Curse of the NRL’s next big thing: Sam Walker, Josh Schuster, Kyle Flanagan feeling the pinch
Being talked up as the NRL’s next big thing is not always all it’s cracked up to be — rugby league is littered with stories of rising stars who struggled to deal with the hype.
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Three of the NRL’s brightest young playmaking talents are at a crossroad in their careers as the burden of being the next big things takes its toll.
Just 12 months ago, Josh Schuster was anointed as the future at Manly, with favourite son Kieran Foran pushed out the door to the Gold Coast to fast-track the 21-year-old’s move to the halves.
Sydney Roosters halfback Sam Walker, the whiz-kid schoolboy touted as the heir apparent to Daly Cherry-Evans as Queensland’s Origin long-term No.7, has been dropped to reserve grade.
Joining him is Kyle Flanagan, who, in the final year of his contract at Canterbury, also finds himself back in NSW Cup and playing for his NRL career.
It’s just more proof being talked up as the NRL’s next big thing is not always all it’s cracked up to be.
Paul Crawley analyses their fortunes and identifies the other cautionary tales who struggled to deal with hype and pressure of expectation.
SAM WALKER
Age: 20
Debut: Roosters 2021
52 NRL games
The son of former NRL player Ben Walker was widely regarded as the best young halves prospect to emerge in decades when he exploded on to the scene in 2021.
But two years later the former Dally M rookie of the year has been banished to NSW Cup to make way for Joseph Manu’s move to five-eighth.
It is hard to see how Walker will fight his way back into the NRL team anytime soon, unless there is an injury to either Manu or Luke Keary, or the youngster moves to another club.
JOSH SCHUSTER
Age: 21
Debut: Sea Eagles 2020
38 NRL games
A former gun schoolboy at Westfields Sports High, Schuster enjoyed a stellar rookie season in 2021.
Manly thought so highly of him they let Foran go and put Schuster on a deal worth $800,000 this season, which, astonishingly, goes up again next year.
But with Schuster struggling with injuries this season, he copped a huge wake-up call this week when skipper Daly Cherry-Evans unloaded on where he thinks the 21-year-old needs to improve, declaring: “I have been playing long enough to see so many people at this club not maximise their opportunity. The worst thing Schuey can do is look for excuses”. Ouch.
KYLE FLANAGAN
Age: 24
Debut: Sharks 2018
70 NRL games
He shifted from Cronulla to the Sydney Roosters to take over from Cooper Cronk in the halves in 2020, charged with trying to steer the club to a third-straight premiership.
Yet, the son of former Sharks coach Shane Flanagan lasted only one season under Trent Robinson and his time at the Bulldogs has been tough going.
After eight rounds, coach Cameron Ciraldo finally pulled the trigger this week, dropping Flanagan to NSW Cup. And given he is off contract at the end of the season, it looks like Flanagan will be forced to try and salvage his career in England.
TOBY SEXTON
Age: 22
Debut: Titans 2022
24 NRL games
Arrived in the NRL in 2021 when he took over from Ash Taylor as the Titans’ new boom young halfback. But 24 games into his first grade career and Sexton has dropped down the pecking order this year after the arrival of Kieran Foran to partner Tanah Boyd in the halves.
JAKE CLIFFORD
Age: 25
Debut: Cowboys 2018
67 NRL games
A real hotshot coming through at the Cowboys where he followed Johnathan Thurston in to bat before Newcastle swooped. Was even leading the Dally M Medal count at the start of last year when at the Knights before he fell off a cliff, pardon the pun. Now playing Super League at Hull FC but still young and talented enough to salvage his career.
BROCK LAMB
Age: 26
Debut: Knights 2016
33 NRL games
Some good judges at Newcastle thought this bloke had the potential to be the Knights’ best halfback since Andrew Johns. But after 32 NRL appearances Lamb finished with a short stint at the Roosters and the London Broncos. While he returned to Australia to take up a two-year deal with Parramatta, Lamb never played for the Eels, instead returning to his junior club, the Maitland Pickers.
BRODIE CROFT
Age: 25
Debut: Storm 2016
65 NRL games
Talked up as the next Cooper Cronk when coming through at the Storm, but Croft’s NRL career unfortunately became collateral damage during Anthony Seibold’s troubled reign at the Broncos. Now at Salford where he was last year’s Man of Steel, Croft has no plans to return to the NRL after signing a contract to stay in England until the end of 2030.
ASH TAYLOR
Age: 28
Debut: Broncos 2015
116 NRL games
The poster boy for the dangers associated with signing gifted young playmakers to big-money deals. After debuting at the Broncos, Taylor created shockwaves when the Titans signed him on a deal worth $1 million-a-season. But his career never reached the heights many thought it would. He played one game for the Warriors last year before being forced into an early retirement at age 27 due to a hip injury.
TIM SMITH
Age: 38
Debut: Eels 2005
90 NRL games
The 2005 Dally M rookie of the year who had the rugby league world at his feet when Parramatta great Peter Sterling anointed him the club’s long-term No.7 live on TV. But Smith struggled mostly due to off-field issues, only lasting four seasons at the Eels before stints at three separate Super League clubs, as well as a couple of seasons at the Sharks.
ANTHONY MILFORD
Age: 28
Debut: Raiders 2013
208 NRL games
Was an absolute gun coming through at the Raiders before the Broncos signed him to return to Queensland. In his first season at Brisbane Milford was the best player on the field in the 2015 NRL grand final before Johnathan Thurston landed the winning field goal. But it’s more than fair to say he struggled to handle the pressure that went with becoming the Broncos’ first $1 million-a-season player. After a stint at Newcastle last year he’s at the Dolphins now, but ironically has been upstaged by another boom teenager, Isaiya Katoa.
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