Souths’ milestone man steals spotlight

Not to be overshadowed in his own milestone match, South Sydney five-eighth Cody Walker racked up a try, a try-assist and a sin-binning in his 100th NRL game on Friday night.

Although the spotlight was firmly on star fullback Latrell Mitchell for his dominant performance at the back, Walker did enough to ensure his presence was felt to the wry delight of coach Wayne Bennett.

“I like Cody because he wasn’t going to let anyone rain on his own parade,” Bennett said following Souths’ 40-12 win over the Warriors.

“He played well and we followed him and he got a great occasion for his 100th game.

“He wasn’t going to have that spoilt by anyone else. He was outstanding.”

The usually stoic Bennett dished out high praise for the 30-year-old who didn’t make his NRL debut until 2016 – the prototype for a late-bloomer success story.

“He didn’t even look like he was sweating when he came in, he just had one of those afternoons where he played so well but didn’t have to do a real lot to get that outcome.” Bennett said.

“Players inside had to do a lot of work and he grabbed moment when they came.

“He got a rest for 10 minutes as well.”

The ripe form of Mitchell and Walker led the Rabbitohs to their first back-to-back win of the season, and although he wouldn’t elaborate, Bennett said it was a result of come “changes” in the way they do things at the club.

While the back-line is humming along, James Roberts could slot in for his first game since leaving a rehabilitation clinic during the coronavirus shut down last month when Souths play Penrith next week.

However, Bennett said he would not be an automatic selection.

Meanwhile, it’s feared rising prop Tom Amone suffered an ACL injury in Friday’s win which would rule the 23-year-old out for the remainder of the season.

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