Robinson admits surprise at speed of Walker’s return from surgery

Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson admits he was surprised to hear from Sam Walker a fortnight ago that he was targeting the preliminary final for his return from ankle surgery but has declared the halfback “fit and ready to go”.

Walker will reclaim his place in the Roosters line-up in Friday night’s grand final qualifier against the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium less than two months after succumbing to a syndesmosis injury against the same opponents.

There were fears his season was over after he hobbled from the field during the Roosters’ 26-12 defeat at Allianz Stadium that night, but Robinson said the No.7 had his eye on a faster than expected recovery as the finals series began.

“He was pretty clear about what his target was,” the coach said on Wednesday.

“I said to him two weeks ago ‘Do you think you’ll be right for the last game of the year?’

“He said, ‘I’ll be right for the one before that’. Even that surprised me a couple of weeks ago.”

Walker will also resume goalkicking against the Dolphins, according to Robinson, who credited the 24-year-old’s speedy return to the precision of doctors and physios as well as the player’s mindset.

The Queensland playmaker’s selection has forced rising homegrown Roosters utility Hugo Savala back to the interchange bench after joining Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves during Walker’s absence.

But Robinson said he still had a role in mind for Savala in the penultimate week of the season, saying he had “earned his right to continue to play, and he’ll get that”.

As for how he will be deployed, the three-time premiership winning mentor was more guarded but made it clear Billy Smith’s spot at left centre was locked in.

“We’ll see. I won’t go into that,” said Robinson when asked how he would use Savala, who was listed as 18th man by the Roosters on their six-man bench.

“I think I’ve given more thought than I’ve given ever before in naming the line-up like that. I knew there’d be a lot of interest in who was playing where … but other than that I’m not really going to go into changes. That’ll have to wait for Friday night.”

Cherry-Evans and fullback and captain James Tedesco were due to return to training on Wednesday after missing Monday’s session with illness.

The Roosters lost their other game against the Dolphins this year 48-10 in Brisbane in June.