ADAM WALKER is hoping to come up against younger brother Jonathon next Friday and finally announce his arrival on the Super League scene.
The 22-year-old prop is in line to get his chance to make his mark at the top level at the start of this season.
That’s partly been forced on Walker, with the Giants suffering a whole host of injuries to front-row forwards.
But with four tough pre-seasons under his belt, the talented forward is determined to make 2012 his year.
And he can think of no better way to prove a point than by putting in a five-star performance at Castleford Tigers next Friday – and hopefully get the better of his twin brother in the process.
“Jonathon obviously picked up that serious knee injury against the Giants in June, which ruled him out for the rest of the season,” said Walker.
“As a result, I don’t know at this stage whether he’ll be okay to face us next Friday, but he is pretty close.
“And if he did, I’d absolutely love it, because I’m sure he’d be scared of me!
“After all, I am the older brother by a minute, and I do feel it’s about time I put him in his place.
“Because he’s already broken into the first team and got a number of Super League games under his belt – I don’t know how many, but I’m on two – he does give me quite a lot of stick about it.
“But, all being well, that could be about to change and I’d love to prove that to Jonathon before anywhere else next Friday.
“Having said that, I still don’t know for sure if I’m playing myself or not. We’ve not been told.
“But I’m certainly ready.”
It does, however, seem highly likely he will be in action at the PROBIZ Coliseum.
With Tony Tonks suspended and David Fa’alogo, Luke O’Donnell and Larne Patrick all injured, the Giants are not blessed with the greatest prop cover in the world.
That means Walker, along with experienced pair Eorl Crabtree and Keith Mason look set to play big front-row minutes.
Not that it fazes the confident Walker, however.
“It’s tough having all these injuries to forwards,” he added.
“But it does give me more of a chance to show Nathan (Brown) exactly what I can do, and that I’m more than ready.
“I do feel pre-season has gone really well for me, and I’ve had some pretty positive feedback from the coaching staff.
“But that won’t count for anything if I don’t continue to keep my head down and keep working.
“I know there’s still a lot of improvement in me, and hopefully we’ll see some of that against Cas next Friday night.
“Straight after that, I’ll be looking to make sure I play at Wigan six days later.
“I’d also like to play at Batley and Halifax in the other trial games if required. The more minutes I get under my belt, the better.”
