Controversial, but let's see how this goes.
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Chris Walker announces retirement from rugby league.
Friday April 23, 2010.
Troubled Perth Pirates player Chris Walker has announced his retirement from all levels of rugby league today, after having his contract cancelled by the West Australian franchise after it was revealed he was allegedly involved in a drug production ring with West Coast Eagles stars Ben Cousins and Andrew Embley.
Australian captain and former team-mate of Walker, Willie Mason, spoke last night on the Newcastle Knights Footy Newcastle Show, informing hosts Andrew and Matthew Johns that he had given the 31-year-old his full support, claiming that he was unfairly targeted by the media.
"We all know what the media are like — they always hound us about every thing we do. I cannot swear at a fellow player, journalist, or referee without it hitting the front pages around the country. It's crap. We keep getting made out to be role models, but we don't ask for that…" he told gossip reporter Danny Weidler.
Walker's career has been littered with misdemeanors. The 155-game veteran burst on to the scene at the Brisbane Broncos in 1999, becoming an integral part of the premiership winning side of 2000. He appeared in all six origin matches for the Maroons in 2001 and 2002, and along with Lote Tuqiri and Darren Lockyer, Walker was the top try-scorer for the Broncos in this season. His form was such that he was offered a three-year, $400 000 per season deal by the South Sydney to play for the club in the 2003 NRL season.
However, his career took a downward turn at this point, as many criticised him for his lack of form in the opening rounds of the season. A lack of dedication and a desire to return to a premiership winning team saw him leave the Rabbitohs in disgrace to sign a contract with the Sydney Roosters, culminating in a grand final loss to the Penrith Panthers.
Walker was suspended from one match after his arrest in Queensland in 2004, where he was charged with assaulting and obstructing police following an incident in Brisbane in which officers used capsicum spray to restrain him. The arrest also led to him being dropped from the Queensland State of Origin squad. Consequently, the Roosters placed the winger on an alcohol ban for the rest of the season.
With his career hanging by a tether, he signed for the Melbourne Storm for 2006, appearing for seven matches with the club before problems with his relationship with Kate Ritchie forced him to quit the Storm and return to Sydney.
He was offered a one-year deal with the new franchise Gold Coast Titans in November for the 2007 season, and played only first-grade match before a broken thumb ruled him out. He was subsequently dropped from the club following an incident at a Gold Coast nightclub, where he was allegedly ejected for bad behaviour, and said to be suffering a psychological disorder.
His career seemingly over, he was offered a lifeline by Canterbury, after other clubs were unwilling to take the risk with Walker, due to his chequered past. He agreed to a three-year, minimum wage contract with the Bulldogs, worth just $120,000 a year.
Under the guidance of captain Sonny Bill Williams, Walker hit top form, chalking up three nightclub incidents — regularly outclassing teammates Willie Mason and Williams himself in one of the best seasons seen in Bulldogs colours. Consequently, he regained his State of Origin position later that year.
He was announced as the marquee signing for the new Perth Pirates team in November 2009, where the exhilarating Perth nightlife became too big a carrot to resist. He walked out of the last year of his contract with the Bulldogs, much to the chagrin of Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes. He played one match for the new Perth Pirates franchise, before a recurrence of the thumb injury that kept him out of 2007.
Last week saw the final demise of his career, when a random drug test revealed the extent of the problem, causing outrage around the nation. It was later revealed that he, along with Cousins and Embley, were responsible for a large distribution of party drug 'frost' in the Western Australian capital. Walker is expected to be released on bail.
Despite police claiming Cousins to be the mastermind of the operation, he was named by West Coast Eagles coach John Woorsfold in a twenty-four man squad to take on the Gold Coast Kangaroos this weekend.
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749 words exactly between the boundary created by the asterisk's's's's...