{"id":93897,"date":"2021-07-01T13:06:03","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T13:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=93897"},"modified":"2021-07-01T20:57:13","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T20:57:13","slug":"legends-raise-concern-over-targeted-prodigy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=93897","title":{"rendered":"Legends raise concern over 'targeted' prodigy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roosters' teen prodigy Sam Walker is getting "absolutely battered" by oppositions amid a stellar breakout year in top-flight footy, but it's the brutal lessons he learns now that will put him in "good stead" later in his career.<\/p>\n

That's the word from the greatest halfback to play the game, Andrew Johns, who believes Walker is enduring a trial by fire in the physical department, despite the class of his game.<\/p>\n

NRL guru Phil Gould raised concern midway into the Chooks' 46-0 loss at the hands of the Storm after<\/a> Walker was clobbered late off a kick. It was a trend that continued throughout the match in a wet and dreary affair in the Hunter.<\/p>\n

"It was just big man on little man again, he's a tough boy," Gould said in commentary.<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/p>\n

"He's going to need a spell this kid before the end of the year. They can't keep him going every week at this age. They've got to be kind. He's had some shoulder issues. If he's going to be your future, you've got to look after him at this age."<\/p>\n

While Johns stopped shot of pulling Walker from the fray, he conceded the youngster was finding himself in the wars week-in week-out, a concern the Roosters would have to address if he's to be the face of their franchise in years to come.<\/p>\n

"The Roosters had no go-forward in the middle of the field, it means he's got less time and the fast-moving Melbourne Storm defence, they put him under pressure," Johns said.<\/p>\n

"But I've got to say he held his hands up, he kept fighting to the end. This is a 300-game halfback. But at the moment he's getting absolutely battered.<\/p>\n

\"NRL<\/p>\n

"I'd like to see him put 2-4kg on each off-season. You can't put too much on because otherwise your body can break down. But his game is not necessarily built on strength.<\/p>\n

"But he's only just turning 19. Wait until you see him when he's 23 or 24. He's a 300-game player, but he's learning some tough lessons. But it's the lessons you learn early in your career that put you in good stead as you get older."<\/p>\n

That was sentiment echoed by cross-code legend Sonny Bill Williams who believed Walker would ultimately take home "invaluable" lessons from the weekly punishment.<\/p>\n

"This is his learning experience," Williams said.<\/p>\n

"This will be invaluable for him in years to come, these types of games. I know we've got to protect our young stars of the future and that. But this is what is going to put him in good stead later in his career."<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong> clicking here<\/em><\/strong><\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roosters' teen prodigy Sam Walker is getting "absolutely battered" by oppositions amid a stellar breakout year in top-flight footy, but it's the brutal lessons he […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"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\/93897"}],"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=93897"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93899,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93897\/revisions\/93899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}