Sport Confidential: Broncos fans turn on Kevin Walters over Corey Oates snubbing
Kevin Walters is having a tough time of it in Brisbane, with the club’s supporters taking aim at the Broncos coach over a selection call.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
He is a club legend but Brisbane coach Kevin Walters is under fire from Broncos fans over the snubbing of winger Corey Oates.
Oates is on the outer at Red Hill and Broncos supporters have taken aim at Walters, with a News Corp poll showing 73 per cent of fans believe the former Queensland Origin winger should be in Brisbane’s starting side.
Oates is a fan favourite at the Broncos with his fearless playing style on the field and engaging personality off it.
He has asked Walters for feedback on several occasions but has left the meetings puzzled about what the Broncos coach expects him to do to fight his way back into the team.
Oates can do no more at Intrust Super Cup level, charging for 208 metres and scoring a sublime matchwinning try in Souths Logan’s upset of Wynnum Manly last week.
Queensland Origin winger Xavier Coates will join Melbourne next season and there is a view Walters is better off investing in Oates, who is on $600,000, than a player who will be in Storm colours in 2022.
SHOCKING COST OF QRL’S FOLAU FIGHT
The Queensland Rugby League fears its ugly courtroom battle with Israel Folau could cost the governing body up to $500,000.
With the backing of billionaire mining magnate and litigation lover Clive Palmer, Folau last week commenced Supreme Court action against the QRL.
Folau and Palmer are incensed the cross-code superstar has not been immediately cleared to play for the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast park footy competition.
Stream selected Fox League shows on Kayo Freebies completely free this June including NRL 360, Sunday Night with Matty Johns, Big League Wrap & more. No Credit Card. No-brainer. Register Free Now >
Palmer, a Southport club patron, was planning to pay Folau up to $250,000 to play for the amateur team.
The QRL said Folau would be allowed to play as soon as he gains a clearance from Super League club Catalans, who claim he is still contracted to the club.
That didn’t satisfy Palmer, who is demanding Folau be immediately registered given Catalans have violated the terms of his playing contract by not paying Folau after he requested compassionate leave to remain in Australia.
Folau was hoping to have an immediate injunction imposed so he could take the field for the Tigers, but the case was adjourned for a month.
The QRL is already out-of-pocket $50,000 for the first stage of court proceedings and the body which oversees grassroots footy in Queensland fears that could multiply up to 10 times if the case continues in a month’s time.
The QRL is hoping Folau and Palmer will use the time to negotiate a release from Catalans and prevent wasting more money that could be used to fund the amateur level of the game in Queensland.
TITANIC BLUNDER AS COAST MISS REECE LIGHTNING
The Broncos have been criticised for losing Reece Walsh to the Warriors but the real question should be: how did the Titans miss out on one of the best Gold Coast juniors of the past decade?
While Brisbane first snared Walsh as a 15-year-old, the Queensland Origin hopeful has revealed he never received a single approach from Titans recruitment chiefs despite almost 10 years in the Gold Coast system.
Walsh first took up in league in 2006, the very year in which the Titans were setting up structures for their entry to the big league in 2007. By his teens, Walsh was starring for the Nerang Roosters, but the silence from Titans scouts was deafening — opening the door for the Broncos to pounce.
Now at the Warriors, the 18-year-old Walsh, in contention for NRL rookie-of-the-year honours, revealed there was no real bidding war for his services coming through the grades.
“I played footy down in Sydney, then moved to Queensland and I played footy for Nerang on the Gold Coast at the age of four,” Walsh said.
“I was with the Nerang Roosters for years, they were an awesome club and I made some great friendships there.
“The Titans never really showed any interest. It wasn’t until I had signed with the Broncos that they were keen, but I had already done a deal with Brisbane.”
Gold Coast culture boss Mal Meninga, who joined the Titans well after Walsh had become a Bronco, recently lamented missing out on the teenage sensation.
“To be honest, I was a bit peeved we didn’t get him,” he said.
“The kid is special, he can play a bit. He is instinctive and I was a bit dirty we lost him because he is a Gold Coast kid. He was with Keebra Park (Gold Coast high school) and Brisbane got him on a development contract.”
SON OF A GUN ON FIRE
The eldest son of Broncos legend Corey Parker has been setting schoolboys footy on fire — in two different codes.
Wylei Parker, 10, has been carving up for his school in rugby union and dominating for Carina in league. The videos his father posts on Instagram show a genuine talent on the rise.
A footy addict who watches as much NRL as he possibly can, Wylei is a try-scoring sensation who could be on the path to big things.
Unlike his middle-forward father, who played 347 NRL games for the Broncos, Wylei is a scheming halfback with plenty of talent.
“He has good spatial awareness and understanding but is also strong, skilful and fast,” Corey said. “I go on the flip side and I challenge him defensively.
“As a father I love watching all my kids play sport but it’s special that he loves league. I haven’t forced it on him at all.”
Wylei is a massive Broncos fan and has been riding the lows of the battling club.
JETS READY FOR $20 MILLION TAKE OFF
The NRL expansion race has taken a dramatic twist with the Brisbane Jets securing a $20 million bonanza — scuppering claims they will not have a viable bid for the code’s 17th licence.
Sport Confidential can reveal the Jets have received multifaceted support from local and state governments, who will commit as much as $20 million to establishing facilities for a proposed second Brisbane team in the western-corridor for 2023.
The Jets are exploring a number of sites for a permanent base, including a site at the University of Southern Queensland in Springfield, the very region in which AFL rivals the Brisbane Lions have set-up their $70 million facility.
The Jets’ bid rivals, the Dolphins and Firehawks, are both financial powerhouses. The Redcliffe-backed Dolphins have a $100 million asset base, while the Easts Tigers-backed Firehawks possess $25 million in cash reserves.
The NRL is seeking a $10 million bank guarantee for a 17th side and Jets powerbrokers have scoffed at suggestions they are broke.
“We will have major financial support from local and state government so any concerns about our viability are nonsense,” Jets official Steve Johnson said. “We will have fully-equipped offices to fit 60 people, plus a gymnasium and training fields for the players.
“We will get a lot more than $10 million from various governments to fund facilities and in terms of start-up capital for the bid, we will have no issue meeting the bank guarantee from the NRL.
“It‘s fair to say we don’t have as much money compared to the other bids, but you don’t need $100 million to start up an NRL team.
“You only need what the NRL requires and we will have that.”
REF CONTROVERSY A CLOSE SECRET
The top echelon of the Queensland Rugby League did not know that Maroons coach Paul Green hired former NRL referees boss Bernard Sutton in the lead-up to Origin I.
The hiring of Sutton, whose brother Gerard Sutton was the referee for Origin I, as a consultant for the Queensland team has caused a ruffle south of the Tweed, with the NRL and NSW Blues unhappy about the secrecy around his appointment.
There is no suggestion Bernard had any influence over how Gerard refereed the Townsville game, in which the Maroons copped a record 50-6 thrashing.
But the NRL wasn’t happy with Green’s moves to bring Gerard’s brother into Camp Maroon without being openly transparent. The Blues had former top NRL referee Gavin Badger in their camp.
Bernard Sutton spent a couple of days with the Maroons team and was in the dressing rooms after the game wearing Queensland clothing. But even some of the QRL’s top figures did not know he had been hired.
“I didn’t even know that, that’s how important it is to me,” QRL chairman Bruce Hatcher said. “When you appoint an Origin coach and go through the process, you’ve got to give him the opportunity to do his own thing.”
TITANS DESPERATE TO SIGN SMITH
The Gold Coast Titans are still desperate to sign Melbourne Storm dynamo Brandon Smith.
Smith is one of the NRL’s form players and has been in a ridiculous purple patch over the past month.
He was tipped to leave the Storm at the end of this season due to the emergence of Queensland Origin rake Harry Grant, but has said numerous times that he is committed to Melbourne until the end of his contract in 2022.
That hasn’t thrown the Titans off the scent and they have not given hope of snaring him, either next year or from 2023. The Titans know they need to sign a marquee spine player if they want to be a serious title contender.
Off-contract hooker Mitch Rein has had a solid season but is yet to be offered a new deal. His back-up Erin Clark has struggled in the starting role at NRL level but has earned a two-year extension.
Rein could secure a one-year extension if the Titans are unable to land Smith, in the hope they can sign the New Zealand star from 2023.
BRONCOS NEED JOHNSON
NRL legend Cameron Smith has urged the Brisbane Broncos to sign unwanted Cronulla playmaker Shaun Johnson.
Johnson is on the hunt for a new club after being informed he would not be offered a new contract by the Sharks and Brisbane would be the perfect home for the New Zealand Test star, according to Smith.
The Broncos have already signed South Sydney general Adam Reynolds and Smith believes Johnson would be the perfect foil in the No.6 jersey.
“Broncos,” Smith said on SEN Radio when asked who should sign Johnson. “Take him to the Broncos with Reynolds. They missed out on Nicho Hynes.”
The Broncos are planning to play Kotoni Staggs at five-eighth next year, but if that fails then Johnson could be the perfect option given Anthony Milford will not be at the club.
PEREIRA’S PIT STOP
Dragons winger Jordan Pereira is headed for the Broncos next year but he could be making a pit stop along the way.
Pereira is in talks with Newcastle about a switch to the Knights for the remainder of the season. Pereira has fallen out-of-favour with Dragons coach Anthony Griffin, whose love for Cody Ramsey hasn’t gone unnoticed by players at the club.
Pereira, 28, is expected to sign with the Broncos from next year but he could wear Newcastle colours before heading to Red Hill.
FLANAGAN ON THE MARKET
Former Cronulla premiership-winning mentor Shane Flanagan has been shopped to Brisbane’s prospective NRL teams in a bid to relaunch his coaching career.
Flanagan’s services have been offered to the Brisbane Jets, who held talks with former Broncos coach Wayne Bennett during the NRL Magic Round weekend in May.
Flanagan was deregistered by the NRL in 2018 following a number of off-field breaches, including defying an NRL sanction and continuing to communicate with the Sharks during the club‘s peptide scandal.
In September 2019, Flanagan was informed he could return as an assistant coach but could not take on a head-coaching role until November 1, 2021 — when pre-season for the 2022 season resumes.
That time frame fits in perfectly with the NRL’s interest in expanding the code. A proposed second Brisbane team would not join the NRL until 2023 but the foundation coach would require at least 12 months to build a roster.
There is no questioning Flanagan’s credentials as a premiership coach and he has shown impressive tactical acumen in his commentary role with Fox Sports. But the fact Flanagan isn’t a born-and-bred Queenslander could count against him when a new Brisbane team looks to appoint its first coach.
ALEX THE GREAT SOLDIERS ON
Brisbane’s form crisis and the send-off of Kobe Hetherington overshadowed a special achievement by skipper Alex Glenn in Canberra last Saturday night.
The veteran back-rower chalked up his 275th NRL game, seeing him leapfrog legendary Broncos winger Michael Hancock (274) into fourth place on Brisbane’s list of all-time appearances.
Just three Broncos are now ahead of Glenn — triple centurions Sam Thaiday (304), Corey Parker (347) and club record-holder Darren Lockyer, who may never be beaten with his 355 games.
Glenn’s durability is remarkable. Since his debut in 2009, he played 20 games or more for 11 consecutive seasons before injury struck last year, restricting the 32-year-old Glenn to just eight games.
The former Kiwi Test star remains off-contract and will fall just short of 300 games if he opts to retire at season’s end.
HUNGRY HUNI EYEING TOWER OF TERROR
Justis Huni is on track for one of the biggest tests of his burgeoning professional career in the wake of his 10-round demolition of gutsy Paul Gallen.
Huni will head to Japan next month chasing gold at the Tokyo Olympics but when he closes the door on his amateur career, the 22-year-old will turn his attention to Australian monster Demsey McKean.
Nicknamed the Tower of Terror, the 200cm McKean is unbeaten from 19 fights, including 12 knockouts, and is a world-ranked heavyweight at No.10 with the IBF and No.12 with the WBO.
McKean won a unanimous decision over Kiki Toa Leutele last month in Brisbane and has previously come close to securing the biggest payday of his career with a world-title fight against Tyson Fury.
The Huni camp is in talks to fight McKean before Christmas this year. At 115kg, McKean is a ferocious, hard-hitting southpaw and shapes as another jump up in class for Huni, who was too slick and quick for a brave Gallen on Wednesday night.
The 30-year-old McKean no doubt watched the bout and would have noted Huni’s inability to drop a struggling Gallen until the final round, raising questions over JPH’s true knockout power.
TITAN SCORES NEW DEAL
Gold Coast centre Patrick Herbert has been rewarded for his solid form this season with a two-year contract extension. Herbert has been a rare shining light in the backline for the Titans in recent weeks and has secured his future.
After being released by the Warriors, Herbert has turned a one-season contract at the Titans into at least a three-year tenure, tying him up at the club until 2023.
Originally published as Sport Confidential: Broncos fans turn on Kevin Walters over Corey Oates snubbing
Gus’ ‘doctored’ claim ignites NRL conspiracy
The NRL Grand Final’s controversial no try scandal has taken a wild turn despite the game releasing the angle the decision was based on.
Kangaroos selection shocks: NRL legends’ Test careers appear over
Mal Meninga has dropped a major selection bombshell by overlooking both James Tedesco and Kalyn Ponga for Kangaroos selection, with the list of surprise omissions and debutants not ending there. See the full squad.