Shannon Walker (born in

Kyogle, New South Wales Kyogle () is a town in the Northern Rivers region of northern New South Wales, Australia. It falls within the local government area of Kyogle Council. At the 2016 census, Kyogle had a population of 2,751 people. Kyogle is known as a "gateway" ...

), is an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer who plays Sevens Rugby for Australia. He previously played Rugby League with the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...

of the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

. His position of choice is as at

Fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

but he can play on the

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

Career

Before the NRL & Queensland Cup success

Shannon Walker grew up in the rural country town of Kyogle in a large family as one of eight children. Walker spent most of his adolescence growing up in his home town, with a move to

Bundaberg, Queensland Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the List of places in Queensland by population, tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's Bundaberg Regional Council, regional area has a population of 70,921, and is ...

attending primary school at East Bundaberg SPS and representing the Bundaberg Primary Schoolboys Rep teams. Walker developed a passion for rugby league with the

Kyogle Turkeys Kyogle Turkeys Rugby League Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Kyogle, New South Wales in the Northern Rivers. They field both senior teams that compete in the Northern Rivers Rugby League competition and junior sides in ...

, playing for the club from the age of 5 and eventually playing first grade for the side at the age of 16. In 2006, a year after representing Kyogle in first grade, Walker moved north to the Gold Coast to further his professional league career. He enrolled with the renowned rugby league nursery

Palm Beach Currumbin High School Palm Beach Currumbin State High School (PBC High School or PBC) is an independent co-educational public school (government funded), in the Gold Coast suburb of Currumbin, Queensland, Australia. PBC is Queensland's southernmost coastal High sch ...

and in his first year with the college was selected for the 2006 Queensland Schoolboys team and 2006 Australian Schoolboys Tour of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, where in the Australians first match against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Walker was named man-of-the-match. The following year in 2007 Walker began playing Colts rugby league for the

feeder club, the

Tweed Heads Seagulls The Tweed Heads Seagulls, often referred to simply as Tweed or Seagulls or Tweed Seagulls, is a rugby league club based in Tweed Heads, New South Wales. It is one of only two non-Queensland teams to play in the Queensland Cup, along with the ...

, where he shone at junior level and quickly elevated into playing in the

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...

senior side. The Seagulls and Walker had a brilliant season as the club reached the Queensland Cup Grand-Final, where they defeated 2006 Premiers

Redcliffe Dolphins The Redcliffe Dolphins are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Redcliffe, Queensland, Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1947, they were accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league competition), Brisba ...

28-18 giving Walker an early taste of Premiership success. His performance through the season was duly recognized as he was awarded the ' Courier Mail Queensland Cup Player-of-the-Year Award' and Gold Coast Titans 'Young Player-of-the-Year'.

Gold Coast Titans

Many critics believe Walker's debut in the National Rugby League would most certainly be some time throughout the 2008 season. After his success in the Queensland Cup Walker headed the list of youngsters widely tipped to make an impact for the Titans and battle for an NRL debut. He further staked his claim for a Titans jersey when in the Gold Coasts first trial of 2008 against the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

, Walker scored in the highlight of the match showcasing his pace and footwork to beat the Raiders fullback on his way to the tryline. He made his debut for the Gold Coast Titans against the

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...

on 16 May 2008. He was also believed to be fastest player in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

at the time. On 8 May 2011 Walker announced he had signed a contract with ARU to join the Australian Sevens Squad. In 2016, he was signed to a train and trial deal with the

and was named in one trial match against

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

. He was also selected to play for

at the Inaugural

Auckland Nines The NRL Nines is a rugby league nines competition, normally held during the NRL preseason each year. It was initially held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 2014 and 2017 before going on hiatus. Returning in 2020, hosting duties moved to Perth ...

in 2016. However, as at April 2016, Walker is again playing with the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Queensland Cup competition.

Point Scoring Summary – Gold Coast Titans(NRL)

Point Scoring Summary – Gold Coast Titans(Toyota Cup)

References

External links

Gold Coast Titans profileQLD/NSW: Shannon Walker's Origin option
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Shannon 1988 births Living people Australia international rugby sevens players Australian rugby league players Australian rugby union players Gold Coast Titans players Indigenous Australian rugby league players Junior Kangaroos players Kyogle Turkeys players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from New South Wales Rugby union players from New South Wales Tweed Heads Seagulls players People from the Northern Rivers