Can Walgett Aboriginal Connection claim their third consecutive tournament win?
Ahead of the start of the 2025 Koori Knockout, three NRL representative stars from the South Sydney Rabbitohs have ruled themselves out of competing in the tournament.
While they are likely to still attend the event, Cody Walker, Jack Wighton, and Latrell Mitchell from the Rabbitohs will not be taking to the field and lacing up their boots, as they did in previous years.
According to The Daily Telegraph, all three players won’t be playing in the Koori Knockout in Tamworth due to not risking a potential injury that could interrupt their pre-season preparations for the 2026 NRL season.
This comes after the trio all missed several matches this year, which contributed to the Rabbitohs’ injury-plagued season that at one point saw them request an exemption from the NRL to name players outside of their first-grade squad.
The annual edition of the Koori Knockout will take place next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, between the 3rd and 6th of October.
In what is one of the largest Indigenous sporting events in the world, the tournament will include past, present and future NRL and NRLW stars and attracted over 500,000 viewers and over 30,000 attendees last year – a statistic they will be looking to improve on in 2025.
