{"id":667324,"date":"2026-05-13T02:58:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T02:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/667324\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T02:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T02:58:15","slug":"angus-crichton-fires-back-at-critics-of-sam-walkers-defence-for-origin-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/667324\/","title":{"rendered":"Angus Crichton fires back at critics of Sam Walker\u2019s defence for Origin"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Angus Crichton has backed Sydney Roosters teammate Sam Walker to handle the defensive rigours of State of Origin if the halfback is handed a first Queensland jersey by Maroons coach Billy Slater.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old is in contention for a senior interstate debut at Accor Stadium with Tom Dearden sidelined by an ankle injury.<\/p>\n

Slater will finalise his squad after Magic Round in Brisbane on Sunday night and the vacant No.7 jumper appears to be a three-way contest between Walker, veteran Roosters teammate and former Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans and New Zealand Warriors revelation Tanah Boyd.<\/p>\n

Walker has impressed as the Roosters have risen to third on the premiership ladder heading into their game against North Queensland at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday. Crichton dismissed any suggestion the playmaker\u2019s defence is not up to the level required in Origin.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think at the start of his career that would probably be a fair assessment, but I think at the minute he\u2019s stepping in and he\u2019s doing a really good job,\u201d said Crichton, speaking alongside Walker at the launch of this weekend\u2019s Beer, Footy, Food Festival at North Sydney Oval.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a half, you get so much traffic sent at you, so there\u2019s going to be times when you\u2019re going to make mistakes, but that\u2019s when your teammates are there to help you and support you.<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Walker and Angus Crichton launch the Beer, Footy, Food Festival at North Sydney Oval.James Brickwood<\/p>\n

\u201cDefending alongside him, I can vouch for him. He\u2019s a solid defender and he works really hard for his teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rugby-bound back-rower will be running at his club colleague if, as expected, he is included in Laurie Daley\u2019s NSW side and Walker gets the nod from Slater.<\/p>\n

Former Queensland forward Corey Parker raised questions about Walker\u2019s defence after he misread a play near his own line last Friday that resulted in a try for the Gold Coast Titans.<\/p>\n

According to NRL statistics Walker has missed 25 tackles in nine games this season, but there are 39 players with a higher count, among them Boyd, with 32, and fellow Queensland selection candidate Ezra Mam, who tops the list with 48.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think my game is definitely progressing in a really positive way and I\u2019m feeling really, really confident in my footy at the moment,\u201d Walker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s out of my control, but I know if the call came I\u2019d be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker previously spent time in Slater\u2019s extended squad before the deciding match of the 2022 series to gain experience.<\/p>\n

Related Video<\/p>\n

Walker\u2019s uncle Chris made six appearances on the wing for Queensland in the early 2000s. He scored four tries in the 2001 series, which is best known for Allan Langer\u2019s return from England to lead the Maroons to victory in game three.<\/p>\n

Chris Walker\u2019s Origin career was also remembered for NSW trainer Nathan Brown\u2019s \u201cWalker\u2019s on!\u201d warning to the Blues when he came off the bench for game one of the 2002 series in Sydney.<\/p>\n

Walker was born exactly a month after that clash so his Origin heroes arrived later.<\/p>\n

\u201cJonathan Thurston was always special \u2026 I definitely looked up to him a fair bit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I think \u2018GI\u2019 [Greg Inglis] and those sorts of players. As a Queenslander, they had such an impact on your childhood as a whole there. I definitely looked up to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Queensland playmaker Cameron Munster says he has full faith in coach Billy Slater to find the right replacement for Dearden.<\/p>\n

\"CameronCameron Munster and Tom Dearden with the Origin shield in 2025.Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever Bill picks,\u201d Munster said on Wednesday when asked who is the right man for the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been in the game a long time and knows what rugby league is all about. He watches games religiously, more than anyone I\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll pick the right people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Munster has struggled in recent weeks as his Melbourne Storm lost seven straight games, but he roared back into form with two tries in the Storm\u2019s 44-16 win over Wests Tigers on Sunday.<\/p>\n

He said the win was especially important for coach Craig Bellamy who was recently diagnosed with a form of neurodegenerative disorder.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt boosts everyone up with a win, especially the old fella as well,\u201d Munster said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a morgue in there anymore, it\u2019s been pretty good, so hopefully we can stay away from those morgues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Munster wants to back up that performance with another strong display against Parramatta at Magic Round in Brisbane this Saturday.<\/p>\n

\"MelbourneMelbourne Storm star Cam Munster (bottom middle) during a team photo.AAPIMAGE<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the hardest critic of myself and I know that my performances haven\u2019t been up to scratch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can only control my performances, I can\u2019t rely on the coaches or selectors to say that because he\u2019s played Origin for the last 10 years, he will get picked. I just have to come out and play confident footy.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Bellamy, Munster said he wouldn\u2019t be changing how he interacted with the legendary coach who plans to remain in the role for the rest of 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to get a conversation out of Bellyache,\u201d Munster said.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Panthers<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s stubborn. He\u2019s one of those hard, blue-collar guys who you ask how he is going and he says \u201cI\u2019m fine\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t give you much. I just leave him alone as you\u2019d just end up in an argument with him. I love him, we are all behind him and we still believe in him. He\u2019s still got so much to give rugby league.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s our coach. He\u2019s forever a Melbourne Storm coach, he\u2019s go down as one of the best and whatever he decides to do, that\u2019s his decision and I\u2019m sure he will make the right one.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"ChrisChris Barrett<\/a> is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"RoyRoy Ward<\/a> is a sports writer, live blogger and breaking news journalist. He’s been writing for The Age since 2010.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":667244,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-667324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=667324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/667244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=667324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=667324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}