How can you not admire what Sam Walker has done this week?
Not only has the cocky little halfback had the kahunas to stare down the NRL’s most powerful club chairman, Nick Politis, at the negotiating table.
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But he has done it in the very same week Walker is preparing to go toe-to-toe with the game’s best player, Nathan Cleary, in Thursday night’s blockbuster.
Muhammad Ali famously said there’s nothing wrong with bragging if you can back it up.
Well, Walker has backed himself to back it up.
So he has told the club he wants to put contract talks on hold until after the season so he can go off and win them a premiership.
Some will see it as a sign of a young man being greedy and getting ahead of himself.
But I absolutely love it.
Can you remember the last time a player stood his ground against the Roosters in a standoff like this?
And I don’t imagine too many rival clubs would be shedding tears for the Roosters given the outside superstars they’ve somehow squeezed into their salary cap over the years.
Yet Walker also made this decision this week knowing it would put huge pressure on him over the final month of the regular season, and even more once the finals arrive.
But instead of being frightened by the challenge, he’s backed himself to show he can dance under the spotlight.
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It shows enormous self-belief.
And it sets up an absolute belter when Walker runs out against Cleary in what is shaping up to be the game of the season so far.
Cleary has also told Penrith that he wants to wait until the end of the season before entering his negotiations.
But his situation is very different in that Cleary has given the Panthers great service over more than a decade and has four premiership rings to prove it.
Walker has been at the Roosters since he was 16 but is only now coming into his best footballing years.
And he is about to enter the biggest stretch of his career with all this outside noise following him into every game.
How he handles that pressure will ultimately determine just how much bargaining power he has come October.
But Walker, like any off-contract player, is absolutely entitled to test his worth.
And if reports of the Roosters’ offer are accurate, it’s around $1.1 million to $1.2 million-a-season with ratchet clauses for the current Queensland halfback.
To put that in perspective, Mitchell Moses is already earning around $1.5 million at Parramatta and Moses turns 32 next month.
Dylan Brown is also on about $1.3 million at Newcastle and, at 26, he still hasn’t won a premiership either.
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If all three were on the open market tomorrow, I know who I’d be lining up to sign first.
The problem for the Roosters is they can’t necessarily afford to pay Walker what another struggling club might because they have a stacked roster to look after.
And we’ve seen what can happen when battling clubs throw ridiculous money at one marquee man but don’t have enough salary cap left to put the right pieces around him.
Moses at Parramatta is a great example of the risk that comes with being the highest-paid player in a struggling team.
Jarome Luai might also look differently at his decision to leave Penrith for $1.2 million a season at Wests Tigers if he had the benefit of hindsight.
That’s the choice that may well confront Walker down the track if he ultimately ends up leaving the Chooks.
The Broncos could become an option depending on what happens with the seemingly out-of-favour Ezra Mam, while Matt Burton’s future at the Bulldogs has also been the subject of much speculation.
But we all know the biggest threat is likely to come from the expansion clubs.
You’d imagine Mal Meninga’s Perth Bears would pay Walker in the vicinity of the $1.5 million-a-season Cleary and Moses are currently earning just to make a statement.
And while Cleary is clearly the PNG Chiefs’ No1 target, Walker would be a hell of a back-up option.
With the tax-free salary and monster third-party opportunities, the Chiefs could put together a package that would blow the Roosters out of the water.
TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 30: Sam Walker is set to hit the open market.Source: Getty Images
But they tell him money isn’t everything, and they’d be right about that.
Because a young bloke in the prime of his life would also have to ask what his world would look like spending the next few years living in a compound in Port Moresby instead of by the beach at Bondi, playing for a club that expects to challenge for premierships every year.
That’s why the Roosters’ offer is about more than money.
I also understand why Walker believes he’s being lowballed.
Which brings us back to Thursday night.
Walker wanted to back himself.
Well, here comes Cleary.
After that comes the pressure of wearing the No7 jumper in September.
Some will also point to the fact that while Walker aimed up in Origin I and II, he fell well short in the decider.
But again, what I admire is that rather than retreat, he has doubled down.
If Walker can hold his nerve and lead the Roosters to a premiership, his value will only skyrocket.
Whether the Roosters are willing to pay more will be up for them to decide.
But Walker has rolled the dice.
And as Ali said, there’s nothing wrong with bragging if you can back it up.
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SHARKS NEED TO PUT CHOKERS TAG TO BED
I can’t wait to see how Cronulla responds to last week’s shock loss to St George Illawarra.
It led to some suggestions the Sharks’ habit of choking at the wrong time of the season could again come back to bite them.
They now take on the Raiders with a potential top four spot on the line, given the Sharks and the Dolphins are both on 32 competition points.
Don’t forget it was the Sharks who ended Canberra’s season in the finals last year.
It would be at least some consolation for the Raiders to get one back here, especially after the drama that surrounded the Corey Horsburgh brain explosion last week.
TIGERS FANS FACING THE ULTIMATE INSULT
It’s also a huge weekend for Benji Marshall and Wests Tigers when they take on the Dragons at CommBank Stadium on Sunday.
While the Tigers will at least avoid the wooden spoon this year, it would still be as close as you get to rock bottom going down to the bottom placed team for the second time this season.
Don’t forget the Dragons also beat the Tigers 24-10 back in round 18.
After a season that started with so much hope, the Tigers are now on a run of seven straight losses.
I’d imagine it would be the ultimate insult to their fans if they lose this one.