NRL 2024: 30 Brisbane Broncos quizzed by external investigator on performance of coach Kevin Walters as club review begins
The Broncos have summoned in an external investigator to preside over a sweeping review of the club’s football operations, with 30 players being quizzed on the performance of coach Kevin Walters.
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The Broncos have called in an external investigator to probe the club’s football operations with Brisbane’s 30 full-time players quizzed on the performance of coach Kevin Walters.
This masthead can reveal the Broncos have summoned an independent third-party to preside over a sweeping review of club culture in the wake of Brisbane’s dramatic freefall this season.
Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy promised to “drill down into every area” of the club and he has upheld his vow with Brisbane hierarchy ensuring the internal review has external authority.
That is no suggestion Walters is facing the axe. The coach has the backing of Broncos bosses to start the 2025 pre-season and Walters is fully supportive of the appointment of a fresh set of eyes to appraise Brisbane’s football department.
Brisbane’s entire roster have completed a three-day playing group review with stars such as Reece Walsh, Payne Haas, Pat Carrigan and Kotoni Staggs now taking extended leave in accordance with the RLPA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Haas will undergo foot surgery and miss Australia’s upcoming Pacific Championships campaign, while 2023 Kangaroos incumbents Carrigan and Staggs remain available for selection.
Post-season reviews are standard practice for every NRL club but Brisbane’s has taken on a sharper focus in the aftermath of their shock slide from grand finalists last season to 12th place in 2024.
Brisbane chiefs insist the review will not be mere window dressing. It is so comprehensive the probe will continue until the weekend and could go into a second week as the $80 million glamour club comes under intense pressure to address the worst performance stretch in the club’s 36-year history.
Never before have the Broncos missed the playoffs four times in a five-year period. Brisbane’s brilliant 2023 grand-final appearance has been bookended by four failed seasons, including a wooden-spoon finish in 2020 under former coach Anthony Seibold.
The buck now stops with Walters. He is off-contract at the end of 2026, but faces a perform-or-perish season in 2025, with the current review to spotlight his football department and whether the 241-game club legend needs more support.
Former Swimming Australia CEO Eugenie Buckley conducted a review of the Broncos in 2020 following their wooden-spoon debacle.
Buckley conducted almost 30 interviews over two weeks and Brisbane powerbrokers have again hired a third party, whose identity remains confidential.
Donaghy said last week Brisbane’s disappointing 2024 campaign fell short of the club’s performance expectations and added the review would analyse whether complacency was a factor.
“I think that’s one area that we’ll look at closely … is how we addressed last season,” he said.
“Did we do enough to address the come down from last year?
“I think that’s a big part of footy _ the mental side of it.
“We’ve already identified that’s a gap for us and we’re taking steps to put some much improved measures in place there to support the program and the players.
“I won’t go into too much detail around what the individual issues are.
“We want to win the premiership every year. You can’t have a greater goal than that … and the reality is this year we’ve fallen well short.”
The last time Brisbane missed the finals in 2022, Walters’ assistant Terry Matterson was axed following the post-season review, while Steve Walters, the coach’s brother, stepped down as football manager.
Walters will have two new assistants on board next season in Parramatta’s Trent Barrett and the Dolphins’ Ben Te’o, who will replace England-bound John Cartwright and Lee Briers.
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Originally published as NRL 2024: 30 Brisbane Broncos quizzed by external investigator on performance of coach Kevin Walters as club review begins
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