NRL 2023: Why Kevin Walters deserves Dally M coach of the year favouritism
After a flying 10-4 start to the 2023 season, the Dally M Coach of the Year award is Kevin Walters’ to lose. TRAVIS MEYN reveals why Kevvie deserves the prestigious gong.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters should be favourite for the Dally M coach of the year award at the halfway point of the 2023 NRL premiership.
The coach of the year award is always a hotly debated topic given the various ways it can be judged.
Should it go to the coach of the minor premiers at season’s end? Or the team that’s improved their ladder position the most?
Does a coach who’s guided his club through adversity deserve it or a standout in his rookie season?
As we enter the second half of the 2023 season, some standout contenders have emerged.
Penrith’s Ivan Cleary has the Panthers at the top of the table as they chase three straight premierships.
The Rabbitohs are cruising under Jason Demetriou in his second season at the helm following the departure of Wayne Bennett, who has done a remarkable job at expansion club the Dolphins.
Craig Fitzgibbon, who was pipped for last year’s award by North Queensland’s Todd Payten, has Cronulla in the top four again in his second campaign.
The Raiders are flying under Ricky Stuart and rookie coach Andrew Webster has resurrected the Warriors.
But Walters deserves to be favourite and here are seven reasons why the Dally M award is Kevvie’s to lose.
FLYING START
After 14 rounds, the Broncos are the only team to boast a 10-4 record going into Saturday night’s clash with Newcastle at Suncorp Stadium.
The Broncos started the season with five straight wins and eight from their opening 10 matches.
They have set their season up perfectly, giving themselves some breathing room during the taxing Origin period before the end-of-year slog to the finals, when they will have three byes to regroup.
The test is still to come following last year’s bad end to the season – where they missed the finals following a 1-5 finish – but the Broncos look better equipped in 2023.
RED HILL REBUILD
There is no sugar coating it – Walters inherited a rabble when he took over Brisbane’s top job from Anthony Seibold for the 2021 season.
As Seibold found out, there is no bigger or more high-pressure job in the NRL than coaching the Broncos.
The Broncos were coming off the club’s first wooden spoon in 2020 and Walters essentially had a huge task in his first NRL head coaching job.
He struggled to 14th in his first season then ninth last year when the finals looked a certainty.
But with the help of some key figures at the club, Walters has done a fabulous job getting the Broncos back into title contention within three years.
TOUGH CALLS
Walters struggled with indecisiveness in the early stages of his coaching career, chopping and changing his team as he looked for a winning formula.
But he has become a more stable coach and shown he isn’t afraid to make tough calls around his club, roster and team.
His decision to release highly-paid stars Matt Lodge and Tevita Pangai Jr was the right call and he dropped Anthony Milford when things weren’t working out before farewelling the highest-paid player in Brisbane’s history.
It hurt Walters to sack assistant coach Terry Matterson after last year’s late-season fade out but he believed it needed to happen and did it.
You need to be brave and bold to survive in this job and Walters has learnt that quickly.
RECRUITMENT WINS
The Broncos’ recruitment went off the rails during Seibold’s tenure but the club has managed to sort it out.
The promotion of Simon Scanlan to recruitment chief has given Walters a trusted confidant in one of the most important roles.
Walters played a key role in signing Adam Reynolds with the backing of CEO Dave Donaghy and chairman Karl Morris.
He also managed to get Reece Walsh back to the club when the opportunity presented after initially losing him to the Warriors.
Kurt Capewell has been a solid performer and important dressing room figure.
It’s a shame he is losing Herbie Farnworth and Tom Flegler to the Dolphins – but you can’t keep them all.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
The Broncos may have one of the most talented rosters in the NRL – but nearly every player has improved under Walters.
He inherited the bulk of his current roster, but Walters has helped them become better players over the past three years.
Payne Haas was always a gun but Pat Carrigan and Reece Walsh are now Origin superstars.
Farnworth has gone to another level and five-eighth Ezra Mam is developing beautifully. He brought Corey Oates back to life and oversaw Selwyn Cobbo’s rise to the Maroons.
His wins outrank his losses when it comes to developing players.
BACKING HIS ABILITY
Walters has always had a strong belief in his ability – even when many others haven’t.
He has had plenty of doubters throughout his coaching journey and was even overlooked for the Broncos job when Wayne Bennett was on the way out in 2018.
But Walters bided his time and refused to give up. He even took a two-year contract to prove himself at the Broncos when most rookie coaches are now demanding five.
It’s the type of attitude that helped him win five premierships with the Broncos and he is now instilling it in his players.
BEING ACCOUNTABLE
A constant of Walters’ post-match press conferences is his refusal to blame officials for the result.
There has only been one instance this year – against Melbourne in round 11 – where Walters has been highly critical of officiating decisions.
He generally puts the result down to the performance of his players and wants them to understand their fate is in their own hands.
That’s very different to many coaches who look for every reason to blame someone else when they don’t get a result.
Walters is in the box seat to guide the Broncos to their first NRL finals appearance since 2019 and he could enjoy a nice individual accolade if he can maintain Brisbane’s hot start to the year.
WHY BRONCOS’ NEW KEV-ALF COMBO CAN DELIVER PREMIERSHIP GLORY
—Peter Badel
Newcastle playmaking great Matty Johns says the Broncos have found their new Allan Langer-Kevin Walters alliance, declaring Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam are capable of breaking Brisbane’s 17-year title drought.
Johns was on the receiving end of some Langer-Walters scrumbase masterclasses in the 1990s and the former NSW Origin pivot believes the Reynolds-Mam halves pairing can reignite Brisbane’s glory days.
The Langer-Walters strikeforce helped deliver Brisbane’s maiden premiership in 1992, spearheading the tidal wave of dominance that swept the Broncos to six titles in a 14-year period.
The Broncos haven’t won a title since 2006, but Johns, who won a premiership ring at Newcastle in 1997, is adamant the ice-cool experience of Reynolds and youthful energy of Mam can make Brisbane kings of the NRL again.
“Ezra and Adam Reynolds have a bit of ‘Alfie’ and ‘Kevvie’ about them,” said Fox League expert analyst Johns as his Newcastle club prepares to face the Broncos on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium.
“Reynolds operates tight and plays through the line like Alfie did and Ezra looks after the width in attack.
“This team is starting to look like the Broncos of the 1990s, they are looking really good.”
“Back in the day when you played the Broncos, you would go back to City Rowers (former Brisbane nightclub) after a game and even the reserve graders thought they were better than you.
“The Broncos are getting their swagger back.”
Indeed, an attacking play ignited by boom five-eighth Mam in last week’s defeat the Sharks could have been ripped straight from the Langer-Walters playbook.
Brisbane’s 2022 rookie of the year launched an attacking raid 95 metres out from Cronulla’s tryline, with his long ball bouncing into the arms of Corey Oates, who raced upfield, then kicked ahead for Mam to regather and score.
It evoked images of the left-side shift Walters initiated in the 1992 grand final, with centre Steve Renouf streaking 90 metres to seal Brisbane’s first premiership.
Walters, now Brisbane’s coach who has fired the club to an equal share of the premiership lead alongside Penrith, sees shades of Langer - the Broncos’ greatest halfback - in Mam’s instinctive brilliance.
“Ezra has some trick shots in his game but it’s about pulling the right trick out at the right time,” Walters said.
“That’s something ‘Alfie’ (Langer) was good at and all the good halves are.
“Ezra and Reece Walsh (fullback) are still learning that part of the game and ‘Reyno’ (Reynolds) is helping them in that regard.
“You can coach it, but it’s on the field where you really learn to refine that stuff.”
Walters said Reynolds, who joined the Broncos last year after winning a premiership at Souths in 2014, has played a crucial role in the evolution of Mam, who only turned 20 in January.
“Ezra will learn so much from Adam,” Walters said.
“Adam has really helped Ezra in keeping the game simple.
“That’s why we brought him to the Broncos, to pass on that knowledge to our younger players and he has been great in that space.
“Ezra showed some great glimpses last year when he burst into the side. He will need another 12 months of maturity, but he has a high level of skill which we need him to display and we’ll encourage that from him at training and in games.”
Reynolds plays his 265th NRL fixture on Saturday night - seven more than 258-game Broncos icon Langer - and is relishing not only his mentoring role for Mam, but their smooth scrumbase partnership.
“From the moment I got here, Ezra caught my eye,” he said.
“The game has given me so much and I would like to give back in some way, shape or form.
“I love working with the younger boys coming through, like Ezra, Jock Madden and Tristan Sailor.
“There’s a lot of these young boys coming through that I like to get around and upskill them, whether I am playing against them at training, or just giving them little tips on how to do things better.
“Obviously you get that through experience in the NRL and if I can pass on my knowledge and make someone like Ezra a better player, that’s my job done.”
Join NRL for free: Shock move that killed Western Bears’ bid
The Western Bears bid chief has revealed the Perth-based consortium offered to pay “zero” to become the NRL’s 18th team in 2027 - a move that has left the Perth-based consortium on life support.
Johnson to come out of retirement to answer Kiwis SOS
Two weeks after knocking back an invitation to help New Zealand at the Pacific Championships, Shaun Johnson has accepted a call-up to the injury-ravaged Kiwis side and is set to come out of retirement.