Re: Sam Walters : Sun May 14, 2023 5:48 pm  

rollin thunder wrote:

Jason Robinson was never ever a leeds player, Leeds offered to sign him and he choose Wigan instead, the idea that leeds rejected him and some how let him go is a perpetual myth. So its not remotely the same.

People making out in Walters we are letting a real talent go from under our noses is not true, he simply has not been good enough to get in the 17 when players the same age have and have excelled.

JR: My earliest memories are from school, when I didn’t know anything about the game. I suddenly grew a love for it and, even though I was tiny, I loved the physicality. I joined an amateur club and remember Garry Schofield doing a presentation, which was very exciting. At 16, I knew I had some talent and wanted to play for Leeds.

RR: Why didn’t they come for you?
JR: They chose someone else. Wigan had a scout in Leeds and thankfully he saw some potential. I was disappointed because I was a ball boy at Leeds. Even throwing a ball back to your heroes was exciting! I had an offer from Hunslet, but that wasn’t what I wanted. But Leeds ignoring me was a blessing, because they didn’t win anything back then.
Maybe this is where the perpetual myth comes from?

Re: Sam Walters : Sun May 14, 2023 6:57 pm  

Sam Walters is a very talented young kid without a doubt and he will only get better with age,More regular appearances and also more experience at first team level
Admittedly he is nowhere close to being a once in a generation talent.

But just how good he will eventually be is an unknown, clearly It is much harder for young forwards to establish themselves as regular starters in top SL sides whilst in their late teens and early twenties unless they are total freaks of nature like Mozza and Sam Burgess were (Stevie Ward and Morgan Gannon too whist at the Rhinos)

Jamie Peacock is probably the best example of a late developer that actually made it to the very top of our sport despite never making the representative sides as a junior.
Didn't the Bulls send him on loan to Featherstone and also to OZ to play for Wollongong before he played in their first team ?
Wasn't he 21 or 22 before he finally made his debut for the Bulls?
Would he have been released if he had been at the Rhinos as a junior?

In comparison to JP's pathway, Sam Walters was representing England Academy v the touring Australian schoolboys in 2018 as a 17 year old, so he was considered to be an elite player very early on.

If Walters' next club have offered far more than Leeds have, then clearly Sam has to take that option.

IMO i would a prefer a home grown Rhinos first team squad and with only 2 or 3 quality overseas players that will fill our key spine positions

The Marquee money spent recently on players like Trent Merrin and Zane Tetevano, and who are only at the club for the short term, would surely have been more wisely spent on retaining players like Sam Walters and Tyler Dupree would it not?

Re: Sam Walters : Sun May 14, 2023 8:27 pm  

Pretty much sums up how I feel about it.
You can't make players stay and we shouldn't be over paying to keep him but his lack kf game time and being dropped despite doing well or not letting anyone down is clearly an issue in his retention.

Re: Sam Walters : Sun May 14, 2023 8:48 pm  

We could end up having to replace half the pack at this rate. Tet Lisone could easily not be here next season plus Walters. Bentley also could be gone. Add to that Sezer and we’ve a hell of a recruiting job to get right.

Re: Sam Walters : Mon May 15, 2023 6:07 am  

See if AJ Wallace in signing for KR can follow a similar path to Dupree

Re: Sam Walters : Mon May 15, 2023 12:20 pm  

I would much rather we’d have kept a Walters but I’m more bothered about Oledski, Holroyd, Smith and Gannon (maybe McDonnell).

I’m sure a couple or younger players will come through over the next year or two and we can fill the gaps with high quality overseas players - Walters is more a loss of potential than a real problem at the moment.

Like I said I’m sure the lad has his reasons but also young players have to be patient breaking through sometimes. If we over-pack the side with players who are too young we’ll just get mullered.

Re: Sam Walters : Mon May 15, 2023 5:28 pm  

Yeh, it is what it is with Walters.
Would have preferred him to stay and develop here, but he's going.
Would be much more disappointed if it were Holroyd. He already has the frame and aggression in his game to be a top drawer prop.
Walters is still a project in that respect and still has quite a way to go.
He may well develop into a top player, but as has been said, we can't keep every development project.

Re: Sam Walters : Mon May 15, 2023 11:10 pm  

The Biffs Back wrote:

Sam Walters is a very talented young kid without a doubt and he will only get better with age,More regular appearances and also more experience at first team level
Admittedly he is nowhere close to being a once in a generation talent.

But just how good he will eventually be is an unknown, clearly It is much harder for young forwards to establish themselves as regular starters in top SL sides whilst in their late teens and early twenties unless they are total freaks of nature like Mozza and Sam Burgess were (Stevie Ward and Morgan Gannon too whist at the Rhinos)

Jamie Peacock is probably the best example of a late developer that actually made it to the very top of our sport despite never making the representative sides as a junior.
Didn't the Bulls send him on loan to Featherstone and also to OZ to play for Wollongong before he played in their first team ?
Wasn't he 21 or 22 before he finally made his debut for the Bulls?
Would he have been released if he had been at the Rhinos as a junior?

In comparison to JP's pathway, Sam Walters was representing England Academy v the touring Australian schoolboys in 2018 as a 17 year old, so he was considered to be an elite player very early on.

If Walters' next club have offered far more than Leeds have, then clearly Sam has to take that option.

IMO i would a prefer a home grown Rhinos first team squad and with only 2 or 3 quality overseas players that will fill our key spine positions

The Marquee money spent recently on players like Trent Merrin and Zane Tetevano, and who are only at the club for the short term, would surely have been more wisely spent on retaining players like Sam Walters and Tyler Dupree would it not?

SL needs to recognise British talent and consequently the salary cap needs to be amended to encourage such a change. It seems farcical to me that all SL clubs are encouraged to invest large amounts of the salary cap on overseas players who are often past their best or, no better than homegrown players. Further, I would like to see the SL board make a bold decision and pass a rule that requires each SL side to have, at least, 7 club trained players in their match day squad, this would necessitate more investment in British talent and the production of far more players for our national team. In addition, I want juniors who make the grade to be financially rewarded, some of our youngsters are on an absolute pittance at present. The future of our game is youth and the powers that be have to step up to the mark.

Re: Sam Walters : Wed May 17, 2023 6:48 am  

I like Walters and if he goes I will be disappointed, but he is nothing like Jason Robinson and can’t really be compared to him.
Walters needs to fill out and that will take a couple more years and he will be very good or he won’t bulk up and he will be ok.
Keeping and extending deals for Holroyd and Oldedski and Gabon is far more important.
Not really bothered either way on Tet or Bentley if they stay or go.

Re: Sam Walters : Wed May 17, 2023 7:26 am  

Walters is a latter day Anthony Mullally - looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.

If he was any cop, he would be in the 17 week-in-week out.