‘I want to coach again’: Walters responds to Titans link amid brutal Des Hasler contract clause

Broncos great Kevin Walters has addressed being linked to replacing an under-pressure NRL coach who is running out of time.

Kevin Walters has addressed being linked to replacing under-pressure Titans coach Des Hasler.

Walters was brutally sacked by the Broncos last October just 12 months after taking the club the grand final.

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The 57-year-old admitted he wants to coach in the NRL again but said it was “disrespectful” to talk about the Gold Coast role given Hasler was still in it.

“I’ve always said that I want to coach again at some stage but I think it’s a bit disrespectful to Des and the Titans,” Walters said.

“We’re into Round 10, I think Des has got a job to do there. Sure some things haven’t gone right for them this year but I’m sure he can turn it around and the Titans can turn it around.

“Do I want to coach again? Yes, I’ve said that openly lots of times. But when the time is right and the team is right so now I just feel like it’s just a bit disrespectful to be speaking about a coach that… and I’ve walked in Des’ shoes as a coach.

“I think that Des more than anyone needs the respect that he needs to be given… he’s only 12 months into the job. I feel like people in the game are pulling the trigger pretty early.”

Hasler is facing the sack with his Titans needing to win 12 of their remaining 16 games this season to ensure the veteran coach avoids the axe in 2025.

Kevin Walters says he wants to coach again, while Des Hasler's position at the Titans is under pressure.

It has been revealed that Hasler’s three-year contract has performance clauses that require the Gold Coast to play finals in 2025, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The journalist who broke the story, Michael Carayannis, revealed what those clauses entailed.

“Massive news … He originally signed a three-year deal but there’s clauses in his deal and one of those is a top eight clause,” Carayannis said.

“That is if they don’t make the top eight this year, the Titans are under no obligation to keep him at the club next yet.

“There’s another element to it and that’s if when they are mathematically no chance of playing finals footy, they can split immediately.”

The Titans have won just two of their opening eight games and look next to no chance of playing finals for just the third time since 2011.

The number of premiership points required to play finals varies from season to season, but 14 wins guarantees a team a spot in September.

The Titans snuck in with 10 wins in 2021 but the Broncos missed out on 13 wins the very next year and that wasn’t even on point differential.

Hasler could reportedly be sacked this as soon as his side are eliminated from finals contention and there won’t be any financial repercussions for the club.

Fox League’s James Hooper believes the Titans are “gearing up” to make a big decision with their coach.

“It’s a results driven business. His winning strike rate since he’s been there hasn’t been great,” Hooper said.

“I think that the way it’s shaping up and the way people are talking around the game, I think the Titans are gearing up to make a tough decision.

“If I’m the Gold Coast, I’d be giving a little bit more time as I do think he has runs on the board, but from talking to people around the league, it is an issue.”

Carayannis called the Titans’ decision to add the clauses as “shrewd management” given Hasler’s history with former clubs the Bulldogs and Sea Eagles.

With both clubs, Hasler has ended up in monetary disputes.

“We’ve seen Des Hasler end up in the courtroom with his past two clubs and it hasn’t ended very well,” Carayannis said.

“This is a way to safeguard them and if Des has success, well he gets next year. If not, it’s a decision the club has control over and that’s not something that has happened around Des at the past couple of clubs.”

The 64-year-old two-time premiership-winning coach has the second worst winning record of any full-time Titans coach except for Garth Brennan.

He’ll have the worst if the Titans lose their next two games, against the Knights and Raiders.

Hasler is only 10 games shy of hitting the 500-game mark after stints at Sea Eagles and Bulldogs before arriving on the Gold Coast.

Wayne Bennett, Tim Sheens, Craig Bellamy, Ricky Stuart and Brian Smith are the only coaches to have overseen more NRL games than Hasler.

The NRL360 panel discussed what coaches the Titans could look at if they do end up moving on from Hasler.

“It’s a tough call because they signed a two-time premiership winning coach and they haven’t improved. That’s the concern Are they any better than when he took over? I don’t think they are,” Carayannis said.

“They’ve gone for rookie coaches. They had Justin Holbrook and Garth Brennan. They’ve gone for experienced coaches in Neil Henry and John Cartwright. And now they’ve gone for a premiership winner in Des. None of them except John Cartwright have had success.

“The best young coaches at the moment that aren’t coaching in the NRL are Ben Hornby, Willie Peters, Matt King, Dean Young, Josh Hannay.

“That’s where I would go.”

Hooper meanwhile, raised another name.

“Kevin Walters. That is a name that automatically springs to mind for me because he’s a Queenslander,” Hooper said.

“It’s a bit tricky because he works here at Fox League but if they were to draw up a hit list, I’m thinking his name would be right at the top of it.

Originally published as ‘I want to coach again’: Walters responds to Titans link amid brutal Des Hasler contract clause