Bennett hails Souths’ ‘Alfie and Kevvie’
WAYNE Bennett has likened Cody Walker and Adam Reynolds to legendary Broncos duo Kevin Walters and Allan Langer with the Souths pair officially rugby league’s best halves pairing of the past 41 years.
In a remarkable statistical snapshot of their dominance, Rabbitohs aces Walker and Reynolds go into Sunday’s grand final against Penrith as the code’s most lethal longserving halves pairing in four decades. With 74 wins from 106 games, Souths schemers Walker and Reynolds will run out for the Suncorp decider against the Panthers boasting a 70 per cent strike-rate.
It is the best success rate of any scrumbase union, to have played at least 100 first-grade games together, since 1980.
In a rare endorsement of his scrumbase match-winners, Bennett sees parallels between Walker and Reynolds and the brilliant LangerWalters strikeforce which spearheaded the Broncos’ golden dynasty. Langer, Brisbane’s greatest halfback, won four premierships in a stellar 258-game career, while Walters was the five-eighth partner-in-crime who celebrated five titles, captaining Brisbane to glory in the 2000 grand final.
The Souths super coach is banking on the Walker-Reynolds union to topple Penrith on the very Suncorp soil the Broncos champion halves once dominated.
“Cody and Adam remind me so much of ‘Alfie’ (Langer) and Kevin,” Bennett said.
“Alfie and Kevvie were great players of their era and these guys (Walker and Reynolds) are no different in their importance to our team.”