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Queensland young gun Sam Walker has ruled out returning to the Broncos and declared he is ready to sign a multimillion-dollar contract extension with the Roosters.
In a coup for the Bondi glamour club, Walker has scuppered any prospect of a Broncos comeback as he prepares for his Australian baptism in the Prime Minister’s XIII clash with Papua New Guinea in Brisbane on Sunday.
Rated Queensland’s finest teenage playmaking prospect, Walker sensationally quit the Broncos in 2019 after a falling out, and chased an NRL start with the Roosters in Sydney
The move has paid dividends, with Walker clinching the NRL rookie-of-the-year award last season and continuing his development this year, helping the Roosters to another finals campaign.
Still only 20, Walker is off-contract at the end of next season but is so content at the Roosters his management has kicked off extension talks to ensure the Queensland Origin hopeful stays at Bondi for the long haul.
Walker, named in Australia’s 20-man squad for the Kumuls clash at Suncorp Stadium, confirmed he is on the verge of signing a new deal with the Roosters.
“That (signing a new deal with the Roosters) is definitely the goal for me,” he said.
“I want to stay at the club.
“I let my manager and old man (former Broncos playmaker Ben Walker) look after that sort of stuff, but I am really keen on building on these last two years and seeing where we can go with the Roosters.
“At the moment my focus is on the Prime Minister’s game but over the coming weeks hopefully I’ll get that all sorted.”
Walker was highly rated in the Broncos Academy and was being groomed for a long career at Red Hill, but recently explained why he opted to continue to development at the Roosters.
After a one-on-one chat with Roosters playmaker Luke Keary and a meeting with coach Trent Robinson, Walker was convinced Bondi – not the Broncos – was the best place for him to develop into an NRL superstar.
“It was just an opportunity for myself,” he said of his decision to quit Brisbane.
“I sat down with ‘Robbo’ and the opportunity that was presented at the Roosters was the best out of not just the Broncos, but all the clubs I was looking at.
“It is a long time ago now but looking back I am really happy with the decision I made.
“The Roosters have been awesome for me and I think it was just the opportunity to be able to play halfback.
“I could almost picture that pathway where I was heading and it was exciting for me.”
Walker has compiled 46 NRL games since his top-grade debut and admits he is blown away to be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Daly Cherry-Evans, Ben Hunt and Josh Addo-Carr in Australian PM’s camp.
“I am really looking forward to the week in camp firstly. Wearing the Australian jersey is something I looked forward to as a kid,” he said.
“It’s happened so quickly. I was in Ipswich two or so years ago finishing school up. My first year was mayhem, just playing NRL for starters.
“Then this year I got the call-up to the Origin squad for the last game. Now to get this call-up for Australia, it has all happened so quickly.
“My first year (in the NRL) was definitely interesting because no-one knows who you are, so you come into the game with this fresh way of playing.
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“The next year you have got to try and back that up. I definitely learned a lot earlier in the year about my game.
“Moving forward I can take a lot of lessons from this season and try and hold onto a lot of things I did this year.”
In a coup for the Bondi glamour club, Walker has scuppered any prospect of a Broncos comeback as he prepares for his Australian baptism in the Prime Minister’s XIII clash with Papua New Guinea in Brisbane on Sunday.
Rated Queensland’s finest teenage playmaking prospect, Walker sensationally quit the Broncos in 2019 after a falling out, and chased an NRL start with the Roosters in Sydney
The move has paid dividends, with Walker clinching the NRL rookie-of-the-year award last season and continuing his development this year, helping the Roosters to another finals campaign.
Still only 20, Walker is off-contract at the end of next season but is so content at the Roosters his management has kicked off extension talks to ensure the Queensland Origin hopeful stays at Bondi for the long haul.
Walker, named in Australia’s 20-man squad for the Kumuls clash at Suncorp Stadium, confirmed he is on the verge of signing a new deal with the Roosters.
“That (signing a new deal with the Roosters) is definitely the goal for me,” he said.
“I want to stay at the club.
“I let my manager and old man (former Broncos playmaker Ben Walker) look after that sort of stuff, but I am really keen on building on these last two years and seeing where we can go with the Roosters.
“At the moment my focus is on the Prime Minister’s game but over the coming weeks hopefully I’ll get that all sorted.”
Walker was highly rated in the Broncos Academy and was being groomed for a long career at Red Hill, but recently explained why he opted to continue to development at the Roosters.
After a one-on-one chat with Roosters playmaker Luke Keary and a meeting with coach Trent Robinson, Walker was convinced Bondi – not the Broncos – was the best place for him to develop into an NRL superstar.
“It was just an opportunity for myself,” he said of his decision to quit Brisbane.
“I sat down with ‘Robbo’ and the opportunity that was presented at the Roosters was the best out of not just the Broncos, but all the clubs I was looking at.
“It is a long time ago now but looking back I am really happy with the decision I made.
“The Roosters have been awesome for me and I think it was just the opportunity to be able to play halfback.
“I could almost picture that pathway where I was heading and it was exciting for me.”
Walker has compiled 46 NRL games since his top-grade debut and admits he is blown away to be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Daly Cherry-Evans, Ben Hunt and Josh Addo-Carr in Australian PM’s camp.
“I am really looking forward to the week in camp firstly. Wearing the Australian jersey is something I looked forward to as a kid,” he said.
“It’s happened so quickly. I was in Ipswich two or so years ago finishing school up. My first year was mayhem, just playing NRL for starters.
“Then this year I got the call-up to the Origin squad for the last game. Now to get this call-up for Australia, it has all happened so quickly.
“My first year (in the NRL) was definitely interesting because no-one knows who you are, so you come into the game with this fresh way of playing.
More Coverage
“The next year you have got to try and back that up. I definitely learned a lot earlier in the year about my game.
“Moving forward I can take a lot of lessons from this season and try and hold onto a lot of things I did this year.”
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