Wayne Bennett and the Broncos have postponed talks on a succession plan, with both agreeing to wait until season’s end to resume ignoring Kevin Walters.
Bennett and the club made the decision after continually butting heads on plans for 2020 and beyond, with both disagreeing on everything so far except giving the Maroons coach a wide berth.
Walters has been regularly punted from calculations despite being long groomed to fill the breach, with the Broncos most recently ostracising him for odiously prioritising Queensland.
But this has not prevented him from throwing his hat in the ring again despite Brisbane and Bennett said to privately prefer current assistant Jason Demetriou because the Origin coach is too competent, appropriate and available.
Both club and coach fronted the media last week to confirm they won’t be making any further comments until the end of the season, except to say, “Have you considered the Gold Coast, champ?”.
The Bennett exit plan has been a prickly issue bubbling at Brisbane all year, with all parties working to smoothly dump the veteran mastermind in the same way one would lower an old man gently into a tub.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
But talks became icy after Bennett – off contract at end of 2019 – was denied a one-year extension which would’ve seen him become the first man to coach beyond his 150s.
The club responded by offering him a token backroom coaching director role, a position rumoured to involve Anthony Seibold coaching and Bennett going away.
But despite the loggerheads, the club has included the coach in the selection process, one which is believed to have inexplicably excluded the services of Alan Jones.
The administration felt Bennett could provide some worthy guidance after the success of previous anointments like Ivan Henjak, Anthony Griffin, Rick Stone and Steve Price, plus it would hopefully prevent a case of old man cranks.
But after failing to lure targets like Craig Bellamy and Paul Green, they decided to narrow their focus down to anyone not currently coaching Queensland.
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The club and Bennett continue to publicly deny hating Walters’s guts is anything personal despite filling the queue in front of him with anyone and anything, even Bennett.
The club says there are more worthy candidates available, like Seibold, who is a Queenslander with a proven record of success and who has worked at the club and is familiar with the fabric.
They believe compared to Walters – a Queenslander with a proven record of success and who has worked at the club and is familiar with the fabric – there is no contest.
While not ruling out hiring Walters in the future in a tokenistic and insulting way, they say the only temptation would be the thrill of unceremoniously snubbing him again using flimsy reasoning.
Ad-0
Guest
My sentiments exactly
Ad-0
Guest
Contrary to your assertion, Walters has proved nothing. The Maroons with Smith, Thurston, Ingles and Slater coach themselves. And he failed without them. As for the Broncos, they are one of the biggest clubs in the game. They should be looking at the biggest coaches in the game and paying the biggest money to get him.
LennyLenz
Guest
I say stop pussing footing around and get it over and done with, origin appears to be higher profile than club level.. just saying
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
I thought Walters made some poor decisions during state of origin this year. I'm not surprised he's being overlooked by the broncos
TigerMike
Guest
Haha love the read, especially the... Proven record... fabric of success.. Hey someone on a Tigers thread is still raving bout Mick Potter, maybe give him a call, or Taylor even Sheens had Qld players experience as Aussie coach, where's he at these days?
Emcie
Roar Guru
Hrs a bit like joey John's for me. You'd love to have him coaching your halves but head coach is another matter entirely
Mushi
Guest
Perhaps he's better in a development role?
kk
Guest
Dane, Kevin played at 5'7" and has probably shrunk an inch with the gravitational pull of the Origin loss, notwithstanding signs of hope arising from O3. The point is the Broncos love their coaches to ride tall in the saddle. Wayne set the standard, some fans and critics often comparing him to the great Clint Eastwood. Selection of a coach at the Broncos is more like a a Hollywood casting conference. I do not know the height of Anthony Seibold but that raspy voice is probably a plus.
Emcie
Roar Guru
Origin wasn't Kevvies first foray into coaching, he also coached Catalans Dragons in the super league
Forty Twenty
Guest
Bellamy's lucky he didn't start his high level coaching career at SOO like Walters. the dreaded 'can't coach ' label would still be etched into his forehead. Big Mal and big Freddy hit town at the right time and plenty of others didn't . SOO coaching is largely about timing, some get lucky and some don't.
Paul
Roar Guru
It seems clear from this article and the broncos overall results, you're not going to be considered for the coaching gig unless your name has Wayne or Bennett in there somewhere. They've had little success with coaches with other names, so a guy with names like Kevvie and Walters has no chance. Either that, or the Broncos need to show they can play under another coach apart from WB.
Emcie
Roar Guru
I wouldn't exactly be cheering if he was made bronco's coach. Like you said, Origin raised some concerns and he didn't exactly have a great record at Catalans when he was there. The biggest thing he seems to have going for him is the Fox Sports cheer squad.
mushi
Roar Guru
Walters’s plans at origin level have left me thinking he’s not really a head coach. I’d still like someone to explain the rationale for kicking early to make it a field position contest and not taking penalty goals (anyone saying that was a “captain’s call” didn’t notice that Allan Langer was top of the minutes played with 240 on field). The on field structure left a lot to be desired and I think the game stats versus results suggest a team that didn’t have an effective plan, unless we’re assuming a rep team didn’t have quality players.
Jackson Henry
Roar Guru
Man I wish I could write like this. Always look forward to your pieces Dane. Well played sir, once again.
Adz Sportz
Roar Guru
Love Kevvy, but I think it's time for him to accept the fact that he's not wanted by the Broncos and let go of his dream of coaching them. If the Broncos don't secure Seibold, I'd say they'll either hand the reins to Jason Demetriou, go after Ivan Cleary with Nathan in a package deal or extend Bennett's contract. He'd be at least 4th on the pecking order of he's lucky. But who knows... he might still be behind the likes of Barrett, Maguire, Henry, Taylor or even a return for Griffin. Move on Kevvy!!