Agree with that. Our forwards can just about stand toe to toe, but halves and three quarters lag behind.

Luke Keary of Sydney Roosters according to the stats is a bit taller than Walker but weighs slightly less and he does not seem to get injured like Walker.
So he is hardly what you could call bulked up.
Its probably to do with genetics with Walker more than anything.

He also made is debut 3 years later than Walker did. It seems the earlier you make your debut, the more injury prone the player is, especially in their early 20s. It's hardly a surprise really, a kids body is not robust enough to withstand the stress it's put under playing top level RL on a regular basis. And if they do manage to make it through their early 20s, then their careers seem to peak/end early.

Keary is also a half not a full back, so he is not routinely getting smashed while taking high balls or having to clear his lines after kick returns. I think full back is now the most athletically demanding position in the game and you have to be strong, fast and extremely physically resilient to be a top liner. Fingers crossed Jack gets there. He does not lack bottle.

I cringed every time Myler took it in at full back last season worried he was going to stand up with an injury as you are most likely to take big shots. I think people miss how physically demanding the full back role is.

I think Walker has already bulked over the years but perhaps has a little more bulking in him. As a poster said, he started playing with men at 17 years old which is extremely physically demanding at such a young age. Hopefully, he does a Lomax and starts to become a regular player.

I think that bulking isn’t always that helpful. Somebody used Keary as an example and response was he isn’t a full back and he debuted later.

Ryan Papenhuyzen is a full back, I would say he is on the way to becoming an elite one. He is 22 and 5”11 (181cm) 80kg. Debuted at 20 in the NRL for the storm. Prior was playing for storm feeder team and origin under 20. Played 42 times for the storm.

Walker is according to the rhinos website Walker is 5”10 (178cm) and 81kg. Debuted in the challenge cup at 17 and became regular at 17-18. Prior to that playing more age grade rugby. Played 60 times for the rhinos.

Reasonably similar build, similar position, same position. Only difference is debut age.

Couple of things, I don’t think Walker is or ever will be as explosive as a real top level full back needs to be. I think he is a great player but isn’t ever going to be elite level (to be fair few are).
Second I think playing regularly at 18 probably didn’t help but it can’t be the only thing or there would be scientific data to say doing at that 17-18 will cause long term damage and I don’t think they would do it.
Third, he is the same weight just about as Papenhuyzen so I don’t think he needs to bulk per se. Maybe he just needs to work on his explosive power.

Hopefully the shoulder op will help, he has had issues with his shoulders for a while from memory.

There is some data... https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... 6487506923 Similar to the data around head injuries in sport, I think we'll start to see a lot more conclusive evidence of increased injury to professional teenage athletes. Many experts in the game already advocate for the academy system to be an u23 limit, rather than u19 or u21, so there is already some concern.

There is some data... https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... 6487506923 Similar to the data around head injuries in sport, I think we'll start to see a lot more conclusive evidence of increased injury to professional teenage athletes. Many experts in the game already advocate for the academy system to be an u23 limit, rather than u19 or u21, so there is already some concern.

Interesting comments here. Also worth noting that Holroyd, Mclelland and Alex Sutcliffe are all going under the knife in close season.
Alex Sutcliffe has also had a bucket load of injuries before making the first team.

Hope Walker can have a better run, like Lomax as others have said on here.

Stevie Ward and Jack Walker both plunged into 1st team action week after week rather than introduced gradually. SL today is much tougher than RL in previous eras. So despite the talent a teenager has his introduction into first grade should be planned and well managed. I have to say in the case of these two talented lads this was not the case and they are now paying the price.
Is it a coincidence that it was the same Head coach..I don’t think so. I hope this is a lesson learned.

No disrespect to Walker, but we've arguably struggled with the FB position since Hardaker left. The fact that Myler, a failed half-back, is preferred in this position says it all.

Walker seems like a skillful and elusive player, but I worry that he is not big or fast enough to become a top full-back. Injuries aren't helping and he probably needs more time, but this is a position with a lot more significance to the team than second-row (in Ward's case, where we could afford to be patient).

Handley or Sutcliffe are definitely not the answer at FB either. If Leeds want to be competitive at the top level this is one of the key spine positions we might want to look at upgrading, along with stand-off. With Gale pulling the strings, and McLelland a decent deputy, we badly need some searing pace (and skill) at 1 and/or 6 to give use more attacking threat.

I don't think pace is a problem for Walker he seems quick enough to me. I do have concerns his frame isn't strong enough to withstand the big hits of SL. Unfortunately he's going to miss most of preseason shoulder gym strength work. Let's hope he has a lot more luck next season.

Walker is class and will only get better. Give him time. Will be first choice FB for his country within 3 years imho.....

Walker is quality, needs to develop his passing game which i can see he is. He needs to stay healthy.

As for being the international full back the best young full back in this country is Jack Welsby. His issue is Coote is playing there at the moment for Saints. Welsby is outstanding though and will become GB/Eng full back for a long time i think.

We've been blessed with great full backs for a long time. Connolly did a great job then Mathers, Webb and Hardaker -world class. Walker also looks a high quality player but seems to take a lot of knocks. Some smaller framed guys seem to be made of rubber and just bounce up after massive hits. Walker isn't one of them. Adding more muscle bulk unnaturally (I obviously don't mean "illegally"icon_wink.gif may not help much.

If memory serves me Webb used to have injuries as well, didn't he have a back problem.