Walker stays: Bunnies star slams door on Bennett reunion

Cody Walker has pledged his allegiance to the South Sydney Rabbitohs despite major interest from Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins, signing a $600,000 extension that will see him stay at Redfern until at least the end of the 2023 season.

The Rabbitohs will be keeping their five-eighth for another year.

The 31-year-old has been tossing up his playing future since Souths’ narrow grand final loss to the Panthers, with several reports suggesting he was number one on Bennett’s hit list at the Dolphins.

Walker has scuppered any ideas he would be heading to Redcliffe in 2023, however, and has instead extended his Rabbitohs deal by a further year, and for a relatively cut-throat rate.

News Corp is reporting the Dally M contender was set to command offers far in excess of $800k if he decided to test his value on the open market from Monday, including a rich marquee Dolphins deal and several rival NRL bids.

Walker has no interest in any kind of bidding war though: “I absolutely love the club. I can’t see myself playing anywhere else.”

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Locking up the 31-year-old playmaker was vital for incoming head coach Jason Demetriou, who is stepping up from the assistant role to replace Bennett from the start of next year.

One half from the team’s runners-up squad, Adam Reynolds, is already leaving the club to join the Broncos next year. A possible Walker departure could have seen Demetriou forced to call upon the kids coming through Souths’ stable of junior talent.

Retaining Walker means he can blood one of the hordes of talented youngsters, which includes grand final fullback Blake Taffe, along the long-term five-eighth, before switching to an all-youngster pivot in 2024 when Walker’s deal wraps up.

It also means the Bunnies don’t have to rebuild just yet.

They’re still armed with most of the grand final squad from last year, minus several departures like Reynolds and Jaydn Su’A.

Latrell Mitchell will be back from suspension early in the season too.

There are, of course, question marks around if Demetriou can get the same out of the Bunnies as Bennett did, but keeping Walker for two more years will go a long way in avoiding any possible handover hiccups.

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