Dylan Walker says he is finally at peace off the field after the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped an appeal against the Manly five-eighth's not-guilty verdict for assaulting his partner.
Walker was cleared by the courts in May of assaulting his partner Alexandra Ivkovic, but faced another few anxious months as NSW Police asked the DPP to challenge the findings.
Dylan Walker says he's finally at peace after the DPP dropped their appeal against his not-guilty verdict for domestic assault.Credit: DPP
"She was a rough 18 months,'' Walker told the Herald.
"The appeal was lingering and hanging over my head and my partner's heads.
"For me everything has been put to bed now - we can move on with our lives and enjoy our little one [son].
"I wasn't thinking about doing the time. I tried to stay positive with it all. I have a very good partner and we could only lean on each other.
"We're going really strong. It's the best we've been. We'd love to go for [baby] number two.
Walker now finds himself chasing a second NRL title and hopefully a new deal to keep him on the northern beaches.
He remains without a contract for 2020 even though his recent halves reunion with skipper Daly Cherry-Evans is a big reason for Manly's late-season success - and why they will back themselves to cause a Sunday afternoon boilover in Canberra.
Dylan Walker was public enemy No. 1 the last time he ventured to the nation's capital.Credit: Rohan Thomson
The last time Walker ventured to the nation's capital in 2017, he became the Green Machine's Public Enemy No. 1 when he hissed at Elliott Whitehead ''you just cost your team the game''. Walker missed a late conversion to seal the result in regulation time and was quickly surrounded by half a dozen Raiders who raced off the tryline to heckle him. It sparked a melee before Walker had the last laugh when he nailed a 40m penalty goal in the 84th minute.
Walker returned in round 10 this year - he was sidelined by the NRL under their no-fault stand-down rule while he awaited trial - and while ''there were a few boos in the first few games'' from rival fans, has been quiet by his standards when it comes to the niggle.
Walker is earning about $600,000 this season and would love to continue life at Manly. The club were naturally holding off to see what happened in the courts, while Walker is arguably now entitled to re-evaluate his worth, especially if he is seen as the long-term partner to Cherry-Evans and not a centre.
Sunday's rival No. 6 Jack Wighton was also a centre in his former life before he became a running five-eighth like Walker.
"We're close to sorting something out. I love my time here and enjoy it, just a couple of things need to be in place,'' Walker said.
"I have a house here and my family. It's a good club.
"I like centre and there's still a lot to learn there, but to grow as a footballer I think there is more growth for me at five-eighth.
"'Chez' [Cherry-Evans] has been helping me a lot, so has Des [Hasler]. I stay back after training with Chez and work on kicking and ball playing.
"The beauty of rugby league and life is the journey, how you go through tough periods and then [collect] the potential rewards.
"For me, I won't sit here and say 'no, we can't win it. But I've been a part of a premiership team, and you need to stay focused, and that's all we can do. We need to keep training hard and turning up for one another.''