It has been revealed Dylan Walker was only re-signed by the Manly Sea Eagles once he has been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Players receiving vaccines has been one of the key talking points of the off-season thus far.
As it stands right now, players will be unable to train or play in Queensland, New South Wales or Victoria without being vaccinated against the global pandemic.
That rule will change in New South Wales from December 15, however, would cost players up to a month of pre-season. It's far worse in Queensland and Victoria, where the respective governments have no plans to change rules for unvaccinated individuals and their level of access to stadiums or facilities anytime soon.
Walker's contract hold up was seemingly one of the most baffling of the current off-season. The bench utility who became a mainstay of importance in Des Hasler's side who made the preliminary finals in 2021 wasn't re-signed until yesterday, a time when pre-season was already underway for most clubs.
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It's understood Manly aren't due to return until next week following their run to the third week of the finals.
It has now been revealed by The Daily Telegraph that Walker was only re-signed after he agreed to get the vaccine.
The deal is understood to be worth around $350,000 for 2022, and while it has been stressed the club didn't attempt to force Walker into getting the jab, it's understood the feeling within the club was that he shouldn't be re-signed until he did.
It's also understood Walker was aware his contract may not be extended without the jab, given he would have missed a handful of games in 2022.
Manly made no mention of the vaccination status of Walker when announcing his re-signing yesterday.
