Winners come in all shapes and sizes in rugby league. It’s not always the biggest, fastest and strongest who prevail.
As a player, Kevin Walters was probably never in the top half of his team in any of those three categories but he made up for his lack of athletic prowess by being one of the smartest players of his generation.
And one of the most successful at club level.
Walters played in seven grand finals – after being on the losing side in his first one with Canberra in 1987, he won six premierships at the Raiders two years later then with the Broncos in 1992, 93, 97, 98 and 2000.
Michael Hancock was the only other player to feature in all five of Brisbane’s premierships in their nine-year golden era.
When you look at the names ahead of Walters for Grand Final appearances in premiership history, St George legends Norm Provan and Brian Clay with 10, Eddie Lumsden, Ron Coote and Cooper Cronk with nine and John Raper, Cameron Smith and Kevin Ryan with eight, he trails only some of the greats of the game on that list.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Not that he is often afforded the accolades that should come with a player who made 291 first-grade appearances, represented Queensland 20 times and Australia in 12 matches (which would have been higher if not for the Super League war).
His contemporaries Allan Langer, Shane Webcke, Darren Lockyer, Gorden Tallis and Petero Civoniceva are in the NRL Hall of Fame and you could make a strong case that Walters should be the next Broncos great to receive that honour.
Walters was constantly under-rated as a player, labelled the second banana to Langer in the halves for Brisbane and Queensland or not a patch on NSW rivals Brad Fittler and Laurie Daly when it came to the best five-eighths in the competition.
But his instincts were top notch – honed from years of backyard footy with brothers Steve and Kerrod growing up in Ipswich.
His greatest asset was knowing when and where to attack. And that is now shining through with the Broncos.
With Adam Reynolds calling the shots on the field, Walters has a similar player to himself who knows when to send forwards up the middle and when to spiral the pass to the speedsters out wide.
Walters has often joked that it was a no-brainer for someone like himself to get the ball out to the thoroughbreds on his outside during his playing days like Steve Renouf, Wendell Sailor, Willie Carne and Darren Lockyer.
In Reece Walsh, Selwyn Cobbo, Herbie Farnworth and Kotoni Staggs, Reynolds now has that luxury to know that half-chances will more often than not be finished off by a potent backline of athletic freaks.
Now that Walters has had success in the NRL coaching ranks, it begs the question as to why it took so long for a player who was such an astute tactician to get his shot.
He bounced around at the Storm and had three tumultuous stints as an assistant at Brisbane under Wayne Bennett either side of a modest two-season stint in the Super League with Catalans more than a decade ago.
Perhaps it was his self-deprecating nature which hurt his cause but even after he had won two out of four Origin series during what was supposed to be a time of rebuilding for the Maroons as their golden generation faded into retirement, the doubters still outweighed the believers.
(Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)
When Craig Bellamy shunned the Broncos’ advances to replace Wayne Bennett five years ago, the club opted for a coach coming off one successful rookie season in Anthony Seibold ahead of Walters.
It was almost a case of “we’ve tried every other option, we might as well give Kevvie a go” when Brisbane finally handed him the reins at the end of 2020 when the Seibold experiment imploded inside two seasons on the way to the perennial powerhouse’s first wooden spoon.
Whether they like it or not, Walters’ coaching style mirrors Bennett’s in the way that team camaraderie is their first priority over intricate game plans.
While they could not be more different in media conferences with Walters joking around with reporters while Bennett torments them with blunt responses, in the inner sanctum of the squad they each build on-field success via off-field harmony.
There were plenty of critics quick to seize on shortsighted podcast comments by Cobbo and Tyson Gamble last off-season in which they questioned Walters’ coaching credentials.
Gamble, who was on his way out of Red Hill to link with Newcastle, suggested Reynolds was the real mastermind of the team.
In a sign of Walters’ lack of ego and maturity as a mentor even though he was just two years into his maiden stint as an NRL head coach, he responded by saying Gamble’s comments were “a positive” for their team.
“I got coached by Wayne Bennett for 10 years and it wasn’t just him I got information from,” he said at the time.
Coaches are not the only source of tactical nous in a rugby league team. It would be foolish for anyone to think so or for a club to allow that to be the case.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Peter Sterling was the tactical whiz who drove Parramatta through their Jack Gibson glory days in the 1980s, ditto for Ricky Stuart as he refined Tim Sheens’ instructions at Canberra.
You can go down the line of successful sides to see that coaches can only do so much but you need a Darren Lockyer, Cameron Smith or Cooper Cronk to be the on-field brains of the operation.
Walters also brought in Lee Briers this year as an assistant to provide extra refinement for their game plans, particularly for Brisbane’s spine to be thinking several steps ahead on the field as they pilot the team to where they can launch their attacking raids.
After entering the 2023 season on the hot seat as one of the coaches most likely to get the chop, the 55-year-old not only outlasted the likes of Anthony Griffin and Justin Holbrook but he’s scored a new deal for two more years.
And now he’s just 80 minutes away from becoming the first premiership-winning player since Des Hasler in 2008 to also lift the trophy as a coach.
All he’s got to do is bring down the all-conquering Penrith Panthers.
If he achieves that monumental feat then even his harshest critic will have to concede that Walters definitely can coach.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
There is a lot to be said for cohesion obviously, but it doesn’t explain scenarios where: 1. 1995 where a brand new team of lesser quality Queensland players with little experience playing together beat a more cohesive, better quality NSW side 3 nil; or 2. The last 2 state of origin series where NSW notably selected all those Panthers players in order to take advantage of their experience playing together.
Ad Tastic
Roar Rookie
Well, Darwin's theory is that cohesion and player quality is the most important aspect of team sport success. Qld have less players to choose from so are more cohesive than NSW by default and the difference in quality, man for man, isnt enough to overcome that.
JohnB
Roar Rookie
Not sure who you're disagreeing with seeing that I didn't say they were the same! In the same category, yes, the same no. Obviously, as you say.
Nat
Roar Guru
If nothing else it generated clicks and conversation so I guess he will.
London Panther
Roar Rookie
I wonder if Mike will be putting up his hand to do the power rankings next year?
wilbas
Roar Rookie
This tactic on fifth tackle has been going on for years and it needs to be outlawed..There was a time that players had to make attempt to get onside when both sides had to be whatever metres from the play the ball. Get them out of there especially in golden point when they operate at their worse. ...and why is every side practicing these high kicks on last tackle that land 25 metres out from oppositions line...No chasers can get near the ball with all the players acting as obtruction to the runners...and what is the fear of a 7 tackle set when we are having set restarts left right and center..just kick long and deep and to hell with it if it lands over the dead ball...
wilbas
Roar Rookie
When a coach can hardwire his captain to follow a game plan and have the knowing of when to play and when grind then you have a powerful football side. Look at the 2005 Weststigers with Tim Sheens and Scotty Prince at the helm and you have what was the smallest forward pack in the competition that year but they went on to rinse all comers in the finals that year. WHY?..Because Prince knew that Sheens had attacking modes...4 or 5 different modes of attack...The tuck the ball under and play percentage football or the attack from inside you own 25 zone with confidence if we made an error they could defend it with a light pack which could move lateral better then all the sides full of Gorillas..Prince knew when to attack and when to hold and kick long...That will be what decides this game...There is errors in Reece Walsh's game...His left cut out pass is a floater and we saw the intercept taken...unfortunately the same winger was not happy with his luck and continued coming in for that pass ...To his credit Walsh passed short next for a try...Penrith must watch and pay attention to the Melbourne Parramatta grand final where Billy Slater was the man and Parramatta made a plan to shut down Slater but Melbourne passed short to their back rowers and did not go behind..Parra's defense could not handle the big forwards roll over their inside backs.
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
At this point in time he's no better than Brian Smith.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Or for that matter - why even have a coach at all if the best they can possibly do is make the players play at their natural level?
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
And I think sometimes his assessment of “sum of its parts” is often after the fact
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Would have been good to see the Tigers make the GF with Big Kev in charge!
3 R M
Roar Rookie
Not deep running onto the ball but flat which is how Kevie, Alfie and the broncs played most of the time. In the modern game good teams run deep pass flat. Which is what the Bronco's do. It's a style but not Kevies playing style. Credit to him his assistants and the squad its been a very good season.
Col in Paradise
Roar Rookie
Kevvie would have done a better job at the Tigers then the coaches they have had the past 3 years.,.although that wouldnt be hard !
Rellum
Roar Guru
I disagree, the NRL comp is different comp to the ARL and NSWRL comps as well as the BRL obviously.
JohnB
Roar Rookie
I've checked and yes he did play all 6 for Souths in Brisbane. I remember when he started playing - much less massive than he became but still bigger and stronger than virtually all of his opponents at that time (Chris Close the exception) and quick with it. Gary Belcher was indeed also a star for Souths in that era. Another who went to Canberra was Peter Jackson. You're quite right in your NRL comment, although if I was also going to nitpick I'd point out that I didn't actually say he played any NRL GFs! Just because some sort of shorthand is needed, I think it's ok to read "NRL" as meaning "the NRL as it currently is, and if we're talking about seasons in the past, the then top level Sydney based rugby league club competition".
mushi
Roar Guru
I think the first year was "kind of" successful. The Broncos finished low the year before as much because of the external factors as the internal. I don't think the roar carries quite the same pressure as TV, radio and national newspapers. And Gordie kent et al did his best to ensure players, not Kevie, were to blame. Even girdler suggested the pro walters / con player attitude stories were fabricated on mmm. But it goes back to the core, a united organisation full of average capability beats a disjointed group of geniuses. Not saying kevie is average just organisational coherence is the first pillar
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
The reason he doesn’t have to manage down or outward is because he has achieved success. But let’s not forget that there was a tonne of scrutiny over his appointment, even to the point that most of the media including half the writers on this website were pointing to him as one of the coaches most likely to get sacked mid season despite having overseen a massive improvement in 2022.
Rellum
Roar Guru
I was always neutral on Kevie. Wait and see how he would go. Glad he has been such a success so far.
Michael Keeffe
Roar Guru
He was definitely underrated as a player too. People forget Australia probably don't win the 1992 world cup without Kevvie. Down 6-4 to the Poms with 12 minutes to play and Kevvie comes off the bench and lays on a beautiful out ball for Renouf to glide through and score the only try of the World Cup final. Silky passing game.
Rellum
Roar Guru
He did play in all those Grand Finals for Souths. Badge played in two as well(maybe 3). I do not know about St Helens but I am talking about Aus first grade GF's. And to nit pick, Mal never played in an NRL GF. In Aus he played in only NRL and NSWRL Grand Finals, not counting any knock out cups or the like.