{"id":503672,"date":"2026-05-27T20:46:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T20:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=503672"},"modified":"2026-05-27T22:25:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:25:58","slug":"disappointed-walkers-raw-emotion-after-stellar-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=503672","title":{"rendered":"'Disappointed': Walker's raw emotion after stellar debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sam Walker<\/a> was shattered in the aftermath of his Origin debut after witnessing his dream Maroons<\/a> victory stolen away in the dying seconds of the series opener.<\/p>\n

Walker's inexperience in the representative arena proved no issue for Queensland on Wednesday night, with league greats left in awe of his skilful display against the Blues<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old's kicking game was a crucial difference in his team getting ahead on the scoreboard, with NSW defenders left scrambling to chase his short kicks.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'No way': Commentators stunned by 'remarkable' Ponga send-off<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Controversy strikes as Bunker intervenes to wipe Murray miracle<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\ufeff<\/strong> Joey in disbelief over gun's error-riddled first half nightmare<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/p>\n

Walker's boot set up the game's first try via Robert Toia, before he later puzzled Laurie Daley's men with a remarkable down-field kick to hinder the Blues' momentum.<\/p>\n

Cameron Munster told Nine at half-time that Walker had been instructed to simply "be himself"\ufeff and he did exactly that to finish off a masterclass that will go down as one of the great Origin debuts despite the heartbreak.<\/p>\n

"He's been incredible, Sam Walker," Andrew Johns said in commentary on Nine.<\/p>\n

While heroic, Walker was unable to save the day, with James Tedesco leaping over \ufeffHamiso Tabuai-Fidow to score the winning try.<\/p>\n

Walker was visibly upset, despite being one of the top contenders to earn the man of the match award in the eyes of league greats. \ufeff<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/p>\n

His sights are now set on turning the result back in favour of the Maroons in game two. \ufeff\ufeff<\/p>\n

"It is a hard one to reflect on right now. I am just disappointed, I guess," he told Nine.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffIt is really special to be able to put the jersey on. The whole week has been really special. I am looking forward to the next game."<\/p>\n

Concerns that he may fall short of the injured Tom Dearden due to his defensive frailties<\/a> were quickly quashed by Walker as he stood tall throughout.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2026 State of Origin series live and free exclusively on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\ufeff\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The star playmaker told media in the sheds post-game that he never felt overawed by the occasion of playing in front of almost 80,000 fans in enemy territory.<\/p>\n

"It's just footy, I've done it a thousand times," Walker said.<\/p>\n

"Obviously it's a pretty big occasion, but I loved every minute of it. I got a lot of belief from the coaching staff to go out there and play my game and back what I see.\ufeff"<\/p>\n

His performance in a losing side earned high praise from some of the all-time greats.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"Crafty<\/p>\n

Johns, one of the best to ever wear a Blues jersey, was in awe of Walker's first game at Origin level, predicting he would be a long-term Queensland representative.<\/p>\n

"Sammy is going to be there for the next 10 years," he said post-match.<\/p>\n

"His short kicking game was a real standout. \ufeffHe was really strong and he organised his edge. He would be the man of the match, for sure [if Queensland won]."<\/p>\n

Smith agreed, adding: \ufeff"If Queensland were to hold on, he would be man of the match.<\/p>\n

"I thought he was outstanding. \ufeffI think the biggest rap you could get is Joey saying you've had one hell of a debut.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffIt was just the way he controlled the game for Queensland early on … and that is not a common trait that you'd consider from Sam Walker.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffHe helped set up a lot of the points tonight and got all the troops downfield. He kicked well. He was fantastic."<\/p>\n

\"Ponga<\/p>\n

His coach Billy Slater was also full of praise after his introduction to Origin level and said he felt more confident in the halfback's ability the longer camp progressed.<\/p>\n

Walker said working alongside Slater – a player he no doubt grew up idolising – gave him the belief to go out there and perform on the biggest stage.<\/p>\n

"It was really special\ufeff," he said.<\/p>\n

"I think he's an unbelievable coach, he's done such a great job with this side for a number of years and it gave me confidence going into the week."<\/p>\n

Walker will likely retain the No.7 jumper for game two with Dearden still sidelined.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sam Walker was shattered in the aftermath of his Origin debut after witnessing his dream Maroons victory stolen away in the dying seconds of the […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":503674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503672"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=503672"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":503680,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503672\/revisions\/503680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/503674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=503672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=503672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=503672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}