It’s time for Queensland to give Sam Walker the No.7 jersey |
It’s time for Queensland to give Sam Walker the No.7 jersey
May 14, 2026 — 5:00am
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.
Remove items from your saved list to add more.
Sam Walker was born for the Origin stage, and it’s time for Billy Slater to give him the No.7 jersey.
Walker is unpredictable, he’s a great attacking halfback, and the bigger the occasion the better he will go.
It will be a test for Walker because he’ll be defending on the right, up against Hudson Young and Latrell Mitchell, but he’ll be defending alongside Roosters teammate Robert Toia, which will help.
I think the idea that Kalyn Ponga could wear the No.7 for Queensland is absolutely laughable.
If you want to have a look at how Kalyn defends, go back and look at the try Latrell scored against the Knights a few weeks ago. Latrell ran over the top of him, and Kalyn got his head in the wrong position.
We’ve seen Kalyn try and defend in the halves before, when the Knights had him play at five-eighth in 2023, and he was knocked out cold against the Tigers at Leichhardt oval.
Billy Slater could go back to Daly Cherry-Evans, but I think his time is up, and it’s time for new blood.
Ben Hunt is another option, but I think his versatility makes him the perfect No.14, and we’ve seen that over the years – most recently for Brisbane.
Warriors halfback Tanah Boyd is another player who’s been floated, but I think it’s too big a jump in class and Tanah has only found his form in the past 18 months, while the other potential is North Queensland’s Jake Clifford. Jake is a big body, has a good kicking game, he chases kicks, and he’s strong in the air, but I’d still be going with Sam Walker.
I really like Sammy. He’s a great character, he’s plenty of fun, and he’s a typical halfback: cheeky,........