Manly veteran utility Dylan Walker has inked a three-year contract with the Warriors from 2023 onwards.
The 27-year-old former Rabbitoh has made 163 NRL appearances and scored 65 tries since his debut in 2013.
As well as being a 2014 premiership winner with South Sydney, a former Kangaroo and NSW Origin representative, Walker has appeared for the Māori All Stars in each of the past three seasons.
“Signing Dylan is a terrific boost for us as we build and improve our roster for next season
and beyond,” said Warriors CEO Cameron George. “Along with our other major signings for 2023 and on, he will lend experience as well as adding hugely to our depth.”
Walker has had a tumultuous stint at Manly, marred by several off-field incidents and was re-signed by the club this season on a one-year deal after narrowly avoiding the sack in 2021 over assault allegations at a restaurant.
He’s the Warriors’ third major signing for next season alongside Cronulla half Luke Metcalf and Parramatta second-rower Marata Niukore.
Storm promote Welch to co-captain alongside Bromwich
Melbourne have elevated Christian Welch alongside Jesse Bromwich as co-captains this season with the Maroons prop filling the void left by Dale Finucane’s switch to the Sharks.
Bromwich will head to the Dolphins next year so the appointment of Welch, 27, is seen as a sign he will be the team’s next long-term leader.
“Christian has undergone a strong leadership apprenticeship, especially over the last couple of seasons, and is ready to take that further step. He’s very natural in a leadership role, especially away from the field,” Melbourne general manager Frank Ponissi said.
Welch has played 117 NRL games for Melbourne and six Origins to become one of the standout front-rowers in the NRL.
“Storm puts on a lot of onus on developing our leadership skills and I feel like I’m really well prepared to step into the role from round one next week,” he said.
“I’ve been fortunate to be part of this club for a decade now. It’s been a huge part of my life.”
Vatuvei jailed for importing drugs
Former NRL star Manu Vatuvei has been sentenced to three years and seven months in jail after being found guilty of importing methamphetamine along with his brother.
The ex-Warriors winger, who played 29 Tests for New Zealand and represented Tonga twice, learned his fate at an Auckland court on Wednesday with his brother, Lopini Mafi, receving a prison term of seven years and two months.
Vatuvei scored a club record 152 tries for the Warriors in 226 matches from 2004-217 and was a member of the 2011 grand final team which lost to Manly.
Nicknamed “The Beast, he was a fan favourite but his lawyer told the court he had suffered “a calamity of events” after retiring and had turned to drugs and alcohol.
Initially when charges were laid, Vatuvei’s name was suppressed by the courts but he went public to announce his predicament via an Instagram post last May.
The brothers were discovered with more than 2kg of methamphetamine which had been imported from Africa in November 2019.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Cook wants to carve up former Rabbitoh
Damien Cook has “no doubt” Lachlan Ilias will handle the mammoth task of replacing Adam Reynolds as the Rabbitohs look to ensure their former skipper kicks off his stint at the Broncos on a losing note.
Ilias will partner Cody Walker in the halves next Friday at Suncorp Stadium when Souths lock horns with Reynolds in his first match for Brisbane and Cook says there is extra incentive on the line at Suncorp Stadium.
“I know that one guy who’s going to be looking to play his best footy will be Reyno that round 1 and we definitely want to make sure we go up there and get the win over him first week back, I am anyway,” he told the Big Sports Breakfast on Wednesday.
“He knows how we defend, we haven’t changed too much in how we defend.
“One thing about Reyno is that he kicks so well under pressure, we’ve just got to make sure we put as much pressure on him as we can and our back three are working their arse off to cover him because he’s got all the tricks in his kitbag he can pull out whenever he needs to.”
Ilias performed well in last weekend’s Charity Shield loss to the Dragons and Cook said the young halfback showed at the end of last season in his NRL debut that he has the confidence to step into the No.7 jersey that Reynolds wore 231 times for the previous decade.
“With Lachie at the moment we’re only asking him to do a very simple role to keep building combinations within the team. We want him to go out there and build that confidence in himself as well,” Cook said.
“I have no doubt that every week he’s going to get better and better.
“He dug into the line [against St George Illawarra], got hit a few times but kept getting back up. His kicking game was really good, had a couple of nice kicks to get us out of trouble as well.
“A couple of weeks in you might see his skills come out as well and him backing himself a bit more. I have no doubt he’s going to do a really good job for us.”
Mulitalo blames NRL, QRL for Origin stuff-up
Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo is still angry at NRL and QRL officials for the controversial bungling of his State of Origin eligibility last season.
The Cronulla speedster was picked to represent Queensland but was then denied a maiden Maroons jersey when it was revealed he had moved from New Zealand after he had turned 13.
Mulitalo had represented Queensland in the under 18s and under 20s, and he told Fox League he thought that should have been enough for him to get the nod in the senior side.
“If they’re (Maroons) calling me and they’re telling me, then I think ‘well I must be eligible’,” he said.
“It’s weird, they tried to put the blame on me. You pick up on every other discrepancy but this one. Out of all of the paperwork that gets thrown around, for some reason that wasn’t flagged earlier.
“But I think there’s no point in banging on about it, it just becomes a broken record. At least now I’ve got some clarity, it’s one way now and that’s it.”