At 33, it’s easy to make a case Walker is in the best form of his career. And if his good mate Latrell Mitchell overcomes his minor calf complaint to be fit for the crucial game two in Brisbane, it will only add to Walker’s pitch and give NSW a potentially lethal left edge. It would stoke up an attack which looked rudderless for a long time against Billy Slater’s maroon wall in Adelaide.
While many wanted a Nathan Cleary-Nicho Hynes halves union to start the series, it was always going to be an uneasy marriage for Fittler. They are full field playmakers who like to control teams from both sides of the ruck, and Hynes traditionally defends on the right, the same side of the field as Cleary.
‘If NSW are being outsmarted by Slater’s brains trust of Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston, then Walker can help level the ledger.’
Jarome Luai was an obvious choice, not just because of his understanding with Cleary, and he was one of NSW’s better players in a below-par effort to start the series.
But how much longer can Fittler persist with the Cleary-Luai combination?
Fittler has shown he is not afraid to wield the axe between games one and two if he needs to. Last year, there were five changes (although one was forced with Jack Wighton contracting COVID-19) from the first-up loss in Sydney for game two in Perth — and it worked a treat. The Blues won in a romp. He needs to find similar magic dust this year.
Walker is no stranger to the Origin arena, although he would rather forget his two trips in sky blue to Brisbane.
Cody Walker after the Blues were ambushed in game one of the 2020 Origin series in Adelaide.Credit: Getty
He had the ignominy of being hooked on debut in 2019 (and lost his spot for the next match) and then being a part of a NSW side who were like deer in the headlights in the COVID-postponed 2020 series finale. He would have been forgiven for thinking it might have been the last time he played at that level.
But of all the Rabbitohs pushing for a call-up in game two — Damien Cook, Campbell Graham, Keaon Koloamatangi — Walker’s name stands tallest.
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If NSW are being outsmarted by Slater’s brains trust of Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston, then Walker can help level the ledger. He’s openly spoken about his ambition to coach once his playing days are over, and his on-field IQ might be precisely what the Blues need in rugby league’s most hostile arena.
Wayne Bennett once sat down his former five-eighth when he was angry and struggling for form and delivered a simple message: “Just go be Cody Walker”.
Fittler could do worse. Walker might save the series and his job — without so much as leaving a fingerprint.
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