NZ Warriors star Reece Walsh insists he's not thinking past this season, after recent reports out of Australia that he's "unsettled" at the club.
Earlier this year, there were rumours Walsh could be looking to join Queensland sides the Brisbane Broncos or the new Dolphins outfit "sooner rather than later", despite having two years remaining on his contract with the Warriors.
But on Tuesday, the 19-year-old has said he's taking things one day at a time, as the Warriors continue to search for their first win of their NRL campaign.
"The media's always going to come up with scenarios and talk about what can happen or what's going to happen," says Walsh.
"They always think they know that they're getting the first story. For myself, I'm not even looking past next week."
Last April, the fullback joined the NZ side from the Broncos on a three-year deal, exploding onto the scene with nine tries in 16 games for the club.
"I'm just taking it one step at a time and I've only just started playing footy again. I haven't even, to be honest, thought about what's going to happen next year or the year after.
"I'm not looking too far forward into the future, or what’s going to happen."
Walsh admits he's "disappointed” in his first performance for the side this season in their 20-18 loss to the Gold Coast on Saturday.
Walsh called the post-match review "confronting", after an error-ridden display against the Titans left the side winless from their first two games - a performance coach Nathan Brown branded "not acceptable".
As well as consulting with Brown and assistant coach Justin Morgan on where he can improve, Walsh also regularly leans on NRL legend Billy Slater for advice on perfecting his craft.
"I just had a chat with Billy Slater yesterday [on] some key areas where I need to get batter at my game," Walsh says.
"I'm fortunate to be in the position to have a conversation with someone like Billy. I wouldn't say we chat every week or every couple of weeks, but whenever there's an opportunity to talk he'll give me a call and just give me some tips on how I can get better.
"I feel like every time I talk to him, he's always saying all the right things and inspires me to keep going, working hard.
"I've got huge amounts in my game that I can get better at and what better would it be then getting advice off probably the best fullback we've ever seen."
The sparkplug back will look to put some of that advice into practice against Wests Tigers on Friday, as the Warriors try to register their first win of 2022.
Join us from 8pm, Friday for live updates of the NRL clash between NZ Warriors and Wests Tigers
