167 points in four games. Three Ashton-Collier Medals. Origin selection looming. Sam Walker walks out at Allianz on Saturday night against Reece Walsh, Pat Carrigan and the defending premiers — and how he performs will define his 2026 season in one match.
For four weeks, the Sydney Roosters have been the NRL’s most exciting team. They have come from behind in three consecutive games, scored 167 points in four wins, and produced Sam Walker’s finest run of football since he debuted as a teenager. But the critics have a point that hasn’t been answered yet — the Roosters haven’t beaten anyone who frightens them. The Sea Eagles in Round 1. The Sharks. The Knights. The Dragons.
Saturday night at Allianz Stadium is where that changes. Or doesn’t.
The Brisbane Broncos — defending premiers, five wins from their last six games, and now welcoming back Reece Walsh and Pat Carrigan — represent the first genuine top-four test of the Roosters’ revival. And at the centre of everything, as always, is Sam Walker. Three-time ANZAC Day player of the match. Billy Slater’s most compelling NSW Origin selection debate. The halfback who critics questioned for months and who has answered every doubt with football.
Saturday night is the biggest trial of his career to date. And every scout, selector and rival fan in the country will be watching.
State of Origin selection for Game 1 is weeks away. Billy Slater is building his NSW squad. And the question being asked in rugby league circles is direct: does Sam Walker deserve a Blues jersey? His form over the past four weeks — three Ashton-Collier Medals across the ANZAC Day fixture’s history, 167 points in four wins as the driving force behind the halves combination — says yes. But those wins came against the Sea Eagles, Sharks, Knights and Dragons.
Walsh. Reynolds. Carrigan. Staggs. The Broncos’ returning stars represent a completely different level of opposition — and how Walker handles the best defence in the competition (Brisbane conceding just 18.2 points per game over their last five) will tell everyone exactly where he stands in the Origin picture.
“It’s also a type of trial for Sam Walker, to see if he can put his name up there as a potential Origin player for Billy Slater.”
— NRL analysis, April 2026
Brisbane arrive at Allianz genuinely transformed from the side the Roosters last faced. Two massive returns headline the selections this week.
The Broncos’ defensive record is the real weapon. They sprinted out to a 26-0 lead over the Bulldogs last week before easing off — and they concede just 18.2 points per game over their last five matches. That defensive stinginess, combined with the return of Walsh and Carrigan, makes Brisbane arguably the most complete side the Roosters have faced since their losing streak at the start of the season.
2. Daniel Tupou
3. Hugo Savala
4. Robert Toia
5. Mark Nawaqanitawase
6. Daly Cherry-Evans
7. Sam Walker
8. Naufahu Whyte
9. Reece Robson
10. Lindsay Collins
11. Angus Crichton
12. Siua Wong
13. Victor Radley
Bench: Watson, Leniu, Butcher, Foketi
2. Selwyn Cobbo
3. Kotoni Staggs
4. Herbie Farnworth
5. Josiah Karapani
6. Ezra Mam
7. Adam Reynolds
8. Payne Haas
9. Billy Walters
10. Ben Talty
11. Thomas Flegler
12. Xavier Willison
13. Pat Carrigan ✅ BACK
Bench: Perham, Arthars, Tawha, Willison
The Roosters have won six of their last eight against Brisbane — but the Broncos staged an ambush in their last clash at Allianz, dropping 50 points early on last season. And the Broncos have won their last three games in Sydney by four points or less — which suggests they know how to travel to this city and grind out close wins. The history cuts both ways.
The Roosters should win at home, in form, with the crowd behind them. But “should” is doing heavy lifting in a match where the Broncos get back two of their three best players, their defensive record is elite, and their playing style — measured, disciplined, physically relentless — is precisely the kind of football that exposes halves combinations still finding their feet.
Sam Walker will be judged heavily on this one. The Origin selectors are watching. The media is watching. The fans of both clubs are watching. If he delivers — if he produces the kind of half that makes Billy Slater reach for the phone — Saturday night at Allianz becomes the night Walker graduates from a very good NRL player to a genuine superstar.
Four straight wins. 167 points. Five weeks of momentum and belief. Saturday night the Roosters face their first real examination — and Sam Walker faces his biggest stage. The match of the round. And it’s in Sydney, under lights, with everything on the line.
