It pains him to say it but Glenn Lazarus believes fellow Brisbane great Kevin Walters will be reluctant to apply for the Broncos coaching job again after missing out to Anthony Seibold.
South Sydney mentor Seibold is expected to be confirmed as Broncos coach for 2020 ahead of candidates Walters and Jason Demetriou at Tuesday night’s Brisbane board meeting.
Former Brisbane prop Lazarus believes it doesn’t mark Walters’ last chance to coach his beloved Broncos and hopes one day his good mate realises his dream.
But Lazarus fears the former Broncos premiership-winning captain may not apply again for the top job at Red Hill after being sensationally snubbed.
“He would be disenchanted with the whole process,” Lazarus told AAP.
“Wayne (Bennett) has never endorsed him.
“Ex-Broncos players at large have said Kevvie is the man for the job but no one seemed to listen in the Broncos hierarchy.
“Anthony appears to have all the right credentials but the Broncos have had someone sitting in their own backyard in Kevin and haven’t really given him the time of day which is very disappointing.”
Lazarus couldn’t understand why the Broncos seemed determined to sign Seibold once they missed out on Melbourne mentor Craig Bellamy in June, overlooking Brisbane favourite son Walters.
“My frustration over all this is why Kevin Walters has never been mentioned (as coach) – he lost a lot of blood, sweat and tears for this club,” he said.
“He’s been mentored by the best, he has had coaching success. I think he would be ideal for the Broncos but it seemed once they missed out on Craig Bellamy they were going for Anthony Seibold.”
Lazarus said Walters would have been the man to inspire Brisbane after they “made up the numbers” in the 2018 finals.
The Broncos finished sixth on the ladder but suffered a shock opening elimination finals loss to St George Illawarra at Suncorp Stadium.
“I hope it is not (Walters’ last chance to coach Broncos) because I think he would help,” Lazarus said.
“Because Brisbane were very lucky to get into the eight this year. If Canberra or Wests Tigers didn’t stumble, Brisbane were going to be very close to missing the eight.
“I know Kevin has the Broncos’ DNA in him. I thought he would be a far better option.”
terrance
Guest
KurtS, Chris Johns was just John Ribot's puppet in club administration at both the Broncs and Storm. His thoughts are totally irrelevant. Let's face it, Kevin Walters had more than the inside running for the job, been around the Broncs on and off for 30 years. They just didn't see him as the best choice to move the club forward as a 51yo with no NRL head coaching experience. A bit like replacing ''ol' man Bennett'' with ''ol'man Bennett mk2''. Why? They need a new coach to potentially break the drought...
Kurt S
Roar Pro
I agree with all of you in that most ex player's views should be seen in the correct light. The one exception to that I would have is Chris Johns. He has been involved in management at two very successful clubs, was a fair player himself. The management path he followed after his playing days at the Broncos shows parallels to Darren Lockyer now. Whether Walters would make a good top level coach for the Broncoes, I'm not sure. In his extended time with Milford a few seasons ago he bought out some good ball playing in the young guy. Bellamy is no mug and was happy to have Walters as an assistant. An assistant does not make a great head coach necessarily. Time will tell if Seibold becomes a good head coach with the added pressure of being in a one town team that doesn't tolerate lackluster performances. Some might argue that Sielbold should have run deeper into the finals. With the roster he had it should have gone far. The Souths players were tired of Maguire's had discipline that they needed in the run up to their premiership and like anyone under pressure or in unhappy situations, found themselves enjoying their sport again. I hope Seibold goes well. I hope Walters received good feedback on why specifically he didn't get the role so he can work on these areas. He, like the other applicants deserve that, but with Walter's history, he certainly deserved to be let down lightly and offered guidance on how he can improve.
Emcie
Roar Guru
I think it's fair to say that, outside of the opinions of some ex-team mates and fox sports coworkers, he'd be a bit down the list of potential suitors given the competition for the role. The only real ace up his sleeve is his history with the club, and he doesn't even have the exclusive rights to that.
Paul
Roar Guru
I'm sorry but why would a player think he's an automatic selection as coach, simply because he played 240 games for the Club? If you look at his raw numbers as coach of any top division side, he had a 37% winning percentage with the Catalan Dragons and 56% win the Maroons. These are not great numbers and if his name was not Kevvie Walters, he probably wouldn't be in consideration at all.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Nice one...I was thinking something similar although not so well articulated as I read it. “Ex-Broncos players at large have said Kevvie is the man for the job” counts for what exactly...? Could be translated as “mates say mate is the man for the job”
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Would love to see Kevie Walters down here in Canberra in some capacity. He has a lot of passion for coaching, reads the game well, has had some success as a coach and still has a soft spot for the Raiders when you listen to his commentary on Fox. Get him down here as an assistant and if Ricky blows it again (which is a distinct possibility) Kevie can step in.
Nat
Roar Guru
Exactly right. If this approach was taken in private enterprise the board would laugh at the prospect of an ex employee of 20yrs ago pushing the barrow of his mate to have the most important job in the company.
Emcie
Roar Guru
It's always struck me that there seems to be a direct correlation between how much influence explayers (carrying no current official capacity within the club) have on board decisions and the clubs long term stability and general success, with more of the former resulting in less of the later. I'll always be grateful for their contributions as players, but if we wouldn't let them choose the coach while they were playing why would we let them influence the decision 20 years down the track when they're now perusing different careers, especially when their preferred candidate is a close mate. Let's be honest, if his argument was used by a board member it would be seen as jobs for the boys and bias would be called into question, but because its an explayer (or several) it's a valid excuse?
kk
Roar Pro
Seibold may have been more attuned to the psychometric test than other candidates. Kevin still has the Origin gig for the next two seasons, so it's not all gloom.