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Chris Walker (rugby league footballer)
Encyclopedia
Chris Walker is an Australian professional rugby league
footballer for the Parramatta Eels
in the NRL, he has played with six different NRL clubs. Walker is the younger brother of fellow professional rugby league players Shane Walker and Ben Walker
. At one point in the late 1990s all three brothers were playing together for the Brisbane Broncos
.
, in 1996, Walker was selected to play for the Australian Schoolboys team
.
Walker has played for the Brisbane Broncos, the Melbourne Storm
, the South Sydney Rabbitohs
, the Sydney Roosters
and the Gold Coast Titans
as well as Queensland
in all 6 State of Origin
matches in 2001 and 2002. Walker scored in all three games of the 2001 State of Origin series. Also, along with Lote Tuqiri and Darren Lockyer
, he was the top try-scorer for the Broncos in the 2002 season
. Walker was also a try-scorer in the Roosters' loss in the 2003 NRL Grand Final
. He also scored a try in the following year's Grand Final loss to the Bulldogs.
Walker gained a reputation as a "bad boy" of rugby league. In 2004
he was involved in a drunken altercation with police outside a Fortitude Valley nightclub The Roosters club fined the winger and placed him on an alcohol ban for the rest of the season. He returned to score a try in the Grand Final.
In August, 2006, Walker was dropped by Melbourne Storm and was not picked up by any other NRL club. Then in November it was announced that he had been given a trial with the Gold Coast Titans. In early March 2007 after a series of strong performances in pre-season trial matches with the Titans, Walker signed a one-year deal with the Gold Coast club. In the first NRL premiership game for the new club Walker scored two tries, but then broke a bone in his hand early in the second half.
In April, 2007
, while sidelined with injury, Walker was reported to have been ejected from a bar after for "bad behaviour". The Gold Coast Titans suspended him as a result and it was later revealed that Walker had been suffering from alcoholism
and an anxiety disorder. After a period of rehabilitation and several games in the Queensland Cup, Walker returned to the NRL in Round 19 against the Bulldogs
.
In 2008 Walker suffered a season-ending ruptured Achilles tendon for the second time in five months.
In 2009 he attracted interest from European Super League
clubs, but said he did not want to play in Europe
and he would prefer to stay in the NRL with a Queensland
team.
Chris has signed a two year deal with the Catalans Dragons
in France.
He returned to the to the NRL in 2011 to play with the Parramatta Eels.
Chris Walker has approached Eels officials for permission leave the NRL club after a string of injuries. He will retire from the NRL at the end of the 2011 season.
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer for the Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
in the NRL, he has played with six different NRL clubs. Walker is the younger brother of fellow professional rugby league players Shane Walker and Ben Walker
Ben Walker
Ben Walker is an absolute Legend and Australian rugby league coach and former footballer of the 1990s and 2000s...
. At one point in the late 1990s all three brothers were playing together for the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
.
Playing career
While attending St. Mary's College, ToowoombaSt. Mary's College, Toowoomba
St. Mary's College, Toowoomba is an all-boys Roman Catholic college in Queensland, Australia. The College was established by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1898, and currently has an enrolment of approximately 640 students from years 5 to 12....
, in 1996, Walker was selected to play for the Australian Schoolboys team
Australia national schoolboy rugby league team
The Australian Schoolboys rugby league team is the national rugby league football team for secondary school students in Australia.The Australian Schoolboys or Australia Schoolboys represent Australia on a national level at rugby league at youth level...
.
Walker has played for the Brisbane Broncos, the Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
, the South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
, the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
and the Gold Coast Titans
Gold Coast Titans
Gold Coast Titans are an Australian professional rugby league football club, based in the Gold Coast, Queensland. The club competes in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership. It is the newest of the sixteen clubs in the league, having commenced its...
as well as Queensland
Queensland State of Origin Team
The Queensland rugby league team have represented the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1908...
in all 6 State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
matches in 2001 and 2002. Walker scored in all three games of the 2001 State of Origin series. Also, along with Lote Tuqiri and Darren Lockyer
Darren Lockyer
Darren Lockyer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He was the captain of the Australian national team, the Queensland State of Origin team and his National Rugby League club, the Brisbane Broncos. His professional career spanned between 1995 and 2011...
, he was the top try-scorer for the Broncos in the 2002 season
Brisbane Broncos 2002
The 2002 Brisbane Broncos season was the fifteenth in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2002 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season in third position before going on to again come within one match of the grand final for the second consecutive year.- Season summary :The...
. Walker was also a try-scorer in the Roosters' loss in the 2003 NRL Grand Final
2003 NRL grand final
The 2003 NRL grand final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding match of the 2003 NRL season. In what was a contest of Sydney's east versus west, defending premiers and match favourites, the Sydney Roosters played against minor premiers and underdogs, the Penrith Panthers...
. He also scored a try in the following year's Grand Final loss to the Bulldogs.
Walker gained a reputation as a "bad boy" of rugby league. In 2004
National Rugby League season 2004
The year 2004 NRL season was the 97th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the seventh run by the National Rugby League. Fifteen clubs competed for the Telstra Premiership...
he was involved in a drunken altercation with police outside a Fortitude Valley nightclub The Roosters club fined the winger and placed him on an alcohol ban for the rest of the season. He returned to score a try in the Grand Final.
In August, 2006, Walker was dropped by Melbourne Storm and was not picked up by any other NRL club. Then in November it was announced that he had been given a trial with the Gold Coast Titans. In early March 2007 after a series of strong performances in pre-season trial matches with the Titans, Walker signed a one-year deal with the Gold Coast club. In the first NRL premiership game for the new club Walker scored two tries, but then broke a bone in his hand early in the second half.
In April, 2007
National Rugby League season 2007
The 2007 NRL season was the one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the National Rugby League...
, while sidelined with injury, Walker was reported to have been ejected from a bar after for "bad behaviour". The Gold Coast Titans suspended him as a result and it was later revealed that Walker had been suffering from alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and an anxiety disorder. After a period of rehabilitation and several games in the Queensland Cup, Walker returned to the NRL in Round 19 against the Bulldogs
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
.
In 2008 Walker suffered a season-ending ruptured Achilles tendon for the second time in five months.
In 2009 he attracted interest from European Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
clubs, but said he did not want to play in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and he would prefer to stay in the NRL with a Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
team.
Chris has signed a two year deal with the Catalans Dragons
Catalans Dragons
The Catalans Dragons are a French professional rugby league club based in Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales. They currently play in the Super League, and are the only team in the competition from outside of the United Kingdom...
in France.
He returned to the to the NRL in 2011 to play with the Parramatta Eels.
Chris Walker has approached Eels officials for permission leave the NRL club after a string of injuries. He will retire from the NRL at the end of the 2011 season.