NRL 2021: Kevin Walters notches unwanted selection record ahead of Queensland derby
Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters has defended his selections despite using a record 35 players this season.
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Brisbane coach Kevin Walters has defended his selection decisions after setting a new record for players used in his first season at the Broncos.
Walters will use his 35th player of the year when teenage prop Xavier Willison makes his NRL debut in Friday night’s derby against North Queensland at Suncorp Stadium.
The Broncos have never used so many players in the club’s 33-year history, with Walters fielding enough to fill more than two teams inside the first 20 rounds of the competition.
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With six games to go, that could stretch even further as Walters looks to salvage something from a disappointing season for the reigning wooden spooners.
Walters has used eight different halves combinations throughout the year, handed eight players their Broncos debuts and recalled Karmichael Hunt after 12 years out of the NRL.
But the first-year coach said his chopping and changing had more to do with injuries and suspension than indecisiveness at the selection table.
“A lot of the changes have been through injury or suspension,” he said.
“It’s not like I’m trying to set the record for most players used in a season. That’s now how we do things here.
“Xavier will come off the interchange. He is replacing a guy that’s been suspended (Tom Flegler) so we get a like-for-like.
“It’s the right opportunity for Xavier to make his debut for the Broncos.”
Willison was in high school at Palm Beach Currumbin on the Gold Coast last year and will be thrust into an NRL debut before his 19th birthday on Monday.
He has been playing for Norths in the Intrust Super Cup but is yet to start a game, coming off the bench in all seven of his appearances for the Devils before the NRL Covid bubble forced him to withdraw from the competition.
Walters said he had been impressed by Willison at training and backed him to step up in the NRL.
“I’m looking forward to giving him some time out there. He’s been training really well, he’s keen and is a big young thing,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him get his first opportunity at NRL level.
“He does the little things in his game. He has worked really hard defensively with our coaches on things like coming off the line square, inside pressure and doing his job at marker.
“His training efforts have been really good so he gets his chance. I’m looking forward to seeing him transfer what he’s been doing on the training field into the NRL. It’s very exciting.”
With the Broncos to miss the finals this year, Walters is looking to find some improvement in the final quarter of the season with an eye on 2022.
The Broncos suffered a thrilling one-point loss to the Cowboys in Round 9 and a win would ease the pressure on Walters after Brisbane’s 18-12 defeat to Penrith last weekend.
“You’re never happy with a loss but you can live with losing the way we did (to Penrith), it was a very competitive effort in attack and defence,” Walters said.
“There’s some areas we need to get better at, but the progression is there. I can feel and see the team coming together more and working for each other.
“That’s all part of the big plan. How far that gets us, as far as wins goes, remains to be seen.
“I am liking what I’m seeing on and off the field from this group we’ve got now.”
Promising backrower TC Robati could receive a late call-up with prop Rhys Kennedy battling a back injury.
Why Queensland Derby still matters
It was once the highlight of the NRL season but the Queensland derby has now descended into the battle of the battlers.
The Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys will face off at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night for the second time this year.
The first encounter was a thrilling one-point finish in Round 9 when a Valentine Holmes field goal delivered the Cowboys a 19-18 victory in Townsville.
But instead of fighting for top spot — as they did in the epic 2015 NRL grand final won by North Queensland in extra-time — the Broncos and Cowboys derby is now a battle of the bottom four.
Last year’s final-round derby at Suncorp was played for the 2020 wooden spoon, with the Cowboys recording a 32-16 win to deliver Brisbane a last-placed finish for the first time in club history.
The Broncos (15th) are still in danger of collecting back-to-back spoons and the Cowboys (13th) are staring at a fourth straight bottom four finish.
The Round 9 thriller breathed some life back into the derby and Cowboys captain Jason Taumalolo said there was pride on the line on Friday night.
“These games are always special against our Queensland rivals,” he said. “It’s always a big occasion, not just for the club but also for bragging rights.
“We’ve both been struggling over the last few years. Although results haven’t gone our way on the ladder, every time we play against each other it’s a close game.
“You can come into this game with good form or terrible form but it’s always a close game. I don’t think Friday night will be any different. We saw earlier in the year how close of a contest these games are. We are both desperate for the two points.”
The Queensland derby started to gather momentum in 2014 when the Cowboys moved into a premiership window under new coach Paul Green.
For eight straight derbies from 2015-17 both teams were situated in the top eight when they faced off. The games were television blockbusters across the country, played in front of 50,000 at Suncorp Stadium or sold-out crowds in Townsville.
The 2015 premiership decider was one of the great NRL grand finals as Johnathan Thurston kicked a golden-point field goal to deliver the Cowboys their first title.
In 2015-17, four of five derbies were decided by one point as the game became the highlight of the NRL season.
But the slide of the Cowboys over the past four years and Brisbane’s recent struggles has taken some gloss off the contest, something the players are determined to turn around.
“A few years ago we were among the top teams,” Broncos prop Payne Haas said.
“But this derby is still a tough game. Our game this year went down to the wire and they beat us on the bell, so we’re looking to get one back.
“Both teams aren’t where we want to be on the ladder but I’m still expecting a good game.”
While the derby’s appeal has diminished over the past few years, it is still an evenly fought contest.
The ledger sits at five wins-a-piece in the last 10 encounters and there will be plenty on the line as both teams fight to move up the NRL ladder following disappointing 2021 campaigns.
“What I’ve noticed is that no matter how each team is going, it turns out to be a tough, grinding game,” Cowboys five-eighth Scott Drinkwater said.
“You have to be willing to compete for 80 minutes. At the moment, neither us or the Broncos are probably putting in 80-minute performances but when we face each other, that rivalry and motivation kicks in.
“Both teams always turn up wanting to put in their best performance.
“Our derby game this year was a cracker. The Broncos looked home but then Jase scored that late try and Val stepped up and kicked the winning field goal, so it was good to see our two highest-paid players stepping up under pressure.”
Taumalolo has produced mixed form this season under new coach Todd Payten but promised to lead the Cowboys strongly on Friday night when he confronts in-form Broncos big man Haas.
“It’s always tough leading the boys around when you’re going through a tough period,” he said.
“That’s something you’ve got to take when you become a leader of the club. I’ve been there with the boys when we’ve played some great games of footy and also when we haven’t been playing great.
“It’s all part of the job. My role doesn’t change.
“These games you want to be at your best. You can’t go into this game half-hearted thinking you’ll turn up and get the win. You’ll get a rude awakening.
“Normally with these games I’m up there and ready to play. I love being part of these derbies.”
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Originally published as NRL 2021: Kevin Walters notches unwanted selection record ahead of Queensland derby
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