This isn’t the end of Walker’s Roosters career, says star halves partner

Luke Keary is adamant that Sam Walker’s axing doesn’t spell the end of his NRL career at the Roosters and believes the shock demotion will be the making of his halves partner.

Walker has paid the price for the patchy form of the Tricolours, who have shifted Joseph Manu into five-eighth after consecutive losses. The axing has raised questions over whether Walker has a future at Bondi Junction after the Herald revealed the 20-year-old had philosophical differences with consultant coach Cooper Cronk on how the team should attack.

The Roosters are ruthless in their pursuit of success, as evidenced when they poached Cronk from Melbourne in 2018 despite having premiership-winning halfback Mitchell Pearce on their books. That move ultimately resulted in Pearce leaving early despite being under contract and Cronk steering the Roosters to two premierships.

Walker’s latest demotion – coach Trent Robinson has previously dropped the playmaker to work on aspects of his game – has raised questions about his future.

However, Keary is adamant he won’t be squeezed out of the club.

“No I don’t [think that will happen], no,” Keary said at a promotion for the Anzac Day clash against the Dragons at Allianz Stadium.

“I know what ‘Robbo’ thinks of Sam, I know what the coaches think of Sam, they have a very high opinion of him. They signed him in the off-season, so this is just a thing that happens to young players sometimes. It’s unfortunate, not everyone wants to go through it, it does happen.

“I know the type of kid he is, I know he’s gonna work hard. Not at all [is this the end here].”

Keary, who himself was dropped during his illustrious career, said such setbacks were common for young playmakers.

“It happened to myself, Billy Slater went through it, Ezra Mam last year, Reece Walsh got put back to the bench,” Keary said. “Latrell [Mitchell] when he was here, Joey Manu in his first season in ’17.

“If you take it the right way it can be really career-defining for you and make you a better player and person.”

Luke Keary on Sam Walker’s demotion

“It gets highlighted a bit more with the halves. I went through it, and it was after I’d won a grand final too. It’s a bit of a humbling experience, it’s not it’s not great, it’s a bit embarrassing.

“But you do look back on it and think I needed that little bit of a kick up the arse to get my game into gear or work on these things that, at the time, I couldn’t see. But yeah, it’s tough in the moment.

“But if you take it the right way it can be really career-defining for you and make you a better player and person.”

Cronk was renowned as one of the game’s great structured halfbacks, while Walker prefers to play what is in front of him, a trait he picked up from the way his father Ben and uncle Shane coached in the Queensland Cup. Keary hadn’t noticed any tension between the pair but said, if there was any, now was an ideal chance to resolve any issues.

“I’ve never heard that from Sam himself, so I can’t say if that’s true or not,” Keary said.

“I’m sure that, if it is, this is probably the time to bring it up for whoever thinks that’s a conversation to be had. It’s a good time to have it because he will learn a lot in the next however long [he is out of the team] and he can nut out some stuff in his game.

“He can get better and have these conversations where he’s not under the spotlight, trying to get ready for that NRL game each week.”

Skipper James Tedesco backed Walker to bounce back from the setback.

“We are all in it to make him better and make each other better,” Tedesco said. “He is obviously a confident player. I know he is going to go back and play that way in state cup. It is hard. He is only 20 years old.

“We get a bit excited about how talented he is, but it does take time, especially for halfbacks to mature. You look at all the good halfbacks … they all got better the older they got.

“Sammy got tossed into it early – we got injuries with Keary going down. You have to expect that bit of a rollercoaster. I know he is going to hit his potential soon. I am really confident in Sammy and that he is going to get to his best, and we are going to get to our best.”

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