Ex-Leeds Rhinos halfback linked with shock coaching move

The world of coaching is an extremely difficult one to be successful in.

With an uncertain future lurking over their heads, being a coach can be tough and former Canterbury Bulldogs head coaches know all about that.

Dean Pay and Trent Barrett have both been shown the door at Belmore following a run of poor results, but NRL legend Andrew Johns wants the club to look further afield than those mentioned such as Cameron Ciraldo and Shane Flanagan.

Ben and Shane Walker have won a Queensland Cup with Ipswich, and have been linked with NRL moves in the past but never been given the opportunity.

Ben made a name for himself in Super League with London Broncos and then Leeds Rhinos, registering 12 tries and 119 goals in just 28 appearances for the West Yorkshire club in 2002.

However, Johns wants to see them at Canterbury.

“They play a unique style of footy,” Johns told Wide World of Sports’ Freddy and the Eighth.

“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 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.”

Johns also believes that players would enjoy playing under them: “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.”