Cody Walker in huge Origin blow after shock Rabbitohs development

Cody Walker’s hopes of featuring for the Blues in Game II of the State of Origin series have taken a brutal hit, with the Rabbitohs star a late scratching from his side’s round 15 match against the Dragons in the NRL. Walker suffered a quad injury during the warmup at South Sydney training on Friday morning and took no further part in the session.

Walker has been considered a serious chance to reunite with former Souths teammate Adam Reynolds in the halves for NSW, who were rocked by the injury to halfback Nathan Cleary this week that is set to rule the two-time premiership winner out for up to six weeks. It’s the latest injury blow for Souths coach Jason Demetriou’s side, who will go into the game against the Dragons without Latrell Mitchell and Cam Murray, who are also sidelined with injuries.

Dean Hawkins is set to replace Walker in the halves against St George Illawarra on Saturday for what would have been his last chance to impress Blues coach Brad Fittler, before the NSW team for Game II is announced next week. Walker has been among the standout performers at No.6 in the NRL this season, and his combination with former teammate and Suncorp Stadium specialist Reynolds had many Blues fans tipping Fittler to give him the nod.

Demetriou said Walker’s injury was not serious enough to rule him out of Origin contention just yet, with the coach insisting Rabbitohs pair Mitchell and Murray were also in the same boat. “(Walker) is every chance of being available,” Demetriou said.

“It’s an injury that’s really short-term. It’s only happened a couple of days before the game so we’re not in a position to risk him but Origin’s not for nearly two weeks. “For us, we know he’ll be back for the game after the bye (in round 16), which is only a few days after Origin.”