NRL 2023: How Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters has proved his critics wrong

Kevin Walters was once written off as a “clown” who couldn’t coach. Now he’s 160 minutes away from snapping Brisbane’s premiership drought – this is how he has revived the Broncos.

Broncos coach Kevin Walters. Picture: NRL Images

Kevin Walters has evolved from the disrespected “clown” of coaching to the cusp of NRL premiership glory following a remarkable resurrection of the Brisbane Broncos.

Walters will lead the Broncos into Saturday’s preliminary final blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium despite being written off as an NRL head coach.

A legend of 241 games as a player for the Broncos, Walters has orchestrated a stunning Red Hill revival since taking over a fractured club that collected the 2020 NRL wooden spoon.

This is how the evolution of the Kev-olution has played out.

CLOWN TO COMMANDER

Walters, 55, has a strong argument for being the most successful player in Brisbane’s 35-year history.

He won six premierships during a 15-year first grade career, including a record five at the Broncos (1992-93, 97-98 and 2000) following his 1989 triumph with Canberra.

After 20 Origin games as a player, he also coached Queensland to series victories in his first two years (2016-17) in charge of the Maroons following Mal Meninga’s decade of dominance.

In short, winning is synonymous with Walters.

Kevin Walters won five premierships with the Broncos. Picture: Brett Faulkner

“He has won six comps – he will keep telling you that,” said Walters’ son and Broncos hooker Billy with a grin.

But when it came to transitioning from the field to the coaches’ box, Walters’ record as a player seemed to mean little in the boardroom.

After retiring in 2001, Walters coached the Toowoomba Clydesdales and Ipswich Jets, along with serving apprenticeships as an assistant to NRL super coaches Wayne Bennett (Broncos, Knights) and Craig Bellamy (Storm).

A two-season stint coaching French club Catalans (2009-10) in the Super League yielded little success and Walters was overlooked by the Broncos as Bennett’s successor in 2019 despite his impressive results with the Maroons.

Many coaches with inferior resumes were getting a crack at the NRL when Walters couldn’t.

Broncos premiership prop Glenn Lazarus believes Walters wasn’t taken seriously as a coach due to his personality and love of a joke. Now he’s 160 minutes away from having the last laugh.

Walters likes to have a laugh. Picture: NRL Imagery

“A lot of people don’t take him seriously because he doesn’t take himself seriously. He’s a very joking and jovial guy,” Lazarus said.

“Some people saw him as the clown. Some of the things he’s been portrayed as, it wouldn’t happen to a Wayne Bennett, Craig Bellamy or Trent Robinson.

“It was because people didn’t take him seriously as a first grade coach.”

But Walters refused to give up.

When the Broncos crashed under Anthony Seibold's reign in 2019-20, he threw his hat into the ring again. This time it was a two-way battle between Walters and Paul Green, North Queensland’s 2015 premiership coach, for Brisbane’s top job.

Once again, Walters had doubters among the decision-makers at the Broncos but ultimately secured the role. He would begin his career as an NRL head coach at age 53.

RED HILL RESURRECTION

Walters inherited a team that had collected the first wooden spoon in Brisbane’s rich history and the scars remained when the 2021 NRL season kicked off.

After seven rounds, Walters only boasted one win – against eventual wooden spooners Canterbury – and by round 15 the Broncos were last on the ladder with a 3-12 record.

Walters was struggling to find conviction in his coaching. He was uncertain about positions in his team and churned through a staggering 36 players.

But among the fierce pressure engulfing Red Hill, he found the courage to make some bold decisions, including releasing highly-paid players Matt Lodge and Tevita Pangai Jr.

“You don’t know where the gaps are in your coaching in the NRL until you become a head coach in the NRL,” said Ben Ikin, Walters’ halves partner in the 2000 premiership team and Brisbane’s former head of football.

“The thing I like about Kev is he shows you who he is, right from the get go.

“Because he does it that way, he learns quickly what’s working and what’s not. He goes hell for leather then he reviews, refines and goes again.

“You are never left in two minds with Kev about what he is thinking and feeling. There is a lot of uncertainty in elite sport, so that honesty is a good thing to have.

“With ‘Kev’, that’s the thing I enjoyed. He holds nothing back and at the same time, when he isn’t nailing something, he is very quick to adapt and be better the next time around.”

Walters had a tough start to his NRL coaching career. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

The Broncos managed to jag a few wins late in 2021 and climb to 14th, but the jury was still out on Walters and he seemingly had one more year to save his NRL coaching career.

While the Broncos had some emerging superstars in Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan, it was clear the team lacked the type of direction Walters and Allan Langer provided during the glory days.

So Walters made his ‘Hail Mary’ play, going all-in for South Sydney halfback Adam Reynolds after he had been offered a one-year contract extension by the Rabbitohs.

The whispers from Redfern were that Reynolds’ body was failing him, but Walters had faith and Reynolds bought into his Brisbane vision by signing a three-year contract.

Walters took a punt on Adam Reynolds. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“I didn’t know too much about ‘Kevvie’ as a person before I came to the club, but from our first chat, we had very similar views on the game and how it’s played,” Reynolds said.

“Talking to Kev, that was a big part of wanting to take on a new challenge at the Broncos.

“It’s important in rugby league to be serious but also have that enjoyment factor and ‘Kevvie’ gets that.

“When you are enjoying yourself, you tend to play better, that’s one thing that he does well as a coach. He knows how to enjoy himself and get the closest bonding team possible to enjoy the outcome.

“He also trusts the players. Our leadership group has a lot of input in the style we want to play.”

Reynolds made an immediate impact upon arriving at Red Hill heading into the 2022 premiership.

After 19 rounds last year, the Broncos were sitting fourth and destined to play finals for the first time since 2019. But a stunning 1-5 capitulation to end the year saw them slump to ninth and another September holiday.

Once again, Walters’ coaching career was at a crossroads.

Walters has overseen a stunning revival of the Broncos. Picture: Adam Head

THE PREMIERSHIP CHARGE

Walters needed to hit the ground running heading into the 2023 NRL season – the final year of his original contract. What he didn’t need was star player Selwyn Cobbo savaging his coaching in an off-season podcast.

Cobbo’s comments thrust the spotlight on Walters following the 2022 choke but also galvanised Broncos hierarchy’s support of their coach.

Within days of the Cobbo controversy, this masthead revealed Brisbane’s board had ratified a two-year contract extension for Walters. The response from some jaded fans was outrage – but the Broncos knew Walters was on the right path.

With the return of Reece Walsh, Reynolds pulling the strings and Haas, Carrigan, Tom Flegler, Herbie Farnworth, Ezra Mam and co rising another gear, the Broncos cruised to a top two finish.

They are now one win away from the club’s first grand final appearance since the heartbreaking 2015 loss to the Cowboys and have the opportunity to snap Brisbane’s 17-year premiership drought.

“I think Kevvie deserves to be coach of the year,” Reynolds said.

“You only have to look back a couple of years ago when he took over the Broncos, he came in at a time where the team wasn’t doing too well and their confidence was shot. Players weren’t playing to their potential and he has turned the club around in a short amount of time.

“He has the belief factor back in the team and he has got us playing an exciting brand of football that everyone loves watching.

“I love Kevvie as a bloke. He is a terrific fella who knows how to have a good time, but he knows when to be serious. They are good traits to have as a coach.”

Reece Walsh has been a key signing for Walters. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

When Ikin departed the Broncos in May to become CEO of the Queensland Rugby League, he knew something special was brewing at Red Hill under Walters.

“Right at the core of all the great coaches is this absolute belief that they are good enough to coach a team to a premiership and an absolute belief that they have a team that can win a premiership,” he said.

“Everything I have heard and seen from Kev, he is in that spot. He believes he is the right man and his team is good enough, then you give the players the tools and the environment they need to be at their best.”

When you ask Lazarus, a five-time premiership-winner, about Walters and the Broncos’ rise, you can hear the genuine happiness in his voice.

“I don’t think Kevvie’s got an enemy in the world,” he said.

“When I think back on my career at the Broncos, ‘Kevvie’ was just as big an influence on what we achieved as ‘Alf’ (Langer) was. He’s got a great personality, football brain and understanding of the game.

“I, and people around him, knew he was going to make a good coach, it was just a matter of whether the players and club were patient and bought into what he was trying to set up.

“I’m so happy for the guy. I’ve known him for 35-40 years and love the bloke. I love the fact he’s turned this club around.

“It went from being this mighty club which everyone else aspired to be, to being the worst club in the competition in a very short period of time due to having the wrong people in certain positions.

“Kevvie has created this culture. I’ve been around the club and on the bus going to games. They absolutely love being in each other’s company and don’t want to let each other down.

“That’s what I call a winning culture. The Broncos have that in spades at the moment and a lot of that is due to Kevvie’s work and the people he’s got around him.”

Despite the evolution of Kev-olution and resurrection of the Broncos, Walters has stayed true to himself in many ways.

When you ask Billy Walters if his father, who is also a grandfather, has changed away from the club during his three years as an NRL coach, his response sums it up.

“It all depends if we win or lose.”

Originally published as NRL 2023: How Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters has proved his critics wrong