The Sydney Roosters have welcomed Sam Walker's willingness to put contract talks on hold until after their premiership push, as coach Trent Robinson declared he held no fear the prodigious halfback would be tempted to look elsewhere.
Fresh off an impressive first State of Origin campaign for Queensland, Walker has continued to reward the Roosters' long-term investment in his development as his side look to topple Penrith on Thursday and claim top spot on the NRL ladder.
The 24 -year-old playmaker, who has nine tries and 18 try assists this season, enters the final 12 months of his contract on November 1.
So far the two sides have been unable to come to an agreement over a new deal.
But Robinson revealed on Wednesday that he was buoyed by Walker's eagerness to put discussions on hold as the Roosters focus on claiming their first premiership since 2019.
"I don't have any issues long-term about Sam and what he's going to do," Robinson said.
"He's been here for seven years and we've really progressed and built through that, so our vision for the future with Sammy is really clear.
"I think our discussions have been around that and I've got no problem in waiting until October to have that discussion either, because that means we can focus on right now.
"As a coach who's focused on this week and this year, that's pretty good news.
"Sammy's done really well to say, 'I don't want to have that come up constantly, so let's do this at the end of the year'."
Walker has the strongest chance to push his cause for a rich deal on Thursday when he pits himself against a Penrith side led by opposing halfback Nathan Cleary.
Penrith have won 12 of their past 13 games against the Roosters since 2020.
"There's different styles of halves and Sammy's unpredictable, and it's beautiful to watch when he plays that role," Robinson said.
"That's why Thursday is a pretty important game for us.
"It's nice to see two different style halves going against each other, whether it's State of Origin or whether it's Thursday."
Robinson will make a late call on the fitness of fullback James Tedesco, who missed last week's win over Canterbury with an ankle injury.
The Roosters coach doesn't expect winger Daniel Tupou (shoulder) or rugby union-bound edge forward Angus Crichton (foot) back in the next fortnight, but is hopeful both will be fit to face South Sydney in their final regular-season fixture.
