Halfback happy to face up to ‘ hero’

TOWNSVILLE Bl a c khawks halfback Michael Parker- Walshe has been handed high praise from coach Kristian Woolf for his stellar early season form, but the biggest test is yet to come.

The New Zealand junior takes on 27- game Kiwi international Benji Marshall today in what could be the most intriguing individual showdown of this year’s Intrust Super Cup.

Marshall will play for ISC premiership favourites the Redcliffe Dolphins after being allocated from the Brisbane Broncos, and Marshall will be intent on lighting up Dolphin Oval with a performance that Broncos coach Wayne Bennett cannot ignore.

Parker- Walshe looked up to Marshall during his junior days, which included playing for New Zealand’s under- 20s team, and says he can’t wait to take on the elusive Golden Boot winner.

“I always watched him on the TV growing up and he was someone I sort of looked up to when playing my junior footy,” he said.

“It will be great to go out and have a hitout against him and we’ll see how he goes.

“But it’s just business as usual; he’s just another player out there.

“I think it will be like when other players played against us when we had Matty Bowen.

“But it’s fair to say I’ll be getting a photo with him after the game.”

Parker- Walshe has been a guiding force in the Blackhawks’ unbeaten start to the season, which picked up a gear in last weekend’s 60- 12 hammering of the Mackay Cutters.

Carlin Anderson scored a record 28 points for the Blackhawks, and many of those came from Parker- Walshe’s handiwork.

The combination is already reaching the same effectiveness as the one Parker- Walshe had with former Blackhawks custodian Jahrome Hughes, who is now at the Melbourne Storm.

“He’s really explosive and powerful, and he’s just got raw speed and talent,” Parker- Walshe said.

“It’s really good to have someone like him at the back.

“We’re forming a good combo and hopefully we can keep developing.”

Woolf has enjoyed a long working relationship with Parker- Walshe stretching back to the Cowboys under- 20s, where Parker- Walshe formed the competition’s most potent halves combination with Michael Morgan.

He knows that a player of Parker- Walshe’s calibre is hard to find.

“He’s a fair difference in terms of us and the other teams,” Woolf said.

“We’ve always relied very heavily on Michael and even when we’ve had guys like Robert Lui and those NRL experienced halves playing with him, we still really lean on him.

“We’re certainly lucky and happy to have him in our side.”

Parker- Walshe will again be paired with Kierran Moseley in the halves for this afternoon’s game, which also features the ISC debut of Blackhawks forward Jordan Kenworthy who comes in as cover for suspended prop Corey Jensen.

Jensen will miss just the one game for a dangerous tackle.