He himself made a great comeback to the NRL with the Dragons, a successful one at that, and former QLD and Australian representative, Wendell Sailor says that his former team-mate Chris Walker is more than capable of doing the same.
Sailor, who played alongside Walker in the Broncos team of the late 90’s says that if Walker is given an opportunity to showcase his ability, then he will excel and shock a few people.
“I think I’ve shown, and Mat Rogers has shown, that age is no barrier,” the now 36-year-old Sailor said.
“Preston Campbell [33] is another one as well. Chris is not all that old, he’s 31 next month, and while he’s had a few injuries like a ruptured Achilles tendon [twice in 2008], he hasn’t had that many hits to his body.”
Walker, who has played for seven clubs including the Brisbane Broncos, Melbourne Storm, Sydney Roosters, Gold Coast Titans, and French based ESL club, Catalans.
Whilst his career has been shrouded at times, in controversy, as back in 2004 during the Origin period, he was expelled from the team for a late night altercation.
Despite all this however, the man they call Dell, is still adamant that we’ll see Chris Walker excelling in the NRL in 2011.
The Chris Walker I’ve seen is mature; his head is in the right place and I’m really proud of him for that.”
The Eels strength and conditioning coach, Hayden Knowles, is amazed at what Walker brings to the Eels club, describing it as “pure energyâ€.
“He lights up the room,” Knowles said. “He’s keen and he’s very eager. Chris has a contagious virus that’s called enthusiasm.”
Sailor has fond memories of playing alongside Walker in 1999, and those are moments that he will forever cherish.
“In 1999 we struggled,” he said.
“I think we’d lost eight or nine straight and ‘Walks’ has come in off the bench, and he was scoring freakish tries. He could make something out of nothing, and only the special players can do that.â€
“I look back on some of the tries he scored in Origin as well and only the blokes with a special gift could pull them off. If he gets an opportunity to cement a spot at Parramatta watch him, because it’ll be exciting.”
With Walker determined to prove the doubters wrong and make his time at Parramatta count, Sailor is pleased to hear it, as he believes that this stems from Walker now being a father.
“A few of us know how fatherhood changes priorities, it isn’t all about ‘you’ anymore and the responsibility of being a dad means you can’t be selfish. It’s great talking to him about the upcoming season because there is a real spring in his step. As a mate I certainly love him, and I wish him the best.”