South Sydney are expected to today announce the key re-signings of Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell in a massive boost to the club.
Newscorp reports the Rabbitohs will confirm the new deals at 11am on Wednesday. It follows news this month that Damien Cook had inked a new contract meaning all three of the club’s off-contract stars have committed.
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Speaking to NewsCorp ,Walker revealed the conversations between himself and Mitchell.
“It wasn’t an in-depth chat, it was more like, ‘What are we doing?’” Walker told NewsCorp.
“We both wanted to stay, so ‘Let’s get the deal done’. It’s similar to how we communicate on the field, it’s not me or him talking loudly when we’re on the field, it’s just little signals here or there, knowing what the other person is doing.
“It’s an instinctive type of relationship we have on the field. We spend a lot of time together, and we might be watching footy and I might say, ‘Bra, we should be doing this’, and he’ll say ‘Sweet, let’s do it’.
According to the report, both Walker and Cook have inked themselves a two-year-deal which will keep them at the club until the end of the 2025 while Mitchell has signed a three-year-extension.
Despite being 32, Walker had a message to people who thought it would be his last contract.
“Don’t write me off, I think starting late in my career has helped prolong my NRL career,” Walker said.
“I wasn’t bashed around as an 18-year-old kid, and I’m not saying that’s for everyone, and that everyone should take that long to play NRL, but it worked for me.
“If I had my way I probably would’ve wanted to play in the NRL at 18, 19.
“But my mentality at the time, I had some growing up to do, it took me a while to find it, and I’m glad I did because when I did debut I appreciated what I had in front of me and what I needed to do to keep myself around the game.
“That’s the same mentality I have right now. Yes, I’ve got a deal until the end of 2025, but that’s not to say that’s the end for me.”
The former Blues revealed that once he put on the Rabbitohs jersey for the first time he was instantly hooked.
“I don’t think there was any option to leave, I just find Souths are like home,” he said.
“I didn’t really get what South Sydney was about until I came to the club, because I wasn’t a supporter of the Rabbitohs, I didn’t know the history, didn’t know anything about it.
“Once you walk through the doors of Souths, you just have this feeling, it’s hard to describe, it’s similar to my journey.
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“I didn’t debut until I was 26, I had an opportunity, I let it slide, all those things, I came back and resurrected my career.
“Souths were kicked out of the comp, came back. And I just love that they’re a fighting club.
“They went through a lot of hard times when they got back into the comp, that didn’t change the fact the supporters were still there, turning up.
“And to see the club work its way back to win a premiership, and see the footage of that week, the parade in 2014 was just unbelievable, the march when they were reinstated was amazing.
“You feel a part of something special being at this club.
“Once I debuted, I loved everything about the club, what they do in the local community, it’s a special place to be a part of.”
