League legend Andrew Johns has implored Canterbury to pick a left-field option as its next coach to reinvigorate the club and breathe new life into the NRL.
The Bulldogs are on the hunt following the resignation of Trent Barrett.
The club’s general manager of football, Phil Gould, claimed this week he “has had no applications” and is yet to speak to any potential coaches formally about doing the job.
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A number of potential candidates have been floated by commentators and media – Michael Maguire, Shane Flanagan, Paul Green, Cameron Ciraldo.
But Johns wants Gould to think outside the box, and take a punt on a pair of brothers who bring their own unique coaching style to the game.
Ben and Shane Walker have won a Queensland Cup with Ipswich, and have been floated a number of times over the years as NRL coaches in waiting.
Working in tandem, the Walkers allow their teams to play with a free-flowing attacking style that is hard to defend but thrilling to watch.
“They play a unique style of footy,” Johns told Wide World of Sports’ Freddy and the Eighth.
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“They are all-out attack, something we haven’t seen in the NRL, and I see it as the Bulldogs… what have they got to lose?
“Let’s get some fresh ideas in, see how it goes.”
The Bulldogs have been the worst attacking team in the NRL for a number of seasons now, and Johns says the Walkers would solve that problem almost instantly.
“The way (the Walkers) play is quite extreme, so if they could turn it down a little bit… whether they could do that. But it’s all based around skill and space,” he said.
“If you go back to the mid-90s and watch the way teams played – Broncos and Raiders – it is all-out attack.”
The Walkers would also breathe life into a battling club that has been on the bottom of the NRL for too long.
The playing group looks tired. The day after Barrett quit, star recruit Brent Naden walked out on the club to join Wests Tigers.
Gun winger Josh Addo-Carr is also feeling the heat after being dropped from the New South Wales team for this year’s State of Origin – a direct result of moving from successful Melbourne to floundering Belmore.
“They stimulate players,” Johns said of the Walkers.
“Players would want to go there because it would be fun to play, fun to train. I think it’s a risk they should really consider.”
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