He may have made his name at Widnes, but Danny Walker is Warrington through-and-through.
That being said, the tenacious hooker joined the Vikings from Warrington in 2014 and hasn’t looked back since rejoining his boyhood club in 2019 at the age of 19.
“When I was younger I played in the Warrington service area until I was 14,” says Walker.
“In 2014, Widnes signed me for the Scholarship system over there.
“The only reason why I didn’t stay with Warrington was because I could see a clear pathway at Widnes up to the Super League.
“They had a good few lads in the Super League that came through the ranks and I could see that for myself one day.
“It all came about through a few of the coaches there and the scouts watching me on a Sunday at Rylands and Crosfields.
“It’s been one of the best things that I’ve done and I wouldn’t change it now because it’s got me to where I am today.”
Walker’s performances for Widnes in their last season in the top-flight were enough to earn himself a place on the England Knights’ tour of Papua New Guinea.
“That was an unreal experience going around PNG, which not many people get the chance to do.
“So, it was a really good life lesson as well as being able to represent my country.
“It’s also given me a bit of a pathway through the England setup too, because obviously I played for the England Youth and Academy and got the chance to play for the Knights.
“Hopefully sooner rather than later if I progress the way I want to progress, I could get a shot in the senior team. But I’ve got a lot of hard work to do before anything like that comes up.”
With Widnes suffering relegation at the end of 2018, a multitude of clubs were after the livewire hooker, but Warrington was the easy decision for Walker to make.
“A couple of clubs came calling after Widnes were relegated and my agent phoned me and we had a good chat with a couple of family members.
“To return to Warrington and play for my home town was the right thing for me to do. I didn’t want to mess up the opportunity because it might not have happened again.
“I wanted to give it my best shot and it means a bit more when it’s your home town club.
“It was tough to leave Widnes because they had put a lot of trust in me and they made me what I am today.”
For Walker, it’s a case of putting his goals into three periods of time, with his maturity belying his 21 years.
“I like to put my goals into the short-term, medium-term and long-term so I’ve got something to aim for no matter what,” he says.
“Short-term, I need to keep working hard in pre-season and give myself the best possible chance to be in the 17 for the first game.
“Obviously if I keep working hard I can achieve that.
“Medium-term, I want to get a place in the team every week, getting some good minutes under my belt.
“I’ve got to recognise that I’ve got a world-class hooker (Daryl Clark) in front of me, but I am determined to prove my worth.
“Mainly, I want to come out of the season with my first bit of silverware; it’s no secret that Warrington haven’t won the Super League and I’d love to be a part of the team winning it for the first time.
“The Grand Final, Challenge Cup and League Leaders’ Shield would all be perfect in an ideal world, but we want that big one and hopefully it could happen.”
The number nine pointed to the shrewd recruitment made by Wolves coach Steve Price and emphasised just how much he is looking forward to the new season.
“We’ve recruited well and we’ve got two big props and Greg Inglis coming in and that speaks for itself.
“I’m super excited with what the season has to offer and I just want to give the club the best version of myself every day.”
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