One of the stories that best sums up Joey Walton happened last year when the Waratahs centre took a spot in an already crowded corner of injured players.
Walton had plantar fasciitis, a painful and tough-to-shake condition affecting the tissue on the bottom of a foot. But when he heard stories of athletes who had got back quicker by jumping off a table and deliberately rupturing the plantar fascia – including former AFL star Robert Harvey – Walton began planning.
To make sure of it, he figured he’d need a weighted backpack and a table to jump off, and began making plans.
Calm heads prevailed (the procedure is not recommended), the jump never happened and Walton returned to action via normal rehab. But the fact he’d been prepared to go to such lengths to help his injury-hit team did not go unnoticed.
Fast forward a year, and the level of respect and admiration for Walton at the Waratahs was finally exposed by the 24-year-old’s appointment as captain of the side to meet the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday night.
Joey Walton will become the Waratahs’ 179th captain on Friday.Credit: Getty Images
With Jake Gordon (knee) injured and deputy Hugh Sinclair rested due to illness, coach Dan McKellar turned to Walton to lead the side.
It was a popular call. Walton isn’t the biggest, the fastest or the flashiest Tahs player, and doesn’t have the natural skill of some of his more high-profile teammates. But his tenacity, toughness and rugby intelligence have won over NSW coaches, who find themselves scrunching up their best-laid plans to ensure Walton is on the field.
“It was a decision, in the end, that has been pretty straightforward,” McKellar said.
“Joey’s attitude since I turned up – firstly he leads through his actions, but has a strong voice and has strong opinions and knows the game well, sees the game well.
“He’s been a leading voice within our group from day one, to be honest, and he’s a player that’s always impressed me.
“I had respect for him when I coached against him; you just saw him coming through the pathways in the system in New South Wales. But most importantly he’s backed it up with performance.
“A tough bugger as well; he’s someone who can play with pain and played the first 80 minutes [in round one] with a torn groin pretty much, and then played a game with a pretty decent cork as well, so I’ve got a lot of respect for that.”
Walton’s tenacity – which also helped him play for Australia A last year – is no surprise given he not only took a tougher path to make the Waratahs, but has endured bad luck and injury since making his debut in 2020.
Unlike most of the Waratahs squad, who went to well-resourced private schools, Walton came through Wadalba Community High on the Central Coast, where most of his mates played rugby league. He played for the Australian schoolboys and eventually moved to Sydney to play for Gordon, winning a premiership in 2020 under Darren Coleman.
Joey Walton takes the ball up against the Crusaders.Credit: Getty Images
But after making his debut for NSW, Walton spent the majority of the next three seasons on the sidelines due to a run of rotten luck, including a broken ankle, a ruptured ACL, pandemic shutdowns and then a herniated disc that left him struggling for feeling in his legs. He has played just 29 Super Rugby games in five seasons.
“If you look at my career so far, the odds have been stacked against me,” Walton said in 2023 after fighting back into the team.
McKellar said Walton was a valued “foot soldier” at the Waratahs, and as NSW’s 179th captain, he’ll join greats such as Ken Catchpole, Nick Farr-Jones and Phil Waugh.
“He’s well liked and well respected,” McKellar said. “He battled injury there for a long period of time and I think everyone saw how hard he worked to overcome adversity and now to see him back up games week after week.
“Everyone’s just really happy for him and I know when I sat down with him and spoke to him about captaining the side … you could see the pride in his face, and it’ll be a special night for him and his family.”
Interestingly, though, Walton is not a drought-breaker as far as NSW captains from government high schools. Gordon attended Sydney Secondary College at Blackwattle Bay (the former Glebe High).
The Waratahs will require a trademark performance from Walton on Friday night to down the Hurricanes in Wellington, a job they haven’t managed since 2015. Returning from a foot injury, Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii was shifted to outside centre to reduce his running load and he could stay there for a run of games, McKellar said.
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