Walker and Cook to stretch Souths stays, take up mentor roles

South Sydney is set to keep two of their key playmakers for three more years, with Damien Cook and Cody Walker just days away from upping their Rabbitohs deals to the end of 2025. Both were originally off-contract at the end of next year.

Cook and Walker would have hit the open market tomorrow (the famous Tuesday, November 1 contract deadline day) but Souths powerbrokers moved quickly to lock up their veteran stars.

The Sporting Base understands the new deals will keep Cook and Walker priced at around the same on the salary cap in 2023, before things start to slide down in 2024 and 2025. Right now, Walker is earning $700,000 a year (that will drop as the deal goes along) while Cook (on the same) will see his pay sliced a season later.

Both Rabbitohs heroes are interested in seeing out their NRL careers at Redfern.

On top of that, both are reportedly embracing their roles as Bunnies mentors. Cook has taken young rake Peter Mamouzelos, 21, under his wing in preparation to be replaced, while Walker has been working with rising halfback gun Lachlan Ilias and multi-role talent Blake Taaffe to prepare them for life as NRL starters.

Cook will turn 32 next year, while Walker hit that hump last January. The pair have expressed, several times, that they want to win a premiership with the Redfern outfit before they hang up the boots.

The reports Walker and Cook will stay come just after another Rabbitohs victory.

In the same negotiations, Latrell Mitchell has also put pen to paper on a new deal with South Sydney: One that will see him stay as the club’s franchise fullback until at least the 2027 NRL season.

The triple blow of signings locks in the Rabbitohs’ spine for at least three more years. Youngster Lachlan Ilias, who is still learning his trade at halfback, agreed to an extension that would keep him at Redfern until the end of 2025 just last month.

Similarly, Jason Demetriou upped his contract length until at least 2024.

The South Sydney club managed to reach another preliminary final in the campaign just gone but fell to eventual premiers the Penrith Panthers in a 32-12 battle.

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