{"id":941131,"date":"2026-10-26T04:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T04:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/941131\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T04:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T04:08:14","slug":"rugby-league-world-cup-2026-australias-sam-walker-on-kangaroos-halfback-battle-against-tom-dearden-nrl-playing-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/941131\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby League World Cup 2026: Australia\u2019s Sam Walker on Kangaroos halfback battle against Tom Dearden, NRL playing future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Attacking whizz Sam Walker<\/a> turned to defence after the Kangaroos<\/a>\u2032 World Cup<\/a> win on Sunday night, dead-batting questions about the tussle for the Australian No.7 jumper and his playing future.<\/p>\n

Walker played at halfback and Tom Dearden<\/a> at five-eighth as Australia overcame a spirited Fijian side 36-22 at Suncorp Stadium<\/a>, with first-choice No.6 Cameron Munster<\/a> enjoying a rest in Brisbane.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sam Walker on his Kangaroos debut on Sunday night.\u00a0Bradley Kanaris\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Munster is expected to slot back in at five-eighth for Saturday night\u2019s clash with the Cook Islands in Townsville and Australia\u2019s finals campaign, but whether coach Kevin Walters<\/a> will pick Walker or Dearden for the coveted halfback role at the business end of the tournament is not so clear.<\/p>\n

The two young guns have found themselves in a battle for the famous Kangaroos No.7 jersey after both Nathan Cleary<\/a> and Mitchell Moses<\/a> were struck down by injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all here to make sure we put Australia first and get the job done for the team,\u201d Walker, who made his Kangaroos debut on Sunday night, told reporters in the sheds.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo whatever happens, happens.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just really stoked to be able to make my debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever happens, whatever role I\u2019ve got \u2013 whether it\u2019s starting, coming off the bench, or helping out at training, it doesn\u2019t matter. I\u2019ll make sure I do my best and help out wherever I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Walker and Dearden have big-game experience alongside Munster, having paired up with the Queensland State of Origin<\/a> captain in the halves in the 2026 and 2025 series respectively.<\/p>\n

Queensland won the 2025 Origin series with Munster and Dearden pulling the strings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Walker didn\u2019t want to comment on whether his connection with James Tedesco<\/a> at club land may work in his favour in the selection battle, but the crafty playmaker said he relished linking up with his Roosters teammate in green and gold.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s special to play with him. I\u2019m very lucky to be captained by him at club land, and for him to lead us here representing Australia is really special,\u201d Walker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way he leads, not just with his voice but with his actions, is really cool. Being able to follow off the back of him, you\u2019ve just got to keep pushing around him because you know something is going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walters was coy in his post-game press conference. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith the halfbacks, it\u2019s a great situation to be in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTommy and Sam are two very good players who are playing well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tom Dearden in action against Fiji.\u00a0Bradley Kanaris\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Unless he signs a new deal beforehand, Walker will become a free agent on November 1.<\/p>\n

The Roosters are desperate to lock down their premiership-winning halfback, but he could demand significantly more money on the open market.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t interested in talking about his playing future after Sunday night\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent this week not worrying about that,\u201d the 24-year-old said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll let my manager do his job \u2013 he\u2019s sorting a lot out in the background.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy job was to go out and play football tonight. Tomorrow, I\u2019ll have a conversation with him, sit down and hopefully get something sorted.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, I\u2019ve only been off the field for an hour and haven\u2019t had time to think about it. I\u2019ll have time in the next couple of days.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to be wanted. I have to make a decision on my future soon, and I will.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut right now, my focus was completely on tonight and making sure we got the win for Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Attacking whizz Sam Walker turned to defence after the Kangaroos\u2032 World Cup win on Sunday night, dead-batting questions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":941132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-941131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=941131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/941132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=941131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=941131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=941131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}