NRL league star in blackmail drama over alleged chest kick

Cody Walker...will he start the season? Photo/Photosport

The NRL has been rocked by a blackmail allegation just 10 days out from the competition resuming.

The feel-good factor in the Covid-19 rescue act has failed to stem the bad news which dogs the sport.

State of Origin playmaker Cody Walker has approached the police saying he was asked for $20,000 in return for keeping a video which shows him kicking a man in the chest private.

His South Sydney Rabbitohs club has acknowledged an incident occurred in October 2019, and that the NRL integrity unit has been advised.

"At no stage has Cody Walker been the subject of a police inquiry in relation to this incident," the club said, adding that Walker instigated the inquiry.

A brilliant start to the 2019 season saw Walker make the New South Wales State of Origin side but a dud performance led to him being cut.

The Channel 9 sports reporter who broke the story, Danny Weidler, said that Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly "had advised Walker to go to the police".

"I have spoken to people I trust who have seen the video and it shows Walker involved in a fight and kicking the man, who is standing upright, in the chest," Weidler said.

"A person says Walker's name, which is audible in the video."

The Rabbitohs play the champion Roosters in a glamour Sydney derby on Friday next week.