The South Sydney Rabbitohs have secured arguably their most important re-signing of the off-season so far, locking in five-eighth Cody Walker for an additional season.
After losing halfback Adam Reynolds for 2022 to the Brisbane Broncos, the Bunnies could ill afford to let Walker slip away in 2023, with the Dolphins and other teams circling.
“I really happy to be extending my stay at South Sydney for another season. This is my home,” Walker said.
“I’m really excited about what is ahead for the team under JD [Jason Demetriou] and we have some young stars coming through who are going be great players for this club.
“I feel I have a role in helping lead this team over the next few years and I making sure these young boys have every opportunity to put their best foot forward as they start out their NRL careers.”
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Walker bounced around several clubs and endured a series of false starts, before finally debuting in the NRL at the age of 26 back in 2016.
He’s been brilliant for the Rabbitohs since then, and is coming off a career-best season where he was named Dally M five-eighth of the year and being awarded the George Piggins Medal as Souths’ best player.
The Casino Cougars junior scored 16 tries and set up 33 this year, and provided a record-breaking 46 linebreak assists as the Bunnies reached the grand final, only to go down in a heartbreaker to the Penrith Panthers.
“We came so close to achieving our goal this year and it has made us all hungrier to get that premiership success and win number 22 for the Rabbitohs,” he said.
Walker said the opportunities to do community work off the field through Souths Cares, and other initiatives like the Rising Warriors Program, also played a part in wanting to extent his time with the team.
“We have a great culture within the team and the club, and it’s also a club that respects our cultures outside of football,” Walker said.
The Rabbitohs have very much become a family business for Walker. His partner, Nellie Bell, was named in the pre-season squad for the Rabbitohs’ 2022 women’s premiership campaign last month.
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“South Sydney is my home and my family. My partner plays for the club too and my boys want to play for the Rabbitohs one day. It really is home.”
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Souths’ head of football, Mark Ellison, said the club was excited to see Walker lead them through another year.
“Cody keeps progressing his game and maturing as a footballer each season and he is certainly in his prime right now,” he said.
It’s the fourth key re-signing for the Rabbitohs since that grand final defeat, previously extending the contracts of Mark Nicholls until the end of 2023, Keaon Koloamatangi until the end of 2024, and Alex Johnston until the end of 2025
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