SAMTHING SPECIAL
Warriors ace Walters eyes Wembley final spot after long-awaited debut
AFTER being forced to wait almost four months for his Wigan debut, Sam Walters is playing catch-up and eyeing a Wembley spot.
The towering back-row was one of the Super League champions’ big signings after arriving from Leeds for 2024.
Tipped to be one of the stars of the season, he was all set to make his mark when the campaign began in February.
But Walters broke a collarbone in the friendly against Hull, less than a fortnight before it kicked off, and missed the opening 13 games.
They included a memorable World Club Challenge win over Penrith and the traditional Good Friday derby against St Helens.
But the powerful forward, who stands at 6ft 7in, finally got to make his bow in another huge contest – Saturday’s Challenge Cup semi-final rout of Hull KR when he came off the bench in the second half to at last get going.
On the relief of playing again, he admitted: “It’s been a weird time so it was great to get out there.
“For 60 minutes I was watching and it’s a semi-final so it’s back and forth, back and forth.
“You just want to be in that grind. Then I came on and we were up a bit.
“They were trying to chase the game so I had to try to conserve my energy a little and implement myself where I see necessary.
“It’s a new role (off the bench) but I was happy to get my debut and get that one out of the way. I just want to build on that performance now. And try push myself into the team.”
However, Walters was handed a one-match penalty notice by the review panel yesterday for a high tackle against KR so he misses Sunday’s trip to Salford.
Fellow forward Kaide Ellis also received a one-game suspension for a dangerous contact.
Walters will be available again when joint-leaders Wigan face Warrington on Saturday week in a dress rehearsal for the Cup final on June 8. On his chances of making the Wembley squad, he said: “I’ll do my own review and the team review and see what parts of my game I can be better in.
“Obviously, I’m probably still not where I want to be. That’s just the pressure I put on myself. “I’ll watch it back and speak to the coaches and see what I need to do to be where I was.
“With injuries it’s a big setback – you can do all the training in the world but nothing compares to actually playing. Game-fitness is everything.”
With fellow back-row Willie Isa out due to his own injury, there is scope for Walters to challenge Junior Nsemba (inset, above) for a starting spot.
Meanwhile, even the 23-year-old saw the funny side of one of his first exchanges on his Wigan debut.
Walters got picked up and dumped on his backside by KR scrum-half Mikey Lewis, the smallest player on the field.
He said: “I was expecting the pass to go to Adam Keighran but then it came back into me so I was caught a bit by surprise – but it was a nice welcome to the game!”