Sam Walters admitted his pain after Saturday’s Super League Grand Final defeat to St Helens but has also spoken of his pride in a breakthrough season at Leeds Rhinos. The imposing forward has emerged as an increasingly valuable figure at Headingley since Rohan Smith arrived at the club in May and injected confidence into him.
The former Widnes Vikings prospect played in the Rhinos’ play-off victories away to Catalans Dragons and Wigan Warriors before coming off the bench at Old Trafford as Saints won 24-12.
“Rohan has given me a lot of confidence in my game which I think I’ve lacked over the last 12 months,” Walters, who made a career-best 10 Super League appearances this season, told Leeds Live.
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“Playing in a Grand Final topped it off and not being able to get the win for him and the boys obviously hurt a lot. But I think this probably is my breakthrough season. Next year for me is about getting more game-time and I’m already thinking about pre-season now.
“I want to develop more physically and add more attributes to my game to give myself the best opportunity to get as much game-time as I can in 2023.”
Walters, who stands 6ft 7in, had his start to the year wrecked by a shoulder injury which sidelined him for several months. But he returned to full fitness and made his mark under Smith, who engineered a remarkable turnaround in the Rhinos’ fortunes.
Walters is contract to Leeds until the end of next season and added: “I’ve got one more year left on my deal and I’ve not spoken to the club yet about anything beyond that. I’m just going to go into pre-season and work as hard as I possibly can – but I do want to stay here for the long term.
“I’ll speak to the club next season about my future but of course I want to stay at Leeds, 100 per cent. I’ve got the best pathway here to get a good role within the squad and I also think I can develop as a player a lot under Rohan. He gives me a lot of confidence and I believe he’s a good coach to have at the helm.”
Smith is a noted man-manager and Walters said: “Rohan puts a lot of emphasis on the youth because we’re hopefully the ones who are going to be here for the next 10 years to carry the club forward. As young lads, he gets us in our groups and asks for our opinion, which is really important.”
Walters is an ardent Liverpool supporter and admitted he was desperate to win at the home of their hated rivals Manchester United on Saturday.
“I wanted to score a try and do the (Steven) Gerrard celebration in the corner,” he said. “Like I say, losing hurt but it’s just made me even more determined to come back here and hopefully get the win next time.”
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