'Now's the right time': Manly's delicate tightrope walk with future face of the club as contract talks begin
In the space of a fortnight, Manly's future has hit them between the eyes, creating an awkward situation that won't resolve itself until teen prodigy Joey Walsh is given the keys to the team.
After just two games as the Sea Eagles' starting halfback, Walsh has been described by Immortal Andrew Johns as "a special talent" and a "10-15 year halfback" and several greats of the game have urged interim coach Kieran Foran to leave him in the starting side.
Foran baulked at those calls this week, re-installing veteran playmaker Jamal Fogarty to the No.7 jersey after a two-game stint on the sidelines with a groin strain, but it has become plainly apparent that Walsh is too good to languish on the bench or in reserve grade.
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Behind closed doors, the Sea Eagles have acknowledged the need to lock Walsh down, with News Corp reporting talks have begun to extend the young gun. As it stands, Walsh comes off contract at the end of next season, putting him in the sights of the many rival NRL clubs who will be eager to pitch him a move if the Sea Eagles fail to extend him before November 1.
Joey Walsh warms up before Manly's round 10 match against Brisbane. NRL Images
Walsh is a Northern Beaches local who went to school at St Augustine's College in Brookvale, literally across the road from 4Pines Park, so Manly has a significant edge in the battle for his services beyond his 21st birthday.
Legendary halfback Greg Alexander watched Walsh closely through his schoolboy career, with his son Beau a talented fullback in the year below. The pair shared the field in Augies' first XV rugby team and 'Brandy' was convinced he was seeing a once-in-a-generation talent.
"Watching him play two years of school footy, I thought I reckon he's as good as any kid I've seen at schoolboy level," Alexander said earlier this year.
" ... If he didn't sign with Manly and he stayed with rugby, where he was signed with Waratahs, I've got no doubt that next year [for the 2027 Rugby World Cup] he'd be the Wallabies five-eighth."
Joey Walsh was one of the best players on the field in his starting NRL debut against the Panthers in round nine. NRL Images
High praise indeed.
People who know Walsh say he has a high footy IQ but a voracious appetite to learn and who better to learn off than Foran, both one of the best halves and one of the best teenagers to play in the NRL in the last 20 years.
Justin Horo played with Foran for three seasons in Manly's team from 2013-15 and is now an influential voice on the Levels podcast. He said his early impression of Walsh is that Foran is having a profound impact on the way he sets up his game. Horo added that after just two games already "he looks like he's the star" in the Sea Eagles' squad.
"He's loving playing footy right now, I can see some traits in the way he sets plays up, and I mentioned it last week in the way he attacked the game defensively to start the game, I can see the Foz influence on him in some of the traits early on. He looks good," Horo said.
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Kieran Foran has had an incredible start to his head coaching career. Getty
His co-host Willie Mason agreed, saying there was a stark difference in how Walsh had come into first grade versus the Dragons' young halves Kade Reed and Lyhkan King-Togia.
"Both those halves, five metres behind the line when they pass it. This guy's digging into the line already," Mason said.
"Foz used to take it straight in there. He's (Walsh) got the king of that (Foran) in the last 15 years at you every day, giving you cues on how to do it."
Foran has made a flying start as Manly coach and looks almost certain to get the job long-term. If he does, managing the halves situation over the next 18 months will be arguably his most difficult task.
Speaking on Triple M's NRL Daily this week, James Graham said Foran should go forward with Walsh as his halfback, with both of them starting out together with a clean slate.
Fellow Bulldogs great Reni Maitua, by contrast, said now was a good time to drop the teen prodigy.
"An All Blacks theory was that you always had a succession plan for the No.10. You'd have a rookie on the bench for like 30 Tests, where they might get 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there, because it's the most important position on the field they were ready (when they stepped into the starting role)," Maitua said.
"So having Joey play those two games as a starter, it's a good time to bring him back. Bring the ego down a little bit, if he has one."
While Walsh is the clear future of the club and looks to have the class to deliver premierships, Fogarty is a great leader and a steady hand who is still in the first year of a three-year deal reportedly worth $700,000-per-season. Relegating him to a back-up role at such an early stage in his time on the Northern Beaches would create its own problems for a team that is flying high.
Joey Walsh strolls over for a try against the Broncos in round 10. NRL Images
Six weeks ago it would have seemed logical to drop Luke Brooks and allow him to find a new home for next season but his form has gone through the roof under Foran. There's a legitimate case to be made that Fogarty and Brooks should remain the first choice combination in 2026, with Manly now looking a genuine contender for a top four finish and potentially a shot at a premiership.
That appears to be Foran's preferred path while things are going well.
"You always want to put your best players out there, right?," Foran told media on Friday.
"But in fairness I think Luke Brooks and Jamal's form has been red hot to start the year and they've done a really great job for us so far this season.
"You want to have your best players in the team but you've got to pick two halves and Joey's certainly knocking on the door."
Manly halves Jamal Fogarty and Luke Brooks. Getty
Foran added that injuries would ensure that over the long run all three would get plenty of game time and the Sea Eagles would be better for the depth of their playmaker stocks. No doubt it will be a delicate tightrope walk but it feels unlikely that the status quo can remain for long without causing some angst for Walsh.
We're not there yet but will Foran and club management see the breaking point before it arrives?
To lock down Walsh for the long-term over the next few months they'll need to convince him of the transition that ends with the football side in his hands. That may mean Fogarty or Brooks has to go. The alternative is unthinkable.
