Broncos news: Gorden Tallis says Ben Ikin should be a ‘lackey’ for head coach Kevin Walters
Ben Ikin’s return to Red Hill was hailed as a game-changing appointment for Brisbane — but his role has been called into question by club great Gorden Tallis.
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Brisbane legend Gorden Tallis has launched a passionate defence of Kevin Walters, saying Broncos football boss Ben Ikin should be a “lackey” for the head coach.
Tallis delivered a typically no-nonsense appraisal of Brisbane’s front-office ructions following an exclusive News Corp report (below) which uncovered professional tensions between Broncos coach Walters and his head of football Ikin.
Broncos bosses have held urgent talks with Walters and Ikin to scupper any potential for a damaging rift and ensure the duo are “on the same page” for Brisbane’s finals revenge mission in 2023.
Ikin’s return to Red Hill midway through 2021 was hailed as a game-changing appointment for the club as the Broncos ramped up plans to snap a 16-year premiership drought.
But the head of football has felt increasingly marginalised this season following a communication breakdown with Walters, his halves partner in Brisbane’s 2000 NRL premiership win.
At the core of the issue is Walters’ desire to control the football department as head coach – and how much input Ikin is keen to have in the running of Brisbane’s NRL program.
But Tallis, one of Walters’ strongest allies, hit out at suggestions Ikin should have more control, saying the head-of-football position in today’s NRL industry is overrated.
“The CEOs don’t get sacked – the coach does (if an NRL club fails to get results),” Tallis fired on Triple M’s Sunday Sin Bin show.
“All these guys ... what are they called, football managers or directors of football, it’s a made-up title.
“It’s absolutely made up.
“Basically, the football manager should be a lackey for the head coach unless you are Phil Gould (Bulldogs football boss).
“These guys (other NRL football chiefs) all think they are Phil Gould.
“Let me tell you, Phil Gould’s role (at Canterbury) was made for Phil Gould, there aren’t too many people like him who can go to an organisation and be the boss.”
Having been hired to oversee the rejuvenation of Brisbane’s football department last year, Ikin was largely frozen out of key management decisions this season.
In the Broncos chain of command, Walters reports to Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy, not Ikin.
At the back end of last season, Ikin was at Brisbane’s coalface, sitting near the playing bench for NRL games, but this season he was strangely moved away from the team, often watching matches alone at Suncorp Stadium from public seats outside the media box.
Walters communicated many important matters to his football-manager brother Steve, not Ikin, who was relegated to looking after the Broncos women’s team and assisting Brisbane Academy chief Simon Scanlan on grassroots issues.
When Walters was handed a contract extension in March, Ikin was not involved in the process.
However, Tallis says Ikin should well and truly take a backseat to Walters and play a support role to help the Broncos coach deliver the club’s seventh premiership.
“Ben Ikin went for the CEO’s role and he missed it, that job is the boss,” Tallis said.
“The role for Benny, if I’m Benny Ikin, is, ‘Kevvie what do you need me to do? Hey mate, do you need anything else?’
“That should be it, that should be his job description.
“There are joint decisions these days (at NRL clubs) because if the coach has too much power, you can see how clubs get the salary cap out.
“Does Kevvie run the team? Does Kevvie talk about the players they want at the recruitment desk? Absolutely.
“But the two coaches I had, Brian Smith and Wayne Bennett, no-one is on their page. They make the decisions. They live by it.
“At the end of the day, it’s the coach gets moved on (if he fails to get results).”
Ikin and Walters took their first steps towards working more closely when the duo attended Bishop Park on Saturday to watch Broncos’ feeder-club Norths Devils win their preliminary final in the Queensland Cup.
Former Bulldogs enforcer and Great Britain legend James Graham said it’s important Ikin is given a strong voice by Broncos hierarchy.
“The last thing you want in that relationship is a ‘Yes man’ and someone who just agrees with everything (a head coach) says,” Graham said.
“You need to have difficult conversations at this level.”
The club’s priority, following talks involving Ikin, Walters and Donaghy, is to draw distinct lines on where responsibility sits and clarity over their respective roles for next season.
The outcome of those talks could be crucial for both men.
Ikin is committed to his job at the Broncos but he is also one of the most intelligent and respected voices in the game, and would walk back into a media career if he so desired after quitting Fox Sports to take on the Brisbane job.
Asked whether he would give Ikin more say in the running of Brisbane’s football program, Walters said: “I included him this year. I am happy to include him more if he wants that.
“You know what I’m like, I’m all for embracing ideas and listening on how people want to go about things. If there is a better way of doing it, I’m happy to listen.
“I don’t think I have all the answers. Nobody has all the answers. Even the great Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett don’t know it all, so Ben Ikin has a very important role in our football club moving forward.”
Broncos hold crisis talks to fix Ikin, Walters mess
Broncos bosses have held urgent talks to heal a fractured relationship between coach Kevin Walters and football chief Ben Ikin amid fears of a power struggle at Red Hill.
News Corp can reveal Brisbane hierarchy are aware of professional tensions between Walters and Ikin that have simmered throughout the 2022 season and threaten to destabilise the Broncos in the wake of their shocking late-season collapse.
It is understood Broncos bosses have presided over meetings with Walters and Ikin to scupper any potential for a damaging rift and ensure the duo are “on the same page” for Brisbane’s finals revenge mission in 2023.
At the core of the issue is Walters’ desire to control the football department as head coach — and how much input Ikin is keen to have in the running of Brisbane’s NRL program.
Ikin’s return to Red Hill midway through 2021 was hailed as a game-changing appointment for the club as the Broncos ramped up plans to snap a 16-year premiership drought.
But the head of football has felt increasingly marginalised this season following a communication breakdown with Walters, his halves partner in Brisbane’s 2000 NRL premiership win.
The Broncos bombed out of finals contention this season amid claims they lacked leadership when it mattered on the field, but is off the field where cracks have appeared in Brisbane’s all-important front-office.
Walters pledged to work on his relationship with Ikin to ensure the Broncos’ front-office is not at loggerheads entering a critical pre-season.
“Ben is new to the club, he came in at the back end of last year and we are working well together,” Walters said.
“Can things be better with him? Yes, everything in the club can be better.
“I need to be better myself and Ben needs to be better.
“I don’t have a major issue with him. I’m very clear on what needs to happen and I’m very clear on wanting to take the club forward.
“The NRL head coach is the hub of a football department. In my 20 years of working at successful football clubs like the Broncos, Storm and even Canberra when I won a premiership there, the coach, CEO and chairman carry the load of the club.”
Over the past decade, the head of football role has become a more powerful position in an NRL front office.
While the buck stops with the head coach, football chiefs like Phil Gould (Canterbury) and Frank Ponissi (Melbourne) wield significantly more power than what Ikin has been handed at the Broncos.
Following the departure of Peter Nolan in June 2021, Ikin was hand-picked by Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy.
The 45-year-old was given a mandate to be an agent for change as Brisbane looked to build on the cultural revival that Walters had begun upon his arrival as head coach, aimed squarely at lifting the glamour club off the bottom of the league.
It had been an embarrassing capitulation for the NRL’s richest club.
Ikin, a premiership-winner armed with a fine corporate and rugby league resume, having played State of Origin and served as a Queensland Rugby League board member, was hired to help stop the rot.
But, having been hired to oversee the rejuvenation of Brisbane’s football department, Ikin was largely frozen out of key management decisions this season.
In the Broncos chain of command, Walters reports to Donaghy, not Ikin.
At the back end of last season, Ikin was at Brisbane’s coalface, sitting near the playing bench for NRL games, but this season he was strangely moved away from the team, often watching matches alone at Suncorp Stadium from public seats outside the media box.
Walters communicated many important matters to his football-manager brother Steve, not Ikin, who was relegated to looking after the Broncos women’s team and assisting Brisbane Academy chief Simon Scanlan on grassroots issues.
When Walters was handed a contract extension in March, Ikin was not involved in the process.
Asked whether he would give Ikin more say in the running of Brisbane’s football program, Walters said: “I included him this year. I am happy to include him more if he wants that.
“You know what I’m like, I’m all for embracing ideas and listening on how people want to go about things. If there is a better way of doing it, I’m happy to listen.
“I don’t think I have all the answers. Nobody has all the answers. Even the great Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett don’t know it all, so Ben Ikin has a very important role in our football club moving forward.”
At the heart of the issue is a fundamental difference in the way Ikin and Walters view the world and the running of a football department.
The club’s priority, following talks involving Ikin, Walters and Donaghy, is to draw distinct lines on where responsibility sits and clarity over their respective roles for next season.
The outcome of those talks could be crucial for both men.
Ikin is committed to his job at the Broncos but he is also one of the most intelligent and respected voices in the game, and would walk back into a media career if he so desired after quitting Fox Sports to take on the Brisbane job.
Walters, meanwhile, coached the Broncos within one win of finals football this year. Off-contract next season, he needs a fast start again next year or risks being axed if the Broncos miss the finals for a fourth consecutive season.
The best chance of a major Broncos revival is if Walters and Ikin can strengthen their relationship and work towards delivering the Broncos their first playoffs appearance since 2019.
The Broncos have already made changes which are expected to enhance the relationship between Ikin and Walters, in effect forcing the pair to work more closely.
On Friday, the club announced that assistant coach Terry Matterson and football manager Walters would leave.
With Steve Walters vacating the football manager’s role, Ikin is expected to have a beefed-up role as a result, more akin to what he had hoped when he arrived at the club.
Brisbane CEO Dave Donaghy said the club’s leaders had to challenge each other for the Broncos to thrive.
“The guys are fine,” he said.
“Having differing opinions and challenging each other’s views, including mine, across a long season isn’t a bad thing.
“Actually, I’d say that’s one of the things we need to do more as a club right now if we’re to take the next step.
“Everyone in the building is acutely aware of the work that’s still ahead of us. We’re all aligned to growing our elite program and we all want what’s best for the club.
“As much as it hurt to miss the finals, I hope it proves to be the kick up the pants we needed.
“Our reviews have been honest, we’re not at the level we need to be just yet, but we have made progress – there’s been a lot of good things happening, it’s not all doom and gloom.
“We are clear on what needs to be done and we are all committed to doing the work to get there.”
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Originally published as Broncos news: Gorden Tallis says Ben Ikin should be a ‘lackey’ for head coach Kevin Walters
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