at the beginning of the season.

We are arguing over someone we all agree is the weakest link in our spine, who is currently unsigned. Do we really need to sign him and go through all that again? We all know he will end up at 9 for the second half of every game if he's back on the roster, and our attack will look as impotent as it did with him there this season. Forget about him being some kind of utility. He's the second half hooker, and Kevvie will **** around with combinations of him and someone else all season like he did with the rest of the spine for the last two years.

Time to break the chain.

 

[Big Pete]

I don't disagree but we are talking about going from always shit to not always shit, and Billy was only one of the components in that short burst of sunlight. He was also a component in us going from verging on good back to worse than we were at the beginning of the season.

We are arguing over someone we all agree is the weakest link in our spine, who is currently unsigned. Do we really need to sign him and go through all that again? We all know he will end up at 9 for the second half of every game if he's back on the roster, and our attack will look as impotent as it did with him there this season. Forget about him being some kind of utility. He's the second half hooker, and Kevvie will **** around with combinations of him and someone else all season like he did with the rest of the spine for the last two years.

Time to break the chain.

I don't agree that Billy was responsible for the dip in form towards the end of the year. There were other players who failed to replicate their form earlier in the season and the loss of players like Carrigan, Farnworth etc. affected the team.

Go through what again? A Turpin/Walters combination? It's gone - the Walters/Paix combination showed promise and I'd be willing to give it another shot.

 

[BroncsFan]

Tyson Gamble says hi.

Don't think he was available for round 1... covid had ripped through the squad leading up to it.

Same with Reynolds and also Paix (I believe??)... Herbie was out with it the week before as well because he was going to play fullback in the trial

 

[Manofoneway]

Mchunt hates Billy because he got picked behind the coaches son as a kid. Billy had not been the worst on the field this year in any sense. He's been more than serviceable

 

[Foordy]

Mchunt hates Billy because he got picked behind the coaches son as a kid. Billy had not been the worst on the field this year in any sense. He's been more than serviceable

He hates Billy because he took his boy's (Turpin) place in the team

you know, i always thought Billy would be a handy player ... I didn't realise he was a gun. I mean he must be because McHunt's agenda's are against the gun players (Herbie) while he loves the shit players (Turpin)

 

[theshed]

I don't agree that Billy was responsible for the dip in form towards the end of the year. There were other players who failed to replicate their form earlier in the season and the loss of players like Carrigan, Farnworth etc. affected the team.

Go through what again? A Turpin/Walters combination? It's gone - the Walters/Paix combination showed promise and I'd be willing to give it another shot.

I don’t mean to ask this as a debate about Walters but I’m genuinely curious where you would rank Walters compared to the rest of the 16 first choice 9’s in the comp?

 

[Dexter]

I'm not getting the Billy hate either. He's a solid bench hooker. If Smoothy or Paix can step up for 60 mins then I'm fine if he is in the 14 jumper.
One thing being overlooked so far is he has only played 35 NRL games so there is a possible upside with that experience under his belt and improved combinations with Reynolds and Ezra.

 

[Broncapz]

Billy is perfectly fine and what you need out of a depth player. In a perfect world he's not in the 17 without injuries. I won't entertain any wobblies about extending him.

 

[theshed]

Billy is perfectly fine and what you need out of a depth player. In a perfect world he's not in the 17 without injuries.

This seems to be the crux of it. He isn’t a depth player and some are concerned about that

 

[Cult]

This seems to be the crux of it. He isn’t a depth player and some are concerned about that

But the only reason he isn’t a depth player is because the other two players shit the bed.