Buzz: Kevin Walters’ coaching job at Broncos on line after string of off-field dramas

Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters has officially joined the list of four NRL mentors in danger of losing their jobs early in the season, writes PHIL ROTHFIELD.

Selwyn Cobbo has given his opinion on coach Kevin Walters.

Anthony Griffin at St George Illawarra, Adam O’Brien at the Newcastle Knights and Justin Holbrook at the Gold Coast Titans.

These are the three NRL coaches under the most pressure going into the new season.

They have to win and they have to win early.

Thanks to Broncos winger Selwyn Cobbo’s ill-advised comments on a podcast about Kevin Walters’ ability as a coach, you can make it a quartet and put the Brisbane mentor on the same level of pressure as those other three clipboard holders.

It’s the latest in a growing list of off-field distractions that threatens to derail the Broncos’ season before it even begins.

Brisbane coach Kevin Walters has been the victim of friendly fire. Picture: Liam Kidston

Cobbo’s comments were reminiscent of the Tyson Gamble incident last year where, on another podcast, he also said he basically didn’t rate Walters as a coach and that he turned to halfback and skipper, Adam Reynolds, for his advice to improve his football.

Issues aren’t just stemming from the playing group either.

Kevvie also had the blow-up with football manager Ben Ikin in 2022. It was a significant fallout.

Kevvie hasn’t been able to get over the fact that Ikin, who has a fantastic rugby league IQ, is there and has so much to offer.

Walters hasn’t, as far as I’m concerned, taken on board what Ikin brings to the table.

Off-field issues are amplifying the perilous situation at Red Hill.

Rising forward TC Robati has been stood down after being charged with sexual assault following an alleged nightclub incident before Christmas, while star signing Reece Walsh was ejected from a Gold Coast venue following a verbal altercation with Titans back-rower David Fifita.

Winger Selwyn Cobbo.

Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy.

Through no fault of his own, Payne Haas is away on personal leave due to the charges his mum, Uiatu “Joan” Taufua, is facing over a horrific Gold Coast car crash which killed three people.

The club is dealing with a lot of turmoil. It’s going to take great leadership to get them out of it on the eve of an NRL season that starts with ominous games against two-time defending premiers Penrith and the high-flying North Queensland Cowboys.

Everything at an NRL club on the field starts with the coach.

And the coach has to accept full responsibility for the results.

But when the drama is so wide-ranging and as broad as they’re dealing with now, this is a real test of leadership of their CEO, Dave Donaghy, who has to step in and fix this mess.

He has to get Walters and his assistant coaches, Ikin and every single player working together as a team to stop what’s happening right now because it is a situation that will not solve itself.

For a team that hasn’t played finals football since 2019, when they scraped into eighth place and were flogged 58-0 by Parramatta, it’s a horrible lead-in to a make-or-break season.

WHY COBBO BAILED ON BRONCOS AT HALFTIME

Selwyn Cobbo has made the stunning revelation that he left halfway through Brisbane’s top-eight-defining clash with Parramatta last season “because we were getting flogged”.

In further fallout to his appearance on the ‘Back of the 135’ podcast last October, where he described Kevin Walters as a “good person” but not a “good coach”, Cobbo’s confession is another unwanted headline for the club.

x

Selwyn Cobbo’s podcast appearance is causing ructions.

The Broncos winger, who was rested from the Round 24 match due to fatigue, watched on from the sideline at Suncorp Stadium as Brisbane’s finals chances evaporated.

Having plummeted from fourth position to eighth in just a month, the Broncos were clinging to the last finals place when they hosted the Eels.

However, any hopes of a form reversal were quickly extinguished as they were hammered 53-6.

Trailing 31-6 at halftime, Cobbo had seen enough.

“I sat out that game. They make you go to the game and I left at halftime because we were getting flogged,” Cobbo said.

“I just sneaked out.”

It’s unclear whether Broncos officials knew of Cobbo’s early departure or gave them his blessing, although it’s not a good look for a side that was fighting to save its season.

Selwyn Cobbo clarifies his statements.

Selwyn Cobbo's Instagram statement.

Cobbo was back on the wing the following week when the Broncos travelled to Wollongong to take on St George Illawarra, where they needed to win and hope Canberra lost to Wests Tigers, and in the process turn around a 43-point differential to leapfrog the Green Machine into an unlikely finals berth.

The Broncos lost 22-12 as their once-promising season ended with a whimper.

“It was pretty disappointing we didn’t get top eight. I feel like we could’ve been top eight,” Cobbo said.

Originally published as Buzz: Kevin Walters’ coaching job at Broncos on line after string of off-field dramas