NRL 2021: Steve Walters and Petero Civoniceva join Brisbane Broncos staff
David Mead wasn’t the only new face at Red Hill on Monday with a club legend and a Queensland great joining the Broncos for 2021.
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Kevin Walters has brought a Broncos legend back to Red Hill and called in a Queensland great to help make Brisbane an NRL premiership powerhouse again.
Recruit David Mead wasn’t the only new addition at Red Hill on Monday, with Walters revealing club legend Petero Civoniceva was back for the first time in nearly a decade and his older brother Steve had joined Brisbane’s football department.
Civoniceva played 235 games for the Broncos in a glittering career which made him one of the club’s greatest ever players.
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Civoniceva had a messy exit from the Broncos in 2007 following a contract spat and played four seasons at Penrith before returning to Brisbane for a farewell cameo in 2012.
But he is now back at Red Hill in a mentoring role, with Walters making good on his pledge to unite the club’s Old Boys following last year’s wooden spoon debacle.
The three-time premiership winning giant is one of the best forwards to have played in the NRL, having made 309 first-grade appearances for the Broncos and Panthers and represented Queensland 33 times and Australia in 46 matches.
Civoniceva is likely to take on a close mentorship with firebrand forward Tevita Pangai Jr as well as the club’s other young forwards.
Steve Walters joins the Broncos following a lengthy stint as the Queensland Maroons’ team manager.
The eldest Walters brother was widely considered one of the best hookers in the game when he played for Canberra during the 1980s and 1990s, and also represented Queensland and Australia during his 14-year career.
Since then, he has been a much-loved member of the Queensland Origin side for the past 20 years, as their team manager, before resigning amid the COVID turmoil in early 2020.
Kevin Walters said Steve’s expertise and “common sense” would be a valuable asset to the club ahead of the 2021 season.
“(Steve) is a very experienced manager and he will be another welcomed addition,” Kevin he said.
“He’s going to move into the football department.
“From an experience position, Steve’s been a manager at Origin level and Australia level for nearly 20 years so he brings a lot of experience and common sense around the team.”
The Broncos returned to training after the Christmas break on Monday, with Walters ramping up preparations ahead of the NRL season kick-off in March.
The club is coming off its worst ever season after collecting the wooden spoon in 2020 which led to the sacking of coach Anthony Seibold.
Walters said the playing group was focused ahead of the upcoming season.
“It is good to see these guys around but right now, it’s about preparing for the season,” he said.
“The Broncos have always been a family club.
“This year, like many others, we want to make sure our old boys are looked after but more importantly, the playing group is doing everything that is expected of them when they pull that Broncos jersey on.
“From what I’ve seen so far, they’re doing everything right to make sure that happens for Round 1.”
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Originally published as NRL 2021: Steve Walters and Petero Civoniceva join Brisbane Broncos staff