Walker is still a fair bit younger than Myler and Hardaker, but he needs game time now. It is disappointing that he could end up moving on, but as someone else remarked on here some weeks ago, at some point our club has to stop being the RL equivalent of a donkey sanctuary if we want to start progressing again. Like Ash Golding before him, there just isn't space for him in the position he wants to play.
I don't mean that we need to be ruthless everytime someone gets a long-term injury. I think the club usually does a good job in sticking by players who have suffered misfortune - Stevie Ward being a case in point (can't comment about off-field support he received though). Rather, we need to be a lot more careful in handing out longer-term contracts. Younger players getting 3+ yr deals need to have shown real star potential in the first grade to deserve this IMO (5 year deals should be a thing of the past unless we have clearly unearthed the next Ellery Hanley); likewise players at the back ends of their careers should not expect big deals unless they are turning out Sinfield/Peacock/Roby-esque performances week-in, week-out. There's still a lot of dead wood under contract, and long contracts for too many of our players have put them in a comfort zone that is not always translating into on-field performances.
Someone like Liam Sutcliffe is hanging in by the skin of his teeth IMO; I still don't see him as a first choice pick in any position when everyone is fit. Looking at the videos of 2015 he is half the player he was back then. Let's hope Smith can help him nail down his own position.
