Sons of guns in contention to debut

The Storm and Roosters could be unveiling some royal blood

Published by
Mitch Keating

Melbourne and Sydney may have some well-known blood represent their clubs in round 15, with both club's naming sons of NRL royalty for the upcoming weekend, reports Fox Sports.

Cooper Johns (son of Matty) and Sam Walker (son of Ben) have both been named in their respective club's squad for round 15, wearing the No.20 and No.21 jumpers respectively.

Johns, nephew of league Immortal Andrew, has been on the cusp of Craig Bellamy's side for some time. But with winger Jahrome Hughes under an injury cloud, Johns might crack into the Storm lineup for the first time.

Melbourne will face Parramatta on Thursday at Bankwest and will not look to rush Hughes after the Storm half-back failed to complete a full session of training on Wednesday.

"Cooper has got the mentality that he is playing, he has had that all week," Bellamy told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"There is no use thinking he might, he might not, he might, he might not and then all of a sudden on Thursday morning he is playing.

"He has had that mentality all week. Whether that comes to fruition or not, we will know that Wednesday night or Thursday morning."

Bellamy revealed that while Johns doesn't possess the same mould as his father, he makes up for it in other aspects.

"The education he has had is second to none," Bellamy said.

"He is a different shape to both his dad and Joey - he's not quite as solidly built and is taller but you can certainly see it in the skill aspect and he gets around the field pretty well."
Published by
Mitch Keating