NRL 2022: Sam Walker’s big call on representative future

Victor Radley has ditched the chance to play Origin by pledging his allegiance to England, but one of the game’s young stars won’t follow suit.

Queensland fans can breathe easy after Sam Walker’s big call. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Sam Walker has declared he won’t be following Victor Radley’s lead after his Roosters teammate shocked the world by announcing he wanted to represent England at this year’s Rugby League World Cup.

Radley qualifies because his dad was born in England, but because they are a tier 1 nation, the decision means he won’t be able to play for NSW or Australia in the future.

Victor Radley will never play for the Blues if he lines up for England. Picture: Supplied

But Walker, who was born in Leeds, still dreams of pulling on the green and gold jersey and one day representing his state after spending time with the Maroons in camp as part of their squad for the series decider.

“I’m a proud Queenslander and I want to represent Queensland and Australia,” he said on Monday morning.

“I’m not shocked at all (by Radley’s call). I think whatever decision he wants to make, he’s obviously very proud of his heritage. It’s a decision that he’s made.

“He’s an absolute weapon. I train with him every week. He’s a freak and he’ll be a massive loss for NSW.”

Sam Walker can’t wait to represent Queensland. Picture: Josh Woning

Walker said he learnt a lot from his time with the Maroons when it came to how to prepare for big games, but he’ll be hoping one of his mates in camp is kept quiet when the Roosters face the Knights on Friday.

Kalyn Ponga was virtually unstoppable in the second half of last week’s Origin decider in Brisbane and had some classy touches in Newcastle’s loss to the Sea Eagles on Saturday.

Stopping Kalyn Ponga is all part of the plan. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

He looms as the biggest threat on Friday, but the Roosters have their own gun No.1 in the form of Blues skipper James Tedesco.

“Ponga was unbelievable for Queensland, but Teddy has been doing that for a number of years,” said Walker, who backed coach Trent Robinson to devise a plan to nullify Ponga’s impact.

“I know Teddy will look forward to the challenge coming up this week and we’ll need to do a job on a really in-form fullback at the moment.

“I know ‘Robbo’ will have a game plan. We’ll all need to be on our toes when we come up against ‘KP’. It will be a great challenge for the club and I know the boys will be up for it.”

Originally published as NRL 2022: Sam Walker’s big call on representative future