Kevin Walters rules out Broncos rescue mission

Kevin Walters has ruled out leading a recovery mission at the Broncos alongside embattled Anthony Seibold.

Queensland coach Kevin Walters was snubbed by the Broncos in favour of Anthony Seibold when Wayne Bennett left the club

Brisbane legend Kevin Walters has ruled out leading a recovery mission at the Broncos alongside embattled Anthony Seibold with the Maroons coach committed to Queensland Origin’s program this season.

The Australian can reveal Walters will not be back at Red Hill this season despite a raft of club legends, led by Gorden Tallis and Chris Johns, calling for Brisbane’s favourite son to help Seibold haul the Broncos out of their form crisis.

A fortnight ago, Walters revealed he would be open to an approach from Seibold, insisting he had no bad blood with the man who beat him to the Broncos’ coaching job to succeed Wayne Bennett in 2018.

Just 24 hours after Walters’ stance, Seibold reached out, rev­ealing he had phoned the Queensland coach, although he stressed the pair did not discuss any job offers for a Broncos comeback.

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Brisbane’s latest implosion against the Warriors last Saturday night, their sixth straight defeat, has triggered renewed calls for Walters to assist Seibold, but the Maroons mentor has set the record straight on his Broncos future.

“No, I won’t be coming back to the Broncos,” Walters said.

“I don’t want to say too much because there’s been a lot of stuff said about the club.

“But no one at the Broncos has contacted me offering a job so I am looking forward, I am the Queensland coach and I’m committed to the Maroons this year.”

The timing of Seibold’s call to Walters is intriguing.

The pair were once close, with Walters hiring Seibold as his Queensland assistant in 2016-17, but they had not spoken in two years when the Broncos coach phoned him before the Warriors clash.

It is understood Seibold touched base with Walters about the Broncos’ Origin players and offered to provide feedback on the likes of Joe Ofahengaue, David Fifita and Corey Oates.

Differing views over the structure of Seibold’s contract have added to the confusion at the club.

Seibold last week denied his five-year contract at the Broncos is laced with performance benchmarks as he hit back at suggestions Brisbane hierarchy had the power to terminate him earlier if he is not meeting expectations.

But chief executive Paul White has since contradicted the views of Seibold, confirming the embattled Broncos coach indeed had performance clauses inserted into his $3m-plus deal, which was brokered in 2018 when he replaced Wayne Bennett.

It is not clear whether there is a specific get-out clause related to dismissing Seibold if the Broncos miss the finals this season, but White revealed the Brisbane’s coach five-year arrangement is not without some incentives.

Seibold will deploy Queensland winger Corey Oates in the back row as the Broncos coach sweats on the fitness of Kotoni Staggs for Saturday night’s clash against the Bulldogs.

As revealed in The Australian on Tuesday, Anthony Milford, Brodie Croft and Darius Boyd were spared the axe for the showdown with fellow cellar dwellers Canterbury at Suncorp Stadium.

Milford and Croft will remain in the halves, while Boyd will stay at left centre, but his right-centre partner will hinge on whether strike weapon Staggs passes a fitness test on his hamstring on Thursday morning.

Staggs has been named in jumper No 20 with Herbie Farnworth pencilled in alongside Boyd, but Seibold has his fingers crossed the NSW Origin hopeful will be cleared to face the Bulldogs after he trained strongly on Tuesday.

“We will see how Kotoni pulls up on Thursday,” Seibold said. “He did all the skills except for the last block and he looked OK, but we will do a final check at our next training session.

“It was his first session in four weeks so we don’t want to rush things. If Kotoni is OK, I will make a decision on who drops out of the team on Thursday.”

Should Staggs get the green light, Farnworth is likely to be shifted to the wing at the expense of Kiwi Test star Jamayne Isaako.

Without injured prop Matt Lodge (knee), Tevita Pangai Jr has been pitchforked into the engine room, clearing the way for Oates to start in the back row.

The Courier-Mail