Johns: Why NSW cannot underestimate QLD's new 'Alf'

Matty Johns has warned New South Wales players against dismissing Sam Walker, believing this series could prove the making of the Roosters’ halfback.

Walker has been named to make his Origin debut at halfback, replacing the injured Tom Dearden, who could miss the whole series with a syndesmosis injury.

Weighing in at 78kg, only two kilograms heavier than Allan ‘Alfie’ Langer was while playing for Queensland in 2002, Walker faces the challenge of defending in the game’s toughest arena.

However, Johns believes their stature is not the only similarity the two Queensland halfbacks share, and that much like Alfie, Walker’s first entrance into the Origin arena, could elevate the blonde-haired seven to another level.

“There's just so many good storylines, I think in this game, (but) the one that I love is Nathan Cleary versus Sammy Walker,” Johns told SEN 1170 The Run Home.

“I mean, is this not like Ricky Stuart versus Allan Langer? Because if you look at the contrasting styles, Nathan always thinks big picture when you watch him play football.

“What he does in the first minute, he's planning to get the reward in the 80th minute.

“Where Sammy's like Alf (Langer), it's all about now. Do it now. (If) there's an opportunity, I'm going to take it now.

“Don't worry about field position, don't worry about the score line or whatever, I'm going to take the opportunity now.

“And there's a lot of talk in New South Wales about Sam Walker.

“People in New South Wales are anticipating and going ‘we've got an opportunity here, he's a little bloke, he can't really defend, he's gonna be a liability’.

“I'll tell you what, you’ve gotta be forewarned that I still remember being at Marist Brothers in 1987.

“The front page of Rugby League Week had come out, and it's Tommy Raudonikis cuddling this little blonde halfback saying that this bloke deserves a chance ahead of the more experienced Laurie Spina.

“Everyone's going… ‘pick him, look how small he is, and he can't tackle’, and the Queenslanders selectors end up taking a punt, and Allan Langer never looked back.

“Oftentimes, State of Origin, it just elevates a player.

“They play State of Origin, and they just come back and it's the making of their career, they go to the next level, and this is the time for Sammy Walker.

“He's been spoken about for a couple of years. You can see he's waited for this next step all along, and, as I said before, we’ve gotta be a little bit measured on what we think about this selection.”

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