Pressure squarely on Brisbane Broncos players after damning feedback on sacked coach Kevin Walters

Damning player feedback has cost Kevin Walters his job. Now the blowtorch is facing a different direction, writes CRASH CRADDOCK.

If only the Broncos players were capable of firing as many shots on the field as they did in the off-field review which ended Kevin Walters coaching career.

At what point do players stop whining about coaches and apply the same sort of scrutiny and accountability to themselves?

The benchmark for candid self-reflection in a sports review was set by Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie after the 2005 Ashes loss in England when most other players bagged the coaches.

Gillespie stunned the reviewers by going the other way and saying, “I am not going to bag anyone because unfortunately my problem was me. I just had a bloody shocker. I will try and improve and move on but I won’t be blaming anyone else”.

You may argue Walters deserved to go and that candid player criticism was essential in a difficult process of removing a club legend from a position he coveted and that Walters end-of-season meltdown in front of his staff showed the job had pushed his stress levels to the point of no return.

But you also wonder if any Bronco approached the accountability levels of Gillespie.

Walters had some conspicuous weak points as a coach – he lacked a hard edge and was a modest communicator, surprisingly more of an introvert than the extrovert he is widely painted as.

But, as was the case with previously sacked coach Anthony Seibold, there is still that feeling that some highly paid, modestly performing players should have done better for him.

Broncos players now need to look at themselves. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images

No matter how you spin Walters’ axing, the one inescapable conclusion is that player feedback was a central reason for his demise.

Just 23 days ago Walters was publicly promised by the club he would be coaching next season. A last-round loss to the Storm and the two-week club review were the only things that have added to the mix since.

It simply had to be the review that changed things and if it wasn’t the players who carved up Walters then who on earth was it? The canteen ladies? Buck the horse?

His assistant coaches? If that was the case then Walters should be filthy because one of the reasons you hire assistant coaches is to tell you things about yourself you often don’t want to hear.

Giving Walters an ambassador role ensured he went quietly and didn’t scream the house down and stir up the old boys. Some notable themes around Walters’ exit were:

THE YING AND YANG THEORY

Sports teams tend to follow a pattern of appointing a coach who addresses the failings of the man who failed before him.

That is why Michael Maguire, despite his patchy record, is seen as a standout candidate.

In the Australian cricket team, the box-ticking coach Mickey Arthur was replaced by the more laid-back Darren Lehmann who was replaced by the more intense Justin Langer who was followed by the calmer Andrew McDonald.

Winning Blues coach Michael Maguire is a coaching option. Picture: Richard Dobson

You go one way then the other.

The Broncos replaced the mega-analytical Seibold with the more simple style of Walters and may now rebound by seeking the harder edge of Maguire who could arrive knowing he doesn’t have to tip-toe around Reece Walsh because by then he should have signed a long term deal.

THE PARRAMATTA FACTOR

The question of why Walters was not given a handful of games to prove himself next season may lie in the demise of Parramatta this year.

Brad Arthur was sacked on May 20 and a season was wasted after the team floated around like a yacht lost at sea and finished 15th in a totally wasted year.

The Broncos board decided they simply could not afford to drift like Parramatta, not after missing the finals three times in the last four years had they given Walters say 10 games to prove himself next season and then replaced him.

So the big call was made to get ahead of the curve.

THE OLD BOY FACTOR

Player feedback on Walters was poor. Picture: Liam Kidston

Walters was not appointed Broncos coach because the board thought he was a sublime option. It was because some board members knew the club could not move on until they tried him.

Seibold’s life was made unbearable due to a stream of criticism by old boys who felt Walters would have done a better job.

Any coach who got the job ahead of Walters – except Wayne Bennett – would have copped the same treatment.

By giving Walters a shot at it the board knew in a way they could not fail. If he succeeded they looked good. If he failed they could at least stare down the old boys and think “now look we gave a him a chance and it didn’t work … enough.’’

Even though there have been some outcries of protest after Walters exit the pulpit pounding will not be as severe as when Seibold got the job ahead of him and struggled.

But fans are restless. The last time the club won a premiership in 2006 a song called Bad Day was the tune of the year. Anyone can have one of these. But, for a club like the Broncos, two bad decades is cause for alarm.