Apologetic Walker to bolster Rabbitohs attack

South Sydney captain Adam Reynolds said five-eighth Cody Walker apologised to the leadership group ahead of his return from a two-match suspension.

Walker and centre James Roberts are expected to make their first appearances for the Rabbitohs since the NRL season resumed as Wayne Bennett's men seek to improve their 1-3 record when they take on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

Reynolds said Walker would bolster the team's attack and enable Damien Cook to take advantage of the new six-again rule by running more from dummy half.

"It will be good to get Cody back and controlling that left edge. He's a vital part of our team," Reynolds said.

"Cody is excited, he's been itching to get back out there and play. It's been pretty disappointing having him on the sidelines the past two weeks.”

Walker served a two-match ban imposed by the NRL after footage emerged last month of him involved in a fight in Casino during the off-season.

Reynolds said he had apologised to the Rabbitohs leadership group after receiving the ban and a $15,000 suspended fine.

"He apologised but in saying that we supported him and made sure he was doing alright and made sure he is physically and mentally in a good shape," Reynolds said.

"He has done his time now and he is ready to get back out there now and play some footy. We are excited, just as he is."

Latrell is getting more involved, he's more confident out the back

Adam Reynolds on Latrell Mitchell

The experienced Souths halves pairing have played 83 NRL matches together since 2016 and Reynolds said having Walker alongside him would ease some of the pressure on him.

"We both chat, we both organise edges and through the middle we have got certain plays that we come up with," Reynolds said. "It is just the comfort of having each other there.

"I think we are both comfortable about how each other's game plans pan out and we both complement each other, whether I get him some early ball or he is doing the one per centers off the ball that take some pressure off me.

"At the end of the day we have trained a lot together and played a lot together, and combinations mean a lot so hopefully it clicks in this weekend."

Despite the 22-8 loss to Melbourne last Friday night, Reynolds said the Rabbitohs had taken confidence from both their first-half performance and the form of Latrell Mitchell at fullback.

The anticipated return of Roberts after checking himself into rehabilitation while the game was suspended due to COVID-19 will be another boost for Souths.

"Latrell is getting more involved, he's more confident out the back, and what we've seen at training is slowly progressing into the games, which is great for us,'' Reynolds said.

"He was probably our best player the other night and no doubt he'll have a big impact this weekend. He wants to be involved, which is the main thing.

"He's getting in and getting dirty – not only the work he is doing with the ball but defensively I thought he was excellent too the other night and that is a sign of good players what they can do both sides of the ball.''