There has never been a shadow of doubt around Sam Walker's ability in attack, but his defence brought him undone at times in 2021.
Walker wasn't supposed to be a full time starter in 2022, however, a significant injury crisis at the Roosters forced Trent Robinson to blood the youngster in Round 3 before he became a permanent part of the team.
The former Broncos' junior and a man touted to play State of Origin in a matter of years battled injury like many of his teammates, but defensive fragility forced him back to the bench during the back end of the season and finals, with Robinson preferring a starting halves combination of Lachlan Lam and Drew Hutchison.
Luke Keary has told Fox Sports however that the same issues won't be faced this time around, with Walker putting on "five or six kilos" during the off-season in an effort to bulk up.
“I think he put on five or six kilos,” Keary told the publication.
“He’ll slowly just get bigger and bigger every year. He’s 18-years old and I think we forget that sometimes... I don’t know where I was at 18, I wasn’t training with NRL.
“He’d probably be 82 or 83 kilos and he would have played at 76-77 (kilos) last year... so it’s not big but he’ll slowly get bigger.”
It's anticipated that Walker will be Keary's starting halves partner in 2022, with Hutchison likely to fight for a spot on the bench, although Connor Watson's arrival could hamper his fight for a position.
