Craig Bellamy backs Kevin Walters as secret Brisbane Broncos talks revealed

An NRL bombshell has been dropped on one of the Broncos‘ coaching candidates, blindsided by reports of Craig Bellamy’s secret talks.

Either way, Craig Bellamy will have some nice offers.

Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has weighed in on the Brisbane Broncos‘ coaching conundrum which could point to his future plans.

While much of the speculation has been around the future of Cameron Smith with Bellamy admitting he only had one year left in his contract and in the league, The Courier Mail reported that Brisbane have been in secret talks with Bellamy to be the club‘s coaching director from season 2022.

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With the Broncos eager to announce a new coach after cutting Anthony Seibold‘s tenure short inside two years of his five year deal, reports are that it’s down to two coaches with Queensland mentor Kevin Walters and former Cowboys coach Paul Green reportedly having interviewed for the job.

But the news broke that Bellamy had been courted by the Broncos over the past month after going into bat for Walters.

Walters was a former assistant with the Storm and worked alongside Bellamy when he was the assistant at the Broncos under Wayne Bennett between 1998 and 2002.

“Kevvie was one of my assistants for a couple of years. He did a good job with us,” Bellamy told The Courier Mail and NRL.com.

“Just watching the Broncos a bit this year, perhaps they need a bit of a history lesson in what made that club great and why it was great and Kevvie would be ideal to do that.

“Part of it (a successful club culture) is knowing what the people that were there before you did.”

Could Craig Bellamy and Kevin Walters reunite in Brisbane?

Walters played 241 first-grade games for the Broncos with six premiership wins in a glittering career for the club.

But as the news broke of the Bellamy talks – and a potential offer of $5 million over five years from 2022 – Walters was blindsided on Fox League, asking for more information on what had been published.

“I had my interview this afternoon,” Walters said. ”The breaking news on Craig Bellamy, that is news to me. Craig is obviously a tremendous coach … did they say more about when Craig is actually coming?

When told more about the deal, Walters said “well imagine what the head coach is getting paid. Paul Green and myself will be very happy with that.”

The Courier Mail report also quoted Storm chairman Matt Tripp, who earlier in the week slammed the Broncos for trying to poach Storm staff.

Tripp said he wasn‘t sure what Bellamy would do but added he would be prepared to “design a similar role for Craig in 2022 and beyond in terms of what the Broncos would be offering”.

The 61-year-old Bellamy‘s daughter and grandchildren live on the Gold Coast and he admitted before the news of Brisbane’s approach broke that “I’d never say never about anything to be quite honest”.

Kevin Walters interviewed for the Broncos head coaching role today.

But in discussing the move on Fox League before the Broncos match against the Cowboys, potential Broncos CEO Ben Ikin candidate admitted that he wasn‘t a fan of the model.

“To have someone who‘s got such strong principles and what’s required to win games, as was the case with Wayne and such is the case with Craig, overseeing a coach who wants his own responsibility that has his own philosophies, I don’t think can work long term,” he said. ”I think it can only end in disaster and while I greatly admire Craig Bellamy and what he could potentially bring, I think either Paul Green or Kevvie Walters deserve the right to succeed or fail on their own.”

He said he fears the club would be cluttered with coaching ideologies.

“To be paying someone a million dollars a year for five years, what are your expectations on that person?” he added. ”How much do they need to be involved? How much say do they need to have because if I‘m paying someone seven figures annually, they have to be head coach, they can’t be coaching director.”

Braith Anasta added that Bellamy has “no ego” and said he could be successful in the role.

The Broncos are hoping for a win over the Cowboys in a bid to avoid the club‘s first ever wooden spoon and send retiring star Darius Boyd off with a win.