Brisbane hooker Billy Walters says his two-year contract extension is "pretty much done" as he aims to dismantle his former club Wests Tigers with nous learned from Benji Marshall.
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The 30-year-old has played his best football at the Broncos and is one of the most improved players in the NRL since moving from the halves to hooker.
"It's pretty much done," Walters said of his deal extension through until the end of 2026.
"It was a pretty seamless contract negotiation. I didn't want to go anywhere and lucky for me they were happy to keep me.
"It was just about letting them sort out the bigger fish so to speak. I will be super-stoked to stay."
Walters had a challenging two seasons at the Tigers in 2020 and 2021. He ruptured an ACL the first year he was there and came back to play alongside Marshall, now Tigers coach, in the halves.
Walters said he grew up idolising Marshall and learned to think about the game in more meaningful ways, acquiring wisdom that will assist him against Tigers rake Api Koroisau in Campbelltown on Saturday night.
"Everyone saw the fancy stuff Benji pulled off but it goes deeper than that. He is such a smart footy brain," Walters said.
"I (learned from) the way he used to manipulate the defence. He used to always try and have them second guess what he was doing. That is an important factor.
"I also watch a lot of Api Koroisau at the moment.
"I think he does really well out of nine with his deception so it is going to be a good opportunity to come up against him. I think he is one of the best nines in the competition."
Walters enjoyed his time at the Tigers but said on the field he "wasn't as successful as I would have liked".
He wants to get one over his former club and has two big forwards in his sights to rile up.
"I always mark down the days we are playing the Tigers," he said.
"It is always fun playing against your old mates. There is a bit of a rivalry there and you want to be cheeky to them once you get the win. Hopefully we can get a win.
"Alex Seyfarth is a big fired-up fella and I love trying to get under his skin, and Alex Twal. They are two good fellas I loved getting into at training."
Walters said the move to the Broncos in 2022 was the turning point of his career.
Now he has his sights set on going one better than the grand final appearance last year.
"The sky is the limit. I am loving my footy at the moment," Walters said.,
"If we can string a few wins together and get back in the finals hopefully we can finish off what we didn't do last year."
Australian Associated Press
