NRL 2021: Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters wants contract extension
Kevin Walters‘ strength has always been the salt-of-the-earth, jovial, happy-go-lucky disposition. But after a series of heavy losses, the Broncos coach was beating himself up internally.
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A revitalised Kevin Walters believes he will take the Broncos to the finals next season and has urged club bosses to hand him a contract extension as he looks to break the longest premiership drought in Brisbane’s history.
On the eve of Brisbane’s clash with the Warriors on Sunday at Suncorp Stadium, Walters opened up to News Corp about his turbulent rookie season as an NRL coach attempting to haul the wooden-spooners out of the cellar.
Walters has endured an injury crisis, used a club record 35 players, confronted claims of dressing-room unrest and makes the candid admission he “lost myself as a person” after heavy mid-season losses to the Storm, Dragons and Souths.
But after a much-publicised club-wide “reset” six weeks ago, sparked by a 26-18 defeat of Cronulla at Suncorp, Walters has rediscovered his zest and wants the backing of Broncos hierarchy to continue his Red Hill Revolution.
“There are no easy yards in the NRL,” he says. “But I feel we did some hard yards earlier in the year ... and they are starting to pay dividends.”
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CONTRACT TIGHTROPE
Walters is off-contract next season. Broncos bosses have been dodging the question but the reality is Brisbane hierarchy will have to make a definitive call on Walters by next April.
NRL clubs plan their coaching appointments 12 months in advance. Sooner rather than later, the Broncos must decide whether to back Walters — or sack him.
Walters is adamant he has slowly chiselled away the psychological damage of their horror years under his predecessor Anthony Seibold and has no intention of serving one term at the Broncos.
“I can and plan to be here beyond next year, 100 per cent,” Walters said.
“To be honest, I want them to cart me out of here.
“I do want to be here long-term. I didn’t accept this job to be here two or three years and get moved on.
“I know it‘s up to me to prove I can get the job done, but I believe we are starting to the club around and moving towards where the Broncos should be.
“It’s not just about me, it’s about everyone in this building wanting to turn it around.
“I feel everyone is on board and we are working for that one purpose of making the Broncos a force again.”
IDENTITY CRISIS
Affectionately known as ‘Kevvie’, Walters concedes the pressures of the job took a toll on him entering the winter months.
Walters‘ strength has always been the salt-of-the-earth, jovial, happy-go-lucky disposition forged in working-class Ipswich. But after a series of heavy losses, including drubbings against Melbourne (40-12), the Dragons (52-24), Canberra (38-16) and Souths (46-0) in one horror month, Walters was beating himself up internally.
“I lost my way as a person for a while,” he says.
“We were in a heavy losing streak, we had some big losses to Souths, Melbourne and the Dragons, and I just lost my way a bit. I was blaming myself. I lost what I was about and that was disappointing.
“I‘ve learned I just have to be myself as a person and stay true to who I am.
“The energy side of things are very important for a football team. As a coach, I have to bring a lot of that energy. I dropped away a bit with the results we were having. I felt I lost my way with my personality and I just need to make sure when tough times come again, that I stay true to the club, my personality and my values as a person.”
PLAYER UNREST
In the wake of Brisbane‘s 46-0 loss to Souths in June, Walters was rocked by reports of dressing-room unrest. Some players, not just those on the selection outer, felt there were communication issues with Walters. At the same time, the Broncos plunged into crisis with the sacking of football-operations boss Peter Nolan and high-performance chief Andrew Croll.
Walters says the period prompted him to undertake a personal evaluation to hit the “reset” button and ensure Broncos players were buying into his vision for success.
“It wasn‘t so much questioning myself, but I questioned everything we were doing,” he said.
“You have to be hard-nosed to survive in the NRL and I feel I have that.
“I knew I had the right support around me. I didn‘t feel I had any problems with the players. But I like to have a good look at myself after every training session to make sure I’m doing everything I can to get the best out of my players.
“I feel I have a strong personality and a positive personality with the playing group so I need to maintain those standards.
“There is a time to enjoy yourself and relax, but when you cross that line and get on the grass, there is a serious and competitive side to Kevin Walters that comes out. I‘m a very emotional coach and the players need to be aware of that. I can’t fault the players and their attitude.”
FRONT OFFICE
The arrival of Dave Donaghy as CEO and Ben Ikin‘s appointment as head of football could prove seminal moments in Walters’ coaching career.
Before Donaghy started on May 1, Walters was attending to matters such as salary-cap management. He says the presence of Donaghy and Ikin has stabilised Brisbane‘s front office.
“Dave and Ben have been brilliant for me,” he said.
“Benny Ikin has taken on the administration work and taken that off my hands. Every little piece of the puzzle counts and Ben and Dave have been part of that certainly.
“I don‘t know if I could call it less stress, but I am spending less time worrying about off-field stuff.
“I can focus on what‘s happening on the grass, on the field with the players, which is my role. My job is to coach the players and I feel the inclusion of Ben and Dave has allowed me to do that.”
PLAYER SACKINGS
Walters has shown he is not afraid to make the tough calls. He has moved on Brisbane‘s Big Three of Matt Lodge, Tevita Pangai Jr and Anthony Milford, freeing up more than $2.5 million to redirect funds to sign Souths halfback maestro Adam Reynolds.
“There was no personal problem with me and Matt,” Walters said.
“The reality is we couldn‘t afford to keep those guys.
“We had salary-cap issues and I was honest with Matt, Tevita and Anthony. It‘s not their fault, they are all good players.
“In ‘Lodgey’s’ case, he is a good, tough front-rower, but we have Payne Haas there and you can’t have two props on high-end money.
“With Milf, he had some great years here, but he had been knocked around and I just felt we could both benefit from a fresh start.
“We had to put more money into our spine, so that meant changing things around.”
TITLE DREAM
The Broncos haven‘t won a premiership since 2006. Brisbane’s drought is unacceptable for a club with the best resources in the league.
Walters played in five of Brisbane‘s six premiership wins and is adamant he is building a squad capable of lifting the NRL trophy — starting with a finals appearance next year.
“We can play finals next year,” he said. ”To be honest, my expectation was to play finals this year and while we‘re going to fall short, there have been some big improvements over the past six weeks.
“There are no doubts for me. I have total belief we can turn the club around and be successful. All the bells and whistles and premierships will come if we have the right people in the building with the right character.
“I feel the respect for the Broncos is back. The players deserve credit, they are starting to get a picture in their head of what a real Broncos player looks like.
“When Paul Morgan (club founder) started this club, he understood you can‘t win every week, but what he did expect was when the fans left the ground, they left feeling their team had a crack.
“I won‘t tolerate the side not having a crack.
“We are not there yet (as a premiership side), but we have more respect as a club than we had 12 months ago.”
Originally published as NRL 2021: Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters wants contract extension
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