Set to be out for 4 months after surgery on his shoulders, looks like it’s a good job Myler has found his true position and a good job we kept him in!

Starting to get very worrying for Walker. I like him and think he is a better full back than Myler but his injury record is very poor.

Another young player getting serious longterm injuries. Hope he has better luck than Stevie ward

At least it's not his biscuit ankles again.

It can happen to a lot of youngsters who break into the team early, lets hope his career takes the lines of Johnny Lomax rather than Stevie Ward

Walker has a bad combination of small size and big heart. Can't help feeling if he chunked up a bit he might be more resilient to some injuries to do with muscle/ligament. Shock injuries are harder to mitigate, but he looks hurt in almost every tackle (then again so does Hurrell... who may be bigger but maybe not in peak condition on the other end of the scale..)

We have one or two fullbacks coming through the ranks too - I honestly don't see Myler as the solution long-term. He had a great performance in the CC final, and his skill and awareness is world class sometimes, but I felt we started to see the bad side of Myler's game appear again towards the end of the season too.

Another surgery and some more time for Walker must be needed - hopefully he'll be back fully fit, strong and raring to go from Easter ish next year. He was looking like the next England full-back a couple of years ago with MoM performances regularly.

Having had a full shoulder reconstruction over 6 years ago, I feel for the kid. Not only will he struggle with full movement (physio 2-3 times a week while playing will help) but arthritis will start to develop and affect him in his later career. I’m sure Barrie Mac will advise him.

The worry is if Myler gets injured we don`t really have many options at FB as I would be loathed to move Handley and Sutcliffe is far too slow.
Whilst Golding was never as good as Walker in attack I do feel his physical presence was better suited in defence and as a Golding fan always wanted him to stay at Leeds.
Maybe Walker could slot in to the HB role in the future?

If is out 4 months that would mean he is fit for the start of the season ?

starting to worry about the lad now

The problematic thing is that he keeps losing the opportunity to bulk up and work on his game during pre season because he's recovering from surgery. Must be very frustrating for both he and the club. Hope he can break the pattern.

When will purple ever realise that 'bulking up' isn't a cure all scenario!
Annoys me...

Adding strength to a frame that (for a professional rugby league player) is frail seems like a no brainer to me. I find myself constantly checking to see that he's getting up after being tackled. Not suggesting that he needs to Mr Universe, he just needs to add some physical resilience to his undoubted talent if he wants to progress in the upper echelons of the support. How many NRL fullbacks way in at less than thirteen stone?

RL is a physical sport. Players are full-time sportsmen. It’s not a question of bulk alone but when you watch NRL it’s clear that the average level of physical strength is higher than in SL. Jack seems one of those lads who struggles to gain mass but I do think he needs to work on it.

It certainly is in the backs. Our backs are way below the average NRL back's level in terms of physicality. Personally, I think it's why we struggle the most at the top level

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.