NRL 2023: Kevin Walters says turbulent Wayne Bennett friendship will survive cross-town war
Wayne Bennett and Kevin Walters’ four-decade friendship nearly ended in 2005. Now comes an even bigger challenge for the cross-town rivals.
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Kevin Walters is adamant his enduring if turbulent friendship with Wayne Bennett will not be destroyed by rising tension between the Dolphins and Broncos.
Rugby league in Queensland has been enlivened by the instant genuine rivalry between the new club, the Dolphins, coached by Bennett, and his old club, the Broncos.
It exists in all areas – sponsorship, player recruitment and even glancing references to each other with Broncos officials occasionally referring to the new club as “Redcliffe’’ in the knowledge the Dolphins are keen to widen their brand beyond the peninsula but in the Broncos eyes they remain very much a Redcliffe team.
But Walters claimed he remains on good terms with Bennett, whom he first met as a teenager and played under at the Canberra Raiders before sharing five premierships at the Broncos.
“I wouldn’t say (we talk) week to week but Wayne and I still have a great relationship,’’ Walters said.
“I think he is a great pick-up for the Dolphins. Obviously he has been down that track before in Brisbane quite successfully so we have a lot of respect for the Dolphins.’’
The friendship between Walters and Bennett has taken many twists and turns since they first met when Walters was a promising Ipswich junior in the mid-1980s.
It was Bennett who convinced Walters that he and twin brother Kerrod should switch to different clubs to grow as people and players which prompted Kevin to initially go the Raiders and Kerrod to the Broncos.
Despite their premiership glory at the Broncos, Bennett and Kevin fell out badly when Bennett axed Walters as an assistant Broncos coach in 2005 and barely spoke for several years.
Eventually the tension thawed and Bennett hired Walters as an assistant coach at Newcastle and they even shared a flat during that time.
Walters, while having the reputation as an extrovert, keeps a lot of his deepest views to himself and Bennett has been one of the people has always opened up to, particularly in a crisis.
Allan Langer is the interesting man in the relationship because he is extremely close to both men.
He even brought them together at the same table when he was inducted as a sporting legend at Queensland Sports Hall of Fame awards in 2021.
Walters provide the most humorous moment of the night after a scheduled table-side interview with Bennett was introduced as “let’s hear from the super coach about Alfie.’’
Walters playfully responded to the super coach introduction by jumping to his feet and saying “right … what would like to know?’’
The Broncos will play the Titans in a trial match this weekend with captain Adam Reynolds likely to be rested.
BENNETT REVIVES BRONCOS PROMISE
An emotional Wayne Bennett has revived a 36-year-old promise he made to the Broncos as the battle cry for his new team, the Dolphins.
The Dolphins had their season launch in Brisbane last night and Bennett ended his short, sharp speech by recalling a conversation he had with the late Paul Morgan, a foundation owner of the Broncos, when the club was being formed in 1987 and Bennett was being hired as its first coach.
“I remember Paul saying to me all those years ago ‘I don’t care whether we win or lose but I don’t want those young kids coming with their parents to watch a team that won’t try and gives up easily’,’’ Bennett said.
“I promised him the Broncos would never do that and I promise you as long as I coach the Dolphins they will never do that.
“There is a mindset I have lived with most of my life how I want to see the game played. I think I have delivered on that on many occasions and I don’t see any reason why we won’t do that in the future.’’
Bennett’s time-honoured style is for a team who are fit and play for each other, a hardworking forward pack supported by backs who are given a licence to express their skills.
Bennett appointed veteran Melbourne Storm recruit Jesse Bromwich his first skipper, saying he walked away from his first Zoom meeting with the Kiwi veteran Bromwich and said immediately “there’s our captain’’.
“I love his calmness – hysteria gets you nowhere,’’ he said.
Bromwich thought he would never leave the Melbourne Storm where he had played for a glittering decade but his first meeting with Bennett completely changed his thoughts.
“It’s extremely humbling and very special to myself and my family,’’ Bromwich said.
“When I first heard the Dolphins were interested I went into the meeting with an open mind and I remember after I spoke to him I felt ready to play a game so I felt it may have been the right decision to make.’’
Thirty Dolphins players were introduced on stage at the launch attended by ARL commissioners Peter Beattie and Kate Jones, several hundred guests and league great Wally Lewis who got a special mention from Bennett in his speech as he reflected on the Broncos’ first season launch during Expo 1988.
That the Dolphins’ launch was held at Brisbane Tivoli theatre rather that in the heartland of Redcliffe spotlighted the club’s intention to broaden its brand beyond its traditional base.
Chairman Bob Jones opened the night by quipping the club regretted almost signing Lewis in 1983 when he was playing for Wynnum-Manly and said that he had promised Bennett his own car park space at the Dolphins when the club wins its first NRL match.
When Jones said the club had been fairly treated in the media one voice in the audience shouted “so far.’’
Club chief executive Terry Reader, while not specifically mentioning the Broncos, gave their rivals a glancing blow when he said while the Dolphins had been kept in the shadows for the last 35 years (since the Broncos entered the NRL) they had never lost a desire to play top tier rugby league.
“Thirty five years after top flight rugby league was taken away from the Dolphins, our club is back where it belongs – playing at the top level of rugby league available,’’ Reader said.
Bennett is delighted by the team spirit generated during a three-day bonding camp last month.
“We went away as individuals and three days later we came back as a team. It was a pretty remarkable moment and was a remarkable thing to see. We can’t be successful if we can’t have that.’’
Reader described Bennett as “a great communicator’’ and the stern-faced super coach got a laugh when he later added “that’s news to me.’’
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