“Should they be persistent with him? Should they keep holding him back the way they are? Or give him a bit more of a taste?”
Those are the three questions posed by Braith Anasta as the debate continues over the role young halfback Joey Walsh should have at the Manly Sea Eagles.
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Rapidly progressing through the club’s ranks, Walsh’s performances in the lower grades have intensified discussions around when – not if – he will be given a more regular taste of first-grade football.
“I would have liked to see them give Joey more of a taste off the bench,” Anasta said on NRL 360.
“Give him more of an opportunity, as they might need him and I don’t care about age.
“If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.”
And that conversation was sharpened on Wednesday when the club decided to hand him a two-year contract extension until the end of 2029, keeping him away from rival teams, including the Perth Bears and PNG Chiefs.
“He’s waiting in the wings,” co-host Luke Keary said on NRL 360.
“I was in the same situation as a young half, you’ve got a few older blokes in front of you and you’ve got to bide your time, but at some stage the cream rises and he’ll take over.
“It’ll be interesting, does he go in the six there? Does he go into the seven? It’s an interesting story over the next (12 months).”
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Having gone through a similar situation early in his own career, Keary believes that the 20-year-old shouldn’t be rushed into the NRL at the moment due to the great form of the current halves pairing of Luke Brooks and Jamal Fogarty.
But that situation could quickly change if results or their consistency falters in the coming weeks.
“The results this year, when Kieran’s been there, you have to hold him back,” Keary added.
“Those two have done a terrific job since Kieran’s taking over.
“To be honest, at the start of the year if you’d ask me I would have said it was Luke Brooks is the one under pressure and Joey Walsh fits in as a five-eighth and Jamal helps him with all the kicking.
“I feel that if he came in with Luke they would be a lot of responsibility with him there. They’ve got a decision to make in the next 12 months with Luke Brooks”
Not only has Walsh’s new deal created a dilemma in the immediate future but it also forces the Sea Eagles to think about their long-term halves picture and whether or not to retain Luke Brooks beyond 2027.
“I’m not sure why we always focus on Jamal. I know he’s the halfback and the number seven but they’ve got a guy there in the number six whose had a lot of footy and Luke’s only got 12 months left,” Code Sports’ Brent Read.
“They’ve got a decision to make about Luke Brooks. We put all the focus and attention on Jamal and that’s unfair on Jamal.”