NRL pundits are at a loss over NZ Warriors' decision to bench departing star Reece Walsh for their clash against the Canberra Raiders on Saturday.
Walsh has been replaced at fullback by Chanel Harris-Tavita, who has also already confirmed this season will be his last at the Auckland-based club, as he takes a break from rugby league.
Walsh has struggled to reach the heights of 2021, but commentators are bemused with his axing and believe the Warriors are better off letting him go now.
"Chanel's not going to be there at the end of the season either. It's very strange, it's Stacey Jones' first big call as interim coach," Daily Telegraph writer Michael Carayannis said on NRL 360.
"But if they're not going to play him, they may as well ship him off to Melbourne or somewhere, and save the cap space.
"It's a waste of time. If you're going to keep a guy that's obviously going to leave at the backend of the year, with this much talent, playing off the bench."
Walsh will link up with former club Brisbane Broncos for the 2023 NRL season, citing family reasons for his early exit from the Warriors.
Warriors interim coach Stacey Jones has praised Walsh for his response to being dropped over his recent performances.
"He's been really good," Jones said. "The main thing around that is we're just looking for a more consistent performance at the back.
"I thought Chanel, a couple of weeks ago, really showed that. A couple of little effort areas for Reece, it's probably a bit of a learning thing for him.
"One thing he does do, he goes 100 miles an hour, Reece. Sometimes that can become a bit of a downfall for the team, but I thought I needed to make a change in that position.
"Chanel proved the week before... more around defence, where he works hard and he gets the numbers right.
"Reece can learn from that. I'm sure Reece will bounce back and get into the team at some stage - he's on the bench, so he's going to play a role anyway."
However, Daily Telegraph writer Paul Kent doesn't buy into the notion Walsh's benching was due to form, but understands why Jones would want to avoid being completely upfront.
"He's away from home right now, whether he's in Melbourne or New Zealand, he's away from Brisbane - that's one thing," he said on NRL 360.
"Second to that, he's not going to be there next year. They get a small salary cap dispensation if they let him go now… it makes sense from that point of view.
"But Stacey Jones can't come out and say 'we're not going to keep advancing his career or help him improve as a footballer, as he's going elsewhere next year'. He can't say that.
"Not that I believe that would happen, but that would potentially open up some sort of legal action, if Walsh wanted to go down that road."
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