Cody walks long road to the top
CODY Walker’s Gold Coast Titans axing and rejection of the Broncos catapulted the South Sydney playmaker to the cusp of an NRL grand final.
Walker will be just 80 minutes away from his first NRL premiership decider when he runs out at Allianz Stadium in Saturday night’s blockbuster preliminary final against the Roosters.
The Souths five-eighth is the definition of an NRL late bloomer.
Walker, 28, made his first grade debut for the Bunnies in 2016 aged 26 after taking the long road to the top. A product of Casino in northern NSW, Walker was snapped up by the Titans in the club’s infancy and played under-20s in 2009-10 alongside now Gold Coast skipper Ryan James.
But he struggled and was cut loose by the club before getting the chance to feature in the NRL.
Walker moved on to Penrith then back to the Easts Tigers in the Intrust Super Cup where he caught the eye of Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy.
Walker was signed by the Storm in 2013 and was the Intrust Super Cup’s player of the year, beating Melbourne star Cameron Munster to the top gong.
A potential NRL debut was thwarted by an untimely hamstring injury in 2014 and Walker was poached by the Rabbitohs in 2015, eventually earning his promotion the following year.
The Titans seem a lifetime ago for Walker but being cut loose by the Gold Coast allowed the instinctive playmaker to forge his path to the top, according to ex-Titans and Rabbitohs recruitment manager Scott Sattler.
“He’s one of those players that has matured,” said Sattler, an Intrust Super Cup commentator.
“At the time, Cody wasn’t emotionally mature enough. I’m not saying that as a slight on him.
“At that stage of his life and career he probably wasn’t emotionally mature enough to play in some big games. I’ve covered a lot of Cody’s games in the Intrust Super Cup and even at 22-23 he was playing in some really big games where they needed someone to really take control of the game and Cody didn’t have the maturity emotionally to do that.
“He’s one of those really late bloomers. He got to an age where he was given a shot in Sydney and was around some really good mentors and players that were going to challenge him and be brutally honest with him.”
Walker’s NRL career is now 70 games old and Sattler believes his tough path to the top grade has steeled him for a premiership assault.