The Roosters’ bombshell Sam Walker contract decision shocked the NRL, but it has been revealed “questions” were being asked of the talented halfback earlier in the year after an ugly on-field spray.
During the Tricolours’ 82-12 win over the Cowboys in Round 22, Walker put a kick towards the corner when his side were leading by only six points.
Mark Nawaqanitawase was out of position and he lagged behind the kick-chase, which Walker led, before the club’s No.7 dished up an almighty spray aimed at his winger.
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According to veteran reporter Phil Rothfield, the incident caught the ire of figures within the Roosters who believed Walker was “getting ahead of himself”.
“The other thing we should talk about is his relationships and how he’s thought of at the Roosters,” Rothfield said on NRL360 on Wednesday.
“We’ve got a video that will show he gave Mark Nawaqanitawase… have a look at this video. He’s spraying their most popular player.
“They love him… there were questions asked after that incident with young Sam getting a little bit ahead of himself.
“And was it James Tedesco’s job to give Marky Mark a dressing down? Was it Daly Cherry-Evans’ (job)? A 24-year-old kid, that’s all I am saying.
“There were questions asked, was he getting ahead of himself.”
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The Courier Mail’s Pete Badel, however, made it clear that playmakers giving their teammates a spray is nothing new in rugby league.
“But Buzz, he’s the playmaker. We could run that across all the comps. I mean, we’ve seen Cooper Cronk give bloke sprays. Billy Slater has given bloke sprays,” he said.
“That’s what you want from a cocky playmaker. You want a guy to run the team, I don’t have a problem with that.”
Meanwhile, league legend and NRL360 host Braith Anasta agreed, saying he “didn’t mind that every now and then”.
However, he also highlighted another issue in Walker’s contract debacle, questioning whether the Roosters were 100 per cent certain they would get bang for their buck.
Walker’s yearly salary on his potential extension could have soared to $1.4 million-a-year due to ratchet clauses, making him one of rugby league’s highest-paid players.
While the Tricolours won the premiership in 2026, Anasta questioned whether Walker’s performances in the big games may have spooked the club’s powerbrokers.
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“One thing I’ll say is though, is if the Roosters are willing to say, ‘all right, cut it off, see you later, we’re done’. Have they ever had the confidence in him, even though he went on to win a comp this year?” Anasta asked.
“He went on to win a comp. But if you break it down, you look at his performances at the back end of the year, he got injured, they won without him.
“And when many said that they couldn’t. In the grand final, he wouldn’t have been even close to winning the Clive Churchill.
“Even though he did a solid job, he wasn’t nowhere near a standout. Origin he was great games one and two and didn’t get it done game three. He played for Australia on the weekend, he was okay.”
In answering Anasta’s question, Rothfield referred to data collected by clubs — and specifically the Roosters’ 19-18 grand final win over the Knights.
“It’s very interesting what you say about the grand final,” Rothfield said.
“They had the field position, they had the territory, they had the possession, they had to win that game according to AI algorithms or whatever the word is that the Roosters and Canterbury and all the clubs (use).
“They punched this data in right. The data came back and they should have won be 16 to 20 points.
“The reason they didn’t win the game by that much was the halves were a little bit ineffective.”
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As it stands, Walker is reportedly free to leave the Roosters immediately, with many pundits suggesting he is at long odds to remain at the club in 2027.
The PNG Chiefs shapes as the obvious destination for the Origin halfback, but Anasta heard whispers he “doesn’t want to go” which Badel agreed with.
“Well boys I spoke to his uncle Shane Walker, who played a lot of NRL games, I am told that he said ‘Sam, this could set you up for life’,” Badel said.
“Like you could go there for three years, get four million tax-free and you never have to work ever again. I know there’s elements of his family that want him to go there.
“However, I’m hearing Sam personally doesn’t want to go there. Ideally, I think his preference is to stay at the Roosters, but it’s not going to happen on the money they’ve offered.”