Ex-Bay of Plenty midfielder Joey Walton re-signs with Waratahs

After another strong season in sky blue, midfielder Joey Walton has put pen to paper on a new deal with the NSW Waratahs for 2026. Walton played 965 minutes out of a possible 1,040 this season, having already become an integral member of the Tahs’ run-on side.

As an Australia A representative, who has also been called into Wallaby training camps in the past, Walton is on the radar for higher honours. Walton started against Tonga for Australia A in 2023, and featured at centre against England A last November.

Those opportunities have come about after a few years of consistent rugby at the Tahs, which has included two seasons as a regular starter. Walton started six of 11 appearances for New South Wales in 2023, before featuring in the run-on side 12 times the following year.

Walton joined the likes of Henry O’Donnell and Lalakai Foketi in the Tahs’ midfield this season, and the 25-year-old is now set for another campaign under coach Dan McKellar, with the club confirming on Wednesday that the centre had re-signed.

“I’m stoked to be staying at the ‘Tahs. I love this team and really enjoy it here,” Waltons said. “The positive is that our good games are really good… we just need to do it more often.”

Walton also has experience abroad, having played 11 matches for the Bay of Plenty Steamers in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship in 2022. The Australian lined up alongside the likes of Emoni Narawa, Naitoa Ah Kuoi and Kurt Eklund that season.

That opportunity with the Bay was a bridge between opportunities at the Tahs for Walton, who had only featured nine times in the two seasons prior. But after returning to Australia, Walton has gone on to make another 37 games for New South Wales.

This season, in a star-studded backline which included the likes of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Andrew Kellaway and captain Jake Gordon, Walton was one of the more consistent members of the Tahs’ team. He played the full 80 in every match except for two.

Walton was shown a yellow card against the Hurricanes in the seventh round, and came on as a replacement the following week against Moana Pasifika. But other than that, Walton held down the fort as a regular in the No. 12 jersey.

In 12 matches, Walton made a noticeable difference as a playmaker, also crossing for one try in the memorable win over the ACT Brumbies in Sydney. That 28-23 win came down to the wire, with Walton scoring a decisive five-pointer in the 72^nd minute.

“He’s here most days. He’s such an important, consistent part of what we do,” McKellar added.

“He drives standards hard and has high standards of himself, challenges others; but most importantly he has backed it up with quality performance.

“It hasn’t been easy for him this year. He has had to play with injury and play through pain; and people don’t see that. That in itself is a talent.

“It’s nice to have that consistency, having Joey in the midfield a couple of more years.”