{"id":643485,"date":"2026-10-28T05:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T05:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/643485\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T05:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T05:28:09","slug":"nrl-2026-sam-walker-sprays-mark-nawaqanitawase-sydney-roosters-figures-within-the-club-upset-news-nrl360-contracts-signings-videos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/643485\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Sam Walker sprays Mark Nawaqanitawase, Sydney Roosters, figures within the club upset, news, NRL360, contracts, signings, videos"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Roosters\u2019 bombshell Sam Walker contract decision<\/a> shocked the NRL, but it has been revealed \u201cquestions\u201d were being asked of the talented halfback earlier in the year after an ugly on-field spray.<\/p>\n

During the Tricolours\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

Mark Nawaqanitawase was out of position and he lagged behind the kick-chase, which Walker led, before the club\u2019s No.7 dished up an almighty spray aimed at his winger.<\/p>\n

A special edition of NRL 360 will break down all the latest November 1 madness, including Sam Walker and Hudson Young. Catch the episode at 1pm AEDT on Fox League 502 and stream the episode on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n

WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n

According to veteran reporter Phil Rothfield, the incident caught the ire of figures within the Roosters who believed Walker was \u201cgetting ahead of himself\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other thing we should talk about is his relationships and how he\u2019s thought of at the Roosters,\u201d Rothfield said on NRL360 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a video that will show he gave Mark Nawaqanitawase… have a look at this video. He\u2019s spraying their most popular player.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey love him… there were questions asked after that incident with young Sam getting a little bit ahead of himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd was it James Tedesco\u2019s job to give Marky Mark a dressing down? Was it Daly Cherry-Evans\u2019 (job)? A 24-year-old kid, that\u2019s all I am saying.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were questions asked, was he getting ahead of himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE SAM WALKER NEWS<\/p>\n

ENNIS: \u2018Most disappointing\u2019 part of Walker saga… and \u2018gut feeling\u2019 call on who signs him<\/a><\/p>\n

TIMELINE: How the Walker deal fell apart… and left Roosters supremo teary<\/a><\/p>\n

“INSULTING” Robbo snub in Walker saga? | 02:21<\/p>\n

The Courier Mail\u2019s Pete Badel, however, made it clear that playmakers giving their teammates a spray is nothing new in rugby league.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Buzz, he\u2019s the playmaker. We could run that across all the comps. I mean, we\u2019ve seen Cooper Cronk give bloke sprays. Billy Slater has given bloke sprays,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what you want from a cocky playmaker. You want a guy to run the team, I don\u2019t have a problem with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, league legend and NRL360 host Braith Anasta agreed, saying he \u201cdidn\u2019t mind that every now and then\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, he also highlighted another issue in Walker\u2019s contract debacle, questioning whether the Roosters were 100 per cent certain they would get bang for their buck.<\/p>\n

Walker\u2019s 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\u2019s highest-paid players.<\/p>\n

While the Tricolours won the premiership in 2026, Anasta questioned whether Walker\u2019s performances in the big games may have spooked the club\u2019s powerbrokers.<\/p>\n

MORE SAM WALKER NEWS<\/p>\n

\u2018ALMOST INSULTING\u2019: The moment Robbo called Buzz… with \u2018staggering\u2019 Walker reveal<\/a><\/p>\n

LANDING SPOTS: Huge twist in Walker sweepstakes after Bennett\u2019s big reveal<\/a><\/p>\n

‘Offer was more than fair!” | 01:49<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I\u2019ll say is though, is if the Roosters are willing to say, \u2018all right, cut it off, see you later, we\u2019re done\u2019. Have they ever had the confidence in him, even though he went on to win a comp this year?\u201d Anasta asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe 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. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when many said that they couldn\u2019t. In the grand final, he wouldn\u2019t have been even close to winning the Clive Churchill.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though he did a solid job, he wasn\u2019t nowhere near a standout. Origin he was great games one and two and didn\u2019t get it done game three. He played for Australia on the weekend, he was okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

In answering Anasta\u2019s question, Rothfield referred to data collected by clubs \u2014 and specifically the Roosters\u2019 19-18 grand final win over the Knights.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very interesting what you say about the grand final,\u201d Rothfield said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey 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).<\/p>\n

\u201cThey punched this data in right. The data came back and they should have won be 16 to 20 points. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason they didn\u2019t win the game by that much was the halves were a little bit ineffective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch Australia\u2019s Tour of South Africa Live & Exclusive on Fox Cricket, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

Press release never saw the light of day | 02:43<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The PNG Chiefs shapes as the obvious destination for the Origin halfback, but Anasta heard whispers he \u201cdoesn\u2019t want to go\u201d which Badel agreed with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell boys I spoke to his uncle Shane Walker, who played a lot of NRL games, I am told that he said \u2018Sam, this could set you up for life\u2019,\u201d Badel said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike you could go there for three years, get four million tax-free and you never have to work ever again. I know there\u2019s elements of his family that want him to go there.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I\u2019m hearing Sam personally doesn\u2019t want to go there. Ideally, I think his preference is to stay at the Roosters, but it\u2019s not going to happen on the money they\u2019ve offered.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Roosters\u2019 bombshell Sam Walker contract decision shocked the NRL, but it has been revealed \u201cquestions\u201d were being…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":643486,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-643485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=643485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=643485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}