Several halves - from the biggest earners to unlikeliest match-winners - are stepping out of the shadows and into the NRL spotlight.
In the bowels of Allianz Stadium last Friday night, after ground staff had unsuccessfully tried to drain the $828 million venue’s surface using pitchforks, Sam Walker was raving about the slop.“Muddy, slippery, big puddles, personally, I love it,” Walker said, a day after coach Trent Robinson had waxed lyrical about his growing relish for the “weight you have to carry” as a No.7.
Out of the shadows: Sam Walker, Jarome Luai and Luke Brooks lead a host of halves with plenty to play for in September.since Nicho Hynes broke his leg and ruptured ankle ligaments, to the point there’s now a genuine question about where the unheralded utility fits when the Dally M winner returns. “His attitude towards defence and the dirtier areas of the game , he’s really improved his mentality of wanting to get stuck in,” teammate Connor Watson says of the next phase in Walker’s development.Luai also thrived with his first extended tasteHe wears the No.7 again - starting against Canberra on Saturday - now the game’s best player is nursing a dislocated shoulder, but it’s hard to recall a side coping better without a marquee player of Cleary’s status.
His dominance in Cleary’s absence gives Penrith a luxury few rivals could entertain - they don’t need to rush their Origin halfback back for week one of the finals if he’s not quite right. Luai has proven he can steer the premiers and then some.
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