Young Rhino Walters credits “Golden Generation” as reason for signing

Young Leeds forward Sam Walters has credited the club’s facilities and the impact of the ‘Golden Generation’ as his reasons for signing for the club.

The teenager joined the West Yorkshire giants from Widnes back in March as part of a deal to ease the Vikings’ financial troubles.

And despite interest from elsewhere, the highly-rated youngster insists he was sold on the Rhinos straight away.

“When you look at the financial backing Leeds have and the facilities on offer, they just blow everyone else out the water,” he told Serious About RL. “I was fortunate enough to have a look around at other clubs but what Leeds had to offer was second to none and is probably the best out there.

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Debut for batley, nice to get over for one ?

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“The culture of the club is brilliant and the ‘Golden Generation’ story just shows that we can do something special.”

It’s safe to say Walters has hit the ground running since his switch to Headingley.

The England Academy international ended the 2019 season as Academy Player of the Year and also racked up his first senior appearance whilst on loan at Batley.

“I didn’t expect to win the award because I thought there was a few of the lads who could’ve easily won it,” he added. “But just to make that impact in my first year was a massive deal for myself.

“Towards the back end of last year, I was also training full-time with the first team, then I got told I’d be doing the whole pre-season with them, with the view of hopefully getting some games on the back of it.”

The Rhinos have now returned to training as they begin preparations for the 2020 season and, as promised, Walters is in the thick of the action.

The young forward is working closely with senior stars including Trent Merrin, Rob Lui and Luke Gale, and has already set himself some lofty ambitions for next year.

“The main goal for me is to compete for a back row spot every week and not just be in the first team to make the numbers up.

“I want to actually give Richard (Agar) a headache about picking his squad and hopefully get a handful of games under my belt.

“I’ve developed a lot in the year that I’ve been at Leeds, both physically and also in my ability as well.

“I’m still growing and I’m still only young, but I feel like I’m heavy enough and strong enough to cope with the demands of Super League.”