Cody Walker wears Indigenous family spirit on his heart

Bundjalung and Yuin man, Cody Walker, will literally have luck behind him in this weekend's NRL Indigenous round. He’ll be playing with a special jersey inspired by his family's history and spirit.

Cody Walker of the Rabbitohs

The Rabbitohs’ Indigenous jersey was designed by Aboriginal artist, Joe Walker, Cody's uncle. Source: AAP

Walker will run out in South Sydney's Indigenous jersey, designed by his uncle Joe Walker, for this Friday's clash with Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium.

Walker says It's something pretty special to his heart.

"They put together a little competition and we had about five or six (jerseys) we picked from," he says. 

"We picked my uncle's one, which is something special. It's a great jersey this year, I can't wait to get out there and wear it."
The rabbit is supposed to be in the middle and it all connects to the rabbit. So we're all one people as they say.
The Rabbitohs have one of the highest concentrations of Indigenous players in the league, with nine players from their full-time squad celebrating their background this weekend.

"We've got everyone's totem on the jersey," Walker said. "Each Aboriginal person in the squad. And there is a rabbit.

"The rabbit is supposed to be in the middle and it all connects to the rabbit. So we're all one people as they say."
Indigenous jersey
Source: NITV News
The Rabbitohs’ Indigenous players are represented by their totems on this jersey.

The totems are all connected together by a red and green link, symbolising unity amongst the players.

The totems are also linked back to the rabbit, symbolising the players’ strong links with the Club.

The players were involved in selecting the final artwork. They decided on the above story to be told through the totems and the rabbit.
Rabbitohs
Source: The Feed
The Rabbitohs desperately need to unite to turn around their season against the Tigers. Another loss will send them to 3-7, with their season very much in danger of slipping away before they even hit the Origin period.

They also desperately need to turn around their 34-18 round-one loss to the Tigers, which marked their fourth straight defeat after conceding 30 or more to the merged club.

Walker knows things need to change and fast.

"We've got to start winning," he said.

"We haven't been going too good for the past three weeks but we've got to look to turn it around this weekend against the Tigers."

Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Subscribe to the NITV Newsletter

Receive the latest Indigenous news, sport, entertainment and more in your email inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
Interviews and feature reports from NITV.
A mob-made podcast about all things Blak life.
Get the latest with our nitv podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on NITV
The Point: Referendum Road Trip

The Point: Referendum Road Trip

Live weekly on Tuesday at 7.30pm
Join Narelda Jacobs and John Paul Janke to get unique Indigenous perspectives and cutting-edge analysis on the road to the referendum.
#ThePoint