NRL 2022: Broncos coach Kevin Walters sacks assistant Terry Matterson

Kevin Walters accepts unpalatable calls have to be made in the wake of Brisbane’s stunning freefall — but it doesn’t make the decisions any less difficult.

Terry Matterson has been sacked as an assistant coach of the Brisbane Broncos. Picture: Liam Kidston.

Kevin Walters says he will make the tough calls to lead Brisbane to a premiership after sacking assistant Terry Matterson and accepting his brother Steve’s resignation in a dramatic fallout to the Broncos’ late-season collapse.

The first dominoes have fallen at Red Hill with Matterson terminated and football manager Steve Walters resigning following a post-season review of the Broncos’ operations.

Matterson was formally advised of his axing by Walters at a meeting on Thursday.

Walters was under pressure to make changes to his coaching staff following a club-wide review undertaken by chief executive Dave Donaghy and the Brisbane coach has made one of the toughest calls of his career by axing a foundation Bronco.

Walters has had a 30-year friendship with Matterson but the Broncos coach accepts unpalatable calls had to be made in the wake of Brisbane’s stunning freefall to miss the finals for the third consecutive season.

.

Terry Matterson has been sacked from his Broncos position. Picture: NRL Images

Walters said he was gutted by the decision to sever ties with Matterson, but did so after an internal review that included consultations with most of Brisbane’s playing group.

It’s been 16 years since the Broncos won their most recent premiership in 2006 and Walters declared he would put the club’s best interests ahead of any individual in his quest to break the longest title drought in Brisbane’s history.

“Telling Terry he would be moving on was not easy, it was a s*** of a day for me to be honest,” Walters said.

“Terry has done wonderful things for this club as a player and an assistant, but I have to be prepared to make some changes to keep the Broncos improving.

“Both Terry and Steve have worked tirelessly in their roles over recent years and everyone at the club is extremely thankful for their significant contribution to the Broncos.

“Terry has played and coached at the highest level. He won two premierships with the Broncos as a player. He has worked as a coach for the best part of 20 years and brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to his role as a senior assistant coach.

“I’m taking my time with it (the process of finding another assistant) and I want to make sure we get the right people in the building to take us to where we want to go.”

Kevin Walters was gutted by the decision to sever ties with Terry Matterson. Picture: Jerad Williams

Walters himself survived Brisbane’s end-of-season review, with Broncos chairman Karl Morris confirming the club legend will be on deck for a third term next season.

The Broncos finished the 2022 season with a winning 13-11 record. The last Brisbane team to win 13 games and miss the finals was Wayne Bennett’s squad of 1991.

The former Queensland Origin coach is off-contract next year and is adamant he has the skill set to deliver the Broncos’ seventh premiership after finishes of 14th and ninth in his first two years in charge.

“Yes, I believe I’m the guy to take us to a premiership,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think that.

“You have to believe in your ability and I showed this year I am taking the club forward.

“We made some progress again this year, much better than last year, and if we continue on that path, the dream will become a reality before we know it.

“It’s nice to have the backing of the club, but I also have a strong belief in myself and the staff that we can move the club forward.

“We have won more games this year than the two previous years combined and it was our best winning ratio since 2018.

“The last time we won 13 games and missed the finals was back in 1991, so that shows we had a good season.

“All of that is comforting, but not totally satisfying. Making the finals would be good, but at the Broncos it’s not just about making the playoffs, it’s about winning premierships and we have taken some good strides towards that this year.”

Broncos coach Kevin Walters is on the lookout for a new assistant. Picture: Liam Kidston

Walters’ other chief assistant, former Titans head coach John Cartwright, is expected to be retained for Brisbane’s 2023 pre-season.

Other staff sackings are unlikely.

Walters recently hired former Great Britain playmaker Lee Briers to help in a development role and the Broncos coach will begin his search for another assistant.

Former Broncos assistant Steve Kearney has been identified as one option, but he is highly-valued at Melbourne as a right-hand to Storm super coach Craig Bellamy.

Broncos CEO Donaghy said a review of the 2022 season had been completed and focus had turned to preparations for the 2023 pre-season.

“The process was a normal review that we do every year and we will take those learnings and ensure that we keep improving,” he said.

John Cartwright is expected to stay on at the Broncos. Picture: Richard Gosling

“We were disappointed with the last month of the season but the team and club have taken great strides and our goal is to continue on that path in 2023.”

The Broncos were in the top eight for 22 of 25 rounds this season, a statistic that gives Walters comfort Brisbane will be a bona fide finals contender next year.

“It was a disappointing finish, I won’t hide behind that, but the review part has been: one, identifying why that happened and how that happened and, two, making sure it doesn’t happen next year,” he said.

“We are all disappointed with how the season ended, but we have done our review and identified where we need to be better in some areas.

“For 22 weeks, we were in the top eight and we were having a good season.

“The contents of the review we will keep in-house with the staff and players.

“Blind Freddy can see some of the areas that need to be better.

“Too much information gets leaked out of our place so we will share the information with the staff and players when they come back for pre-season.”

Originally published as NRL 2022: Broncos coach Kevin Walters sacks assistant Terry Matterson