Star five-eighth Cody Walker says Peter Mamouzelos is the “obvious” option to replace the injured Brandon Smith for the opening rounds, with the veteran playmaker conceding he felt like a “burden” as he battled his own fitness issues over the past two years.
The Rabbitohs confirmed on Thursday that Smith had sustained a moderate calf injury and would miss the start of the season in a blow to the Bunnies who dealt with an overflowing casualty ward last year.
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“I’m not quite sure the effects of the results on Brandon, but I’m told he’ll miss a game or two at the start of the season, which is not ideal,” Walker said.
“I’m not sure which way Wayne (coach Wayne Bennett) will go, but there are a couple of options in terms of who takes Brandon’s spot.
“Pete is the obvious one, and then there’s Bronson Garlick as well, so we’ll see over the next few days with how we want to play and who will start.”
While Smith deals with his latest setback, Walker will head into the new season feeling better than he has in years after dealing with calf and knee injuries.
The 36-year-old has been able to enjoy an uninterrupted pre-season and it showed on Sunday when he sliced through to score a try in South Sydney’s trial win over Manly where they unleashed their terrifying left edge.
“It was really good to enjoy my footy again without limping into the season as I have the last couple of seasons and then chasing my tail,” he said.
“It’s been a really god pre-season for me leading into Christmas and then after Christmas I put a good bit of work into my body to allow me to go out there and play in that trial.
“I don’t think that I’ve played that style of footy for a while now, in terms of being busy around the footy and getting offloads and things like that.
“I haven’t done that over the past couple of years because of the work I unfortunately haven’t had in the pre-season.
“It’s important to bank that little bit of work and those loads into my body to build for the long season ahead.”
Walker played just 11 games last season and had a career-low nine try assists, with the veteran five-eighth feeling like he was letting his team down because he couldn’t stay on the park to help them during a tough campaign.
But that’s all behind him now, with Walker ready to rip in with David Fifita, Latrell Mitchell and Alex Johnston on the lethal left edge.
“It’s probably been two full seasons and a pre-season (since I was fully fit),” he said.
“It’s been disappointing on a personal level. When you’re in that moment when you’re in and out, you feel like you’re letting the team down and you start to feel like you’re a bit of a burden.
“It’s good to put that bit of work into my body and start really well because I don’t think I’ve had a trial for the past two or three years.”
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