Race day twist: Key figures Kevin Walters and Corey Parker back the club’s board

Broncos coach Kevin Walters says it was him, not management, who called off a planned race day function – a decision that has sparked backlash from club greats.

Coach Kevin Walters has been overruled by Brisbane Broncos management (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Broncos coach Kevin Walters has claimed it was his call to stop players from attending a race day function, but denied snubbing the club’s old boys in the process.

Former club great Gorden Tallis declared on Sunday the Broncos were about to “implode” after senior management forced the cancellation of a race day function set to feature former and current Broncos at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

Tallis felt the club had undermined his great mate Walters, but the coach has seen it differently, claiming it was his decision.

“With this race day, it’s a non-issue,’’ Walters said.

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“There was no ban or snub of the old boys.

“I made the decision early in the week that being at the races less than 24 hours after we played a game wasn’t a good option.

“Player recovery is important, plus we had the entire squad out on Saturday meeting the fans across Brisbane at Kia dealerships as part of our partnership with our major sponsor.

Coach Kevin Walters says the decision to call off a planned race day outing was made by him, not Broncos management. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“It was great for the players to be able to talk to the fans and sign autographs – there were a lot of really loyal supporters who turned up to see the boys.

“We have seen plenty of the Broncos old boys across the past few months.

“We had basically all of the Broncos captains come in over the preseason to speak to the players like Wally Lewis, Gene Miles, Trevor Gillmeister, Gorden Tallis – and Darren Lockyer is around the club as well as Terry Matterson, Petero Civoniceva, Allan Langer, Matt Gillett, Darius Boyd ... the list goes on.

“Educating the current players about Broncos history and what it means to be a Bronco has been a real focus for us, and we make sure they have access to the former players every day – and that will continue, you can be certain of that.”

Broncos interim CEO Neil Monaghan said he fully supported Walters’ decision to bypass the race day in favour of player recovery and the Kia visits.

“With the former players, our doors are always open,” Monaghan said.

“Kev has made a lot of headway in a short period of time in engaging the former players and we want to continue to help him with that process.

“We now have a heap of old boys mentoring our current players on a daily basis, and those relationships will continue to grow – one missed race day isn’t going to take away from that.’’

Former Brisbane Broncos footballer Gorden Tallis threw the blame on Brisbane’s hierarchy. Picture: AAP Image/Brendon Thorne

The canned race day barely rates a blip on the scale of Broncos off-field controversies, but it does confirm how marathon losing streaks attract heavy layers of scrutiny and pressure to player management decisions which barely turn a head when you are winning.

Broncos management believe the old boys never made a formal approach about the race day, which was cancelled last Tuesday.

Given it came the day after their second round loss to the Titans, there were private concerns it could be potentially a bad look had there been any poor player behaviour.

The cancellation of the function triggered a mixed reaction among former players.

Former captain Corey Parker indicated on Fox League on Sunday he agreed with the decision to can it.

“You make a decision in the best interests of the team, not what the old boys think,’’ Parker said.

“If they are fair dinkum go to training and have a coffee and a burger. Why are we making a song and dance about a race day being cancelled when they are 0-2 going into a game which is super important?’’

Broncos legend Steve Renouf, however, was left stunned by the decision, insisting the old boys merely want to build bonds with the current players.

“One of the sponsors had helped organise this day at the races and it included the current team,” Renouf said.

“It was just a get together and I was looking forward to seeing the current players.

“Anyway, the next thing we get an email saying the board made a decision and the current team weren’t going.

“I don’t know why they kyboshed it, I have no idea what’s happened and we’re like, ‘OK’.

“I don’t know how the club can make that decision when it was an event in the middle of the day.

“The players played the night before so it was just a get-together at the races.

“Because it got kyboshed, we decided to scrap the get-together at the races and have another function at a pub nearby.

“The old boys have no issue with the players. It’s a shame.

“We are trying to build a bond with the players and we thought it was a good way to connect with the group.’’