‘Was he out there?’: Awkward response reveals depth of coach’s pain

Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters’ heartache was summed up with one answer in the post match press conference on Friday night.

Kevin Walters was not happy at the post-match press conference.

Kevin Walters’ heartache was summed up with one answer in the post match press conference on Friday night.

It wasn’t a question about the performance of his key players, it wasn’t even a question about his team.

A reporter asked Walters what he thought of Titans’ star recruit, David Fifita — the 21-year-old who left the Broncos for a $3.5 million deal with their rivals.

His response: “Was he out there tonight? I didn’t notice he played.”

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The room of journalists laughed, thinking Walters was having a joke, except the shattered Broncos coach sat still and had never looked more serious.

Fifita showed up his former club with two tries, 104 running metres, nine tackle busts and two linebreaks.

He particularly showed up Anthony Milford, who Walters ended up moving to the other side of the field because he was “having a nightmare with big Dave.”

It was neck-and-neck for first 20 minutes of the Queensland derby but similarly to last week, the Broncos couldn’t keep up the intensity.

Walters said “we got what we deserved from the Titans” but is “determined” to turn things around at Red Hill.

“Coaching in the NRL is tough, no matter what side you’re at,” he said.

“While we’re not winning, I’m really determined — everyone at the club is — that we can turn it around.

“I think everyone has seen some improvement in the side from previous years, albeit for not quite those periods we need to but we’re Round 2.

“I didn’t expect to wave the magic wand and it’ll all be fixed, that’s not the real world. It’s going to take some time, but we’re on the right path to get the Broncos winning.”

No doubt Milford and Brodie Croft will feel the heat over the next week after failing to have an impact on the game and so will Walters given he made the bold call to leave Tom Dearden out of the side.

He has called on the two of them to step up and take control of the team.

“They both (need to take control), Milf and Crofty.

“There was a critical point there in the first half where we came up with two poor kicks, one from Milf and one from Crofty that were pretty costly in the end.

“We had the Titans under good pressure and then we released it with some poor kicks. Both of them, not one or another, both of them.”

Originally published as ‘Was he out there?’: Awkward response reveals depth of coach’s pain