NRL 2022: Billy Walters, son of Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters, opens up about his rise to the NRL

Broncos bolter Billy Walters has taken the long road to the NRL, overcoming family tragedy, numerous setbacks and the pressure of his famous surname. Now he’s ready to make his own mark.

Billy Walters has few, if any, memories of one of the most important people in his life.

He was just four years old in 1998 when his mother, Kim, died following an 18-month battle with breast cancer.

Kim, aged 30, was married to Kevin Walters — a star rugby league player at the Brisbane Broncos — and together they shared three children – Jack, Billy and Jett.

It has been 24 years since Kim died but her fighting spirit lives on in Billy, who has strikingly similar looks to his late mother.

“To be honest I don’t have many memories of her, I was pretty young when she passed away,” Billy said. “Kevvie used to talk about her a lot when we were growing up and about how great a person she was. We remind him of her a lot, which is pretty special.

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“We’ve got a lot of videos and photos I look back on. She did a diary of when I was younger as a kid. Kevvie gave me that when I had my first son (Hugo) six months ago, which is cool to look back on.

“I can see when I first started crawling, walking and talking, compared to what my son’s life is like. I’m doing the same thing for him now.”

While Walters has few memories of his mother and her tragic death, which rocked rugby league and the Brisbane club his father won five premierships with, it was a moment in a special journey.

A journey in which he has shown tremendous resilience to reach a lifelong dream of following in his father’s footsteps and playing for the Broncos.

Kim Walters holding baby Billy in 1994. She died after a battle with breast cancer in 1998.

THE FAMOUS NAME

The Walters name is one the most famous in Queensland rugby league.

Kevin Walters is a six-time premiership-winner while his brothers Steve and Kerrod also held distinguished representative careers.

They are synonymous with the Ipswich region in which they came from, playing for the Booval Swifts before going on to forge stellar first grade careers.

Billy, now 28, grew up in the Broncos’ inner sanctum at Red Hill during the club’s glory years in the 1990s. Rugby league is all he has ever known.

“I used to follow dad everywhere,” he said ahead of his second appearance for the Broncos against Canterbury Bulldogs on Sunday.

“He would go into the Broncos and I was the only child allowed in there because I’d sook and whinge at home if he didn’t take me with him. I’d roll into Red Hill with my footy boots on and hang with him the whole day.

“Having a child now, I don’t know what he would have done with me while he was training, but I survived somehow.

“I lived a childhood dream going to training with him every day.”

Steve, Kevin and Kerrod Walters were greats of the game.

It was the sweat, smell and sounds of the Broncos’ locker room, and his father’s incredible talent, that inspired Billy to chase his own professional league career.

But with that came the constant comparisons to his father — one of the greatest players in Broncos history — and the pressure to live up to his bloodline.

“I was proud of it,” Billy said of his famous surname.

“It’s pretty cool having your dad and two uncles play in the NRL. It gave me something to live up to.

“It was always going to be hard to be better than Kevvie. He will tell you he won six premierships and played 250-plus games.

“I knew it was in my blood to play footy so I had to be proud of the name and enjoy it.

“My goal was to make the NRL and play some consistent footy. I’ve made it now and hopefully I can stay there.”

Billy Walters with son Hugo after his Broncos debut. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

THE SETBACKS

Walters made his debut for the Broncos in last week’s memorable round 1 upset win against South Sydney at Suncorp Stadium.

He admits the occasion got to him and it wasn’t until midway through the first half that he realised he had to get into the contest after lapping up the emotion of wearing the No. 6 Broncos jersey made famous by his father.

But it is easy to see why this moment meant so much to Walters.

Despite being a talented junior, he made few representative teams and waged a constant battle with his size as rival players and teammates overtook him.

He finished high school with no NRL pathway in front of him and took the hard road through Queensland’s grassroots leagues before scoring an opportunity with the Melbourne Storm, who he made his NRL debut for in 2019.

“I always thought it would happen,” he said. “Towards the end of high school I hadn’t had my growth spurt and everyone else had. I knew I had the skills for footy but I wasn’t big enough to compete with the other boys so I wasn’t making the top teams.

Billy Walters played for Easts Tigers before cracking the NRL. Picture: AAP/David Clark

“I started to think it might not happen and I may have to do something else outside of footy, but I never gave up on the dream. I spent 2018-19 in Melbourne. I made my NRL debut at 25 and it was a long time coming. It was a night I’ll never forget.”

But Walters’ NRL high didn’t last long. After two games for the Storm, he was cut loose and found a home at Wests Tigers in 2020.

He made the Tigers’ round 1 team, but when the competition was suspended after two weeks due to Covid, Walters found himself on the outer.

A serious knee injury late in the 2020 season also crushed his 2021 campaign – the first year of Kevin Walters’ NRL head coaching career with the Broncos.

THE NEPOTISM FIGHT

Kevin Walters wasn’t long into his tenure as Anthony Seibold’s replacement when rumours started swirling that he wanted to sign his son.

The Broncos were floundering near the bottom of the NRL ladder, Billy was 27, coming off a knee reconstruction and had only played 12 NRL games across three seasons.

The optics were poor so the move was put on hold so Billy could arrive fully fit and get an entire pre-season under his belt before the 2022 premiership.

Still, he would have to prove he was a worthy signing. There could be no selection favours between father and son. Billy has even started calling his dad “Kevvie” to normalise the situation.

Coach Kevin Walters chats to his son Billy Walters during a Queensland Origin camp. Picture: Adam Head

“We’d always spoken about it growing up. If it was at the Broncos or somewhere else, we always wanted to work together at an NRL club,” Billy said.

“He signed with the Broncos but we didn’t want to push it too early because of what it might look like.

“We spoke about it and knew people would say things but it didn’t turn us off. We both knew we could work together professionally and have the hard conversations if needed.

“He can drop me without feeling bad that I’m his son or me feeling angry that he’s my dad.”

Coach Kevin said the elephant in the room had been addressed.

“We’ve had those discussions (talk of nepotism),” he said. “He is Billy Walters when he is at training and when he is not here, he is Billy Walters my son.

“I am extremely proud of him with my dad’s hat on. It’s a great opportunity for Billy.

“It’s not about what other people think, it’s about what we think as a playing group and the only way to silence all the doubters is for Billy to go out and play the way we know he can play.”

Billy was strong in his Broncos debut. Picture: NRL Photos

Walters proved he was worthy of round 1 selection with an impressive performance against the Rabbitohs.

With halfback Adam Reynolds making his Broncos debut against the Bulldogs, Walters has reverted back to a bench utility role and believes his father will get the best out of him.

It’s taken a long time for Billy Walters to achieve his dream of playing for the Broncos and now he doesn’t want to let it slip.

“It’s been really good because I know he backs me and has a lot of confidence in me and what I can do,” he said.

“It’s made me more confident in my game. I know I don’t have to overplay my hand or try to be the best player on the field to impress the coach.

“I know if I do my role really well he will pick me. He just wants everyone to be the best they can be and that will take us to where we want to go.

“I’ve got Kevvie on my side knowing I can bring a lot to the team and showcase what I’ve got to the NRL.”